2462 - Finding the Right Expert Made Easy with DiscussIt's Rita Rai

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0:46Visit podverified.com if you'd like to be featured as a future guest. I'm Josh Elledge. Let's get into it. With us right now, it's Rita Rye. Rita, you are the founder of Discuss It. You're found on the web at discussit.co. Rita, it's great to have you. Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here. Before we start talking about what Discuss It is and the kind of the connections that you're helping make, I always love hearing what high-level leaders do for fun when they are not at work. and Rita, what have you been into lately? So I've always, well, for quite a few years, I've been a tennis player. So I like to get out there.

1:28I play with friends very casually in a few leagues, nothing too serious. And then over the last couple of years, I've taken up pickleball as well. I'm sure a lot of your listeners have. And it's different from tennis, right? Smaller court, a little faster paced game, a little bit more smack talk on the court sometimes. And then the other thing that I've taken up probably within the last year or so is Mahjong, which has also caught quite a wave of interest. And there's a whole flurry of activity and products around it. So it's very fun. Yeah. And you play with, you just get like a group of other folks together as you play with.

2:11Yeah, you play in groups of four. So it's a table of four players. So you can have, there's usually multiple tables running, but yeah.

2:22Wow. That's really cool. I'm inspired by that. Now, I did want to ask you about, I'm really excited about Mahjong because I love playing on my computer. I love playing on my iPad, right? And what's the difference between playing digitally versus in person with the physical tiles? Yeah, it's an entirely different game. It's not a tile matching game. You do use tiles, but there's different patterns. It's actually quite complicated. And if I tried to explain it to you, you would probably think I was drunk or something. So I'm not going to try to explain it to you because there are so many nuances to it.

2:58But yeah, it's very different. I need to go watch a YouTube tutorial. Very different from the online game. That sounds a lot of fun. The other question I had is because you are an existing tennis player, and I think you mentioned, you know, definitely a little bit more smack talk and the pickleball. And trust me, I took I took a couple of, you know, six week lesson, you know, blocks. And, man, I'll tell you, those seniors, you know, there are a fair amount of seniors in our neighbor or big sub development here in Florida. But, man, I'll tell you, they do not mess around. And they don't smack talk.

3:40They just kind of look at you, you know, because they're standing there. They're not moving around. I'm like bebopping all over the place trying to return it, you know, dink it back to them. And they're just I feel like they're looking at me with sympathy, I think, is one way. Like, oh, boy, you're new at this, aren't you? There are definite dominance on the court. Yes, yes. And it's just like, you know, when I just see them not breaking a sweat and they're just like, oh, one, you know, just kind of like, you know, returning everything I try to throw it at them, you know, or, or of course I, you know, I hit a wild one back and they're just kind of like, it's like, they don't even, they don't even look to see where the ball is going.

4:22They know as soon as I hit it, they're just like, you're staring at me. Like, I'm not going for that one. I know exactly where that's going to land. And like, it's like, they just developed this sixth sense of knowing where, you know, every wiffle ball is going to end up landing. Right. It's definitely a game for everyone. Yeah, I love it. And it is, it's super accessible. So, you know, you get a couple of amateurs together and you feel like you're doing something, you know, unlike tennis or golf. I swing the club and I miss the ball altogether, stuff like that. Yeah. Okay. So Rita, let's talk about Discuss It.

4:57Again, the website is discussit.co. I love this concept. Oh, thanks so much. So it's an expert networking platform. So it connects members with experts across multiple categories for one-on-one video calls. And we try to make it very simple. So there's no intermediary. There's no person or platform sitting between you and the expert. So the person that is trying to get some guidance, solve a problem, get some information, get some insight between that person and the person with the expertise. I think in the traditional marketplace, there are lots of companies and platforms that exist that act as intermediaries.

5:42But here it's direct, quick, timely access. So you go on, you look at profiles, you look at the categories, you look at profiles, review them, find someone that fits your needs, hit that book button, and you book a call. Yeah. Why do we need this? Why do we need this? So, you know, we are having the information economy, knowledge economy is having a reckoning, right? There's so much information out there, so much data out there. but you can't always get everything through an AI chat or research or read or reaching out to a friend of a friend or a colleague of a colleague right you have a specific problem you're trying to solve a question you're trying to answer an approach you're trying to formulate and you need to talk to someone who's walked specifically in your shoes right has solved the problem you're trying to solve or something similar has some insight that they can offer, has had the conversation that you're trying to have.

6:44You know, think of the first time founder who's has a term sheet in front of them and they're trying to decide if they should sign or not. They come to the platform, find someone that's gone through that process, share it, get the insights and boom. And sometimes that conversation can lead to the ability to ask more crisp questions, right? So kind of thinking, I have this question. Really? Is that really the question you have? No, the question you have is really this. These are the things that you want to touch on. So it's very relevant because the knowledge lies typically with the individual, not with the company, right?

