Using AI for Something Good with David Bradford

0:02Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on fire. The only daily show interviewing the world's top entrepreneurs seven days a week. Today, we'll be breaking down using AI for something good. To drop these value bombs, I brought to David Bradford and EO Fire Studios, currently serving as CEO of Virtual Immersive Educational Worlds. David is helping reimagine education by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and gamification. Views platform enables learners to engage with history's greatest minds through immersive interactive learning experiences. In today's foundation, we will talk about this in detail.

0:38There's so much interesting things around this topic. As soon as we get back from thinking our sponsors, have you ever said to yourself, one day I will write a book? If yes, then I have an opportunity for you. Author 100 is a 100-day program where I will personally guide you one-on-one to create, write, publish, and market your book. I will provide daily guidance and mentorship every step of the way, head over to author100.com to sign up for a free call with me to chat about the details. Author100.com. David, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

1:21I would say that 75 % of the success of any company is based on its people. Forget the technology, forget the go-to-market strategy, forget everything else. It's based on its people. Because if you have A players on your team, even if you have a C product, you can succeed because you've got smart people who can adapt that C product to fit a market. Whereas the inverse, if you've got a bunch of C players and an A product, it ain't going anywhere. So in the end, it's all about the people. And Fire Nation, I love that he started there because the title of this episode is Using AI for Something Good.

2:07And you've been referred to as a visionary leader, David. I mean, you have over 40 years of experience in technology, including leadership at two of America's 50 fastest growing tech companies. Give us a quick rundown of that journey. In 1980, I got involved with a company called Prime Computer, a Boston-based corporation. Company was a big winner in the super mini computer market. That was a kind of a follow on to the mainframe days of Honeywell and IBM. Prime Computer was a big player in the super mini computer market. I was there for five years. I transitioned over to Novell, where I became chief legal officer, executive vice president for 15 years from 1985 to 2000.

2:57We grew that company from 150 people when I joined it to over 10 ,000. And we were the rock stars in the network operating system market for years. In 2000, of course, the late 90s, early 2000s, the Internet was blowing up in a good way and also blowing up in a bad way. So I lived through that, got to see that. And then shortly thereafter, I began taking the CEO gigs in the tech space. So I ran a company called Fusion IO, and we took that company public on the New York Stock Exchange in June of 2011. Made a solid state memory device, amazingly disruptive technology. I retired for the third time thereafter, wrote a book called Up Your Game.

3:54and then got another CEO gig with a company called HireVue, which made a digital interviewing platform, which we took from a million in sales to roughly 40 million in sales in three years. So that's the overview. And now I'm in the ed tech space in a huge way, and we can talk about that. Yeah, we definitely will. But before we do, a little off topic, because I'm just curious. You used the word retirement three times. So what are your thoughts on retirement? Break it down for us. Listen, I choose to use my success as a springboard as opposed to a hammock.

4:38I guess I get it from my mother. I've just got energy that gets me up every morning at six and drive throughout the day hard. I like to play hard. I like my golf game. I like spending time with my 17 grandkids, etc. But I also feel like there's still stuff to do in the world. And I will tell you, two years ago, when AI started to pick up steam, machine learning and the like, I got a second wind as well. and taking artificial intelligence, a genic AI, a conversational AI, those sorts of technologies and putting them to work in the education space has become a real passion of mine. So I'm not going to retire soon, but certainly should slow down at some point.

5:33Well, I do love that phrase because I've never heard it before of using success as a springboard, not a hammock, because so many of my guests and David, I don't know if you know this, but I've been running this show for 13 years, 4 ,628 episodes to date, including yours right now. And people are like, when are you going to stop? And I'm like, when am I going to stop talking to cool people like David Bradford? Like probably never, hopefully never, because I love it. I get up every morning and I'm like, I have the opportunity to have amazing conversations with amazing people. So to me, it's like, are you Fire Nation finding the thing that you wake up for?

6:08You know, not necessarily saying, oh my God, I'm ecstatic to do this, but saying, you know what? I'm really looking forward to this challenge to this struggle to this obstacle to this Whatever that might be like are you looking forward to tackling that? And if the answer is yes, then use your success as a springboard Not a hammock because so many of my past guests and david you probably experienced this They thought that the day that they retired or sold their company or whatever that exit was Was going to be the best day of their life ended up being one of the worst days of their life because they had no relevancy They had no direction or focus and they felt lost adrift at sea.

6:43So man, powerful things to think about. And you specifically, David, have had success in scaling. You played pivotal roles in raising over$100 million in venture capital. What can you share with our audience around that success? I'm a person that connects. I build relationships, deep relationships. I'm proud of saying that some of my best friends of the world are people that your guests would know, right? Big names out there. But my relationships with them goes much deeper than just, oh, I know that person I met. I sat in a meeting with them. No, I make sure those relationships go deep, that I show personal interests in their families, et cetera.

