Ken Ehrhart Brief us about your outset story of your career. My life and career has really followed the development of digital computing and the successive waves of innovation that have transformed technology.  I grew up and began my career working in my family’s small business, a burglar and fire alarm company.  There we started with purely analogue circuits, relays and switches, in the 1970s; advanced to solid state circuits in the 80s; and finally to fully programmable embedded computers in the early 90s.  In 1996, I became the Director of Research for a Forbes-backed investor newsletter focused on technology.  I became a venture capitalist in the year 2000.  Throughout, I have been focused on understanding the trends and innovations that are shaping technology.  That ultimately led, in 2016, to my founding Paracosma as an AR/VR Solutions Provider focused on the current transition from 2D to 3D computing.  Interestingly, one of my earliest passions was art, and now over half of Paracosma’s hundred plus employees are 3D artists.  Together we are blending art and technology in amazing ways.  The experience is really a culmination of a life-long journey and is incredibly fulfilling.  In Japanese, it could be considered my Ikigai. What are the aims and ideals that guide you as an individual and a professional? As an individual, I hope “to leave the World a better place because I have lived in it”.   I expect that led to the parallel Paracosma statement that “Our Mission is to make Reality better through Augmented and Virtual Reality.”  Other personal values that I hope would translate into company culture, as well, include Open Mindedness; Curiosity/Education; Empathy/Tolerance; Health/Fitness; Nature/Environment.  Travel, Exploration, Adventure; Multicultural and Cross-cultural Experiences; Education, Work and Life Opportunities have all given me the chance to pursue my passion in life.  And, my entire career has been globally focused. Enlighten us about your greatest strength. How are you different from others in your field? How I compare, I will leave for others to judge.  But, just as we blend art and technology at Paracosma, I think throughout my career as a VC, I have done well integrating large amounts of information derived from many diverse disciplines and sectors and thinking about the whole in often very unique and innovative ways.  Please tell us about your organisation. What are your primary roles and responsibilities? Can you please walk us through the major accomplishments throughout your journey? I am involved with several organizations.  In 2004, I cofounded have since then been a General Partner with SunBridge Partners, a VC firm that specializes in bringing global enterprise SAAS leaders to Japan.  At SunBridge Partners, I cofounded Concur Japan, Marketo Japan, Demandware Japan, and Kyriba Japan.  All have been very successful in Japan and led to great outcomes for our investors.  I am also a cofounder of TalentA, a SunBridge Partners’ company in Tokyo, that focuses on distributing global HR and talent management solutions in Japan, such as HireVue, Monday.com, Explorance, Fuel50 and others.  I am Founder and CEO of Paracosma. And, I have had a very rewarding time founding AlpineEarth, a citizen-science nonprofit focused on Alpine areas, and working with various other non-profit organizations. How did you respond to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic? What measures did you incorporate to surpass the challenges? On a personal level, I went from flying over a quarter million miles a year, and living and working in three countries, to being grounded, mostly in one.  Ironically, my experience being a remote worker due to travel helped prepare me for being a stationary remote worker.  On a professional level, Paracosma made an immediate commitment to not layoff any employees during the pandemic.  We not only fulfilled that commitment to our employees, but we are now growing aggressively again. Luckily, as an AR/VR company, Paracosma was also able to implement virtual meetings, offices, and live event venues, both to support our own Paracosma employees and for client companies. Who in your life inspires you the most? There are so many great artists, scientists, and scholars that have lived throughout history, I don’t think I could ever lack for inspiration. But, on a rather personal note, I came to know Nick Clinch well through my work with the American Alpine Club Library, and I must admit he left an indelible impression on me.  He has been called the greatest American expedition leader and successfully led the only American first ascent of an 8,000m peak, the first ascent of the tallest mountain in Antarctica, and other expeditions. He certainly shared, by example and in many hours-long talks, many great lessons on leadership. But, I would say my children and family are what inspire me, each day, to do the best that I can. Love provides the most meaning to life. What advice would you give to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people? My advice, for budding business people, entrepreneurs, and my own children would be to pursue your passion.  As a VC, I have heard thousands of pitches.  It is always possible to tell if someone is passionate about their own pitch.  If you are just chasing money or a perceived opportunity that will be clear.  If you are driven by sincere passion, then investors, partners, customers, employees and your family will all understand that you will do everything necessary to succeed and your passion will be infectious. You may still fail, perhaps even because your passion blinded you to reality, but at least you will have a better than average chance of success and a better than average chance at happiness, and you won’t regret not trying to realise your dream.       

