The Uber for Creatives: Why Beige is a Game Changer | Kawser Khan DSH #788

Summary

Digital Social Hour: The Uber for Creatives – Why Beige is a Game Changer | Kawser Khan DSH #788

Release Date: October 7, 2024
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Kawser Khan

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Introduction

In the latest episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly welcomes entrepreneur Kawser Khan to discuss his groundbreaking venture, Beige. Kawser delves into how Beige is revolutionizing the videography and photography industry by creating a marketplace akin to Uber, facilitating seamless connections between clients and creative professionals across the United States.

---

Beige: The "Uber for Creatives"

Beige is poised to become the world's largest marketplace for videography and photography services. Kawser likens the platform to Uber, emphasizing its role in simplifying the booking process for creative shoots nationwide.

[01:16] Kawser Khan: "Beige is gearing up to be the world's biggest videography and photography marketplace. You can kind of think of us as like Uber, but for videographers and photographers."

The platform currently boasts 2,000 vetted and certified videographers and photographers operating as independent contractors. This extensive network ensures that users can find reliable professionals tailored to their specific content needs.

[01:55] Kawser Khan: "Yeah, exactly. So we got about 2000 videographers and photographers that are vetted and certified through us, all independent contractors. And then we just connect them with anybody that needs content."

---

Business Model and Operational Insights

Beige operates through a user-friendly mobile app slated for launch, which will facilitate the booking of creative services across all 50 states. Before the app's release, Kawser highlighted that Beige has successfully generated over 2,000 shoots, with projections to surpass 3 million in sales this year—all achieved through minimal advertising and a strategic online presence.

[04:00] Kawser Khan: "This year we're about to break 3 million in sales and shoots. And this is, mind you, with just being on a landing page. Right. No app. App is not out yet."

The platform addresses the traditional challenges of hiring videographers by offering a centralized system where users can view reviews, assess styles, and book professionals within a few clicks, eliminating the inefficiency of decentralized hiring methods.

[02:00] Host Sean Kelly: "It's a smart idea because right now, hiring a videographer seems old school. Yeah, like, you gotta find their site, call them—it's not really centralized."

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Scaling and Success Metrics

Beige's aggressive scaling strategy includes a 20-week, 20-cities campaign, focusing on major markets like Chicago and New York. Chicago emerged as a significant success, while New York posed challenges due to its competitive and direct market dynamics, prompting Kawser to relocate to Brooklyn to better penetrate the market.

[08:21] Kawser Khan: "It was Chicago for us. Yeah, Chicago. And then New York, too. But New York was harder to break into."

Kawser shared that Beige has managed to scale without heavy reliance on advertisements, relying instead on organic growth through a highly efficient matchmaking and pricing algorithm powered by generative AI tools.

[05:10] Kawser Khan: "So we're starting to invest in some generative AI tools. So the way the app works is it's a simple layout, just like Uber or Doordash."

---

Challenges Faced in Entrepreneurship

Kawser was candid about funding challenges, particularly highlighting the difficulties faced as a founder of color in securing investment. Previous ventures, including a social fitness app and an ethically sourced clothing brand, encountered setbacks due to systemic biases and market acceptance issues.

[17:16] Kawser Khan: "And, you know, you're either Ivy League educated or, you know, your founders or other unicorns. Or, you know, you're quite frankly, you're white, so."

These experiences, although challenging, provided Kawser with invaluable lessons that shaped Beige's resilient and adaptive business model.

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Future Vision: AI Integration and International Expansion

Looking ahead, Kawser is enthusiastic about integrating AI technologies to enhance Beige's user experience further. The planned app will feature an intuitive matchmaking algorithm that connects users with local creatives and provides instant pricing based on extensive past shoot data.

[05:29] Kawser Khan: "Give you an instant price based on our pricing algorithm from the several thousand shoots we've done, and then you'll just pretty much be able to book your videographer then and there."

International expansion is also on the horizon, with aspirations to extend Beige's services to regions like Dubai, London, Australia, and various European countries, tapping into vibrant creative markets and diverse client bases.

[11:53] Host Sean Kelly: "We get to travel, experience cultures. And I can't wait to take this internationally one day too. That's sort of the next step."

