<ul><li><keyword id="155484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword> will soon launch its <keyword id="2019032" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="content-streaming" source="Orion">content streaming</keyword> platform Salesforce+, a platform that it calls the '<keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> of business content'.</li><li>We catch up with Leandro Perez, Vice President, Asia Pacific Marketing at <keyword id="12117326" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword> to understand the thought behind it. Perez gives us a sneak peek into all the platform will offer.</li></ul> It was in August that Salesforce announced its plans of launching Salesforce+, a streaming service focusing on business content. The aim was to bring all its curated video content at one place and making it easier to access for the relevant audience. Now, just days away from the official launch at Salesforce’s annual event <keyword id="757896" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dreamforce" source="Orion">Dreamforce</keyword>, we catch up with Leandro Perez, Vice President, Asia Pacific Marketing at Salesforce who tells us all there is to know about the new platform and why they don’t shy away from calling it ‘the Netflix of biz content’. Excerpts: Q) A streaming platform for business content is a novel idea. What was the genesis of the idea? Over the past few years, the way people consume content has changed. Video is exploding, mostly because of social media channels like YouTube and Instagram, it is changing people's behaviors. In places like India, it could mean up to 5 billion views every month. The pandemic, if anything, has only accelerated this, with people being at home. We also launched a lot of new content, original series, to help people during the pandemic. We launched ‘Leading through change’, which was a series which looked at what could be done to help our community, our customers just get through this time. It was quite disconnected from our marketing goals. And sometimes we would bring on customers, celebrities or luminaries to talk. We've also launched a few other series but that one just showed the appetite for that kind of content. We’ve got about 700 million views on ‘Leading through change’ with the 70 episodes that we have. We saw the consumer appetite but would launch it on our channel on YouTube or on our website in the video section. At Salesforce, we always look at the consumer world for inspiration. And when we looked at platforms like Netflix or Disney+ Hotstar, we thought, why couldn’t we do something like that for our content? And the last bit of it was the fact that we couldn’t do a lot of our events that we have done historically. We believe we do some of the best B2B events in the business world and we were just looking for ways of bringing that experience, these videos and original broadcast series to this always on, on-demand kind of world, but personalized for the business user. That was the genesis of it all. Q) What is the need gap you are trying to fill here with Salesforce+, considering there is already a lot of content available on the internet? There's no shortage of content in the world but in the business world, we target specific buyers - sales buyers, people in the customer service industry, marketing and they don't really have a trusted source from a business where they can go. They don’t really have this Netflix-like experience where they can tune in and watch a series dedicated to them. We're not necessarily selling on that platform, we're actually usually highlighting our customers, where our vision is very soon to not just have our own content, but to have content from those people on the platform as well. So we call them our Trailblazers, because they would be our customers that are really out there doing these things. And then obviously, we have the <keyword id="8631884" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trailhead" source="Orion">Trailhead</keyword> platform, which is where you would go and learn to do stuff. So eventually sort of bridging those two worlds where you might get inspired, learn something and then go and actually be able to bring it to your work. So that's where we're going. I think from a purely marketing point of view, this is a new world for us to engage. There’s a cookie-less future on the horizon. And we're not going to be relying on these other parties to be able to understand who we're connecting with, we'll be able to connect with directly. Our personalization will be able to tell us, is this the kind of content they like, or don't like, what's useful and what's not? So for the marketer, it actually it's very new lever that they haven't had before. Q) Will the platform have interactive elements? Yes, for Dreamforce, there's obviously going to be chat, you'll be able to share your emojis of whether you're liking the content, sort of like Twitter. But this is version one of the experience and I really can't say what it will be like in the future. But we are going through a whole coming together of our website where it isn't just a static website, it will have this content coming into it, as well as the Trailhead content so you can learn. So the future really is how do you blend all of that. And it's really exciting, because nothing exists like that today. Q) Salesforce has been calling the platform the ‘Netflix of business content’. What are the direct parallels? We're moving from this moment in time event to these ongoing series. That's a big shift for us. And the next part is you need to have engaging content that people will want to come back to. Let's be honest, most B2B content is a little boring at times, this is the new world for everyone, because you're going from a webinar-style mode, where you're presenting to people to how do you have insights and have a bit of storytelling, and that's something we usually do at our events, but maybe we haven't always focused on for video content. That would be number one. Number two is just ease of use. It has to be easy for someone to get in. Maybe they've seen episode one, and next time they want to see the next episode, so how do you remember that? And last is probably personalization. Our goal is that we're feeding them what they don't know they need but that is interesting to them. That's a very different approach. That's what Netflix does with AI and we're using our own AI and technology to do the same thing. The only difference is, we’re free. Q) Do you have plans of monetizing the platform anytime soon? At the moment, no! It's a completely free platform. Just like Trailhead is democratizing our access to learning, we're in the same boat where this is really a way for us to be a thought leader, but not in charging our customers in attending this. Q) Have you set a target in terms of the number of people you want to see using the platform? We've definitely got targets for Dreamforce. Historically, in-person Dreamforce would have about 1,70,000 people on site. We're trying to get to that level on the digital platform. We know that's a very low number, I am pretty sure we're going to blow past that number. But at a minimum, that's where we would want to start. Q) Right now, most of your content is global. Are you also looking at regional content to make it more relevant for specific geographies? The main Dreamforce program is quite global, and that content resonated well. What was missing is, if we would take people to San Francisco, we would be having conversations with the region together because you're traveling there, you may be staying in a hotel. So what we're doing for that is on September 22, which is when Dreamforce starts in our region, we will have an APAC takeover. In that, we'll feature stories from around the region. That is where we're tapping into some of that regional flavor. After Dreamforce, the international strategy is something we're working on. We have the Trailblazer Talks which is an India program where <keyword id="6379603" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arundhati-bhattacharya" source="Orion">Arundhati Bhattacharya</keyword>, our Chairperson &amp; CEO for India will talk to various leaders. That is the kind of content we would love to have on the platform. SO we are still working on how to make sure our content targets the right people.

