How the Tinder app of the car industry is going to change the way we buy cars

Episode
Today’s guest is Mark Raison. Born and raised in Surrey BC, Mark is the owner of the company Drivveauto.com...
Key takeaways
- When starting a business, expect extreme highs and lows that will teach you a lot about yourself, and understand that most entrepreneurs fail without anyone knowing their story.
- If you're in the market for a vehicle, buy now rather than waiting, as supply chains have tightened significantly due to COVID and prices are likely to continue rising.
- Take the path of least resistance in business by finding where the value and opportunity exist, rather than chasing what you think you want to do, because everyone has a price for everything.
- Time is your most valuable asset that cannot be bought or reclaimed, so use it wisely and avoid getting stuck in silence or indecision when you could be moving forward.
- Working in demanding jobs like fast food creates excellent work ethic and teaches consistency and discipline that translates well into entrepreneurship and business success.
Transcript
Full transcript page · Interactive episode
============================================================ TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS ============================================================ [00:01] SPEAKER_00: Come to Lethbridge and join an innovative community for entrepreneurs. [00:06] SPEAKER_00: With more than a quarter of the 100,000 population under the age of 34, Lethbridge brims with [00:12] SPEAKER_00: energy. [00:13] SPEAKER_00: We'll help you to kickstart, innovate, and grow. [00:17] SPEAKER_00: Lethbridge Southern Alberta's help for innovation and technology. [00:21] SPEAKER_00: It's the bright choice for business builders. [00:24] SPEAKER_00: Go to chooselethbridge.ca slash entrepreneur and we'll help you move and grow in Lethbridge. [00:33] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's podcast. [00:38] SPEAKER_02: Hello, this is Robert Smigel coming to today with Canada's podcast where we talk to the [00:43] SPEAKER_02: entrepreneurs who are making it happen here in British Columbia. [00:46] SPEAKER_02: Today's guest is Mark Rayzon, born and raised in Surrey. [00:49] SPEAKER_02: Mark is the owner of the company DriveAuto.com and that's with 2Bs and has over 14 years of [00:58] SPEAKER_02: experience working with car dealerships, assisting them and transferring their inventory onto [01:04] SPEAKER_02: online platforms. [01:06] SPEAKER_02: Well Mark, welcome to Canada's podcast and thanks for taking the time today to be here [01:10] SPEAKER_02: for all our listeners. [01:12] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me, I'm excited to chat with you. [01:16] SPEAKER_02: Awesome. [01:16] SPEAKER_02: Okay, now we know you're from Surrey, born and raised, so you got that down but give us [01:20] SPEAKER_02: the details on your current business, DriveAuto.com. [01:25] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so Drive is a new automotive marketplace slash classified app. [01:33] SPEAKER_01: So anybody who's looking to buy a new vehicle, they go on to Drive and they just kind of [01:39] SPEAKER_01: sweep through the vehicles and kind of pick and choose your vehicles and you match with [01:45] SPEAKER_01: them and you start chatting to the seller right away and no more putting in your email [01:50] SPEAKER_01: address, no more phone numbers and all those kind of stuff. [01:53] SPEAKER_01: It's just direct messaging right through the platform. [01:56] SPEAKER_02: Sounds like Tinder for automobiles. [01:59] SPEAKER_01: That's what a lot of people say, yes. [02:01] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay, cool. [02:04] SPEAKER_02: Did you need financing to start your company and how do you currently make money in your [02:08] SPEAKER_02: business now? [02:09] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the company is pre-revenue where we just started and launched in the last [02:14] SPEAKER_01: couple of months, so we're still on our beta phase. [02:18] SPEAKER_01: Financing, I'm