 Hi everyone and welcome back to JSA TV and JSA Podcasts where we're coming to you with the latest stories, trends and innovations from leaders in our industry. I'm Barb Mitchell from JSA. Pleased to be joined here with Nabil Mahmoud and I told you Philip Koblenz. We got those right. Yes. Perfect. Great effort. Founders and CEOs of Nomad Futurist. Great to have you. We're excited because we have just recently partnered with you and we're excited to share with our audience everything that you're busy doing that Nomad Futurist could just start at the beginning. Tell us a little bit about it. Yes. It's actually kind of interesting. The birth of Nomad Futurist initiative really started out in Hawaii. I get to be the lucky one to live over here and the idea really was that we've identified a significant human capital deficit and the age gap in our sector. Some of the numbers that when we started the whole initiative were roughly around the fact that you've got 42 to 43 percent of the existing workforce that's been in the space for about 25 plus years, which means that there will be a retirement party every day of the week within five years time frame and we are not back pushing the talent pool and there isn't enough people coming into space, not something that we talk about at dinner tables with grandmas and mums and dad, right? And the industry is growing crazy. So Phil and I sitting out actually here at Tropics decided that we were going to launch a podcast platform with the whole idea of demystifying technology for the younger generation, sharing the trials and tribulations of other executives in the space and encourage them to come into this place and simplify it to the degree that they can connect with it. And that has resulted in creating a non-profit of 501c3 and our goal is to inspire the younger generation, get them excited about this space and address the human capital deficit by providing an educational platform, scholarships, internships and job placements. So the nexus of it really was in a non-commercial way to share the stories of all of kind of our generation of executives in our space that fell into, just happened to be because of the time where they were in their professional career just happenstance fell into our industry. It's not something that they planned when they were kids. So the hopes were on the podcast side that the stories, their backgrounds would resonate with the younger generation. And that is really kind of dovetail to us founding the Nomad Futurist Foundation with the goal of that spark, that magic that we had when we got into this industry in the late 90s and early 2000s, because we happened to be one of the last generations that straddled the before digital times and now we want to try to convey that magic to a generation that grew up in an era where they've had an iPhone in their hands since they were born. That's their primary nanny, at least it is in my house. Sorry, honey. I think our goal is to try to rekindle that magic and explore the wonder of our just crazy topsy-turvy amazing industry to plant those seeds at a really young level. K through 12 is one of our major focuses. And connecting the experience that they're having really growing up with this industry in a personal way to the possibilities that could exist for them. No doubt. They all know how technology works because they've been using it for so long. But they don't know because there's no way for them to know is why it all works. So as technically adept as our children are, when something goes wrong, when the internet goes down, when the power goes out, they turn into Neanderthals. Just banging the tables. We all relate to that. I'm actually really happy that we're sort of, it's the final day here of PTC. It's nice to be ending with this conversation actually because over the past few days a few topics always come up at every show. That's of course AI, it's sustainability, but the third big one is exactly what you're talking about. What how are we filling the age gap in the industry? So the work that's being done here is so important. And it's nice to be seeing some of these initiatives. So on that note, I mean I think you talked a little bit about, I don't know if you want to expand anymore on how you're able to leverage, you said you've been around this industry for a long time. 27 plus years. Well, and so a lot of people come here and they've been, this is their 15th PTC or something. They're pointing to which palm tree they planted when they first came to their PTC and it's now some giant. Exactly. And then yet there's this new crop of talent coming up, still just ready to explore. So how are you able to pass that, pass on your wisdom to the younger generation? I think one of the things that we've been focused on is not just coming to industry conferences and talking to our own audience about it, but really trying to create a program, an initiative that gets us in front of kids, gets us into high schools to do presentations about what we're doing. We did one, and this just started right at the end of last year. We were finally able to get into a school in Mountain View Los Altos School District, right in the Silicon Valley area. And we had one of our partners like bring a cabinet full of servers. We had, we put a panel together with someone from Netflix, someone from Tiktok so they can contextualize the apps that they use along with someone from Aligned and someone from Stack on the sales and on the construction side so that we can just give them kind of a bird's eye view and connect what they're doing on a daily basis with the people that make that happen. And later this