7:29Yeah, this is so well, I love this so much, Rita. And I just had an example, you and I talked previously about this. But you know, I was, you know, thankfully, I'm just very grateful I get to work with so many really smart people that are just so good at what they do. But you know, he's a client and friend of mine, but you know, we were talking about, you know, a new product that we're getting ready to roll out. And you know, he was looking at some of our work. And he goes, you know, you need to change this. and do this. And I got to tell you, like, I'm pretty good at what I do. And, and, uh, you know, I have an AI that is just really, really helpful.

8:09And, and is, and is just really helped me speed up so much of what I'm doing. You know, I use Claude is so well-trained and that sort of thing. Um, what his suggestions were not even close to being on my radar. And, but yet when he shared it with me about like, and it was really just about like how I was explaining our process. And, you know, and like he called it out. And as soon as he said it, I'm like, oh my gosh, you are a hundred percent right. I, it was such a blind spot for me. AI is wonderful. You know, if you're leaning on your own expertise, I'm sure that's wonderful, but man, there is something so powerful of having a non sycophantic professional who has been doing what they've been doing thousands of times, like they've worked with thousands of clients or hundreds of clients, or, you know, they've been doing it for, you know, a decade or more.

9:00They know what to ask, just like what you said. And I thought it was just so brilliant that you might come with a question and they're like, yeah, I've heard that question hundreds of times, but let me ask you a question. You know, is it that what you want or do you really want that? And it's almost like, you know, when I've been in that situation, I'm like, how did you know? And that's the value of human experience and that human dynamic. AI is just not there. It just, I mean, I've looked at some of these, the greatest models out there. It is just not at the level that a good human can do in this work.

9:37Thoughts on that? Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, the best approach is always to combine all the resources you have, right? So use AI up to a point, right? Get as much, extract as much information, as much knowledge, as much learning as you can. But then you need to, you may need to find someone that has actually walked in your shoes, right? Or that can think about the space that you're thinking about, can brainstorm with you in a way that is specific to what you're trying to tackle, right? Not generic like AI, that it's generic across, I don't know, just terabytes of data, right? Just an immense volume of data.

10:21So sometimes the specifics help and perspective helps. So when you talk to an individual, you get a unique perspective based on their experience, their skills, their background, what they've had to conquer. And you get the value of their interactions with others. They may have advised others on similar things, right? So they have learnings from their own experience. They have learnings from advising others. So there is something very specific and valuable about having a conversation with a person. So after that conversation, you can go back to AI and you can noodle around with it some more. Action it.

10:59It's a combination of things. So you have to use all the resources that you have. Um, you know, what I love about this is, um, you know, we're, we're surrounded by smart people sharing all kinds of great content and so forth, you know, on social media and we value from that. But man, it's like, if, if I had someone that was a specialist, I'll give you a great example. So, you know, I follow a lot of like AI productivity, knowledge management, like I'm for whatever reason, I'm just kind of really geeking out on a lot of their stuff. Now, most of them have products that they offer, they sell stuff, they've got big programs I could join, like I could join their cohort.

11:42Rita, I don't want, I don't really want to do that most of the time. You know, what I'd really like is just something that just feels much more nimble. And I'm like, you know, what I really want is I wish I could just talk to you for 30 minutes. And that's kind of the, that's kind of it. Like it's just compartmentalized engagement. I give you some money. We talk for 30 minutes. I get some insight. I get my questions answered in a way that, you know, I know that you have the ability to give me those answers. And then I might use you again, you know, but but mainly it's just it's it's just ease of access.

12:15For me, it's great. And I think it could be ultimately a really fantastic, you know, lead magnet or kind of part of that user journey or whatever. but it just feels so unencumbered and uncomplicated to just say, I would love to talk with Rita Rye for 30 minutes. Click. Oh, I'm scheduled. Yeah. And I mean, just the way you described it, that's the exact intention. It should be that straightforward. And it's interesting what you were talking about, you know, following multiple people, multiple reading newsletters, things like that, I think there's a tendency to conflate information with expertise.

12:56So we have so much information at our fingertips. And with AI, we have so much more information at our fingertips. And if you go on LinkedIn, there's so much information, but where does the expertise really lie? And I think that when you find a company or a platform or something that gives you access to folks that have that expertise, there's value in that, right? And there's value in looking at that expertise. So then, you know, there are a lot of folks that, you know, would listen to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur. They're already at that level. Like they're, you know, most folks that we work with, they're in their forties and up.