trying to go through the venture route, so I have raised like a friends and [02:24] SPEAKER_01: family around to financing a little bit of money. [02:27] SPEAKER_01: I've put in a significant amount of money myself and in a project like this financing is [02:36] SPEAKER_01: very important, so we're always looking for new opportunities and new partners in that [02:40] SPEAKER_01: way. [02:41] SPEAKER_01: So how will the app make money when it's up and going? [02:44] SPEAKER_02: There's a fee of some sort. [02:47] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, great question. [02:49] SPEAKER_01: So the business model would be paper leads, so sellers primarily card dealerships would [02:54] SPEAKER_01: be paying for the leads. [02:58] SPEAKER_02: Okay, so it's like a PPC campaign of some kind that goes to the app. [03:03] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I want you to give me a key piece of knowledge or information about your industries [03:09] SPEAKER_02: that our listeners can learn from. [03:12] SPEAKER_02: Anything that's kind of general that buying a car obviously is pretty obvious, but it's [03:17] SPEAKER_02: anything that has changed over the next few years. [03:19] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, really in the last year, I would say my advice now is if you're looking to buy [03:25] SPEAKER_01: a car, buy a car. [03:28] SPEAKER_01: Inventory and supply chains have really tightened up with COVID over the last year, so supply [03:36] SPEAKER_01: is in very short. [03:39] SPEAKER_01: There is just as much supply out there. [03:41] SPEAKER_01: There's a lot more buyers and sellers right now and it comes to vehicles. [03:44] SPEAKER_01: So if you're in the market, I would say buy a car now before prices start going up and [03:50] SPEAKER_01: supply just isn't there anymore. [03:53] SPEAKER_02: Okay, what is the long-term vision and what will your company look like in the future? [03:58] SPEAKER_02: Do you see the company expanding into other areas and where beyond Vancouver, BC or even [04:03] SPEAKER_02: Canada? [04:04] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I'm born and raised in a suburb of Vancouver called Surrey. [04:11] SPEAKER_01: So I'm organically and just naturally launching drive in the Vancouver market. [04:17] SPEAKER_01: We test out whether it's a viable option, we get metrics, we get stats and all that [04:26] SPEAKER_01: kind of stuff, and then we build from there. [04:28] SPEAKER_01: So we expand to the rest of BC, expand until Alberta, eventually nationwide, and ultimately [04:34] SPEAKER_01: we want to be in North America and beyond, but you got to start small and that's kind [04:40] SPEAKER_01: of where we are right now. [04:42] SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of the long-term goal is start here and just organically spread across [04:48] SPEAKER_01: the country and then hopefully over North America. [04:52] SPEAKER_02: Okay, well we've learned a lot about you and your company. [04:55] SPEAKER_02: We want to talk about you and what it looks like you doing business in here in British [05:00] SPEAKER_02: Columbia. [05:01] SPEAKER_02: What are the biggest benefits for you and being an entrepreneur here in Vancouver? [05:05] SPEAKER_02: Give us some of the good points about starting a company here but also give us the tough [05:08] SPEAKER_02: things or challenges for our listeners so they can keep an eye out for them. [05:12] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the easy thing for me is the fact that I'm born and raised here. [05:16] SPEAKER_01: So it's not like I came here and didn't know anybody. [05:19] SPEAKER_01: I can go and visit my parents anytime I want while I'm here. [05:26] SPEAKER_01: My friends and I grew up with, they're all here. [05:29] SPEAKER_01: So it's very easy for me to feel at home here as it is my home. [05:35] SPEAKER_01: The hard part is not being in a big startup hub. [05:40] SPEAKER_01: A lot of resources out there and a lot of podcasts that focus on the startup world are [05:47] SPEAKER_01: really focused on