Today many people prefer entrepreneurship over regular jobs. This decision is highly influenced by economic conditions, the desire to be their own bosses or to pursue their passion. Back in college, Sam Khorramian (CEO) and Oliver Graf (President), shared the same passion for entrepreneurship and loved the idea of starting a business together. Initially, the duo started with working in sales, doing face-to-face sales for several years, which they both excelled in and enjoyed too. Soon they decided to invest in sales full-time and as sales are commission-based, they wanted to sell something expensive—that being jets, yachts, or houses. Lacking the knowledge for jets or yachts, Sam and Oliver decided to enter the real estate business. This was around the real estate crash of 2005, which both sustained and built a reputation for closing difficult real estate transactions.

After being in the real estate business for several years, Sam and Oliver noticed that most brokerages looked at the people buying and selling real estate as their customers. These brokers only saw agents as a middleman to making profits, treating them like a number and not offering much in exchange for a large cut of the commission. With a mission to create a brokerage and environment that puts agents first, they incepted Big Block Realty-a brokerage which is different and forward-thinking for the agents. In addition to offering agents 100% commission, they have a model that combines the benefits of physical office locations and virtual experiences. This enables them to offer better training than the brick and mortars and a better culture and support experience than the virtual brokerages. Big Block Realty is primarily focused on working in the best interest of the agents and the mission has not changed since day one. Oliver asserts, “Over the years, we’ve said no to a lot of opportunities that would have made us more profitable, but did not favor our agents, because really, from top to bottom, we believe in putting the agent first. We believe in giving them amazing support, giving them a high commission split and giving them a system that they can just plug into and be successful with.”

Focusing on the welfare of Agents

Big Block Realty is primarily a residential real estate brokerage, with 85% of the business dedicated to residential while including some of the commercial deals. Staying true to its mission, the key focus has always been to prioritize the best for the agents. The corporate level team is not necessarily focused on the people buying and selling real estate, but on the agents. They believe that by giving the agents an amazing experience, they’re going to in turn be able to give the people buying and selling real estate the best experience. Big Block Realty has developed several programs and services for the welfare of the agents,

• Agent Concierge Program: the agents can reach out to the dedicated concierge team for anything non-transactional related. The team is available for anything from scheduling appointments, booking conference rooms, to making reservations. Anything that the agents need that’s non-transactional is covered by the concierge team.
• Broker Hotline: A broker hotline is available seven days a week for any broker-related requests. Big Block Realty understands that oftentimes agents work on the weekends and if the broker is not available then addressing the issue becomes a challenge. To tackle this issue, it created a 24/7 support team/broker hotline that’s available for agents on any transaction-related questions that come up.
• 100% commission plan: In the real estate space most of the brokerages put their agents on an 80/20 split, or a 50/50 split, depending on their experience, however, Big Block Realty offers the agents 100% commission with a monthly fee to be a part of the brokerage. That way, most agents by joining will be giving themselves a raise in addition to getting more support, better training, and more value. 

Big Block Realty also offers a wide variety of services for buyers and sellers. It has a full compliance team, a seamless transaction management back-office, and a vast list of preferred partners for any type of vendors that an agent could be looking for. The company is well connected in the industry and due to its size, it also acquires a lot of off-market deals. “That’s another big advantage, especially in a low inventory market, like we’re having right now, to be able to find deals that aren’t on the market is important,” explains Sam.

Sharing the Candid Experience of Crisis

With the advent of the pandemic, companies worldwide had to go through unprecedented challenges. Sam and Oliver had their share of experience by dealing with the real estate crash in 2005, but the pandemic posed unforeseen challenges which no one was prepared for. As soon as the pandemic started, the leaders were quick to lean on their mentors and seek advice. Oliver believes that having good mentors whom you can turn to for advice is necessary. Over the years, they have built quite a few relationships with mentors that can guide them in the beginning. “One of the biggest tips they gave us was that you’ve really got to be forward with the communication. Almost over-communicate,” he adds.

At the start of the pandemic, it was difficult to adapt to the rapid changes. Oliver states that before the pandemic he did not believe the company could work 100% virtual. Entrepreneurs had to equally undergo a huge amount of stress concerning the uncertainties surrounding us. Sharing his candid experience with us Oliver says, “To be honest, the very beginning, when the world shut down and all the uncertainty first hit, it was super stressful. I didn’t eat for a week. I was losing weight like crazy. It was so much stress and questioning, ‘Are we going to be able to continue? Is the business going to be able to run? What do we do now with all these offices and all these leases and all these expenses. Are we going to be able to keep selling real estate? Are things going to keep moving?’ I think the biggest lesson I learned, on a personal level, was that nothing is guaranteed. You need to be truly thankful for everything you have now, be more present, and  live in the moment more.”

The Big Block Realty team was swift in pivoting to a virtual platform. Sam shares, “I got to give big props to our team on this, because within 72 hours, they had the entire company set up to work remote. We haven’t really gone back since and the overall change for us has been nice.” The world is gradually reopening and the company has started opening offices. Big Block Realty will be following the hybrid model of operating, where people can work from home and in the office. Sam and Oliver believe that having this balance will make people happier and so far it’s been proven to be more productive.

Future of Real Estate & Digital Tools

COVID-19 has also welcomed a digitalization wave and the world is swiftly going digital. In order to stay relevant in the coming years, one has to not only adopt advanced tech but stay abreast of the trends. “We’re passionate about being on the forefront of that technology piece and really leveraging all the digital tools that are out there,” said Oliver. In the coming years, he anticipates that the real estate market would continually grow and remain strong. The amalgamation of new digital tools such as virtual reality, 3D home sales, and everything in between, is going to be key to successful years ahead. Today, one can build a brand over the internet and can easily give a ton of value and address people’s needs before they even have the needs, and creating content around that is how agents and brokerages are going to win moving forward. Sensing this trend, Oliver and Sam are striving to incorporate the changes and stay ahead of their competitors. 

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“We look at our business like a mad scientist looks at the stuff they’re working on. We’re always tweaking. We’re always testing. We’re always improving. We’re always looking to find that edge that tweaks that’s going to move the needle.”

During the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, one of the most discussed topics has been digital transformation.

Experts in Social Housing and the NHS have been busy debating how certain situations businesses are facing could be avoided if they would have adopted the digital tools earlier. Few believe that traditional business practices should be continued. Amongst the differing opinions, the main conclusion to be drawn is businesses are indeed struggling to sustain the fallout from the pandemic. Now more than ever, businesses need a digital transformation partner that can help find a hybrid approach to both traditional and digital business operations.

