So I immigrated from India. My parents immigrated when I was 13 years old. I went to high school in the US and then went to Brown University, studied engineering. And when I graduated and in college, I didn't really partied a lot. Unfortunately. And when I graduated, uh, a long time to get a job. Eso I walked minimum wage on. I think you know, these kind of experiences. You never know what the impact of experiences that have. And so I had a very hard time for you and went back to Brown. Fortunately, they took me back home. I could give science degree with my master's there and was very serious after that. Uh, I I've got a job in at, ah, Graphics supercomputer company after that. What a couple of years and then realized I was not learning as fast. Not so. I left move from the East Coast to the West Coast and decided I initially started taking some classes at UC Berkeley, but then figured out I could loan faster on my own. And I spent six years doing that. Uh, you know, and and making money upon time of the contract worker, one of the jobs I had. I looked at the start of this is around 2000, Doc. On their period and writing, all the software company went public. Did quite well, but I left a little bit truly. Ah, And but I learned from it. And that's where I got the idea. I had a different idea a similar days and decided I would start a company. I'm you know, I just Okay, I can do this. Uh, I saw instead of what? Typically, people do They picture V. C The idea. I decided to write the code first, so I spent two, 2.5 to 3 years writing called myself on. I don't Okay, I will go lower than with the idea. Fully walked out on raise capital. And But what happened was, uh uh, by the time I was ready, the whole com bubble bust and BC's we're not interested are not willing to invest in that time until I've spent three years of my life building software and your cannot raise capital. So I decided to launch Anyway, it's taking a long time, and I launched, uh, and, uh, I had to borrow money borrowed money problem, small amount of money from lots of family launched a company, hired people and within a few months after have to Michael people, too, because the model wasn't working. Uh, and then in six months, I could pivot the company, uh, and gotten into quite a lot of debt, but and reducing the size of the company, and we finally over many months turned it around and actually did quite well. Over the next several years, we were one of their. There were a whole bunch of company that started and after the bubble burst and then drive. And we will one of them and pride of that. I have never managed anyone. I didn't expect actually to run the company. But since BC's then come in, I was forced to run the company. And I don't everything about management about running a company, every single job in a company I at some point did on, and then four years we were doing quite well. We then I got to a point where it's too much for me and brought in management a management team, and but it's probably because I was insecure about my own abilities and I felt like, Well, we need people from outside. But over time, eventually, after many years, I realized I actually do know quite a bit about how to manage a company, and from that time has grown quite a bit, Uh, at a peak, we had 850 people a couple $100 million in revenue a year. And, uh, you know, we've been in business 20 years. Uh, we we've gone through many ups and downs, and I you know, I bring that up because actually, the downs all the time, you really loan when the when the business is successful, you think you're doing things went well when their limit when you're having a really hard time. You asked about questions and it really, uh it opens eyes to okay, where your Maybe you are lucky when things were doing going Well, now what do you need to do? Change on? And so I've been through the dot com bust. It was a very hard time, and then the 2008 financial crisis. And then we've had ups and downs since then, and those learnings are very valuable. And, uh and you know how you face challenges we today are facing pandemic. And, uh, I think we have a company have done quite well because quite well, in responding to it because of that experience of the past. And I feel any time is a challenge, uh, you can you can look for the option unit And I think that you know that those lines have been a great eso today. Real way have few employees. We have 450 employees and, uh, we do about S 02 ducks. That's kind of my journey are, you know, from from start to where we are today.

Yes, so on. You know, I'm the founder and CEO. I I view my my role. Is Aziz really taking care company? I need to I need to understand the big picture. I don't what's going on in the industry. I'll be in the right place. Uh, no way. We, uh, you know, I'll be sending a commodity. How do we change from a commodity to something of high value? All the things they are, the industry's very fast moving or lots of changes. So that's one of the role is that I'll be going in the right direction a same time. I'm turning to build a great organization. And so I need to make sure that, you know, culture values, how we operate and totally is, uh is aligned with that in building a great organization. So I spend a lot of time making sure along the decisions we make how are people operating treating each other's Each other is a line Richter, where we're going as a company, I am, uh, you know, I started as a software developer. That's how I got started. I'm still very involved in technology. I still write code. I don't think that's Ah, that's an issue. I actually in our company. I say all managers need to be hands on, and I feel about being hands on. You get to understand what how the systems work and you are. It's not really about micromanaging. It's actually just understanding seeing the pieces connecting the dots and many, many things Ah, strategy, a bad influence. I understanding how to connect the dots, you know, understanding exactly what's going on with the lowest level, but coming up to the highest level and seeing okay, this is what we need to change. And often I feel, you know, it's like you don't know until you jump onto another rock and see a specter, and that opens up new opportunities. And I think a lot of how we've come to where we are today is because of that. It's just it's just seeing the bigger perspective. And I think that's super important. You want to innovate, you need to be, you need to get your hands dirty, and I'm so that sir, but I'm I spend my time in a whole bunch of different areas, but it is most important to see you know where we're going as a company at what's the strategy

um when I went to Brown as undergraduate, I did engineering. And but I also, as I mentioned, there are a lot of fun when I was an undergraduate. Then I went back to graduate school for computer science and I had taken one or two computer science classes. Onda. I love computer science. I love writing software. I love a lot of stuff spot technology on, and I think Brown brown I did the massive program in a pretty short time just in a year, but it gave me. I took, uh, classes and all different disciplines, and I still think all those dis plans are super important. You need to have a broad base in computer science, and there's a lot of exciting, exciting new areas. I mean, it's always moving in different directions, and I look at the great challenges to be so not necessarily in our business on businesses and advertising. But you know, one of the things about businesses, it's a there. We saw a lot of challenges and you are distributed computing and and there are lots of machine learning and all kinds of different disciplines, and to me, it's an example to push yourself in different areas in computer signs. And I also look at it as I optionally understand our businesses work. And I see I see op trainees and Army made businesses more attractive unused technology to do that. And you know how we get people to communicate better? Uh, you know how you get ill connect all the different pieces within a business on? I think that helps. Uh uh, You know, I'm always thinking about how we hardly expand into new areas, maybe start new businesses that help other businesses and use our company. And the example were very distributed people all over the world. You know how you get them, You know, uh, being engaged in the company, communicating with each other, and you be used lots of tools and probably built to external to How do you blew all this together So that companies more effective nutrition people are keep people can contribute eso brown going The computer science degree helped a lot. I think one thing you know, they often what I've seen. Okay, there's technical background and technical ability, but I think to be successful, it's super important to have a broad background beyond technology. the most important thing for technology people is communication, and you need to be able, tired community one of on relate with other people in treatment. Hammer just respect how you work with others. It's super important. And then how you communicate you, how you get other people on board to your ideas and is, uh, you know, you could be very good at technology, but if you can't get other people on board, even have a hot on being successful, and to me, I think people in technology should be should focus some of their foot in college on how to be better communicators. I would work with other people. Those skills are probably more important than actually the actual computers. You know, the hard core technical backer.