 TJ Cornwall Please brief us about your career. Never in a million years did I think that I would work in real estate! After graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, I followed my dreams and went on tour as a singer-songwriter. I had the opportunity to open for some popular bands and artists such as OneRepublic, Dashboard Confessional, and Hanson. Still, I was quickly humbled when I got stuck on tour in middle-of-nowhere Vermont with only $7 in my bank account. I had to busk on the side of the road and scrape enough money together in order to make it to NYC for the next show. The time had come for me to cash in on my degree, so I moved to Baltimore for a corporate job in finance, realized the cube life wasn’t for me and moved to Australia, where I was mentored by the man who helped start Google Australia. My experience in Sydney helped shape my worldview, and I quickly learned that my strengths were working with people, problem-solving, and strategically scaling companies. After moving back to the states, I landed a role in the security industry that brought me to Dallas in 2013. I went on to become an executive at a budding startup in the medical field and then pursued a career in real estate to help build another apartment locating company. This is where I eventually convinced Christopher and Mikala to join me. After working there for over two years, Christopher, Mikala, and I decided to branch off and create a company focused on providing the highest level of service to our clients and creating a great work environment for our agents and employees. When Christopher and Mikala asked me to help build The Realm Agency, I didn’t hesitate to accept the offer and haven’t looked back since. Over the last six years, I have helped thousands of people move to Dallas, and it has been a true joy to work with so many people! What are the aims and ideals that guide you as an individual and a professional? I believe that every chance you have to converse with someone is an opportunity to give them a positive human experience. You never know what people are dealing with in their personal lives. We are surrounded by so much negativity and drama every day. Why add to it? In my opinion, being a good professional all starts with being a good human first. Professional credibility is earned through establishing trust and becoming an expert in your field. You become an expert by consistently learning and refining your process. Enlighten us about your greatest strength. How are you different from others in your field? My greatest strength is having empathy for others. In real estate, it’s important to be able to understand what your clients need and how they feel. Moving is a stressful process for most people. This is my opportunity to be a resource for them and to help alleviate some of the pain and stress associated with moving. It always makes me feel great when my clients feel heard and that I’ve represented them properly. That all starts with putting yourself in their shoes and understanding their personal situation. Please tell us about your organisation. What are your primary roles and responsibilities? Can you please walk us through the major accomplishments throughout your journey? The brokerage I work for is called The Realm Agency. We specialize in residential sales as well as apartment locating in the great state of Texas. I originally helped the two owners start the company in my role of Director of Sales. I am proud of hiring and developing many of our first agents. I loved helping fellow agents maximize their potential. Since then, I decided to move away from management and focus on developing my own book of business. Having helped thousands of clients move over the past six years, it made a lot of sense to officially become a REALTOR® and continue helping my clients throughout their journey in life. How did you respond to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic? What measures did you incorporate to surpass the challenges? COVID definitely presented a set of challenges. Due to the uncertainty of the market, it forced my hand into stepping down as Director of Sales and focusing on my own book of business. At first, it was a blow to my ego since I spent so much time and effort building the business. However, it forced me to reassess everything in my life and to focus on myself which ended up being a net positive. Who in your life inspires you the most? I am inspired by ambitious people doing anything that is not the norm. As I get older, I realize how rare it is for people to go after something big with no guarantees to succeed. So when I see someone hustling consistently and achieving results, that gives me the confidence that I can do it, too. What advice would you give to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people? My best friend always preaches a philosophy of “run your own race”. It’s really easy to compare yourself to people on social media and get down on yourself for not being massively successful. You really have to have a “you vs. you” mentality to make it in business. The only competition is yesterday’s you. If you can beat yesterday’s version of yourself, and you focus on doing that every single day, you will be successful. I also think it’s really important to define what success looks like in your eyes. Otherwise, you’re going to get lost in the rat race. Once you define what success looks like to you, come up with a plan on how you’re going to get there. Write it down. Put it into existence. Tell your friends what you’re going to do. If you can get to the point