VerseOne is an experienced and reliable partner for any organisation looking to embrace digital transformation within their business. With a range of specific products and services that provide cutting-edge digital transformation solutions to the NHS, Social Housing, and the wider market, VerseOne’s range of digital tools can be tailored to any individual businesses needs.

For those businesses who are looking to emerge from the pandemic on the front foot VerseOne is uniquely positioned to help guide their digital plans, with a range of specialist digital solutions, and in-depth knowledge of housing and healthcare sectors. 

With its own AI Engine and intelligent API integration layer, known as Autevo, VerseOne’s Digital Experience Management Platform allows customers to combine all relevant data as well as user-related information to build a “persona profile” which can drive behaviour and decision making, allowing users to turn content into meaningful information.

Distinctive Among Competitors 

VerseOne caters to customers in the NHS, Social Housing, and Local Government providing several key digital products and services. All these solutions are secure, fully integration-ready, and optimized for multichannel smart device delivery.

 Currently, the VerseOne’s product portfolio comprises of a suite of digital tools including its Digital Experience Management (VerseOne CMS), Process Automation and AI (VerseOne BPA), Business Systems Integration (VerseOne Autevo), and Communications and Collaboration (Vocoll).

VerseOne is also able to deliver a custom-made digital strategy and implementation plan for customers looking to integrate any digital solution within their own systems. 

These strategies are tailored according to the customer needs to help them in leading the market they operate in. moreover, VerseOne is awarded the ISO27001 Certification for Cyber Essentials and has held the ISO9001:2015 Certification for the last 8 years. 

As the IP owner of all its products, VerseOne has no reliance on third-party technology or licences for its services, allowing it to to customize its solutions without needing lengthy authorisation or approval from external companies.  

The company also enables end-user empowerment—be it patients sin a healthcare setting or customers—the end-user has the freedom to choose how, when, or where the company can access the information required to make better and informed decisions. “There is a focus on the best collaboration, productivity, and decision support tools to deliver exemplar customer experience,” said Alan Neilson, Executive chairman at VerseOne.

Chief Strategist behind the Success 

Alan Neilson has been the brain behind VerseOne’s current and long-range strategies and how these strategies will be executed to maximize the company’s growth. Under Alan’s leadership, the team has been successful in delivering innovative and value for money solutions to the customers.

Alan has completed his bachelor’s of Science in computer studies and was a former CEO and one of the founding directors of Royalblue Technologies plc (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royalblue Group plc—now Fidessa group plc, FDSA.L). 

With a career spanning three decades, Alan has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the sector, and has leveraged all his know-how from the founding of RoyalBlue to allow VerseOne to grow from a small start-up into a dynamic provider of digital technologies and take leading advisory roles in several other start-up and early stage IT and technology companies. 

Alan promotes an innovative culture, allowing every employee to think outside of the box and equally contribute to the strategies. He believes that nurturing a culture of innovation accompanies a preloaded advantage of improved employee engagement and better solutions to business challenges. VerseOne equally welcomes suggestions and ideas not just from the employees but also from the customer, stakeholders, or partners. Equal collaboration allows everyone to exercise initiative and execute it. Alan adds, “Fundamentally, we do not believe in or practice micro-management: with the right culture and processes in place, people and customers can be both creative and innovative within a framework of quality and collaboration.” 

Promoting Philanthropy 

Apart from being a proficient entrepreneur, Alan is an aspiring amateur explorer and mountaineer. It is important for entrepreneurs to have a hobby to pursue beyond the work life. Alan is not only pursuing his hobby but also has managed to connect these short trips with philanthropic initiatives. As an explorer, he gets an opportunity to visit the remotest villages and underdeveloped parts of the world. “I am a strong believer of making a positive and tangible difference to people’s lives, be it in a business or a personal setting,” said Alan.  

As an intrepid adventurer Alan has led a number of expeditions to help good causes and raise money for charities. Expeditions include overland treks to map areas of both the North and South Pole, traverse Greenland from North to South and climb several of the world’s highest peaks. Far from solely seeking out cold climates, Alan has also trekked across the Atacama Desert, with his efforts to raise oney for charity.

Alan also encourages his staff, if they so wish, to seek out similar adventures, he says: “These activities are great levellers and can connect you with the very essence and basics of life and seeing humans at their best, whilst offering opportunities for true collaboration as well as time for clear thinking.” 

Prepared for Future  

Digitalization is now the key to survival. In the coming years, AI & ML and automation, combined with IoT will deliver precise data-based and personalized solutions. Alan believes that proper adoption of technology, combined with effective virtualization would offer great flexibility and security for the businesses.  

With the advent of COVID-19, the question on digital transformation was erased and virtual platforms became the need of the hour. This crisis did pave a path for the tech revolutions, like wearable combined with telehealth will offer enormous opportunities for proactive and cost-effective anytime and anyplace health care—especially for undeveloped regions. Moreover, people have realized that businesses can be operated remotely and virtually with the power of digital solutions. Intelligent work hubs (intranets) are being used more effectively and are now seen as more business-critical tools.

The economic disruption we are undergoing could’ve been mitigated if the digital tools were more familiarized. As a first-hand experience, Alan shared that digital tools have been the key in dealing with severe restrictions and overcoming the challenges.

Even in the post-pandemic world businesses of all shapes and sizes will have to re-think their approach towards digital tools. Due to the pandemic, businesses now are equipped with digital tools—though temporarily—but to wave away such challenges in the future it is important to swiftly adapt to digital solutions. “I strongly believe in the power of human ingenuity to use any situation as a catalyst for positive change,” said Alan.  The pandemic may prove as the much-needed push towards the digital revolution and together we can only hope for the best.

Refrain from the ‘not in my backyard’ approach 

Alan quotes, “The pandemic was a “black swan” event which caught the world by surprise and in the end, human ingenuity and endeavor have prevailed and hopefully we are coming through it. What it has beautifully illustrated is how interconnected the world really is and one of the biggest lessons has to be for us to take a global approach especially in areas such as the environment and inequalities around the world. Taking a ‘not in my backyard’ approach is bad for everyone.” 

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“VerseOne offers a comprehensive range of world-class services from strategy to creative, and digital marketing to professional services – all geared to drive the success of your business.”

Today, the majority of industries are on the verge of evolution or are evolving at a rapid speed. The arrival of advanced technology and digitalization has pushed the industries to enhance the products and services. It has also allowed the customers to acknowledge the importance of businesses that are offering customized services and products. When we speak about the lending industry, the changes in the industry are quite evident. Over the last few years, the lending industry has graciously accepted the latest changes including offering mobile-friendly services. This has motivated the customers to opt for more convenient services which have injected the fuel of the growth in the lending industry. 