Here’s all there is to know about Salesforce’s streaming platform for business content, Salesforce+

<ul><li>We bring to you a series of columns from industry experts, looking back at the last 10 years. </li><li>The columns will explore how the media, marketing and advertising industry has transformed in the last decade. </li><li>Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digitas India walks us through his personal journey from 2010 to 2020 as well as the different stages of evolution that the digital industry went through in the last decade.</li></ul>The year was 2009. I was trying to convince my boss to accept my resignation. He couldn’t fathom why I would leave a fast-track career in an established network agency to join an unknown digital shop. I couldn’t blame him. Everyone I knew in the agency world felt that it was hara-kiri. There was a tsunami coming and the MarComm industry at the time was in collective denial about it. In the decade since, I have witnessed the industry get from there to acceptance in classic stages. 2009-2010 – Denial This was the era of flash banners, microsites and entrepreneur led digital shops. Some got as far as animated ‘viral’ videos, typically depicting popular Bollywood characters or mythology to support the ‘real’ campaign. All of it was at best considered cute. CMOs and CCOs had no time for digital work and usually the junior brand manager that drew a short straw was put in charge of it. Some industry luminaries were even dismissing digital as a passing trend. With barely 60 million users online, no one bothered to argue. Of course, the fees reflected the sentiment, and seemed like a cruel joke when compared to the soon to perish 15% commission model. 2011-2012 – Anger A new reality emerged. Smartphones + Mobile Data + Social Media = Consumer voice at scale. Brands and agencies alike plunged in, trying to understand how to play this game. The ones who didn’t soon realized that it was akin to not attending your own trial where the consumer was judge, jury and executioner. I recall, embarrassingly so in hindsight, that we had an entire brainstorm to understand how hashtags worked. Facebook applications, paid followers, trending mechanics, always-on content calendars et all emerged in this period. Amidst this the word ‘disruption’ and the consequent need for ‘transformation’ started gaining momentum. A lot of people across industries were angry. Many had spent decades learning the ropes of their business, and suddenly there was a new set of rules. But they weren’t set rules, the only thing you could be certain of is that things would keep changing. 2013-2016 – Bargaining Okay, we need digital… “But there’s no reach” “But print is more credible” “But we can solve the problem by hiring 1-2 millennials in house” To illustrate the sentiment of this period, a couple of us from our agency’s leadership featured in a leading publication’s ‘most admired agency leaders’ list alongside traditionally well-known faces. And instead of calls from other leaders congratulating us, we were asked in genuinely confused tones whether we had paid to be on it, so they could rationalize it. The ‘buts’ didn’t stop the advent of digital. HTML 5 made engaging interfaces available at scale across devices. Budgets grew and demand for digital talent skyrocketed. It became a 24*7 struggle to keep up with real-time marketing, constantly evolving platform algorithms and the mobile app ecosystem. Recognizing their gaps, holding companies got into M&amp;A mode and independent digital agencies around the world were quickly bought up. 2017-2018 – Depression Realization dawned that we were up against Google and Facebook as frenemies, as well as consultancies and tech companies like Accenture as competitors. It really sunk in when we saw a change of guard at many celebrated agencies, with revered talent making way for others if they hadn’t adapted. For individuals in the business, it was a wake-up call - upskill or soon be redundant. Marketers had smelt the coffee much earlier and had been training their teams for years. These well trained clients too were putting pressure on their agency partners to speak the language of modern marketing. The final punch in the gut was when a leading holding company merged two of their greatest legacy agency networks into digital brands, changing the face of the industry forever. 2019 – Acceptance This year was truly the coming of age for modern marketing practices. Creativity powered by technology was celebrated on the world’s biggest stages. OTT players and devices like the Amazon Firestick blurred the line between when that LED on your wall is a TV and when it is a screen. The reach argument in India was dealt a defining blow as the country crossed 500Mn people online. Many of them, who have difficulty interacting with screens and text, are using voice as their first interface. Others are driving up the demand for vernacular content. Fittingly, this year digital agencies such as ours grew to a scale comparable to many legacy agencies. And it is increasingly dawning on leaders in the industry that the time for distinction between digital and traditional capabilities has passed. Strategy and creative skills are still crucial. But they need to be coupled with data and technology to deliver the demands of marketing today and tomorrow. 2020 and beyond Voice, video and vernacular will scale as drivers of consumer engagement. Machine Learning algorithms fed by data will transform how things work internally for companies, as well as how they interact with their customers. Emerging technologies like blockchain will change the norms of transaction. New jobs like Data Security Specialists will be in demand. Many people have barely wrapped their heads around the digital disruption so far and feel exhausted thinking about another upskilling exercise. But continuous learning is the key to survival. For us, it could mean focusing on cracking a great idea and letting the machine take care of dynamic creative personalization. Formulating a brilliant media strategy and letting ML take care of optimum automated bidding and blockchain powered safe transactions. My belief is that to succeed in the 2020s, it won’t be about People Vs Machines, but rather how we best play together as People AND Machines. - By Amaresh Godbole, CEO, Digitas India