13:35They've been around. They're really good at what they do. You know, this could be a really great option for them. Explain how your expert access works. And I know you're not looking for everybody, but yeah, what is, how does that work? Yeah, absolutely. So, so for the expert, the value proposition here is the opportunity to expand your network and monetize your experience and knowledge and sort of give back and share what you've learned with others that are trying to walk the same path that you walked, solve the, solve similar problems, answer similar questions. Um, a lot of this gets done over and over again, right?

14:17As people stand up companies or try to exit companies. Um, it's a lot of the same questions. So, uh, and the process for them is very straightforward. Uh, on the website, there is a signup process. It takes 10, about 10 minutes. Um, you create a short write-up about yourself, you can probably copy and paste it from your CV, to be honest. You enter your calendar availability, you set your rate, you set your own rate, and then a few more bits of information, and you submit your profile, and it gets reviewed within 24 to 48 hours. We may reach out to you, have a conversation, and then you're live on the platform.

14:58So it's literally within 24 hours, you could be live on the platform available for, for calls. And, and so if you want to just, you know, I'm, I'm on your website right now. Do you mind maybe just sharing next step for our friend that's listening, whether they're an expert or they are someone like, boy, I would really love to talk to someone who has been through an exit. And like I'm looking through your expert directory right now. These are some pretty talented, successful folks you've got here. Yeah. For a member, for someone that's looking for guidance, they come to the website. We have some categories of topics listed.

15:45And on each of those, there's a set of subcategories. So you can click through each of those, depending on what your level of interest is, what area you're interested in. You'll see profile boxes for each of our experts. You click on that and you'll see a one-page profile. It has their write-up. It has their rate. It has their calendar availability. It's very straightforward. And you can book a call right then and there. And for an expert, it's a similar process. So it'll direct you through the booking process that I described earlier. So the goal, whether you're a member or an expert and you come to the site, it should feel very straightforward.

16:27You don't need a tutorial. You don't need instructions. There are FAQs for both sets of audiences there, but it should feel very straightforward. And so the promise of the site is that But whatever you're trying to figure out, there's someone on Discuss It that you can talk to, right, for the categories that we offer. You just need to find them and book the call. I will be totally transparent and say we're still building. And I'll be very honest about this. We're building the depth of the site. So we want every category to have multiple strong experts. experts. So enough of them that you have a real choice and that there's, you know, the breadth and depth of expertise that you need.

17:13So if there's anyone in your audience that is ready to monetize their experience and participate, there's, you just click join as an expert and it'll guide you right through the process step-by-step. Awesome. All right. So the website, discussit.co. Again, right at the top there, you'll see if you're interested in being an expert, listen, experts, Rita, you and I were talking about this earlier. It's really easy as an expert. I mean, if you've achieved that level of success professionally, here's what I would do is I would set up an expert profile, obviously promoted to your network. You'd be surprised, you know, who doesn't want to be on a sales call with you, but would love to truly be able to ask you all the questions and you're on the clock for them.

18:08And it's a different dynamic. You know, they know that it's, they know what the dimensions of the relationship is. And, you know, it'd be super easy to, you know, just kind of promote out, keep it on your LinkedIn profile, keep it as a featured post. And then, you know, if someone's checking you out on LinkedIn, that's the perfect place, you know, like, Hey, you're looking at my LinkedIn, you know, for, you know, a hundred bucks or whatever like that, let's grab 30 minutes. And, uh, you know, I think there are a lot of really smart consultants who have done the deal. Why not? You know, you get to help people and get paid for it at the same time.

18:43So Rita Rye, this is really cool. Congratulations on launching this. Congratulations on, you know, the trajectory you've got right now. And anything that we missed or anything else that you'd recommend next steps for our friend that's listening? Well, I would just say that, you know, keep the conversation going, right? The last thing you want to do is sit by yourself, kind of drowning in information, drowning in your thoughts, thinking about different approaches, kind of mapping out different approaches, different scenarios. So find someone to talk to, right? And do it in an efficient way. So you don't have to go through a friend of a friend, a colleague of a colleague.

19:29Go somewhere where you can find the expertise that you need. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it is nice when we have those organic connections, but you're absolutely right. Those, those are not often the, uh, the exact person you should be talking with. You know, it's kind of nice to do your diligence. Yeah. Yeah. Or yeah, right. All right. Or they just, you know, they're just, they're not as interested in this sort of, you know, again, more immediate relationship where they're just going to lay out all the value. They might hold back their best stuff because they want you to buy their product or, you know, they want a consulting engagement with you.

20:05I mean, in sales, you kind of have, you know, some of that, you know, because whereas like, no, I'm being paid for my time. My job is to give you, you, I give as much value as I possibly can in this moment. I love that. I think it's very cool. Yeah. And, and, and I, and I love that. It's just, you know, again, it's, it's about human connection relationship and humans helping humans. Rita, Rye, the website, discuss it, that CEO. Rita, thank you so much for joining us. Oh, it was a pleasure. Thank you so much.

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