While acknowledging the growth of the lending industry, we must also address few noteworthy companies that have performed exceptionally over the years. Founded in 2016, LoanPro is one of the leading companies of the year 2021. The company was founded by three brothers who owned and operated a lending company. The initial experience of Rhett, Lloyd, and Ben Roberts was full of challenges as they were unable to find a completely transparent platform to complete the process of lending. After examining the situation, the trio decided to build an LMS which could solve all the existing problems. 

The initial software was built for internal purposes but the software offered far more. When other lenders started showing interest in it, the scope of LoanPro was expanded and brought to market in 2016. 

A Fully Enterprise-Ready Software

The founders built the LoanPro software with a unique approach that guaranteed a full-featured API. The software helped the lenders form a better strategy for the separation and management of data and better use of available technologies. Originally, LoanPro was marketed to all non-auto lenders to aid them in better management of their loans, but the unique features of LoanPro combined with the ability to integrate with existing platforms, led to larger and larger lenders becoming interested in the software. Lending is involved in high risk and needs proper management of funds to provide a comprehensive view of the business. Mismanagement of the funds could also lead to several unforeseen consequences. Starting as lenders themselves, the founders understood these consequences and built LoanPro in a way which provides lenders with complete confidence.

LoanPro is a US-based, (LMS) Loan Management Software, that is empowering tech-forward lenders through loan workflow automation & improved data visibility. Today, LoanPro serves as a full enterprise-ready software making it easy for large lenders to check due-diligence boxes. It allows companies to adopt LoanPro into their current operations and scale the use of it to meet their needs, which has helped the company to expand quickly. LoanPro currently serves US and Canadian-based lenders, which include Fintech lenders, Consumer lenders, Business-to-Business lenders, Point-of-Sales lenders, Small-Dollar lenders, and Auto lenders, just to name a few. 

A One-Stop Destination for All Lenders

The need for a lender can be unique for different leading options. Hence, it is important to offer a streamlined process. In the case of LoanPro, there are six different steps involved in the loan lifecycle. This includes Customer Acquisition, Underwriting, Funding, Servicing, Collections, and Account Closure. LoanPro picks up the baton at the point of funding, forward. The company specializes in all things loan creation, funding, servicing, and account collections. The bouquet of services has been able to successfully attract more than 600 lenders. Currently, lenders are using the software to service more than $18B in loan portfolios. 

“Honestly, there are several things that turn lenders on to LoanPro. Each lender’s needs are unique, so we work with them to outline a game plan that gets them excited,” states Rhett Roberts, CEO of LoanPro. These often include improved loan processes, reduced overhead, loan creation, and payment calculation accuracy, data security, loan workflow/lifecycle automation, a single source of truth, full RESTful API, and direct AWS database access.

“The initial challenge will be key to our long-term success”

Just like a coin, businesses also have two sides, along with growth & profit, entrepreneurs have to deal with challenges at regular intervals of time. Similar to any business, LoanPro also experienced its own set of challenges. One such challenge was when the company wanted to build the best Loan Servicing Software in the US & Canadian marketplace before moving into growth mode. Before growing in a different region, it was important for LoanPro to get it right the first time. This involved countless design and development hours that were spent working on and perfecting the product.

A sign of a good product is when the client is fully satisfied, and their immediate pain-points are remedied. The same can also be said for LoanPro. Its lender clients are proud to use the product which also gave them the competitive advantage they were looking for. Although this limited the company revenue in the short term. In early 2020, LoanPro officially entered growth mode, propelling it forward as its quality, flexibility, and scalability of the loan servicing software is in a class of its own. This has helped LoanPro partner with some marquee Midsized and Enterprise lenders. 

Top Three Factors of Growth and Success 

Every company has its own secret recipe for success and growth. When we asked about the three factors of growth and success for LoanPro. The founder trio responded to us with these three factors: 

• Unique Approach – LoanPro entered the loan servicing software business from the perspective of a lender. It built software that actually met the need for Direct database access.
• Lenders retain control – LoanPro decouples the loan servicing software from the loan servicer, giving control back to the lender.
• Scalability – LoanPro is built entirely upon an API. This allows for maximum flexibility and scalability.

Streamlining The Lending Tech

To expand in the future, it is important to acknowledge the achievements of today. It helps in tackling the challenges of the future with confidence. Addressing LoanPro’s achievement, the company has been able to assist lenders to achieve their loan servicing automation goals, decrease personnel overhead, decrease human error, and improve bottom-line lender profitability. LoanPro is in the business of helping lenders win. When lenders win, these wins often flow to their borrowers in the form of improved user experiences, saved time, and reduced loan costs. In continuation of such achievement in the near future, the company continues to plan to focus on providing the best loan servicing software in the US and Canadian marketplace, expand brand awareness, and continue to partner with marquee lenders that are looking to streamline their lending tech. LoanPro aims to assist lenders in servicing $100B+ in loan portfolios. This lofty yet achievable goal drives the LoanPro team to build the loan management/servicing/collection (lending tech) of the future.

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“Make your lending processes uniform, automate payments and communication, and get your collections team moving.”

The involvement of advanced technology has definitely pushed numerous industries far ahead of their time, and public accounting is no exception. Today, the clients’ demands and requirements are constantly changing with the rapid emergence of technology adoption. In this environment, it is difficult for traditional accounting firms to survive. As a result, The Pun Group LLP leverages game-changing accounting automation technology so their consultants free up time for higher-value advisory solutions.

The Pun Group was launched with the belief that every client deserves to work with experienced business advisors and Certified Public Accoutants who have the time—or invest the time—to create an authentic connection. To thrive in the modern landscape of business, it is important to embrace the change, aligning people, process, and technology, and The Pun Group combines all these factors as it positions itself among the leading accounting firms. That’s why The Pun Group is one of the fastest-growing independent public accounting and advisory firms in the southwest United States. 

Best-in-Class Services

The Pun Group combines deep industry experience with cutting-edge technologies and offers a wide spectrum of traditional accounting, assurance, tax and advisory services, includingbusiness and risk advisory, expert witness and litigation support for public and private sector clients through their offices in California, Nevada, and Arizona. 

The Pun Group has advanced its services through innovation and valuable partnerships with leading AI technology companies to better serve its clients’ emerging needs. Moreover, the company is one of two CPA firms using FinancialForce Professional Services Automation (PSA). It is a customer-centric ERP solution built on the Salesforce platform. This solution helps to manage, streamline, and automate financial operations and business processes surrounding service delivery. Also, partners at The Pun Group are leaders in the accounting and auditing profession statewide and nationwide. Partners are  appointed on various committees from significant professional organizations. Participation at these committees is beneficial for the firm and its clients. Significant involvement in these forums allows The Pun Group to stay up-to-date,  with the constant changes in accounting and auditing standards, laws and regulations, and compliance provisions. Their knowledge is then imparted to its clients. All of these aspects have contributed to increasing the complexity of public accounting for all organizations who must navigate within its field. 