Digital marketing: A decade to acceptance

Toons tell the top stories of 2019 ⁠— with a dash of sarcasm

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Getty ImagesLocal residents visit the Nestle SA supermarket boat in Barcarena, Brazil, on Friday, June 18, 2010.</div></div></div>For the past five years, sales of Nestlé chocolate, ice cream, and milk powder <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/business/nestle-activist-investor.html?mcubz=0&amp;_r=0">have slowed</a> in some of the wealthiest countries.So Nestlé, the world's largest packaged food conglomerate, came up with a way to spread its presence abroad: sponsor an Amazonian river barge to sell its products to the backwoods of Brazil.Faced with <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/how-big-food-takes-advantage-of-the-poor-in-emerging-markets/249917/">pressures to grow sales</a>, big food companies - from Nestlé to Unilever to <a href="https://blog.generalmills.com/2014/02/growth-in-global-markets/">General Mills</a> - are looking to expand their presence in developing nations. Like Nestlé, Unilever has <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjLjNzcurHWAhUG0YMKHYlTB3oQFggmMAA&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fglobal-development%2F2011%2Fnov%2F23%2Fcorporate-giants-target-developing-countries&amp;usg=AFQjCNHOwrtalAQHPvL-nUhjko0FsS-P5Q">an army of door-to-door vendors</a> who sell processed food to low-income villages in India and west and east Africa. The brewer <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/sabmiller" data-omni-click="r'article',r'link',r'6',r'249917'">SABMiller</a>, a leading Coca-Cola distributor in South Africa, is also aiming to double carbonated drink sales in the country's townships in coming years. Nestlé <a href="https://www.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203537304577028422773102732-lMyQjAxMTAxMDAwNDEwNDQyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email">told</a> The Wall Street Journal it expects 45% of its sales to come from emerging markets by 2020, up from around 30% today. For Nestle, the boat was a way to expand in hard to reach parts of Brazil, reports the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/16/health/brazil-obesity-nestle.html?_r=2">New York Times</a>. Since 2010, the boat delivered tens of thousands of cartons of milk powder, yogurt, chocolate pudding, cookies, and candy to isolated communities in the Amazon basin. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/16/health/brazil-obesity-nestle.html?_r=1">According to</a> The New York Times, the boat was taken out of service in July 2017, but private boat owners have taken over to fill the demand.The program, called "Nestlé Takes You Onboard," was part of a larger effort of Nestlé's door-to-door marketing campaign, which aims to grow the corporation's presence in the developing world. Nestlé currently also employs thousands of local vendors, who sell its products to quarter-million households, many of which are in isolated, low-income areas of Brazil.The "supermarket" boat, which measured 1,076 square feet, journeyed to 18 cities and up to 800,000 consumers on the Para and Xingu rivers in Brazil, the company <a href="http://www.nestle.com/asset-library/Documents/Media/press-release/2010-february/Nestl%C3%A9%20Brazil%20Press%20Release%20-%20A%20Bordo.pdf">wrote</a> in a press release. It carried 300 different items, including chocolate, yogurt, ice cream, and juices.Food luminaries, like <a href="https://twitter.com/ruthreichl/status/16695276287">Ruth Reichl</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/bittman/status/16681989665">Mark Bittman</a>, as well as public health advocates, have criticized Nestlé's floating "supermarket" effort, arguing that it contributed to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-on-track-to-be-most-obese-in-world-2015-10">the country's obesity epidemic</a> and shoved native diets aside."If there are people out there so backwards to still be subsisting on food found in nature, Big Food will find them, by land or by sea, and set them straight," Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, <a href="http://www.alternet.org/story/147446/nestle_stoops_to_new_low%2C_launches_barge_to_peddle_junk_food_on_the_amazon_river_to_brazil%27s_poor">wrote</a> in AlterNet at the time.The company <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-06-17/nestle-navigates-amazon-rivers-to-reach-cut-off-consumers-before-unilever">told</a> Bloomberg that it would add nutrients like iron, zinc, iodine, and vitamin A to address nutrition deficiencies among poor Brazilian consumers. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/i-tried-those-trendy-subscriptions-style-boxes-stitch-fix-five-four-club-2017-8">I tried those trendy subscription boxes - and it helped me realize the biggest problem with my style</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Nestle sailed Amazon rivers to sell its candy and chocolate pudding to the backwoods of Brazil

