After a brief tour of Ideas Collide’s stunning Scottsdale office space, Rebecca Clyde sat down with me to talk about her experience as a woman founder, the future of automated communication through her latest company, and the impact that the right real estate has on company culture.
Not only is Rebecca co-founder of Ideas Collide and founder of Botco.ai, she’s also Co-Managing Director of the Girls in Tech Phoenix Chapter.
“We really wanted to cater to not just this idea of women being the victims in the story but actually about men being partners in breaking through some of these barriers,” she said.
She also offered valuable insights for fellow and aspiring entrepreneurs, including the best advice she’s received.
“Just believe in yourself. You have to have an idea that you are so passionate about that you’re willing to do really hard things for it because it’s not an easy road. And you will get a lot of rejection, and there will be a lot of challenges. But if you really believe in the idea, and you know that you are the right person to do it, then go for it.”
Show Notes
0:30 Gift from Rebecca–Fabuloso (Noah’s favorite smell ever) and the book “How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings”
3:40 Start of Ideas Collide (15 years ago)
5:30 The origin of Noah’s love of Fabuloso
6:20 How was it being a female founder 15 years ago – what it took to be successful as a female entrepreneur
7:14 When she started to notice a gender gap in the founding and pitching of botco.ai
8:07 “Mirrortocracy” in the VC world (Less than 3% of VC money going to women)
10:38 Girls in Tech – Background behind the founding of the Phoenix chapter and men’s involvement
12:05 Botco.ai – How her startup is helping companies communicate with customers through AI
14:20 How messaging is changing and becoming more intelligent
17:11 Where did the idea of botco.ai come from? Originated with Ideas Collide and the needs of a client in Asia
20:00 Future of botco.ai
22:00 Helping businesses scale by understanding how to message with their customers
24:30 Communication can be stronger if people are working from home or remote
24:59 “As humans we’re wired for communication”
26:17 Companies are starting to study the habits of people
27:05 Examples of where it’s being used
29:30 At what point would it be beneficial to use a company like botco.ai? If you’re unable to answer messages within 20 questions, especially companies that have products that garner a lot of questions
32:19 What else do you want people to know? In her spare time she wants to help other female founders (Girls in Tech Hackathon on May 4th – great way to get involved)
34:22 What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received? “Just believe in yourself”
36:50 When would you say that entrepreneurs should start approaching the real estate side? The moment she first realized she needed an office space
38:34 When you need some working space that’s your own – unity and culture becomes important at even 3-4 people. Let the people drive the real estate and not the other way around.
39:00 Coworking spaces vs. your own space (Good Noah tidbits about the importance of real estate and your strategy)
42:00 Looking within at what your goals are as an organization and your culture