Today, The Pun Group has become the firm of choice due to its professionals’ participation in various industry-leading organizations. For their immense contribution and qualitative services, the firm has received several awards including the Single Audit Resource Center’s Award for Excellence in Knowledge, Value, and Overall Client Satisfaction (2020). This award results from positive feedback The Pun Group receives from its clients in an independent survey, demonstrating the company’s highest commitment to Federal standards, quality, and client satisfaction. 

95% Client Retention

The Pun Group’s professional background at major national firms has helped them solve complicated business and accounting challenges, but the sense of personal connection was missing. “For us, “personalization” is not just a buzzword—it’s part of our firm’s culture,” quotes Kenneth H. Pun, the Managing Partner at The Pun Group, LLP. The Pun Group is determined to deliver Best-in-Class services to its clients, and never compromises on quality. Keeping this goal in mind, The Pun Group assigns a dedicated Client Success Manager as an additional point person to the engagement team to ensure communications, responsiveness, and client satisfaction are equally fulfilled. 

The Pun Group envisions to be the employer of choice with an open culture, providing innovative services, which contribute to the clients’ success. The company is very close to fulfilling this vision as its client retention rate is very high with 90-95%. By  delivering unwavering quality service and maintaining its high client retention rate, The Pun Group has earned credibility amongst its customer base.

The key to maintaining this client retention has been the team of professional experts it employs. The Pun Group suggests clients focus on what they are good at internally but leverage the Pun Group’s expertise for areas where they lack the talent or in-house experts. The Pun Group’s team of professionals bring a unique combination of years of expertise and best practices from working for a multitude of clients from diverse industries who also have struggled with similar issues. This know-how is valuable to  clients and not often found in their organization. Kenneth adds, “We invest in developing our people, streamlining our processes, and providing them with tools to increase efficiency and productivity.”

Trusted Advisor and Strategist

Kenneth established The Pun Group, LLP in 2012, after serving in senior-level positions for well-established national and regional firms. Before founding The Pun Group, he catered to clients in a variety of industries, both small to very large state and local government agencies, insurance companies, not-for-profits, healthcare, technology, and manufacturing and distribution clients. With more than two decades of experience, Kenneth has earned the reputation of a trusted advisor and clients engage him because of his premier level of client service and commitment.

Kenneth maintains his deep commitment to professional education through his work as an instructor for the California Education Foundation. He is also the technical reviewer of the CCH Knowledge-Based Audits™ of State and Local Governments with Single Audits, advising clients on those topics at influential industry forums. At the Pun Group, he mentors the audit teams by providing direction and technical guidance to ensure adherence to the firm’s quality controls. Under his leadership, The Pun Group has become one of the “Top Accounting Firms” in Orange County according to the Orange County Business Journal. The Pun Group is also on the list of CalCPA Top 150 firms and just recently received ClearlyRated’s 2021 “Best of Accounting” award.

Prepared for Unprecedented Circumstances

One way or another, all organizations have been hit from the wrath of the pandemic.Today businesses are experiencing unprecedented circumstances and organizations have to work smarter to thrive in these challenging times. One of the ways that The Pun Group did that was by consolidating tips and suggestions based on best practices seen with its client base, and incorporating those within its own organization to manage the effects of COVID-19. “While uncertainty is never an ideal circumstance for a business, with the appropriate amount of preparation, a strong team of business advisors, and a level-headed approach to change, businesses can emerge stronger and more resilient in the future,” ensures Kenneth.

The same zeal was shared by the whole team of The Pun Group and did not allow the impact of COVID to force downscale. The employees were equipped with the tools to perform their duties seamlessly and continue to deliver results for the clients. Moreover, keeping employee health a priority and as an investment in its people, the firm engaged an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist and implemented structure coaching for all employees. Kenneth adds, “Partners stay engaged with their team members to provide support and offer to assist where possible. We also find creative ways to perform team bonding activities virtually.”

Expanded Capabilities

After witnessing the daunting year of 2020, everyone is optimistic about 2021. For The Pun Group, this means looking to grow its advisory practice, including but not limited to, Client Accounting and Advisory Services, Data Analytics, Business Re-structuring Advisory Services, and Risk Advisory Services, etc. Furthermore, it is planning to expand its services offerings to the Automotive, Technology, Cannabis, Insurance, and Construction Industries. 

Kenneth also outlined that future projects will emerge from its new client advisory services practice. However, the only challenge in establishing this practice will be to find the right talent and additional marketing support to inform the marketplace of The Pun Group’s expanded capabilities.

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“We’re not just your accounting team. We’re investing in your long-term success.”

Like any other industry, the beauty and cosmetics industry has also been affected by the pandemic. The business climate is rather stormy for the leaders. Since the advent of the crisis, the landscape has changed significantly. Though the beauty industry has always been exposed to unexpected trends and changes, the pandemic embarked on a bigger change. We are familiar with so many businesses that went into temporary hiatus and now are permanently closed. However, among this crowd the beauty industry leader, The Beauty Academy has managed to sustain the changes. In fact, the award-winning beauty academy has been part of the industry since 1998 and has sustained all the trends and changes to emerge successfully.

The Beauty Academy’s Executive Director and Owner, Phil Weaver, is equipped with extensive beauty industry experience. For more than 30 years, he has been managing teams and creating inspirational work environments. Phil has worked with many of the largest salon operators in Canada. He has leveraged this experience to scale the Beauty Academy to such heights. Today, the academy is spread over three campuses in Ontario and is awarding winning in providing unmatched educational facilities. 

However, the pandemic was something they had never foreseen. Consequently, it created several challenges. Especially adhering to the social distancing norms created limits on in-person training. The team of experts pivoted to ZOOM-based sessions and provided meaningful uninterrupted value-based training. The company also added access the instructional videos which were used to enhance learning. Over the years, The Beauty Academy has created a reputation for graduating skilled beauty professional that is industry-ready. The academy takes pride in this accreditation and thus could not compromise the quality of education via digital means. “This also required increased testing and skills validations to ensure skills were at an industry-leading level,” explained Phil. The team however was able to push through these challenges and offer the value-based training, which they are known for industry-wide. 

Sustaining throughout all these years in the beauty industry is indeed commendable. The academy has not only sustained the competition but also the never-ending loop of beauty trends. So, how did The Beauty Academy, helmer the position of industry leader for so long? 