Silicon Valley and when they talk about things like numbers and financing [05:54] SPEAKER_01: and all that kind of stuff, it's in the context of Silicon Valley which is not a reality [05:59] SPEAKER_01: for a lot of hubs outside of Silicon Valley. [06:04] SPEAKER_01: So expectations and stuff like that is always a challenge to figure out in a place like [06:13] SPEAKER_01: Vancouver. [06:17] SPEAKER_01: We're known for our beautiful mountains and our waters and everything but the startup [06:23] SPEAKER_01: world we're still trying to find a name for ourselves. [06:28] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I want you to imagine you've never been to British Columbia before. [06:33] SPEAKER_02: If you were to start all over again you just moved here to Vancouver, BC but this time [06:37] SPEAKER_02: you don't know anyone knowing what you know now what would you do and how would you [06:41] SPEAKER_02: go about starting all over again as an entrepreneur? [06:44] SPEAKER_01: Oh man, that's a difficult question. [06:48] SPEAKER_01: I'm a person that believes that go in the path of least resistance. [06:56] SPEAKER_01: The notion of do what you want and the money will follow isn't something that I think [07:03] SPEAKER_01: is a reality for most people. [07:05] SPEAKER_01: You ask most 13-year-olds these days and they want to be an influencer. [07:10] SPEAKER_01: 15 years ago that didn't even exist. [07:15] SPEAKER_01: Somebody has got to go around and pick up the garbage. [07:18] SPEAKER_01: Somebody has got to go around and fix the phone lines. [07:21] SPEAKER_01: There's all these jobs that need to be done. [07:24] SPEAKER_01: The reality is I've got a price for everything. [07:28] SPEAKER_01: I'll pick up garbage if I'm probably not going to pick up for 40,000 a year but I'll [07:33] SPEAKER_01: pick it up for 400,000 a year. [07:35] SPEAKER_01: I've got a price for everything. [07:38] SPEAKER_01: I believe that you take a path of least resistance. [07:43] SPEAKER_01: If I was going somewhere new like Vancouver, I would just try to get planted somewhere [07:49] SPEAKER_01: and learn and try to find where the value is there. [07:56] SPEAKER_01: Where can I find value and trade that value and learn from it? [08:01] SPEAKER_01: That makes sense. [08:02] Speaker UNKNOWN: [08:03] SPEAKER_02: You're a young, single guy so you don't have kids or anything like that. [08:07] SPEAKER_02: Let's talk about your routine. [08:08] SPEAKER_02: What does the first hour look like for you when you wake up at the morning? [08:11] SPEAKER_02: Do you have a specific routine or a ritual that helps you get motivated, structured today? [08:16] SPEAKER_01: It's very different each day. [08:21] SPEAKER_01: I'm an avid biker. [08:22] SPEAKER_01: There are some days where I might go and I might get up at sunrise and go for a bike ride [08:29] SPEAKER_01: and kick off my day that way. [08:30] SPEAKER_01: Some days I might just simply sleep in. [08:33] SPEAKER_01: If I've gotten nothing scheduled early, my bed is a comfy place in the morning. [08:39] SPEAKER_01: I like to stay in there as long as possible. [08:42] SPEAKER_01: But it's simply just getting up, turning on the music, turning on my computer and just [08:47] SPEAKER_01: going to work. [08:50] SPEAKER_01: My office is my living room essentially right now. [08:55] SPEAKER_01: It's really easy for me just to get up, turn on the music, turn on the computer and get [08:59] SPEAKER_01: to work. [09:01] SPEAKER_02: Do you think entrepreneurs have to be weird or unique in a positive way or wired differently? [09:07] SPEAKER_01: I don't think that they need to be, but I think if you were to take a poll, you would [09:14] SPEAKER_01: find that a lot of entrepreneurs are wired a little bit differently. [09:19] SPEAKER_01: I think it's because of the risks that come along with being an entrepreneur. [09:24] SPEAKER_01: Being an entrepreneur is glamorized today. [09:28] SPEAKER_01: I really don't like that word entrepreneur. [09:32] SPEAKER_01: I like business owner and all that kind of stuff instead. [09:35] SPEAKER_01: But an entrepreneur means that you have an idea and you're really trying to get it going. [09:42] SPEAKER_01: The reality is for every successful entrepreneur that you hear about, Jeff Bezos and the Mark Zuckerbergs [09:51] SPEAKER_01: and all that kind of stuff, there's a lot more in nobodies that tried something and failed [09:57] SPEAKER_01: and you don't know about. [09:59] SPEAKER_01: That's not talked about in the entrepreneurship world, but that is a reality. [10:05] SPEAKER_01: Is most entrepreneurs that get out there and they start something that doesn't mean guaranteed [10:12] SPEAKER_01: success. [10:13] SPEAKER_01: Most times, it means you're probably going to fail and what do you do after that and what [10:19] SPEAKER_01: are the stories after failure? [10:21] SPEAKER_01: That's something that I've always been curious about. [10:25] SPEAKER_02: Let's talk about the books you're reading. [10:27] SPEAKER_02: What books you're reading now and why or even audiobooks or podcasts? [10:31] SPEAKER_02: And can you recommend any books for listeners who are also aspiring entrepreneurs? [10:35] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm not much of a reader to be honest. [10:39] SPEAKER_01: I don't mind. [10:40] SPEAKER_01: I was at the ad there's an app that there's an app for listening audiobooks and stuff like [10:46] SPEAKER_01: that. [10:47] SPEAKER_01: I like that. [10:48] SPEAKER_01: They have podcasts. [10:49] SPEAKER_01: When I'm driving, I really enjoy listening to podcasts and whatnot. [10:52] SPEAKER_01: I'm much more of a podcast listener than I am a book reader. [10:58] SPEAKER_01: And I think there's a lot of podcasts out there in the startup world that I listen to. [11:04] SPEAKER_01: I don't think there's anything specific. [11:06] SPEAKER_01: And they all change over the years. [11:08] SPEAKER_01: Podcasts aren't that new anymore. [11:10] SPEAKER_01: I've had some come and some go and there's new ones that I find every day. [11:15] SPEAKER_01: So I'm always learning myself. [11:17] SPEAKER_02: Okay. [11:18] SPEAKER_02: Any online or offline tools that you use on a daily basis? [11:22] SPEAKER_01: Not really. [11:24] SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of CRM systems and SaaS companies that sell this to a company. [11:31] SPEAKER_01: Sell that to a company. [11:33] SPEAKER_01: I'm very, very basic. [11:34] SPEAKER_01: I find that I can do a lot with PowerPoint and Excel and everything. [11:41] SPEAKER_01: But one that I've learned to go to often is Fiverr. [11:47] SPEAKER_01: It's an online place where people kind of just sell their expertise and everything. [11:57] SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a very popular one. [11:59] SPEAKER_02: I think we're going to get designed or voiceovers, real quick, dirty stuff that you need to get done. [12:03] SPEAKER_02: Great, quickly. [12:05] SPEAKER_02: Doesn't cost you much. [12:06] SPEAKER_02: You can kind of get that down. [12:08] SPEAKER_02: I use it all the time. [12:09] SPEAKER_02: Quite like it. [12:09] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, if you're starting out, you can find a lot of useful people on there as well as there's a lot of time [12:16] SPEAKER_01: wasteers and everything as well. [12:18] SPEAKER_01: I've used it a few times and I found great value in some gigs and I've wasted my money and others. [12:26] SPEAKER_02: Yeah. [12:27] SPEAKER_02: Okay. [12:28] SPEAKER_02: If you weren't doing what you do now, what would you like to do for a profession? [12:34] SPEAKER_01: I don't know. [12:35] SPEAKER_01: Can I be a professional athlete? [12:37] SPEAKER_01: Sure. [12:37] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. [12:38] SPEAKER_01: I mean, like I said before, I'm a person of I go down the path of least resistance. [12:45] SPEAKER_01: I try to find where there's opportunity and I go down that path and I try to dig and find the opportunity there. [12:53] SPEAKER_01: About 10 years ago, I got into motorcycle racing, like road racing and I had a lot of fun with that. [13:01] SPEAKER_01: In a perfect world, I