---

Personal Stories and Connections

Kawser shared personal anecdotes, including his marriage at 23, which coincided with Beige's expansion phase. Networking events played a pivotal role in both his personal and professional life, underscoring the mantra:

[15:28] Kawser Khan: "Your network is your net worth."

These events not only facilitated business growth but also fostered meaningful personal relationships, demonstrating the intertwined nature of personal and entrepreneurial success.

---

Additional Businesses and Lessons Learned

Prior to Beige, Kawser ventured into the restaurant industry, successfully scaling and selling a small Indian restaurant for six figures during the pandemic. He also launched Noia G Bon, an ethically manufactured clothing brand, which faced resistance from local producers but successfully raised funds through a Kickstarter campaign.

[19:25] Kawser Khan: "I opened a small Indian restaurant in LA. Scaled it up. Ended up selling it for six figures during the pandemic."

These entrepreneurial endeavors provided Kawser with a diverse skill set and a deep understanding of market dynamics, which he leveraged to build Beige into a robust and scalable platform.

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Key Takeaways and Conclusion

The conversation between Sean Kelly and Kawser Khan encapsulates the essence of modern entrepreneurship—leveraging technology to disrupt traditional industries, overcoming systemic challenges, and maintaining a vision for global expansion. Beige stands as a testament to innovation in the creative marketplace, offering a streamlined, AI-powered solution that meets the evolving demands of content creation.

Notable Quotes:

• Kawser Khan

  "[05:10] We're starting to invest in some generative AI tools."
  "[15:28] Your network is your net worth."

• Sean Kelly

  "[02:00] Hiring a videographer seems old school... not really centralized."
  "[11:53] We get to travel, experience cultures."

Beige's journey underscores the importance of resilience, adaptability, and the relentless pursuit of innovation in building a successful business. As Beige prepares to launch its mobile app and expand internationally, it sets a promising example for aspiring entrepreneurs in the creative industries.

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For more insights and updates, follow Kawser Khan and Beige on their social platforms. Stay tuned for future episodes of Digital Social Hour, where Sean Kelly continues to engage with leading minds shaping the business landscape.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, music fans, there are some great concerts headed this way. Don't miss out on all the shows in your favorite venues, like Deftones at Madison Square Garden, Eagles at the Sphere, and Foster, the people at the Ryman Auditorium. Tickets are going fast, so don't wait. Head to livenation.com to get your tickets. Now that's livenation.com Beige is gearing up to be the world's biggest videography and photography marketplace. You can kind of think of this as like Uber, but for videographers and photographers. We enable users to book videography and photography shoots all throughout the country.

[B]

And you basically provide people with videographers.

[A]

Yeah, 2000 videographers and photographers that are vetted and certified through us. All independent contractors. And then we just connect them. We. With anybody that needs content.

[B]

All right, guys, got a friend of mine, Cowser Khan, here today. What's up, my man?

[A]

What's going on, bro? Thanks for having me.

[B]

Yeah, so Caler does all the videos for my networking events, and you crush it, man.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

And that's your company, Beige.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Repping it, as always.

[A]

I already know.

[B]

Yeah. So tell everyone what Beige is about.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely, man. So Beige is gearing up to be the world's biggest videography and photography marketplace. So you can kind of think of us as like Uber, but for videographers and photographers. We enable users to book videography and photography shoots all throughout the country. Right now, we're in all 50 states getting ready to launch our mobile app marketplace, so.

[B]

Nice. And you basically provide people with videographers.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

That's the whole premise of the app.

[A]

The whole premise. Right. So we got about 2000 videographers and photographers that are vetted and certified through us, all independent contractors. And then we just connect them with anybody that needs content.

[B]

It's a smart idea because right now, hiring a videographer seems old school. Yeah, like, you gotta find their site.

[A]

Call them, you know, a guy. You know what I mean? It's not really, like, centralized. Right. So found a gap and been crushing it with.

[B]

Yeah, it'd be cool to just go on an app, see their reviews, and then they're local. So you could just pay two clicks and hire them.

[A]

Exactly. So our goal is to make it as easy as possible to book a videographer. Right. And just like we do, you know, for your events and so. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

And that's how we met, too, at an event, backstage.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I'm doing videographer for Natasha.

[A]

For Natasha. Yeah, for Natasha.

[B]

How did you find her?