Adaptability is Important

One who adapts to the changes regularly is the one who can sustain in the environment, it is the basic rule of survival. Though many know this, not all follow this. Moreover, experimenting and taking calculative risks can do wonders for any business from any niche. The Beauty Academy was always innovative with its approach and was steady on delivering the latest and best to the students. In doing so, it also adapted to the new tools and techniques. 

The traditional approach of classroom theory and hands-on experience of techniques was further integrated with technology. This hybrid approach did enhance the learning experience. The Beauty Academy also invested in creating a training App that accesses over 100 specialized training videos. The app enables the students to access an extensive library of industry-leading instructional videos. These videos are available for students on their personal devices while attending the program. Phil explains, “This complements the traditional training and provides re-enforced instruction to enable refresh and review.”

The extensive library of instructional videos is also available for review of content and refresher to assist the learning experience. Moreover, an Academy Portal is also available that keeps track of the academic progress of the students. Through this portal one can access the tests, hours completed, and course details. 

While the academic progress is tracked, the academy also keeps the students aware of the industry know-how. For instance, the increased inclination towards adoption of environmentally friendly products and services, tech enhancement in skin prosthetics and hair treatments, increased admiration for natural cosmetics range, etc. all the trends are closely tracked and included in the programs.

Reflecting Industry Standards

To keep up with the industry trends, the curriculum is regularly updated and revised. It is specially curated to reflect the standards required by the industry and to train high-grade industry professionals of tomorrow. The Beauty Academy offers a wide-ranging portfolio of programs, 

• Professional Hairstyling: A modern hairstyling diploma program that is delivered by passionate and experienced instructors. The course puts a strong emphasis on the practical application of skills, live demonstrations, and industry’s best artist instructions, combined to create a successful artistic, confident hairstylist.
• Professional Barbering: One of the best industry-leading courses conducted by experienced professionals. The course is curated to create well-trained Barbers who can fill the dearth of trained barbers in the industry. Through this course, it addresses the fundaments and the advanced techniques for haircuts, shaves, and beards.
• Medical Esthetician Diploma Programme: The program is conducted by industry-leading instructors in a medical spa environment and hands-on client services. This ensures the students are equipped with the confidence and skills needed to fulfill the ever-increasing demand for spa professionals. Students can attain hands-on experience with advanced equipment available throughout the course to build experience and confidence in Advanced Esthetics, Electrolysis, Microdermabrasion, Micro-Needling, Micro Blading, Laser, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light Therapy), and Hydro Facial.
• Medical Spa Specialists: The program is specially designed to deliver cutting-edge education to succeed in this fast-paced growing career. Students have access to advance equipment available throughout the course to offer hands-on time to build experience and confidence in Electrolysis, Microdermabrasion (Crystals), Laser, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light Therapy).
• Spa Esthetician: The program delivers innovative teaching that hones the skills and knowledge of professionals. This course is cleverly developed to ensure that the student with walks out of the academy as the best Spa Esthetician. 

Apart from the aforementioned courses, The Beauty Academy offers point-based certificate courses that range from 7-80 hours in length. These are on-demand courses that generally run in one month. These courses are focused on building the professional skills of students but professionals seeking to be updated with the current trends and techniques can also make use of the courses. These courses cover –Haircut Basics, Colour Basics, Advanced Colour, and Barbering Basics. The rest of the refresher courses are well designed to add new skills. Also to keep them fortified with the recent techniques, refresher courses are offered to address the new trends, techniques, and new services offered in the industry. The instructors associated with these courses are equipped with extensive experience in their particular niche and if any gaps remain the same are covered through the refresher courses. 

Distinguishing factors of Academy

As a pioneering industry academy, it focuses equally on theory and practical skills. The teaching and learning environment of The Beauty Academy includes in-class, demonstrations, hands-on practice, practice with models, and a large library of video training and demonstrations. Furthermore, new trends and market changes are addressed by working with the beauty industry leaders. Due to these key factors, the academy has become a student-favorite and first preference for many. 

Another key distinguisher of the academy is the low student/teacher ratio, which allows them to divide the attention equally on each student. The Beauty Academy prioritizes hands-on experience and access to leading tools, equipment, and multi-media instruction. Driven by instructors’ passion and dedication, the courses have become Consumers Choice and Top Choice in Ottawa and London. It has the best employment rate, with salons seeking out The Beauty Academy graduates. Many of the students are referrals from previous graduates due to its quality and skills of graduates. 

Improving the Learning Experience

The Beauty Academy is aiming to continually expand, update, and improve the educational program. In the coming years, the academy is looking forward to further augment the learning experience and making the process efficient, effective, and practical, and helping students develop life-long educational resources, enabling them to meet the demands of a continually changing beauty Industry.

As a conclusory, Phil has advised the aspirants to practice teamwork, he adds, “Open, warm and consultive engagement with people to understand their needs and translate that to solutions is essential. You need to be the beauty advisor to your customer.”

Robotics and automation have significantly evolved over time. With constant innovations and futuristic vision, robots have proved to useful in the growth of the company. In the past decade, industrial robots used to be high priced, due to which, the ROI is expected to be achieved after a decade. However, the present situation has completely transformed. Over the forecast period of 2021-2026, the robotic market will grow at a CAGR of 20.4%. in 2020, it was valued at USD 23.67 billion and is expected to reach USD 74 billion by 2026.  With this rise in popularity, the application of robots has stretched far beyond workhouses of industrial shop floors and beginning to adopt the roles of personal assistants, surgical assistants, delivery vehicles, autonomous vehicles, exoskeletons, and crewless aerial vehicles, among many other uses. Furthermore, with the availability of smaller collaborative robots, the price of these robots for companies assist to achieve ROI in months instead of decades, often costing around USD 20,000. Declining sensor prices and increasing adoption have further aided lower costs.

To further dive deep into the concept and understanding of Robots and the robotic market, we have Kiran Smart with us. Established in 2006 as Kiran Technical and presently, operates under the name of Kiran Smart since 2019. It is the first humanoid robots company in Kuwait. Within the span since its inception, the company has been recognized as an award-winning company for being the most innovative robotics technology company from Kuwait. The company focuses on providing IT services to business and home users. It effectively combines technical expertise and domain knowledge to offer customized Computer Networking solutions and System Integration solutions to its customers. 

Mission to Serve Humanity

Mohammed Mubin Mallick is the CEO and Founder of Kiran Smart. He initially founded the company as an IT solutions and Service provider but later diversified to digital transformation and now has included robotics and artificial intelligence in the portfolio. 