would probably be doing something with motorcycles in the racing, but the economics of that is not really realistic for me in my life. [13:13] SPEAKER_01: In my lifestyle. [13:14] SPEAKER_02: So she like things with two wheels. [13:17] Speaker UNKNOWN: Yeah. [13:18] SPEAKER_01: It's a there's just something going around a corner at 200 kilometers an hour with your knee on the ground. [13:27] SPEAKER_01: And the power that that has and mountain biking and road biking, it's a great alternative. [13:36] SPEAKER_00: To connect a center for entrepreneurship and innovation and left bridge has been spring-blooding entrepreneurs [13:43] SPEAKER_00: to success for 10 years and counting. [13:46] SPEAKER_00: Our spirit of innovation is a way of life. [13:49] SPEAKER_00: We have an incredible environment. [13:51] SPEAKER_00: Our innovators are not afraid to stand apart because they know that in less bridge, we are brighter together. [13:58] SPEAKER_00: We are less bridge. [14:00] SPEAKER_00: Come and join us. [14:01] SPEAKER_00: Go to chooselethbridge.ca slash entrepreneur and we'll help you move and grow in less bridge. [14:09] SPEAKER_02: What kind of job would you not like to do? [14:11] SPEAKER_02: I couldn't do it. [14:14] SPEAKER_01: You know, I look at people who work in fast food restaurants and the fact that they're [14:20] SPEAKER_01: the minimal, they're the people who you look at in society and it's like, that's minimum wage. [14:26] SPEAKER_01: But if you actually look, they're probably the one of the hardest working people. [14:30] SPEAKER_01: They're just working non-stop if you look at a fast food clerk. [14:34] SPEAKER_01: And it's always baffled me that these are the people that are getting paid the least [14:39] SPEAKER_01: amount in our society. [14:40] SPEAKER_01: They're probably working the hardest and everything. [14:43] SPEAKER_02: Early mornings too. [14:44] SPEAKER_02: Early mornings. [14:45] SPEAKER_02: Wow. [14:46] SPEAKER_01: Early mornings, like overnight shifts and all that kind of stuff. [14:49] SPEAKER_01: I was told early on in my career, a lot of employers, they like to see McDonald's and all [14:56] SPEAKER_01: that kind of stuff on your resume. [14:58] SPEAKER_01: And I get it just because it probably creates great work ethics. [15:02] SPEAKER_02: Absolutely. [15:03] SPEAKER_02: Yeah. [15:04] SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of people very successful that started working in various food service [15:11] SPEAKER_02: businesses and they learned discipline. [15:13] SPEAKER_02: I think that's one of the things in structure and getting things done consistently. [15:19] SPEAKER_02: I think consistency. [15:20] SPEAKER_02: If you work for something like McDonald's, you're going to get years and years of fine-tuning [15:26] SPEAKER_02: and process of which you're going to also use it as an education, how they did that, [15:31] SPEAKER_02: how to take those skills and apply it to your own world. [15:35] SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, I'm interested. [15:37] Speaker UNKNOWN: [15:38] SPEAKER_02: In business, what's your favorite word, quote, or sentence that you'd like to use? [15:44] SPEAKER_01: I don't really use a lot. [15:46] SPEAKER_01: There's one that, there's a couple that I really enjoy hearing. [15:49] SPEAKER_01: One's a warm buffet quote. [15:53] SPEAKER_01: And this one's more to do with like just the stock market and all that kind of stuff. [15:57] SPEAKER_01: But it's when others are greedy, be fearful and when others are fearful, be greedy. [16:03] SPEAKER_01: I really like that. [16:04] SPEAKER_01: I translate that. [16:05] SPEAKER_01: Well, it's exactly what it as it sounds. [16:08] SPEAKER_01: But it's also when everybody goes right, I like to go left. [16:11] SPEAKER_01: When everybody goes left, I like to go right. [16:15] SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't like to go where everybody else is going. [16:18] SPEAKER_01: I want to go where everybody is and where everybody is going to be. [16:22] SPEAKER_01: That's my mentality. [16:23] SPEAKER_01: The other