The conservation and promotion of India’s art and cultural heritage aren't a national matter nor is it a big concern of the government. <keyword id="719465" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ayaan-Ali-Bangash">Ayaan Ali Bangash</keyword>, a known Sarod player thinks that Indian government is not needed for increasing popularity of Indian arts and culture,”It is very important to be connected to our roots but if you’re not able to capture the audience with your music, then you can’t blame any third party for not promoting your art.” 
 Very few corporate companies notably want to promote art and culture and <keyword id="28126" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="HCL">HCL</keyword>, foraying from it’s IT space, has been organizing HCL Concerts for over 18 years, dedicated to identifying, evolving and promoting talent rooted in the glorious heritage of Indian classical performing arts. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-ace-angel-investor-sanjay-mehtas-true-life-experiences-that-makes-his-investments-in-startups-fool-proof/articleshow/58061818.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: Ace Angel Investor Sanjay Mehta’s true-life experiences that make his investments in startups fool-proof</a> 
 
Concerts under the umbrella of HCL Concerts are organized regularly in Delhi NCR, Chennai and Lucknow across various venues throughout the year. These concerts are free to attend and are often enriched by the presence of luminaries in the field of Indian classical performing arts. 
 “You don’t know the kind of audience that your art will attract; Indian classical music is a sort of genre that sees a different kind of people and art has no space for clichés,” said <keyword id="6517626" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shubha-Mudgal">Shubha Mudgal</keyword>, who believes that HCL concerts have been marketed well to attract all kinds of people from all walks of life. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/exclusive-an-angel-investor-whose-midas-touch-with-crypto-currency-is-redefining-the-future-of-start-up-investments/articleshow/58062121.cms">ALSO READ: Exclusive: An Angel investor whose Midas touch with Crypto-currency is redefining the future of start-up investments</a> 
 Over the years, HCL Concerts has evolved into a unique platform for the exceptionally talented veterans as well as upcoming artists – be it dancers, vocalists or instrumentalists. Over 400+ artists have graced this platform and have contributed towards reinvigorating the Indian classical performing arts. While there have been spellbinding performances by legends such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt, HCL Concerts has also provided a platform for the rare genres of performing arts like Dhrupad, Rudra Veena, and <keyword id="4401683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaudiya-nritya">Gaudiya Nritya</keyword> to name a few. 
 
The recently concluded HCL concerts was a special one with it spanning over 3 days in Delhi NCR across Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/read-what-rohit-bansal-and-kunal-bahl-mailed-snapdeal-employees-amidst-flipkart-acquisition-speculations/articleshow/58108189.cms">ALSO READ: Read what Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl mailed Snapdeal employees amidst Flipkart acquisition speculations</a> 

	 Artists like <keyword id="1277440" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amaan-Ali-Bangash">Amaan Ali Bangash</keyword>, Ayaan Ali Bangash, Kaushiki Chakraborty, Niladri Kumar, Purbayan Chatterjee, Rakesh Chaurasia, Shubha Mudgal and many more notable one were a part of this concert series and they had very interesting insights about what works and doesn’t in the current scenario when it comes to Indian traditional music. 
	 