year, we're going to present to an act like a teacher's conference about the availability of our initiative to get in front of those schools. So we're trying to bring this not just to an audience where we're preaching to the choir, but to kids where they're really going to be impacted and see something that they never knew existed before. Yeah, and tell us more about this. I know that there's, in addition to what you're describing, you have programs targeted, I believe, at underprivileged communities and helping to support diversity and inclusion. Talk about what some of those programs look like. Yeah, so I mean, we actually did one last year in the Bahamas. We funded roughly about 40 students and it really came through another partner that was trying to set up an educational platform out there. So, I mean, stepping back a bit, you know, as you can tell, we are, you know, stepbrothers, I don't know. I mean, we are wearing the same shirt today. So I don't know if you can tell us apart. I'm Phil and this is Nabil. Exactly. But we get confused all the time. Yeah. So one of the things that we really talk about, you know, is the fact that we are all made of the equal parts, right? So that should be muscle memory. It doesn't matter if you're a man, woman, your color shouldn't really define you, your race shouldn't define you, your religion and beliefs shouldn't define you, should all be given equal opportunity. And a lot of people don't get that opportunity. We are certainly the fortunate ones that fell into the space purely by an accident. And if you really look around the room over here as well and the sector, it's like roughly about 95, 96% of the people have actually fallen into the space purely by an accident. Nobody really went to college for it, yet we defined that sector. So our vision is to go to the secondary markets. The emerging markets and give those kids an opportunity that there is something besides just the conventional banking or retail and other sectors that they exist that they can actually get into space and contribute. And to really show them people that look like them, that talk like them, that came from similar backgrounds, because that's how they contextualize it. That's how you see that spark moment. When we did the event in MVLA, we followed it up with, you know, 50 or 60 students on a tour of a local data center that's one of our partners, and they met like the person that runs the site. And he was from the Hispanic community similar to them. And that's where they had this aha moment where someone that looks like me, that speaks like me, that's part of my community does this also. So that's when it becomes real. So the more we can be that connective tissue to the people that run our world and, you know, the kids out there that don't know it exists, that don't know that this is a path for them, I think the better we're going to be positioned to solve our problems. Not next quarter or next year, but into the future as we, you know, need to eventually retire. Guys, come on, how long can I do this? Yeah, I mean, you're taking it from an idea to an understanding to an inspiration to a possibility, right? And taking them on that path, that's great. And I think that what you're doing aligns so nicely to what we already said needs to be addressed in the industry, but it also aligns to a lot of the companies that exist here and the priorities that they have. So for those companies, if they want to get involved with this, how can they do that? Well, it's very simple, you know, reach out to myself or the rest of the team. You can find us nomadfuturist.org or the 17,000 selfies that we'll likely be in as a consequence of this event. We'll take one right after this. Stay tuned, guys, selfie on the way. Yeah, so on the social platforms, the nomad futurist is the handle and nomadfuturist.org is the foundation's website and that's where they connect and nomadfuturist.com is sort of like our social platform, which is going to consolidate any write-ups, any briefs, industry news and just general information. And we want anyone and everyone to get involved. We need as much assistance like creating content that can be leveraged to get on to our academy. And anyway, anyone can help. We'd love to work with you. Yeah, and just to add one more thing to what Phil said and what we've been talking about our hair. So our approach is slightly different. So it's not just about theories. It's about practicality, right? So we're not just going to be teaching theoretical data. We're going to be teaching what's really happening in the field. That's a little bit different, typically, I mean, and bringing forth people with a very diverse background. So different colors, religions, beliefs, areas around the world. And really perspectives, it's about those lived experiences that then will impact what solutions the companies that come to these conferences develop that are relevant to different communities around the world. So there's no shortage. I don't want to get too overarching. But we're kind of saving the world. I'm kind of saving the world. I'm kind of saving the world. No big deal. Saving the world over here. One day at a time. One day at a time. All right. Well, thank you so much. It's great. This is our, you're our, ZIT for PDC 2024. But thank you for joining us. No, thank you for having us. Thanks for having us, and it's a pleasure. It's a pleasure. Yeah, thank you. That's a wrap. I get to say that's a wrap. I've always wanted to say that. That's a wrap. We can say it together. Thank you to our viewers for tuning in to JSA TV today. And as we said, that's a wrap. Till next time.