one is time. [16:26] SPEAKER_01: You're most valuable asset. [16:28] SPEAKER_01: Use it wisely. [16:29] SPEAKER_01: I saw that I was at a dealership years and years ago and I was in their boardroom [16:34] SPEAKER_01: and I saw that up on their wall. [16:37] SPEAKER_01: And I thought that was a great quote because it's time. [16:40] SPEAKER_01: It's an asset in this world that you can't buy. [16:43] SPEAKER_01: You can't, you know, I guess you can't kind of technically sell it. [16:45] SPEAKER_01: So, you do every day with the jobs, but you're never going to get it back. [16:49] SPEAKER_01: You can't purchase more time for yourself. [16:55] SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, I think it can be a little bit more generous when you're young, [16:57] SPEAKER_02: but it's good that you've identified that now at a young age [17:00] SPEAKER_02: because most people don't figure that out until they're older. [17:04] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's one thing to identify it and it's another to live by. [17:08] SPEAKER_02: Yeah. [17:09] SPEAKER_02: What's your least favorite word or sentence you do not like to hear? [17:15] SPEAKER_01: I don't have probably nothing. [17:18] SPEAKER_01: It's silence. [17:20] SPEAKER_01: That's silence. [17:20] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. [17:21] SPEAKER_01: Pointing. [17:22] SPEAKER_01: You know, if I hear something at least it's definitive, you know, [17:25] SPEAKER_01: I don't mind to know, at least I know it's a no. [17:28] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. [17:29] SPEAKER_01: And I'm not being, I'm not being carried along or anything like that. [17:35] SPEAKER_01: It's definitive. [17:37] SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't know. [17:39] SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, I'll find somebody who does know. [17:41] SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, anything that said to me, there's always something I can use. [17:46] SPEAKER_01: But if it's silence, then, then what am I going to do with that? [17:51] SPEAKER_01: I also just don't like if I'm alone, I need some stimulation. [17:55] SPEAKER_01: Like I need some music on the background and all that kind of stuff. [17:58] SPEAKER_01: So it's just simply silence. [18:00] SPEAKER_02: Okay. [18:01] SPEAKER_02: If you had to pick one or two words to describe yourself, what would it be? [18:04] SPEAKER_02: And why? [18:08] SPEAKER_01: I would say a bit of an adrenaline junkie. [18:13] SPEAKER_01: I like to do extreme things. [18:16] SPEAKER_01: You know, I would love to be a, get my pallets license is on my bucket list. [18:22] SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I reached a motorcycle years ago. [18:26] SPEAKER_01: I do a lot of mountain biking now. [18:28] SPEAKER_01: I've bungee jump. [18:29] SPEAKER_01: I haven't skydived yet, but it's on my bucket list as well. [18:34] SPEAKER_01: So I would say adrenaline, adrenaline junkie. [18:38] SPEAKER_01: Yeah. [18:40] SPEAKER_02: Okay. [18:40] SPEAKER_02: Anything keeping you up at night these days? [18:42] SPEAKER_02: Business thinking about it. [18:44] SPEAKER_01: Crushed mind. [18:45] SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's weird, especially in the entrepreneurship world. [18:49] SPEAKER_01: And when you're when you're first starting a business, when you lay in bed at night, [18:52] SPEAKER_01: you try to sleep, the tricks that your mind plays on you and, and the thoughts that come and go. [19:00] SPEAKER_01: And, and everything. [19:01] SPEAKER_01: It's, what am I going to do tomorrow? [19:04] SPEAKER_01: Like what am I planning for tomorrow? [19:05] SPEAKER_01: And then I had random thought comes and should I write this down? [19:08] SPEAKER_01: Or am I going to remember this tomorrow? [19:09] SPEAKER_01: It's just your mind laid at night, just wanders everywhere. [19:14] SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I, I raised some friends and family and friends and family around a while back when I first started drive. [19:22] SPEAKER_01: So