	Amaan Ali Bangash, who is a popular Sarod player said that the perception that Indian classical music isn’t cool,” Very few classical musicians appeal to the audience whether it is Indian or otherwise. You might like Jazz as a genre even if you like one artist. The key is to find the artist or instrument that inspires you in Indian classical music. I don’t agree that Indian classical music is dying.”

Indian Classical Music needs a platform to shine and the government isn’t it

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-schawbel">Dan Schawbel</a> is a bestselling author, speaker, entrepreneur, and host of the "<a href="https://danschawbel.com/category/podcasts/">5 Questions with Dan Schawbel</a>" podcast, where he interviews world-class humans by asking them just five questions in under 10 minutes.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">He recently interviewed social media phenomenon, entrepreneur, and content creator Jay Shetty.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">When making a big life transition, Shetty said that you need to do your research and "get really good at what you want to transition to."&#xa0;</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Shetty also said to "not become who you think you need to become" and instead to "focus on your inner potential."</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>You may think Jay Shetty came out of nowhere with over 25 million followers on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JayShettyIW/">Facebook</a>, and 4 billion total views, but he's had a long journey to become the luminary you see today. Jay only had three options growing up: doctor, lawyer, or failure. At age 18, he met a monk who inspired him to live a life of service and purpose. Upon graduating from the Cass Business School in London, he spent three years living as a monk across India and Europe. After moving on from monk life, he was asked to speak at a variety of companies about what he learned throughout his journey.Then, he became Accenture's social media coach for executives, helping them with digital strategies. From there, he started posting videos online that received enough attention that Arianna Huffington hired him to produce for The Huffington Post in New York City. He eventually left the company to focus on creating his own self-help content, with the mission to make wisdom go viral. Today, Jay is the co-founder (with Alex Kushneir) of <a href="http://iconmedia.agency/">Icon Media</a>, a viral video production company, a global keynote speaker, and the host of the "<a href="https://jayshetty.me/podcast">On Purpose</a>" podcast.In the below conversation, Jay shares how he's been able to make transitions in his life, his sources for inspiration, how he manages his time so he's fulfilled personally and professionally, how to be human through technology, and his best career advice.Dan Schawbel: Jay, you've made many transitions in your life, from graduating from college, to living as a monk, to working at Accenture, to your role at the Huffington Post, to being a social media influencer. How did you decide when to make these transitions in your career?Jay Shetty: The biggest thing for me in a transition is research. I get so lost in other people's journeys and other people's trajectories. I wonder "what did this person do?", "how did they do it differently?" and "how did they think about it?" Because when you research the lives of people you admire, you realize there's no pattern, formula, or step-by-step format. The step-by-step format that did exist is that they all researched what was possible, what was available, and what were the different paths. The second thing is to get really good at what you want to transition to. So, don't wait to transition to become an expert or learn more, start learning from day one. So, if you wanted to work in social media, you have to learn social media before you want to work in it or before you want someone to notice you doing it.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/as-wife-family-treats-me-extension-home-im-tired-it-2019-7">I'm a wife and mother who works from home. My family acts like I don't have a job - and I'm tired of it.</a><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right center"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Dan: You inspire so many people, but what are your sources for inspiration?Jay: The thing that inspires me the most is the quality of humility. Anyone who is humble but still super accomplished, super recognized, renowned, has status, and has every reason to not have to be humble if they don't want to, but they still choose to be humble because they value that humanity is connected - that we're all on the same level as humans - that humility is what wins my heart. So, when I see that in a person, who could be arrogant or proud but displays humility, that inspires me so much. The values of gratitude and integrity inspire me. I could be inspired by anyone in the world as long as they are displaying and demonstrating these qualities and values. When I see them in a human I'm won over by them.Dan: How do you manage your time so you can be fulfilled in every aspect of your life?Jay: When it comes to time management, I talk a lot more about energy management. I try to give people 100% of my energy even if I'm giving them very little of my time. The reason why I try to do that is because what I feel that what people really want from you is your energy. People want to spend ten minutes of power energy with you versus an hour of us being on our phones. When it comes to people I love and care about, I may condense the time, but I'm giving them every ounce of my energy. When it comes to creation, I block create and block focus on business. I create a lot of my content in one or two days for the next month because I can get really creatively inspired and then I can spend the rest of the couple of months thinking about other creative ideas but focusing on business, logistics, being effective, practical, and productive. That block creation allows me to focus much more effectively on either of the tasks.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/east-coast-ceo-why-he-took-startup-out-silicon-valley-2019-7">Moving my tech startup from Silicon Valley to DC was the best decision I made, and I'm convinced more founders should try it</a>Dan: Technology can be used as a crutch or it can be used to develop stronger relationships. How have you used technology to create deeper relationships with others and not let it isolate you and make you feel lonely?Jay: I think technology can be an incredible tool, especially when you use it purposely, rather than be used by it. Technology is great for instant communication, connection, and reminders letting someone know that you're missing them and that you are thinking of them. It's so beautiful for short instant connection. But, when it comes to meaningful discussion, take them offline. When it comes to important discussion, debates, and decisions for your life, take them offline. When it comes to those big stumbling block challenging conversations, which we all have to have in life, take them offline because those are the ones that you need to have face-to-face in person. But, remember you can also infuse your use of technology with compassion and kindness. Telling someone you miss them through a text or a message is beautiful. Sending someone a quick little video is an amazing opportunity. You can infuse your use of technology with compassion, with kindness, with empathy, and love. You can be human through technology.Dan: What are your top three pieces of career advice?Jay:&#xa0;<ol><li style="font-weight: 400;">Do not become who you think you need to become; become who you truly are and were before all these new ideas were put into your head. Education and the process of it is to bring out, not to put in. We've got so busy putting in that we don't bring out the potential that's really there. Focus on your inner potential.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Get mentors, get coaches, and get guides. The importance of having someone five years ahead of you and twenty-five years ahead of you is so powerful. Do not limit it to just one or the other; you need both perspectives.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Being depressed, failing, and disappointed is a part of living a meaningful life. Do not try to dodge those emotions. It's so normal and it's super going to happen to you and me, so just be ready for that and prepared for that as opposed to thinking you don't want it.</li></ol>Subscribe to the "5 Questions with Dan Schawbel" podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-questions-with-dan-schawbel/id1401344839?mt=2">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2tTDd3gvv0938qklH9OFNL">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://overcast.fm/itunes1401344839/5-questions-with-dan-schawbel">Overcast</a>, or <a href="https://danschawbel.com/subscribe/">others</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/stories-slide-deck?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=socialmedia&amp;itm_campaign=stories-slide-deck"></a><div><div class="powerpress_player" id="powerpress_player_5035"></div></div>