[A]

So she actually found Us. So she found us. Yeah, just like us through Google and reached out and then we ended up doing like, like 30, 40 episodes for her.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

Her law of attraction. And then she travels a lot too, so we were just filming all her stuff.

[B]

Oh, you filmed her pod. Yeah, yeah, that's the top five show, dude.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, she's been killing it.

[B]

Yeah, she's in my category. We're always batt for that.

[A]

Okay, spot. Nice.

[B]

Yeah. Shout out to Natasha. Yeah, she's pregnant right now.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, she is. Congrats.

[B]

Congrats to her. What other events do you film, man?

[A]

We do just about any use case you can imagine. Right. I mean we've done like big corporate events for like chase, Amazon, dhl, birthday parties, networking events, podcasts, music videos, weddings, funerals. I mean just about people film funerals. Yeah. Since the pandemic, bro.

[B]

I've never heard that.

[A]

Yeah, since 2020 we've done like few hundred funerals. Like what's crazy.

[B]

Yeah, I didn't know that was a thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I've been to a few and I don't remember seeing like video cameras there.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. People like to live stream it that we do these highlight videos with like video clips.

[B]

You do a highlight video?

[A]

Yeah, people, you know, while they were alive.

[B]

No way.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's crazy to me, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Weddings I understand because you want to relive that moment. But funeral, I feel like one and done for me.

[A]

Yeah, 100%. Yeah.

[B]

But if you're making money off it.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Right. So I mean, really, I wanted to push the volume game and we did just that. I mean, we've done a little over 2,000 shoots now in the past couple years. Yeah. This year we're about to break 3 million in sales.

[B]

Incredible.

[A]

And shoots. And this is, mind you, with just being on a landing page. Right. No app. App is not out yet.

[B]

No ads too.

[A]

No, yeah, very little ads. So yeah, man, been scaling.

[B]

That's cool because you're just making the pain points so easy.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, 100%. Right. It's like you're in Miami, you want to shoot a podcast, you're not going to go on Instagram, DM a bunch of people. Right. Or text 20 people. You want to be reliably to have somebody.

[B]

No. And that's so relatable because I film in other cities and it's always a process finding a studio videographer, making sure everything's my way. Takes hours every time.

[A]

Yeah, 100%, bro. And so that's what Beijing's Goal is, right? To just really help people book content anywhere, anytime.

[B]

And content so important these days because ads are so expensive. Organic content, like, huge. Like, you almost need that in your repertoire these days, bro.

[A]

Organic is where it's at.

[B]

Yeah. Look at podcasts literally dominating. That's probably the one vertical you're going to focus on too, right?

[A]

Yeah, it's going to be one of the biggest ones. So.

[B]

Yeah. Because they film, like, consistently, you could be there for them, like, whether it's weekly or daily.

[A]

100% exactly, bro. So I'm excited, man. I'm excited to just keep growing it. It's been. It's been an amazing journey so far.

[B]

And you're using AI with the company too?

[A]

Yeah, yeah. So we're starting to invest in some generative AI tools. So the way the app works is it's a simple layout, just like Uber or Doordash. You can choose whether you want video or photo. And then pretty much our matchmaking algorithm will connect you with a videographer or photographer locally.

[B]

Yeah, that's huge.

[A]

Give you an instant price based on our pricing algorithm from the several thousand shoots we've done, and then you'll just pretty much be able to book your videographer then and there.

[B]

That's huge. Yeah. Cause we're. We're getting married next year, and I know we'll talk about your wedding too, but. Yeah, when we were vetting the photographers, videographers, a lot of their styles are so different. It's kind of like while you're on the phone with them, you have to see their style, and it's like, kind of inefficient, you know?

[A]

Yeah, exactly. It's. It's very archaic right now, this media.

[B]

Industry, because then if you don't like it, you're on an hour call with them. Stuck.

[A]

Yeah, 100%. So it's like, how do we aggregate all of that data and the most seamless user experience through base.

[B]

Yeah. And you've done a ton of weddings too, right?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, we've done over a thousand weddings.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's insane. I mean, there's always a wedding every day, right?

[A]

Yeah. People are getting married, you know, hopefully once, you know, so.

[B]

And you got married, young man?

[A]

I did. I got married at 23.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Was that by plan?