Brendon M. Egan Brief us about your outset story of your career.I knew from an early age I wanted to be an entrepreneur.  When I was just 10 years old I started my first “business” raking leaves and shovelling snow, however unlike most kids my age, I did this by employing my 10 year old friends on a much larger scale.  Fast forward a decade and I became involved in day trading stocks and eventually went on to create one of the largest at the time trading educational websites which I sold before graduating from college.    After college is when I started my current business, Simple SEO, a digital marketing agency that services over 300 businesses including numerous fortune 500 companies.  Along the way I have been fortunate to have gotten involved in over a dozen other companies including Engage which I co-founded and ERI which I serve on the board of directors as the technology committee chair.  What are the aims and ideals that guide you as an individual and a professional?Professionalism, integrity, speed, attention to detail, and client service are my guiding principals both as an individual and a professional.  I believe that these are the foundation for success no matter what industry you may be in.  I firmly believe that everything I do has to be done professionally and with the absolute highest level of integrity.  Furthermore, we live in a world where speed matters while also paying proper attention to detail.  And lastly, service is something that unfortunately is disappearing in our world today, and those who offer superior customer service quickly can rise to the top. Enlighten us about your greatest strength. How are you different from others in your field?My greatest strength is that I stop when a job is done, not when I get tired or grow bored of it.  For my entire career I have been willing to put in the time and work to make things happen, whether that means pulling an all-nighter alongside my team to hit a deadline or it means having that tough conversation or making a difficult decision and executing on it.  I do what it takes to get the job done.  Without being overly promotional of myself and my businesses, this is often not the case in companies that I am competing with on projects and bids.  Time and time again our clients tell us that we’re willing to “go the extra mile” or willing to “take the extra sacrifice” to get the job done.  This is our reputation and one of the many ways that I feel myself and my businesses stand out from others in my field.  Please tell us about your organisation. What are your primary roles and responsibilities? Can you please walk us through the major accomplishments throughout your journey?I wear many hats currently as I am involved in several businesses, however focusing on my main business, my marketing agency, I am a very active owner-operator in the business.  To this date I play a role in every single project we take on and every single client account.  I believe in a professional services field, I believe what sets our agency apart is me.  And while I have instilled the same principles that I believe in within all my employees, there often times is no substitute for the level of experience that I can offer to our clients.  How did you respond to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic? What measures did you incorporate to surpass the challenges?Initially, COVID-19 had a devastating impact on our business.  From March to May 2020 we saw a 60% decline in revenue as many of our clients panicked and quickly reeled back their spending.  However, comparing 2021 to 2020 we saw over 200% growth and over 140% growth 2019 to 2021.  As businesses realized that for the short to medium term things were going to go digital, Who in your life inspires you the most?I’m most inspired by taking on new challenges and winning new battles.  If there’s one thing nearly every business leader I have ever met despises, it’s repetitive, mundane tasks.  Being an entrepreneur allows the freedom and flexibility to constantly take on new challenges and explore new professional frontiers.   What advice would you give to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people?The number one thing I tell the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs is to take risks and chances early in life.  Quite honestly, had I not taken the chances I took when I was in my teens and twenties, I can guarantee I wouldn’t be taking them today with financial and personal responsibilities.  When you’re young, you have little to no responsibilities and nothing to lose, this is the best time to take that risk and start the business you always wanted to start or go after your dream career path. 