Social media phenomenon Jay Shetty on his wild journey from monk to entrepreneur - and why he says being depressed is a normal part of a meaningful life

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The venture capital industry still isn't sure what to think of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/softbank">SoftBank's</a> $100 billion <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/vision-fund">Vision Fund</a>, even as it suffered setbacks on its investments in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/wework">WeWork</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/uber">Uber</a>.</li><li>Some in the industry blame the fund for inflating startup values and funding rounds; encouraging founders to focus on growth and ignore costs and losses, no matter how big; and setting off an unhealthy arms race in the venture capital world as firms raise ever larger funds.</li><li>But some think it's unfair to blame SoftBank for some of these trends, noting that funding rounds were getting larger long before the Vision Fund launched.</li><li>And others think the Vision Fund has benefitted the venture and startup industries, allowing founders to dream bigger and enabling companies to develop longer in private without being under the scrutiny of public markets.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>Venture investors make tough calls every day, giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to an endless parade of startups.But one thing Silicon Valley's investment luminaries can't agree on is what to make of SoftBank, the Japanese tech mega-fund that landed in their midst three years ago.SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, have changed the rules of the game. Thanks to SoftBank's jumbo-sized checks and nose-bleed valuations, tech startups look and act a lot different than just a few years ago. For some Silicon Valley insiders, that's a good thing, with Masa dollars opening the door to fresh opportunities and innovations. Others think SoftBank has distorted the technology market and the startup ecosystem, inflating values, enabling poor financial discipline, and empowering companies with little inherent or sustainable competitive advantage.Now the debate is coming to a head, as two of SoftBank's biggest bets - Uber and WeWork - teeter on shaky ground, and as SoftBank plows ahead with plans to raise a second $100 billion Vision Fund. For tech VCs and founders, it's a proof-point moment that will put the SoftBank model to test, for better or for worse, and help Silicon Valley come to terms with its ultimate impact."SoftBank is like no one else," said Michael Duda, a managing partner at Bullish, a startup accelerator and investment firm that's backed smart fitness startup Peloton and online mattress firm Casper. "Everything they do," he continued, "is going to get a lot more scrutiny because of the size of what they're doing." <h2>SoftBank is warping the competitive landscape</h2>SoftBank is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/03/softbank-more-than-600-million-underwater-on-uber.html">down a reported $600 million on its investment in Uber</a> thanks to its disappointing initial public offering and the subsequent drop in its stock price. WeWork, meanwhile, is struggling to get investors on board with its public offering. In an effort to try to lure them in, it <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/111f8e00-d346-11e9-8367-807ebd53ab77">has reportedly discussed slashing its valuation to as little as $15 billion</a>, or less than a third the valuation SoftBank conferred on it in January when the Vision Fund gave WeWork $2 billion in new funding.Some in and around the venture capital industry think Uber and WeWork's struggles represent SoftBank's comeuppance - and they're glad to see it. It would be a good thing if the setbacks at those companies spurred SoftBank's limited partners in the Vision Fund to scrutinize its investments more closely or forced it to scuttle its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-108-billion-vision-fund-ii-2019-7">planned follow-on Vision Fund</a>, said Greg Bohlen, a cofounder of Union Grove Venture Partners. "They have been an incredibly disruptive force in the venture ecosystem," Bohlen said.Read this: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-will-likely-find-investors-vision-fund-ii-despite-wework-2019-9">WeWork and Uber are giving SoftBank a black eye, but that doesn't mean Vision Fund II is in trouble, experts say</a>Part of SoftBank's detrimental impact involves its role encouraging startups and founders to focus on growth and not concern themselves with costs or the bottom line, Bohlen and others argue. That dynamic is most obvious at WeWork, which has been bleeding billions of dollars in cash amid its worldwide expansion and has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-s-1-prospectus-ipo-revenue-cash-flow-2019-8">seen its losses grow</a> about as quickly as its revenue.