[A]

Yeah. So I met my wife. I was on this whole 20 cities, 20 weeks campaign, expanding beige. Pulled up to Houston. I didn't know anyone else besides her brother. And then I was like, hey, man, I'm in your city looking to Expand. We really hit it off. And then he introduced me to her. Coincidentally, she was going to Princeton while I had my apartment in Brooklyn.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So. But she happened to be in Houston during that time. And then we just started dating then and there. A week later, I flew back into Houston to make things official. And then a year later, we got married.

[B]

Holy crap. Within a year.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's quick, man. How'd the brother feel about it?

[A]

He was really happy. Oh, yeah, yeah. He's the one that really shifted. And, you know, he didn't know we were going to end up being married, but we did, man. Yeah, It's. We've been married almost two years now.

[B]

Holy crap. 20 cities in 20 days.

[A]

20 cities in 20 weeks.

[B]

Oh, 20 weeks, yeah. You spent a week in each city?

[A]

Yeah, about a week in each city. Yeah. And literally all I did was I rented out studios like this. I brought, like, snacks, coffee, whatever, and then I just brought all the videographers and photographers that I knew and told them my vision for beige. Like, hey, we're not that big yet, but here's a vision. We want to build an Uber for video and for photo. And they. They're like, all right, I'm in. Sign me up. Started landing jobs and then connecting them.

[B]

That's a really cool marketing. Guerrilla marketing strategy. I always like hearing how people start, because money is usually tough when you're starting off.

[A]

Oh, 100%. You know, I had, like, 300 bucks when I started and spent it on. On another existing marketplace that's now one of our competitors called Thumbtack. And that's when we got our first customers. And then we just never look back.

[B]

Oh, so there's an existing marketplace.

[A]

So Thumbtack. Yeah. Thumbtack focuses on general services, though. So they focus on, like, you can hire a plumber, you can hire a cleaner, you can hire wedding videographer. But it's so fragmented that there's no specialization that makes sense. Yeah.

[B]

Which cities out of those 20 really took off, man.

[A]

It was Chicago for us. Yeah, Chicago. And then New York, too. But New York was harder to break into. It actually made me move to Brooklyn to expand because New Yorkers are very face to face, unlike for them to get behind something, they're pretty gritty and very direct people. Very direct. Right. So. But yeah, Chicago and New York, man, they did really well for base.

[B]

So you're willing to just drop everything and move.

[A]

Yeah, literally, that's what I did, man. I signed my lease, like, on a spontaneous trip. I was out there overseeing a music Video we had. And then I was like, all right, I'm gonna get an apartment.

[B]

Wow. What's your wife like? What the hell?

[A]

So this was right before we met. Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

This is right before we met. And so, you know, she ended up having fun in Brooklyn.

[B]

Nice. Yeah, I like having two spots on. On different coasts, actually.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. Do you currently have.

[B]

Well, my mom lives in PA, so. But we just got a house here. And my goal eventually is to have a second house on the east Coast.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Because I like being able to just travel back and forth.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Experience both cultures. Because New York is fast paced and I need to be around that at least once or twice a year, bro.

[A]

It's so good for you, the environment. You were just there, right?

[B]

Yeah. And it's easy to get kind of comfortable on the west Coast. It's much slower lifestyle. But when I go to New York, dude, the energy is contagious. I'm like, damn, I need a grind.

[A]

I mean, you're literally around billions of dollars being transacted every day.

[B]

So it's like. And everyone's just on a mission. Like, you just. People watch there. I love people watching. And it just seems more energized than.

[A]

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I love it.

[B]

Especially Cali. Cali's slow, bro.

[A]

It's so slow.

[B]

Yeah. Other than like, L. A and maybe a couple other ities, but even L. A has slow people there too.

[A]

Yeah. It's more chill.

[B]

Yeah. That's where you're at, right?

[A]

Yeah. So I'm in between L. A and Houston, so I have two spots. Recently copped a house in Houston.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Also have a house in L. A, So I go back and forth. Worth a lot now, but same thing, dude. I would love to have a bicoastal presence.

[B]

How's Houston? I've never been there.

[A]

Yeah, you got to definitely visit. Selling Spencer. I want to line up some interviews for you there, but Houston's cool, man. It's. It's a lot of old money there. A lot of opportunities. But a lot of people from Cali moving there too.

[B]

Oh, yeah, Yeah. I got, like, no state tax.

[A]

Yeah. No state taxes. Saving a lot on state taxes. You can buy a house for like, half a million and then just save a lot.