if I fail, you know, am I, am I going to be okay? [19:28] SPEAKER_01: Would not giving money back to a few friends of mine who gave me money for this business and for me, for me to succeed. [19:35] SPEAKER_01: Can I handle a day if I go to them and I say, look, I got to shut this down. [19:40] SPEAKER_01: It's not working. [19:42] SPEAKER_01: So stuff like that is something that keeps me up. [19:45] SPEAKER_02: Okay, I want you to give us the top three things on your inspired lifeless. [19:49] SPEAKER_02: You could touch on this earlier with getting a pilot license. [19:53] SPEAKER_02: But things that you want to do, travel more to philanthropy, maybe write a book. [19:58] SPEAKER_02: Pilot licenses, obviously, is one of them anything else? [20:01] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I would love to have my pilot license. [20:06] SPEAKER_01: I, you know, I really enjoy BC. [20:08] SPEAKER_01: I do enjoy living in, in, in around Vancouver. [20:12] SPEAKER_01: I do think it's one of the best places on earth to live. [20:16] SPEAKER_01: I took a bit of a sabbatical in 2018 and traveled the world for, for about nine months. [20:22] SPEAKER_01: And I just, I enjoy here. [20:24] SPEAKER_01: So really what I want to do and I would consider my life complete is, look, I've got a place on, you know, [20:30] SPEAKER_01: up in the Okinaw again somewhere. [20:32] SPEAKER_01: I've got a beach house. [20:33] SPEAKER_01: I've got a place in one of the ski resorts, whether it be Whistler or Sun Peaks. [20:38] SPEAKER_01: And then I've got my, you know, let's say my self-story or present beach home. [20:42] SPEAKER_01: That's, that's kind of what I'm working toward in life. [20:44] SPEAKER_01: I got my winter place. [20:46] SPEAKER_01: I got my summer place. [20:48] SPEAKER_01: I'm in the mountain to go mountain biking whenever I want in the summertime. [20:52] SPEAKER_01: I'm at the beach and the boat. [20:54] SPEAKER_01: That's kind of what I'm striving to be. [20:56] SPEAKER_01: That's, that's my life completion goal. [20:59] SPEAKER_01: Is, is just to settle down and really in BC, we have everything we need here. [21:07] SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you, you know, everybody complains about Vancouver and how it's so rainy. [21:14] SPEAKER_01: But you go up on one of the local mountains, whether it be Cypress or Gross or, or Seymour, [21:19] SPEAKER_01: you know, after a week of rain, where it's been snowing up there and it's just blue skies and [21:24] SPEAKER_01: you can ski over and see the city. [21:27] SPEAKER_01: There's no better place than that in the world. [21:29] SPEAKER_01: So, it is, yeah. [21:31] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's just to, to settle down and make life here. [21:35] SPEAKER_01: Okay. [21:36] SPEAKER_02: Do you have any advice that you may have received that you can pass on to entrepreneurs throughout Canada? [21:43] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, especially if you're looking to start a new business and start a startup. [21:49] SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of work. [21:52] SPEAKER_01: There's going to be up, there's going to be extreme highs, there's going to be extreme lows. [21:57] SPEAKER_01: It's one thing that I was told over and over again. [22:00] SPEAKER_01: And you just don't really fully understand it until you go through it yourself. [22:03] SPEAKER_01: And that's kind of what I've been going through. [22:05] SPEAKER_01: So, if you're, if you're, if you're looking to, to build a new company and start up, [22:12] SPEAKER_01: do it, but just be prepared to really learn about yourself. [22:16] SPEAKER_02: Okay, good. [22:17] SPEAKER_01: Mark, you ready? Have some fun? [22:20] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're going to the Magical Island. [22:21] SPEAKER_02: We're going to take you to the Magical Island because we know that you're always online, [22:25] SPEAKER_02: you're always working and you're always very, very busy and things are keeping you up at night [22:29] SPEAKER_02: thinking about your