7:26So I'm a relationship builder as described in my book, Up Your Game, that I mentioned a little earlier. But I can't do it alone. So I am always looking for that amazing technologist who has a new thought on how to build a new, game-changing, disruptive, transformational technology, if you will. And so at HireVue, it was a guy named Mark Newman at Fluent Worlds or at Fusion IO, it was David Flynn and Rick White. You know, just at Novell, it was a guy named Drew Major. You know, they're not interested in the spotlight. They're not interested in being out there. They're just interested in building cool code.

8:13And so when you partner with someone like that, you walk into a VC. I think that is a great way of selling a concept and selling an investment ability because you've got to have that tech guy and you also have to have the relationship builder. Fire Nation, I hope you're taking notes on this because this is from an individual who has been there, has done that, has taken names, and again, has used his success as a springboard, not a hammock. And we have a lot more to talk about around this topic when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Traveling has always been one of my biggest passions. You get to experience different cultures, see places that are impossible to capture through a lens.

8:59These are a couple of the many reasons why I'm so excited for my Nepal trip later this year to trek part of Annapurna. So if you're like me and traveling this year, don't let your home just sit there. Host on Airbnb. Even though you might be thinking that hosting will be overwhelming, especially when you're traveling, think again. With the co-host network, it's easier than ever and it's also a great way to earn some extra cash. Now you can hire a high quality local co-host to take care of your home and your guests. They can do everything from creating your listing to managing reservations to messaging guests and providing on-site support.

9:34They can even help with design and styling. So if you've got an extended trip coming up and you need a little help hosting while you're away, you could hire a co-host to do the work for you. Find a co-host at airbnb.com slash host. One of the most impactful things I've done on my entrepreneurial journey is publish a book. It's a way to package up my knowledge and experience and share it with a worldwide audience in a meaningful way. It also serves as an evergreen marketing tool to help grow my business for years to come. I believe that everyone has a book inside of them. So if you're ready to publish a book with maximum impact, then I've got exciting news.

10:13I'm launching a brand new mentorship program called Author 100, where you have the opportunity to work with me one-on-one for 100 days. Author 100 will include weekly one-on-one calls and daily guidance from me to help you every step of the way from drafting to writing to publishing and even marketing your book. Over the past 12 years, I've self-published five books, including one of the top five publishing campaigns of all time on Kickstarter, the Freedom Journal. I've also traditionally published with HarperCollins, so I know a lot about the book publishing world and where most authors go wrong.

10:47I created Author 100 to share my experience and the lessons I've learned along the way, and I can't wait to share it with you. If you're interested in learning more, head over to author100.com and sign up for a free call with me. That's author100.com. David, you are a technology innovator. You've been inducted into the Utah Technology Hall of Fame and honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for your contributions to technology. Give us some highlights from this specific part of your life. Oh, I suppose one of the big highlights was my encounter with Steve Wozniak. I met him in Sun Valley, Idaho in July of 2008.

11:32Invited him to join the Fusion IO advisory board. I was chairing the advisory board at the time. I later became CEO of the company. and uh but bringing waz on as our chief scientist was uh pretty game-changing uh to have someone iconic and in fact i'm sitting in a chair right now that steve wozniak sat in a decade or more ago uh in our home in provo utah and uh did magic tricks for some of my grandkids and he's a remarkable, humble, terrific guy. So that's a highlight. Yeah. Many, many others though. I love that. And for whatever reason, I don't know if you've ever read the book, Ready Player One.

12:21It's one of my favorite books. I don't know why. It just hits like every chord. I was actually born in 1980. So literally that was like my childhood growing up was the 80s and early 90s. So I really resonated with that aspect of it. But the character in that book, I've always thought was like exactly what Wozniak was like in real life. Og, he was the character that was kind of the right hand man to the creator of the Oasis in that. And people that have read that book will know that. But I think that's a fantastic highlight. I congratulate you for being in the right place at the right time for that and, you know, for deserving that for obvious reasons.

12:58And I want to move into the fact that you're an author. You're a thought leader. I mean, you wrote the bestselling book, Up Your Game. This teaches networking principles and it's inspired countless professionals. Tell us more about this book. Well, I focus on six fundamental principles. And interestingly enough, I'm fond of saying these are lessons I learned in Sunday school as a young lad, right? And the first principle, People sometimes get a little freaked out by networking. I say it's not a four-letter word. It is giving you an ability to add value to other people's life. And so I like to flip the whole concept of networking on its ear.

13:43So when you go to that next conference, when you go to that next event, and you got 30, 40, 50, 100 people in the room, be thinking about what those individuals need. What is it, who do you know in your life that can help one of them to elevate them? And as soon as you show interest, strong interest in what they're doing, what their problems are, what their issues are, etc., the law of reciprocity sets in. And they begin thinking about you. Well, how can I help him? What added value can I provide, etc.? So I think the first principle is to think first of other people. Very fundamental. but it goes a strong way to build a wonderful network.