[B]

That's cheap. Yeah. We're doing a Texas tour. We got Austin planned, and I want to do Dallas and maybe Houston if there's guests there.

[A]

You should. I'll line it up.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who's out there, bro?

[A]

We got. I got a bunch of heavy hitters. Out there. I got. So I could probably get J. Prince.

[B]

I've heard of him.

[A]

Yeah. So he basically helped Drake start ovo.

[B]

Holy crap.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Houston seems random.

[A]

Yeah, Drake has a lot of. He has a lot of fruits down in Houston. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll make some intros. Got him. I got my friend V. He's like friends with like LeBron. He used to be like. He has like a lot of contacts in the NBA.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

A lot of different people.

[B]

Rockets players. The Fertittas might be out there too.

[A]

Yeah. For teeth. Yeah. Tillman Fertitta is out there too.

[B]

Yeah. They own a lot of casinos out here, I believe.

[A]

Oh, wow.

[B]

So those are dream guests for sure.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Yeah. I'll look into Houston then, man. How far is it from Dallas and Austin?

[A]

From Austin, it's like about a two hour drive.

[B]

Oh, so I might as well just stop out.

[A]

Yeah, it's literally like a triangle. And then Dallas is like three, four hours.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I'm doing with Nashville. We're going to hit Atlanta after, I think.

[A]

Yeah. Might as well write. It's right there.

[B]

That's the cool part about our jobs, man. We get to travel, experience cultures. And I can't wait to take this internationally one day too. That's sort of the next step.

[A]

100%, bro. You got to take this to Dubai.

[B]

Dubai for sure. There's so many good guests out there.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And uk, London would be a good one. Maybe even Australia.

[A]

Europe would be solid too. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Certain countries in Europe would be. Would crush, I think.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

Yeah. And maybe Mexico, man. I'm practicing Spanish.

[A]

Okay. That's dope. Yeah. So my childhood best friend Shaw, he's been religiously practicing Spanish for the past year and dude, he's pretty good now.

[B]

Yeah. What app did he use?

[A]

So he used Duolingo in the beginning, but then there's this other app called Tandem that he used and he's like literally a celebrity on Tandem. It's kind of like clubhouse, but you get to like engage in voice chats with people and see, that's more useful.

[B]

Because I was on Duolingo, I had like a 2:1 or something streak and I felt like it was too slow for me.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's too one dimensional.

[B]

Right. But you don't get to talk.

[A]

No.

[B]

So what it's called Tandem?

[A]

It's called Tandem. Yeah, you should check it out.

[B]

I'm gonna get that tonight, dude. Cuz I've been slacking on it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Spanish is important.

[A]

Yeah, for sure.

[B]

And I want to be the first bilingual podcaster, so that would be huge.

[A]

Doing podcast in Spanish.

[B]

Yeah. No, that's like, the vision, for sure.

[A]

Latin America, it's crazy.

[B]

That's a huge market.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And they. They're passionate fans. Like, look at all those music artists. Holy. You get one of them on 10 million views, like, whenever they come to Vegas. Sold out in the football arena. Bad bunny. I don't even know the name. Aluma. All those guys.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I don't listen to music, but I know they're big.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.

[B]

What do you spend your time on? Other than this, man?

[A]

Other than this. You know, like, I mean, I realize I'm a big family guy, so spend a lot of time with family. You know, I'm somewhat into crypto and then starting to get more into real estate, too.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Trying to, you know, diversify a little bit.

[B]

Yeah. What do you got in crypto?

[A]

Mainly bitcoin and Ethereum. Yeah.

[B]

Play it safe.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. None of the altcoins. I'm. I'm kind of risk averse.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I was like one of those guys that threw like 30 GS at Doge back then, lost it all. Yeah, yeah. I ended up pulling out like six, seven. I was like, yeah, it's dumb at the top.

[B]

Probably like 50 cents.

[A]

Yeah, I got in pretty. Pretty high. Yeah.

[B]

Damn.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Those meme coins are. You either make a lot or lose a lot. There's literally no in between.

[A]

Right, right, exactly.

[B]

So I stay out of them, too.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Dude. Any events coming up or.