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Founders backed by SoftBank can lose their financial discipline, because they know they have its huge pool of money behind them, said Matt Murphy, a partner at Menlo Ventures. But the Vision Fund's huge investments may also be pressuring founders into growing their companies faster than the startups can sustainably maintain, he said."That's kind of an open question and concern," said Murphy.The vast sums SoftBank is investing in startups - generally in the range of $100 million to several billion dollars - are warping the competitive landscape, Murphy and others in the industry said. Startups are getting a leg up in the market purely because they're swimming in SoftBank's cash - not because they've proven their business models or have some kind of important technological or organizational competitive advantage, said Dan Malven, a managing director at 4490 Ventures.The ability to raise vast sums has become their competitive advantage, he said. Conversely, those vast sums can discourage other investors from putting money into companies that actually have unique technologies or intrinsic competitive advantages, he said.In general, the role SoftBank has played in the startup ecosystem has "not been healthy," Malven said.In some cases, the Vision Fund seems to be trying to prematurely anoint a winner in particular markets, venture sources said. That seemed to be the case in the app-based dog-walking business, Murphy said.His firm invested in Rover in 2014. Last year - four years after Menlo's investment - SoftBank <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wag-raises-300-million-from-softbank-hires-hilary-schneider-as-ceo-2018-1">invested $300 million in its competitor, Wag</a>, even though Rover was still the "clear market leader" in the space, Murphy said. It still is, despite SoftBank's investment, he said."They tried to create a winner in Wag," Murphy said. "There are times," he continued, "where they just say, 'We want to be in this market, and we're going to pick the winner and help fuel them with capital to help create that market.'"SoftBank representatives did not return a call seeking comment.<h2>The Vision Fund has spurred an arms race in the venture industry</h2>SoftBank's large investments are also distorting the labor market, Malven said. Companies flush with the firm's funds are able to lure away top engineers and other workers who, in an ideal world, would have gone to work for startups that have more going for them than just SoftBank's cash, he said. If and when the unsustainable startups flounder, those workers will likely leave or be laid off, as has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-layoffs-global-marketing-team-2019-7">happening</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-fires-435-engineering-and-product-employees-2019-9">lately</a> at Uber.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>"There's just a lot of friction in the talent market that is bad for the overall industry," Malven said.Some think the Vision Fund hasn't just been bad for startups and the tech industry but also for the venture capital business. SoftBank's move to raise such an enormous fund has spurred other investors to scale up as well. In the last two years, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-success-with-snap-helps-venture-firm-lightspeed-raise-18-billion-for-new-funds-2018-7">Lightspeed Venture Partners</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-sequoia-capital-plans-8-billion-global-fund-eyes-china-investors-sources-2018-1">Sequoia Capital</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackstone-raises-22-billion-fund-its-largest-ever-source-2019-4">Blackstone Group</a>, among others, have all raised their largest-ever funds.All that money flowing into the venture industry has led to an oversupply of capital, particularly among late-stage investors, some venture figures said. The surplus funds have fueled competition among different firms looking to get stakes in hot startups, increasing funding rounds and oversupplying companies with cash, they said. The end result is likely to be wasted capital and poor returns, they said."That up-scaling" of venture funds in response to SoftBank "has just been horrendous," Union Grove's Bohlen said.But not everyone in the venture industry blames SoftBank for the super-sizing of venture funds and the swell in cash flowing into startups. Investors and companies around the world have been sitting on large pools of excess capital around the world, looking for places to invest it, some venture figures said. And venture rounds were getting bigger long before SoftBank set up the Vision Fund, they said.Despite the huge size of the Vision Fund, it's not dominating the venture capital market or determining the overall trends, said Bullish's Duda. It just doesn't account for enough investments to have that role, he said."They might get blamed. I think that's massively unfair," Duda said. He continued: "There would still be high valuations no matter what."