 Eileen Willett Brief us about your outset story of your career. Born in Vancouver to Japanese parents, I trained in fashion in Paris and San Francisco, graduating with a BFA in Illustration.  I moved to Tokyo working at Billboard Magazine. On moving to London, I joined Nicole Farhi’s head office and was promoted to be part of the team launching the then fledgling Nicole Farhi Menswear brand, which became one of the UK’s premier menswear brands. After a career break to have three children, I launched my own successful women’s luxury accessories brand, Wada Bags.  In 2017, together with my friend and Co-founder Nancy Zeffman, launched Cucumber Clothing making ‘luxurious clothing for everyday’, using ultra-soft technical fabrics. Barely two years later, our brand has been featured in every major UK newspaper, as well as in Style, You, Woman and Home, on television, radio and in numerous blogs, podcasts and online publications and has won numerous awards.  Shortlisted for the 2020 Asian Woman of Achievement Awards, I am a regular speaker on female entrepreneurship and sustainable fashion. I co-host i: Entrepreneur’s weekly Wednesday Live series of interviews with entrepreneurs from a diverse backgrounds which I enjoy on both a professional and personal level, since it chimes deeply with my own experiences in having a Japanese/Canadian/British background. What are the aims and ideals that guide you as an individual and a professional? Stay kind – that means both to yourself and others.  Simple acts of kindness are underrated, and they make both you and the recipient feel good. What could be better? We’ve found from day one of our Cucumber journey that almost everyone, male or female, have been encouraging and full of ideas to help us. We’ve tried to do the same for others. Kindness always finds it way back to you in some way shape or form, and it’s something we all need more of Enlighten us about your greatest strength. How are you different from others in your field? Maintaining a good work-life balance has been a huge for me.  Creating space in my life and in my head has been an essential in running a startup.  Startups are insatiable omnivores that devour any and every bit of time in your life – not an entirely healthy way to live your life. I’m quite a social person, so make sure I see friends and family as often as possible. Whether that’s getting together for an early morning swim, sweating through a yoga class together or sharing wine and food, these connections keep me grounded. Exercise has also been a necessity for me to keep a calm mind and have a good night’s sleep.  Please tell us about your organisation. What are your primary roles and responsibilities? Can you please walk us through the major accomplishments throughout your journey? Nancy Zeffman is my Co-founder and friend – the company would not be here without our dual and differing strengths that help make our brand so strong.  With her background in marketing, she has been instrumental in garnering an enormous amount of fabulous press from the outset, and her organisational skills have been essential.  My own background in fashion and the creative arts has been put to work in creating our overall brand look, from the collections to our website as well as blogs and feature pieces we are often asked to write. We have appeared in almost every UK newspaper and many glossy magazines from The Times and The Daily Mail, to Style magazine, Vogue and Stella. We have been featured on the radio, television and in numerous vlogs, podcasts and blogs both in the UK and internationally. As well as selling through our own website, we appear on numerous global platforms as well as in bricks and mortar retail. How did you respond to the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic? What measures did you incorporate to surpass the challenges? Which company can say honestly that they were prepared for a global pandemic?  I would venture, absolutely none.  The past two years have brought us more intense, demanding, and tough hurdles than we could have imagined. The flip side is that we have been stretched, stimulated and forced to be both exacting and flexible all at the same time. As a small company we have been able to pivot quickly, implementing and ensuring health and safety protocols, instigate mask-making using off-cuts, creatively using downtime to do a thoroughly investigate our brand and rework our website as well as do a deep dive into sustainability and circularity for Cucumber.  Who in your life inspires you the most? My parents taught me so much simply in the way they lived their lives.  My dad taught me diligence, hard work, passion and ambition are all key; my mother taught that honesty, love and kindness conquer all. My children have also taught me so much about love, laughter and hope -together they will always be my best role models. What advice would you give to the next generation of aspiring and budding Business people? Just do it.  If you think you have a great idea, if you have done your research and really looked at the numbers, go for it!