[A]

Yeah, man. So we've done several networking events, Right. We did the one with Damon John at Ahern, a shack spot in. In here in Vegas. Limitless event Utah. And then the LA one with Dan. I feel like those events were just so transformational, Right. The people that we brought together and whatnot. But yeah, man. I mean, right now, probably looking to go to PBD's event.

[B]

Oh, the vault.

[A]

The vault, yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So that's probably going to be on the list, but other than that, just keep grinding away, building the business.

[B]

PBD's been crushing, dude.

[A]

He's been crushing.

[B]

Yeah. That event's been on my calendar the past two years.

[A]

Wow. Are you going to go?

[B]

I think so, yeah. Because I wanted to go to the first one and then I wanted to go to the last one, but I was just filming those days.

[A]

Yeah. Let's pull up together.

[B]

Yeah. This year I'm free, though, so shout out to pbd man. That's one of the shows I studied when I started.

[A]

Wow. You modeled it perfectly.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, he's crushing it and now he's diving into politics and just getting 10x abuse. Yeah, it's brilliant, man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He's nine figure company already, I think.

[A]

Yeah. He's been crushing it, man. And I feel like, I mean, you're well on your way, man. Congrats on.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What you've done.

[B]

Yeah. And then we got event September during UFC at the Sphere. Yeah, that's gonna be big. Our last one was fun, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, it wasn't like huge quantity wise, but the people there were incredible, dude.

[A]

It was a dope ass venue.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I really like the mountains surrounding us.

[B]

And yeah, it was beautiful.

[A]

Muscles. Helicopter pulled up the chopper, dude.

[B]

Justin Waller was there, B.J. baldwin. There were some really heavy hitters there, man.

[A]

Yeah, it was dope, man. Yeah.

[B]

It's important for people watching this to go to networking events, conferences. That's how we met. That's how you meet a lot of people.

[A]

100. Your network is your net worth.

[B]

Right.

[A]

As cliche as it sounds, and I feel like there's just so many people that undervalue that, you know, But I think it's important to put yourself out there.

[B]

Absolutely. So is the app out yet or is it coming out?

[A]

So the app is coming out next year. We're in the final stages of beta testing. I really see it as like perfection, but there's no such thing as perfection. So I'm like, I gotta just get the app out, get it in the hands of users. But yeah, right now people can book a shoot in all 50 states through our landing page, beigevideo.com.

[B]

Nice. And is this your first business or did you have success before?

[A]

So, man, I had a few other businesses in the past. I opened a small Indian restaurant in la. Yeah. Scaled it up. My parents helped me. It was good, man. I scaled it up. Ended up selling it for six figures during the pandemic.

[B]

So the restaurant.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I didn't know you could do that.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, ended up selling it to a family friend. That was pretty cool.

[B]

I gotta try your Indian food, man. I love Indian food.

[A]

Oh, do you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm thinking about doing another one in Houston. So what's your signature dish, dude? I would say butter chicken, hands down.

[B]

Can't go wrong with that.

[A]

Yeah. Garlic naan with butter chicken.

[B]

Oh, I love naan, dude, but I'm picky with naan. Sometimes it's too Thick.

[A]

Gotcha.

[B]

I like my crispy.

[A]

The Crispy is really good. Yeah. You don't want to leave it in there for too long. Yeah. Otherwise. Yeah. Yeah, man. I had a social fitness app too, that ended up failing, so. But it taught me a lot just about the fitness industry. We did some stuff with, like, the Lakers and, like, hosted different fitness events throughout la. It was like, kind of like Tinder, but for fitness in a way. Yeah.

[B]

So you would match with a trainer.

[A]

So you'd match with other people playing a sport.

[B]

Oh, got it.

[A]

Right. So, for example, let's say you're. You're in a pickup basketball. You pulled up to Miami. You're looking to play a pickup basketball game. You could go on that app and then be matched.

[B]

Wow. Why did that fail? Because I would use that.

[A]

Yeah. So we just ran out of money, man.

[B]

And.

[A]

And, you know, if you look at the demographic that's raising funding in this current environment, it's. It's really. You're either Ivy League educated or, you know, your founders or other unicorns. Yeah. Or, you know, you know, you're, quite frankly, you're white, so.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, having other co founders that are of color made it really difficult to raise funds.

[B]

Yeah, that's surprising.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I could see it. I mean, did you see James O'Keefe expose Disney recently?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, I heard of.