Mohammed Mubin was highly inspired by his father’s way of living. His father lived his life for others and to follow in his footsteps, Mohammed Mubin needed support and help in terms of finance. This could be achieved through entrepreneurship. By establishing a company, he would not only be financially able but also create employment opportunities for others. He adds, “I understood that unless I have a company where I could generate not only profit but create the job, create the new opportunity and at the same time serve humanity.” His educational background and experience helped him establish one of the Top IT companies in Kuwait. Soon, Kiran Smart integrated industry-standard IT solutions under one umbrella and provided unmatched IT consulting, IT maintenance, IT consultancy, and IT solutions. As aforementioned, the company diversified and now is leading the robotics market. 

The key distinguisher for Kiran Smart has been its personalized approach. The process involved in each of the product manufacturing is customized depending on the requirements of the customer. Giving a quick overview of the process involved, Mohammed Mubin asserts, “It would be difficult to go through the complete process of the end product making but I could give a small brief explanation of how do we work for it. Usually, most of our products and solutions are customized as per the customer so that we do not lose the customer. We take the requirement of the customer and then accordingly we work on it to fit the product and solutions so that customer is happy and satisfied whether it is a small number or large number and it does not matter to us.” The goal behind establishing the company was to help and serve humanity prosper. Since its inception, Mohammed Mubin and his team have been successful in attaining the same. For the team, the only thing that matters is “the smile on customers’ faces” after receiving the product, services, and solutions. 

Kiran Smart CAN DO IT!

Kiran Smart not only states but actually keeps clients at the center of what they do. Sharing one such instance with us, Mohammed Mubin outlined the incident with Movenpick Hotel. The Movenpick Hotel trusted Kiran Smart for its IT Support and services. Kuwait’s market space in terms of IT solutions is limited and many products are not available—at least not immediately. “It was 2 A.M. in the night I got a call from the IT Manager of the Hotel that tomorrow they have an event which is organized by Ministry and there was a shortage of few CAT 6 patch cords to connect all the laptops in the meeting,” he said. To support the customer, Mohammed Mubin had to reach out to the cabling engineer and open the office mid-night and prepare patch cords cables, which were hand-made and deliver to the customer by 4 AM because the event will start at 7:30 AM. The dedicated team was able to deliver the customer on-time customized solution helping them to win the customer’s heart. 

As a result, Kiran Smart was named as the “Kiran Smart CAN DO IT!” by the IT Manager, Harry Riyanto. 

Blessing in Disguise

The crucial time of pandemic has been a real stressor for all the industries and employers. In such tough times, the role of companies like Kiran Smart is one of the crucial ones. Kiran Smart was actively involved in aiding the people in the tough times of COVID-19. It developed and delivered UVC disinfection robot and Dry Mist Spray Disinfection Robot locally and globally to fight the COVID-19 virus. Alongside, its robots were deployed at several locations, like hotels, hospitals, restaurants, café, and more. The aim was to maintain social distance, hygiene and serve humanity while helping in curbing the infection. “We are blessed to serve humans during COVID 19 PANDEMIC with our multiple models of robots,” said Mohammed Mubin.

With the advent of the pandemic, the world was taken over with the digital transformation wave—also hinting towards increased adoption of virtual platforms and robotics. This increased recognition for robotics paved a path for Kiran Smart’s services and solutions. Mohammed Mubin believes that the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for the company. The sudden digital transformation worked as free marketing for its robots on a global scale.

Swift with Strategies

The pandemic will be noted as one of the worst times in history. It has affected not just the health but the economy of nations worldwide. It equally affected Kiran Smart’s business operations in terms of serving customers. Due to commute restrictions and lockdowns on a global scale, the engineers could not reach on-site where there were major issues. While many of Kiran Smart’s engineers were stuck in their home country and could not return. But the team was optimistic about the situation and viewed the challenges as opportunities.

The zeal and persistence the team of Kiran Smart possesses are commendable. Despite the harsh business climate and stress surrounding us all, Mohammed Mubin was able to act on the situation. He keenly observed the whole situation and diverted the services and solutions to cater to the pandemic. The team quickly came up with a strategy to save humans and was on a mission to serve humanity. The company soon invested in disinfection robots and other COVID-19 products. The products were successful in helping to curb the infection wave and overcome the challenges put forth by the pandemic. Expressing his gratitude, Mohammed Mubin states, “This achievement would not have been possible without our team efforts, suppliers to deliver the products on time and investment on time from an investor without any doubt.” The team is still supplying those disinfection robots and COVID-19 products to multiple locations around the world. 

Robot Revolution 

Since the dawn of robotics, one question that has quizzed millions is that will or will not robots take over humanity? 

The question has been generated from the Sci-Fi movies robotic revolution where the evil robots are trying to take over humanity. But, we are not in a sci-fi movie, and in reality, robots are used to help aid assistance for humans. Not the COVID-19, but several factors are fueling the adoption of robots. The robot revolution has started way back and we are progressing with its applications in various niches. Mohammed Mubin is also working on a project called Rise of Robotics Generation which is a kind of Robot Revolution. He also addresses the query of robots taking over people’s employment opportunities by stating, “As per my real-life experience—as I am dealing with robots in daily life—my answer is 30% and 70%. 30% of jobs will be taken by robots, which are repetitive tasks and where no human interactions are involved and a level-1 agent will be replaced by Robots. While 70% will remain with humans as human intelligence and thinking power are unmatched as compared to a robot.”

Robotic World 2050

Currently, Mohammed Mubin is working on a project called ROBO2050. Through this project, the vision is to see every single human have his/her personal robot assistance like we use our smartphones. “To execute this Prime Project where the world will be living in Artificial Intelligence and Robotic World, I would be looking forward to many investors to come together to join hand with me to make it successful,” Mohammed Mubin concludes.

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“Our team always work in an innovative manner. To deliver the unique solutions to different industries.”

The COVID-19 crisis has caused unprecedented disruption worldwide. It has equally damaged health and economic conditions on a global scale. Amid the chaos, few leaders managed to turn the tables and make the most of the opportunity.  Michael Sinensky, the Co-Founder and CEO of WeShield (Assure Global LLC), was among the astute business leaders who managed to sustain the tough business climate. With the advent of the pandemic, his business came to an altogether halt and from zero he managed to build a company that has generated over 100 million revenue.

Michael is a graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business and a recognized business leader and philanthropist. In the pre-COVID world, he was a restaurateur and owned approximately 25 places in NYC. He is also the owner of SimpleVenue, a hospitality company that operates some of NYC’s most iconic venues. Michael sits on the Boards of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, and previously represented NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer on the Board of the American Museum of Natural History and Wildlife Conservation Society. 

The COVID wrath caught up to his businesses and soon Michael reached a point of unemployment and  despite his own struggles his philanthropic tendencies brought him back to his roots and he once again started working with his disaster relief charity Friends of Rockaway in. He leaned on his deep network to secure PPE supplies and started donating them to the frontline workers and government agencies that needed them most. This powerful initiative quickly snowballed and WeShield was born. 