business. [22:30] SPEAKER_02: So, we're going to take you to a small tropical island just off of Fiji that only has one phone [22:36] SPEAKER_02: booth there. There is no internet. This place does exist. We're going to drop you off there. [22:41] SPEAKER_02: You won't have a computer or a smart phone or tablet. [22:43] SPEAKER_02: You can use the phone booth located there anytime to call the boat. We'll come pick you up. [22:48] SPEAKER_02: How long would you last before you made that call? And what would you do while you were there? [22:53] SPEAKER_01: I would relax for, let's say two months and then I get bored and then I would call to come home. [23:05] SPEAKER_01: Too much. That's pretty good. [23:08] SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah. I mean, it depends who's there with me, right? [23:11] SPEAKER_01: I have the right people there with me. I could live there. [23:18] SPEAKER_02: No internet. But you're young. You grew up with the internet. How can you live without it? [23:24] SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm old enough to remember life without the internet, but young enough to fear life [23:35] SPEAKER_01: without it again. My cell phones just became a thing when I was in high school. So like entering [23:46] SPEAKER_01: high school and all this kind of like cell phones, not necessarily smart phones, but just cell phones. [23:54] SPEAKER_01: When I was in grade eight, nobody had phones. When I was in grade 12, maybe half the grade [24:01] SPEAKER_01: to three quarters had cell phones. And then it was really after I graduated in 2006, where smart phones [24:07] SPEAKER_01: came around and everything. So I can't imagine what kids these days are going through in high school [24:14] SPEAKER_01: with cell phones and the technology and everything. But yeah, I got to experience a little bit of that [24:21] SPEAKER_01: when I traveled. I was in an island just in Cambodia where basically the electricity was on for [24:28] SPEAKER_01: 10 hours of the day and you didn't have cell service. And I was there for a week and it was great. [24:38] SPEAKER_01: And I could do it over and over again if I had the resources to for sure. [24:43] SPEAKER_01: I like to get away. I don't like the whole social media stuff to be honest. I'm not a big person [24:51] SPEAKER_01: on social media. I know I should be just for like personal branding and being an entrepreneur [24:57] SPEAKER_01: and all that kind of stuff, but it's just not where I spend my time. And I think I'm glad I don't. [25:03] SPEAKER_02: Okay, it's not as engulfed your life. Take talk, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. [25:09] SPEAKER_01: No, they're great tools and everything, but I haven't let them engulf me. [25:15] SPEAKER_02: Not yet. Okay. Mark, we're going to wrap things up. How can our listeners get hold of you? [25:20] SPEAKER_02: And is there anything you'd like to add before you leave us today? [25:23] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you can always email me at mark.razen. So it's just maarch.rks.rksln at drive auto. [25:33] SPEAKER_01: And it's drive drivv with two v's auto a uto.com. It's a long long winded to [25:41] SPEAKER_01: wait a second mark dot reason at drive or so drive auto.com with two v's. Remember that. Yeah, [25:47] SPEAKER_02: you got to have the two v's in that. Okay, Mark, thanks for coming on the show. I've learned a lot [25:51] SPEAKER_02: about you and I'm sure our listeners have as well. Thanks, Mark. Thanks Robert. I've really enjoyed it. [25:56] SPEAKER_02: Great. We'll see you next time. [26:00] SPEAKER_00: Bold vibrant technological. In last bridge, our spirit of innovation is more than just the [26:06] SPEAKER_00: way we do business. It's the way we live and the way we succeed. We'll help you to kick start [26:12] SPEAKER_00: innovate and grow in Westbridge. Seven Alberta's hub for innovation and technology. [26:19] SPEAKER_00: It's the bright affordable choice for business builders. Go to chooselethbridge.ca slash [26:25] SPEAKER_00: entrepreneur and we'll help you moving rolling Westbridge.