<h2>Founders are dreaming bigger</h2>Indeed, even if SoftBank fails to raise money for its planned second Vision Fund, the firehouse of capital into the startup market likely won't abate much, said Jai Das, the president and a managing director of Sapphire Ventures. There are still lots of other well-capitalized venture, private equity, and hedge funds that are pouring money into the sector."There's plenty of capital still floating around even without the Vision Fund," Das said. He continued: "I dont think the entrepreneurs will have a hard time raising money for, really, the good companies, even if Vision Fund is not around."Regardless of how much responsibility they assign to SoftBank for the upscaling of funds and funding rounds, some in the venture industry, including Das, think the Vision Funds has played a positive role in the startup ecosystem. Even some of SoftBank's critics think the fund has benefitted the tech and venture industries in some ways.The big funding rounds that SoftBank has helped pioneer and lead have changed the mindset among entrepreneurs, Das said. It's allowed startup founders to think bigger about their companies and their potential, he said. It's now "normal" for companies whose annualized revenue has grown to only around $100 million to seek to raise $200 million or $250 million in new funding, Das said, which is much bigger than in the past.The Vision Fund has "made entrepreneurs dream big, sometimes foolishly, sometimes not," Das said. Softbank, he continued, has "changed the whole dynamic."<h2>SoftBank has a global focus</h2>The copious amounts of cash flowing into startups from SoftBank and other investors has allowed startups to stay private longer and avoid the intense scrutiny of the public markets. That's been helpful to companies that have needed more than the average amount of capital or time to prove out their business models, Murphy said.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Twenty years ago, the public markets put up with Amazon's losses and gave the company time to develop, noted Phil Libin, cofounder and CEO of the technology incubator All Turtles who was previously an investor with the venture firm General Catalyst. But Amazon was one of the few exceptions, he said.Generally, public market investors are looking for returns on a much shorter time scale than new startups can deliver, Libin said. If SoftBank is willing to take on some of the risk by enabling startups to remain private while they continue to figure things out, that's a good thing, he said."I'm a huge fan of what they're trying do, in theory, and I hope it succeeds," Libin said.Libin also praised SoftBank for having a global outlook, rather than being narrowly focused on investing in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Among other companies, SoftBank and the Vision Fund have invested in Chinese ride-hailing company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-softbank-to-move-ride-hailing-stakes-worth-20-billion-to-vision-fund-ft-2018-4">Didi Chuxing</a>, India hotel chain Oyo Rooms, and Brazilian logistics technology company Loggi."There's no reason why you should have to be in Silicon Valley to get access to business capital if you have an idea that could really be world-changing," Libin said.SoftBank's going to make mistakes, said Duda. And because of the size of the Vision Fund and all of the scrutiny of it, those mistakes will be magnified in the press and in the industry, he said. But SoftBank has smart people and Son has a long-term vision. It's anyone's guess how it will all work out for the Vision Fund and for the rest of the industry, he said."In theory, I'm rooting for them," Duda said. "Because if they get involved with our companies, that means the valuation is probably going way up."Got a tip about SoftBank, WeWork, or Uber? Contact this reporter via email at twolverton@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/troywolv/">@troywolv</a>, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-tip-business-insider-securely-guide-signal-securedrop-2017-6"> contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop</a>.<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more about SoftBank investment WeWork's planned IPO:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-3-trillion-addressable-market-grossly-overstated-experts-say-2019-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">WeWork says it has a $3 trillion market opportunity and has signed up only 0.2% of its potential customers. Here's why real-estate experts say those numbers don't add up.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-most-big-stock-grants-went-to-men-internal-study-2019-8" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link"> WeWork gave out 58 stock awards worth at least $1 million each in February, and 94% of them went to men, according to a lawsuit</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-47-billion-private-valuation-could-imperil-its-ipo-2019-8" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link"> Why WeWork's $47 billion private valuation could be a key stumbling block for its IPO - and might even derail it completely</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-47-billion-and-4-billion-lease-disparity-dangerous-recipe-2019-8" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link"> 2 big numbers - $4 billion and $47 billion - sum up WeWork's business model and the risky reason it could collapse in a recession</a></li><li> </li></ul> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=uber&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019-3"></a>

Venture investors still aren't sure what to make of SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund. Depending on who you ask, they're either rooting for it, or gleeful that it's struggling with WeWork and Uber.

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