Acquisition Strengthening Market Position

WeShield was established with a mission to help people around them battle the challenges of the pandemic, by effectively providing solutions and meeting the safety demands of frontline workers and people fighting against COVID-19. After recognizing the flaws in the system and the broken supply chain, they developed a platform that countered such exploits and aided the frontline workers fighting COVID-19. 

Since its establishment, WeShield has been able to provide quality PPE for thousands of frontline workers, healthcare workers, and people in need. The company underwent a complete transformation, from selling not a single mask to generating over 100 million revenue within the first year. It has actively leveraged advanced technology like AI and proprietary sales & marketing to reach thousands of companies, healthcare institutions, and government organizations nationwide. 

Today, WeShield has been successfully placed on the map of leading PPE suppliers and serves customers including GAP, Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA), Concordance, Henry Schein, Medline, and more. The company is on track for substantial growth and projecting revenues over $100M. In June, WeShield was acquired by public company OPTEC. OPTEC is confident that this acquisition will generate additional market strength, profits, and shareholder value while simultaneously adding additional strength to OPTEC’s management team.

OPTEC CEO, Roger Pawson, commented “The acquisition of WeShield is complete. By adding an established AI-driven sales and marketing platform to OPTEC, we are confident we will immediately reap the rewards from adding WeShield’s team and tech to market and sell OPTEC products. In addition to these synergies, we expect to add over $100 million in 2021 projected sales from WeShield.”

High-Quality Products at Competitive Price

The AI-driven company sources and distributes high-quality personal protective equipment and safety supplies to the largest hospitals, healthcare networks, and retail brands throughout the US. It has established itself as a reliable source of products and one of the leading suppliers in the industry. Due to the uninterrupted success, WeShield is positioned to continually generate a strong revenue growth rate in its key product lines. The key distinguisher behind this is that WeShield utilizes its extensive network to source products both “on the ground” and from manufacturers and distributors at a competitive market price.

“WeShield’s advantage includes the ability to successfully source any product as requested and is not limited to its product catalog of traditional PPE supplies but also delivers complex medical equipment,” explains Michael. After the acquisition, WeShield’s product portfolio has further widened and now delivers a varied range of medical products. The new portfolio includes UV-C LED disinfection devices, Fuel Maximizers, Off-Grid Solar Lighting, Trailer Mounted Solar Generators, and Z20—the Uber app for cleaning and sterilization. These wide-ranging products allow WeShield to stand out among its competitors. The products are environment-friendly and also affordable. The company imports the supplies via private cargo planes multiple times a week and has the experience, certifications, and connections to expedite the process and make it as affordable as possible. WeShield is continuously exploring new opportunities to further expand the product range and addressable market.

Continuously Delivering Excellence 

WeShield was established with a mission to help frontline workers similar to how the company extended help in the Indian subcontinent to mitigate the spread of the virus when they were at the height of crisis. The team of WeShield believes that people are free to live and work without risk to their wellbeing, thus the team tirelessly strives to make that a reality by creating a safer and cleaner environment—especially for the frontline workers fighting COVID-19. In the coming years, WeShield is determined to continually deliver environmentally friendly safety products and services at a competitive price and time. 

WeShield was established in 2020, despite the economic instability and unemployment spreading worldwide. Michael and his team’s story is an inspiration for the entrepreneurs losing hope in the catastrophic business climate. He asserts, “WeShield was started by a group of entrepreneurs whose businesses were forced to shut down during the pandemic. One year later, the company has generated over 100m in revenue—a true testament to what relentless work ethic coupled with a passion for helping people can do.”

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“We carry out our duty with an acute awareness of our social and environmental responsibility, that’s why we are committed to providing exceptional quality products an customer service to support the safety goals of our clients.”

The travel industry has witnessed several ups and downs in recent years—especially the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. However, Trawick International proved to be standalone in the industry. Throughout this crisis, Trawick International has stood alongside its most important asset—the customers, by providing them with industry-leading travel insurance plans amid the pandemic. Established in 1998, Trawick International solely focused on insurance for international students coming to the United States. Initially, the organization was focused on providing student Insurance to Universities, Independent Students, Scholars, and International Student and Study Abroad programs to students traveling outside of their home country. After a decade, Trawick International diversified the business and pivoted to the travel sector, and began offering Travel Insurance plans to clients from around the world.

With the growth of the travel industry, Trawick parallel to the growth evolved and upgraded the offerings and provided new and innovative insurance products to the clients. “I am extremely proud of the diversified products we offer to our customers and look forward to implementing new and innovative products the industry has never seen before,” says Daryl Trawick, the Founder, and CEO of Trawick International. 

Innovative Portfolio of Products 

Daryl founded Trawick International with an initial goal to provide the customers with the best product they could afford. Through the 23 years of journey, he and his team of experts have strived to meet the goal every day. Today, Trawick is a full-service travel insurance administrator and claims provider specializing in protecting travelers of all types worldwide. It offers various international and domestic travel insurance plans and researches groundbreaking products and ideas for travelers everywhere. 

Trawick offers an extensive worldwide network of quality physicians, hospitals, and pharmacies as well as individually customized plans. It also offers political evacuation benefits that cover everything from natural disasters to political unrest. There are several insurance products and services that are designed to meet the customer requirements, such as:

• Trip Protection and Travel Medical For U.S. Citizens, U.S. Residents, and Non-U.S. Citizens
• Annual Travel Trip Protection
• Travel Medical For International Students, Faculty, Scholars, Visitors, and Immigrants
• Student Medical For International Students, Faculty and Scholars
• Products For Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Employers
• Adventure Travel Insurance
• Optional Accidental Death and Dismemberment and Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR)

Keeping innovation at the center of what they do, the team of Trawick International, launched the SafeTreker adventure insurance in 2020—a product that is mainly focused on adventure travelers and their unique needs. Additionally, it also launched Tailgate insurance, which is the industry’s first insurance product to cover prepaid expenses associated with the customer’s sporting or concert event.

Swift to Develop Solutions

Trawick International prioritizes the customer needs and creates and develops every product based on the customer’s feedback. “Our team goes to great lengths to be a customer-centric organization that is always looking to implement new products and services,” asserts Daryl.

The team understands that anything can go wrong while traveling. This is why Trawick offers Travel Assistance which is available 24×7. Through this portal, it offers immediate online policy issue and personalized ID cards. Additionally, it also inhibits the convenient chat feature where the customer is assisted by a live agent who can answer the questions or help the customers make decisions regarding the plans and products. This combination of personal and professional service has been one of the major aspects which set Trawick apart from other providers. 