[B]

Yeah. So that. That stuff's definitely around. I mean, race is definitely around. It's just not talked about, I feel like.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, and so much racism is, like, institutional nowadays. Right.

[B]

It's like, it's generational, too.

[A]

Yeah, it's generational. And it's like a lot of it is just projection of. Of one's own insecurities, but I think we got to look beyond that and. And just.

[B]

Yeah, that's a shame. But I. I can relate because I. I've raised money, too. And after my first exit, it was so easy to raise money. You know what I mean? But that first time, it was really hard. Like, super hard, 100%. And I didn't know if that was just experience, race or whatever, but could have been both. Yeah, absolutely, man.

[A]

Yeah. So that ended up failing. We were out like a quarter million bucks. But that failure taught us a lot. Right. And I think to me it was like, that's where I got the golden nuggets for beige. Right. To be able to scale this. And, you know, we're starting to raise at like a $10 million valuation now, but that didn't happen. Overnight I had to have failure after failure in order to do so. And then my other business was a clothing brand. It was called Noia G Bon. It's essentially like a ethically manufacturing oriented clothing brand. So Bangladesh is the second largest clothing producer in the world. So what I was able to do is find factories that would produce the clothes in a more ethical standard. And then I was essentially helping source, like different basic garments.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Yeah. But then a lot of like my own people, a lot of Bangladeshis started hating on me for trying to change the game and do something different.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. They were saying like, oh, but you're not making the clothes yourself. Or you know, some of the clothes are made in China, which some of our prototypes were because we were trying to diversify and we didn't have the resources when you start out, but ended up raising money in a Kickstarter campaign that was successful. And then I was like, you know what, I'm just going to pivot to beige and do it full time. That's when it took off.

[B]

I'm big on ethically sourced clothes though. For real?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I believe there's an energetic component when it's made in a sweatshop. It brings down your energy 100.

[A]

And you look at the fast fashion industry nowadays, right. And it's like, it's really about volume and I feel like you should aim for quality.

[B]

100. Yeah. I'll pay double the price. I wear linen now. I wear like good quality material.

[A]

Wow. What, what differences you notice with that?

[B]

So the human vibrates had an energy of 100. When you wear linen, it's 5,000.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

When you wear cotton, it's I think organic cotton's like 70 or something. And then regular cotton's 15.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

And then polyester is 1. So anything below 100 is going to bring down your energy. So you want to wear clothing that's above 100.

[A]

That is fascinating.

[B]

Yeah. When I wear linen, dude, I feel amazing. Try it out.

[A]

Yeah, I definitely will take.

[B]

I bought some off Amazon and game changer, dude, get rid of your polyester for sure. Cuz that's a vibration level of 1.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

A lot of men's boxers and like yoga pants for women or polyester.

[A]

Wow. That's crazy.

[B]

Yeah. Not only that though, when you sweat in it, there's microplastics in it that get in your bloodstream too. So it's, it's bad on two fronts, spiritually and physically.

[A]

I think spiritual awareness is the greatest form of awareness.

[B]

Yeah. When I, whenever I have on Spiritual guests. They're all in linen, so that makes.

[A]

A lot of sense. Because I've been to Mecca because I'm Muslim, so I've been to Mecca several times. And when you go, you're supposed to wear this. This cloth, and it has to be like, either cotton or linen.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[A]

It can't. It's not really synthetic. Like, and then in Islam, men are not allowed to wear silk, whatever reason.

[B]

Yeah, that's interesting.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, I didn't know that.

[B]

I wonder what the reason is for that.

[A]

For sure.

[B]

Wow. Well, dude, it's been fun. Anything else you want to close off with our promote?

[A]

Yeah, for sure, man. I would say, like, the biggest thing is the AI component. Right. I feel like AI can never truly replace us, but we gotta learn how to coexist with AI when it comes to content. And so, yeah, we're investing heavily in generative AI at Beijing. Really excited for the launch, man.

[B]

Yeah, I can't wait to see it, man. We'll eventually link it below when the app's out too. Maybe we'll do a part two.

[A]

Yeah, definitely. Got to do a part two. Talk about the results.

[B]

Thanks for coming on, man.

[A]

Yeah, absolutely.

[B]

Thanks for watching, guys. As always. We'll link Causer Socials below if you want to check them out. Otherwise, see you tomorrow.

[A]

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