14:30Follow-up is a lost principle. That's another one of my six principles. When you meet somebody at that conference or that event, et cetera, follow-up within 24 or 48 hours. Otherwise, you're going to be forgotten. Initially, you're top of mind because you just met the person, et cetera. But, you know, follow up, follow up, follow up and do it rapidly and in a personal way. One quick story on that. Some years ago, I met Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers and numerous other books at a conference. And we had a nice conversation. He gave me his card, but I followed up and I followed up quickly. And you know what I did?

15:13I went and researched his life. And I found out that Malcolm Gladwell in high school was the number one mile runner in the nation of Canada. He set the Canadian high school record in the mile run. I think he ran something like four minutes and 16 seconds in high school, which for your track listeners, they're going to appreciate. But the thing is, I followed up with Malcolm, not about his books, but about his personal life. And I says, I know why you've been successful in writing and in doing your other things in your life. And it's because it's the dedication that you learn from sports and track and field.

15:51And he loved that. And it formed a bond, et cetera. So be personal in your follow-up. I'll stop there. But those are a couple of the highlights from the book. I love that. I mean, networking, follow-up, Fire Nation. I can't tell you how many times I've met somebody when I've been like the keynote at a conference. They're like, John, I loved your talk. I was so appreciative of it. I learned so much. Can I like ask this of you or can I like follow up with you? And I'm always just like, yeah, like here's my card or here's my contact information. And I can tell you, I was being genuine. Like I would have had a conversation with that individual.

16:23I would have answered questions that they had about different things about my presentation or whatever. And the follow-up is like dismal. It's like 1%. And it's crazy to me because it just takes so little effort. And these people, they're so genuine in the moment. I'm like, oh, that person's following up. And then they never do. And it baffles me. But man, it's just a way to rise above. Let me just add to that point. I would say the statistic, my gut, is 10 % of people are really good follow-uppers. 90 % are not. If you fall in that 90 % category, change your life by following up better. You're immediately elevating yourself into the top 10%.

17:06I mean, that's just such an easy step. Now, David, you shared so much value today. I am appreciative of that. Give us one thing, one piece of advice that you want to make sure our listeners walk away with. Execute, execute, execute. Nolan Bushnell, who was on one of my advisory board, the founder of Chuck E. Cheese and Atari and so forth, the real entrepreneur himself. Nolan wrote a book called Finding the Next Steve Jobs. And in that book, Nolan says something the following effect. Everyone who's ever taken a shower has had a great idea. It's the person that gets out of the shower, towels off and goes off and does something about it that changes the world.

17:53So you can dream all you want, but unless you have the execution to go along with it, you're not going to be a successful entrepreneur. What a great takeaway. I love that. Now, David is currently serving as a CEO of Virtual Immersive Educational Worlds. And David, my question to you is, if Fire Nation is really connecting with what you're saying and they want to learn more about you, maybe connect with you, what is your call to action? for our listeners today. Go find me on LinkedIn. I'm a big LinkedIn person. I have, I don't know, 33 ,000 followers, something like that. And I try to connect personally there.

18:36That's where I go to connect with people. And what we have built is immersive 3D worlds where you can go back in time, time travel, if you will, and go meet with Einstein, Cleopatra, Madame Curie, et cetera, and have a live interactive conversation with them. Think of Masterclass, but on super steroids, because now you're interacting with Cleopatra or Leonardo da Vinci. QuickLearn, Q-U-I-K, quicklearn.ai is the name of the website where you can go and, And, you know, for 15 bucks a month, the price of a pizza, go out and interact with the greatest minds in history. Learn from them. Have a discussion and elevate your life and share it with others.

19:30But that's the big thing I'm working on and the big idea. There's a lot of people that can create cool little chatbots and different things like that. But we actually put you in the pyramids in Egypt when you're talking to Cleopatra. or we're putting you in Albert Einstein's office the way it existed in the 1930s at Princeton University or Abraham Lincoln's office the way it existed in the White House in the 1860s. Well, David, I just became a person in the top 10 % by sending you a message on LinkedIn and Fire Nation. I encourage the rest of you to do so if you have any interest in connecting with this wonderful gentlemen, because you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

20:14And you've been hanging out with DB and JLD today. So keep up that heat. And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type David in the search bar and the show notes page will pop right up. David, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute your brother and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thanks, JLD. Appreciate it. That was fun. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and David for sponsoring today's episode and Fire Nation successful entrepreneurs are great at three things, productivity, discipline, and focus.

20:45That is why I created the Mastery Journal so that you can master these three things in a hundred days. And we're talking step-by-step visit themasteryjournal.com. I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Have you ever said to yourself, one day I will write a book? If yes, then I have an opportunity for you. Author 100 is a 100 day program where I will personally guide you one-on-one to create, write, publish, and market your book. I will provide daily guidance and mentorship every step of the way. Head over to author100.com to sign up for a free call with me to chat about the details. author100.com.