The team is agile and swift to develop a solution to address the challenges. A recent instance of their agility is Costa Rica’s newly implemented travel regulations. These regulations were not being covered by existing travel insurance products in the market of U.S. and international travelers who wished to visit Costa Rica. The team swiftly reacted to the situation and worked with the insurance carrier to modify the existing travel insurance plans to comply with these new regulations for U.S. and international travelers. 

Deeply rooted collaborating culture

Trawick’s culture is deeply rooted in collaboration. Daryl states that people fail to realize there are a lot of moving parts to this organization. As a leader, he ensures that the team works together to meet the goal of the company i.e. to provide the best possible experience to the customers. Regardless of it being the sales process or the claims process, the team has to work in unison towards a common goal, and Daryl’s team is has proven that they are the best in meeting their goals.

Amidst the chaos, the team was motivated to deliver their best and aid their customers—especially in these tough times. Recently, the team launched a new division of Trawick International called Tuman Global Solutions. This division focuses on providing property and casualty insurance to organizations operating globally and providing expatriates with insurance products to protect them while working abroad. The crisis did not affect the team’s morale and Daryl is very proud of what they have achieved by far. 

Agility and Diligence

Trawick International has been recognized as one of the best companies of 2021. The organization has continually risen to success since its inception. Its ability to pivot as dictated by the customers has separated Trawick from its competitors. Daryl adds, “I like to use the analogy that we are a PT boat, very fast and agile and can change direction quickly compared to an Aircraft Carrier that cannot be as agile.”

Daryl started his business in 1998 with a different focus and pivoted the company as soon as he saw an opportunity. The aspiring entrepreneurs must understand that creating a successful business is not a sprint but a marathon. Success does not happen overnight, but by working day in and out to achieve greatness continuously. 

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“Trawick strives to offer plans that not only meet those needs but exceed the expectations of our clients.”

Banking is ever evolving as are the demands of the leaders within the industry. The transformation underway requires digitalization, optimizing talent and continually looking for operational efficiencies. What can’t be lost in this evolution is the value of continually building and expanding customer relationships, developing team members and leading through change. While challenging, demonstrated leadership is critical to meet these demands and to achieve results. 

Lars B. Eller (President and CEO of Farmers & Merchants State Bank) is one such leader who has a similar, yet highly inspiring, journey. He started his journey in 1988 as a management trainee at TD Bank. Soon, at a very young age, he was promoted to branch manager. This gave him plenty of opportunities to learn many areas of the bank from teller and bookkeeping to lending and investment management.

As he grew to different manager roles, he honed his leadership skills. Shortly, he had the opportunity to manage hundreds of people which helped him to lead and manage through others. Leading larger teams and more functional areas can be challenging, but it helps in sharpening and developing overall leadership skills. 

A Listener and an Observer 

During his 35 years of experience, he had several opportunities which helped him to take new roles every two to four years, building his breadth and helpinghim  grow as a leader. His immense experience in banking is spread geographically in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Toronto, and Montreal, Canada. Lars took over as President and CEO at Farmers & Merchants State Bank in September 2018. This was his first role as president and CEO. However, this does not let him stop his process of continuous development and growth as a leader. Utilizing his previous experiences and knowledge, he has numerous accomplishments under his hat. He targeted acquisitions helping the company to grow its assets to over $2 billion. 

Furthermore, Lars’s rich experience in the industry allowed him to become a much better listener and observer. Sharing his experiences, Lars utters, “I’ve come to understand who and where the real influencers are in a business or department. I take the time to understand people and what is important to them and to build personal connections. I also believe there is a real skill in realizing and managing momentum, both positive and negative.”

Tackling Challenges With a Unique Lens 

F&M distinguishes itself from others by its  commercial lending strategy. The company includes a very talented team that includes lenders with more than 20 years of experience. This experience allows it to win $2M-$9M loans from the super-regional banks that rely on call centers and inexperienced branch managers for this lending. Nevertheless, challenges are an inevitable part of every business model. One such challenging situation faced by F&M was the tenure of the senior leadership team. 

Alike any organization, senior leadership is a vital strength of the organization. Due to the tremendous experience and leadership skills, they have a huge impact on the team. However, Lars and his team at F&M faced a challenging situation of replacing the experience and allowing for knowledge transfer as people retire. The situation was excellently dealt by Lars with a combination of promotions and external recruitment to optimize the talent.. This improved the breadth and diversity of the senior leadership team. “We have a strong, diverse team. I am a true believer in empowerment. Give your team the tools and power to make decisions. Accountability is also important. Our team makes decisions, and they are accountable for the results of those decisions,” says Lars.

Pre and Post COVID-19 situations

While mentioning the challenging times, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 has trembled the majority of businesses from their roots. There was a need to strictly adhere to the required protocols to fight against COVID-19. “The challenge is that our customers, employees, and newly hired employees desire personal interaction. The need to reduce in-person communication limits one’s ability to gauge meaningful non-verbal elements,” asserts Lars. He and his team understood the seriousness of the situation. They moved quickly to ran the bank from remote locations while holding meaningful meetings and sharing the key information through multiple communication channels and videoconferencing. Furthermore, the company strengthened its pandemic plan by separating physical work areas, wherever possible and flexing its schedules to meets its customers’ needs. 

The arrival of COVID-19 also opened new doors for the world. Overnight, the world went digital, though, this digital transformation was forced for the majority. The adaption of new technology such as complete digitalization is a slow process. However, the impact of digital transformation has been significant especially in the banking sector. It has helped the banking companies to speed to the customers’ needs while maintaining the relationships. 

The inclusion of technology in the banking industry has leveraged it to develop the loan process and helped it in reducing the time to a few minutes now. F&M has a stronghold on the technological transformation which has helped eliminate process steps to gain efficiencies. It has significantly improved its mortgage turn time during triple volume and records production. The company has doubled its net income over the last five years; and built and are implementing a strategic plan that will help it grow to $3 billion by the end of 2022.

Vision for Post-COVID World

The year 2020 may have been exhausting but it highlighted the underlying fact—we live in a fast-paced, ever-changing world. The key to thrive is adapting to the change. Lars predicts that the new age of banking will be the unison of traditional operations and modern technology. Being in the banking sector, he also is looking forward to revolutionary tech additions like integrated teller machines, mobile banking, online banking, money transfer applications, like Venmo and Zelle, and remote deposit capture.

Lars’ prediction also outlines that there will be fewer brick-and-mortar branches, but some will always have a place in community banking. “People like to meet with a banker face to face when they have a major transaction. Everyone’s major transaction is different,” he concluded.

Key Takeaway:

“I have adopted newer technologies and focused my own leadership development on continually adapting and helping those around me do the same. Agility is a necessity to meet expectations.”