um So I guess I would say I I discovered at a very early age that I was I was highly unemployable. Um, this is something that I think I realized early on. I didn't like being micromanaged. Um, my parents, I think, would describe it as a disdain for authority. I think I'd like to describe it as a disdain for being micromanaged, but But what I also found is that I discovered really a deep love for for building something that didn't exist before for solving problems on and frankly, just kind of looking at the world a little bit differently and trying to take a little bit of a different path. And so those ended up being, I think, good, fundamental building blocks for a career that has spent building starting startups. I also had an early fascination with technology eso. So the idea that I was going to spend my career starting companies and specifically in the tech space was all kind of baked in probably relatively early in my life. Just based on some of those really interested I had, um this is now my six startups, so I've done it a few times now. certainly have Have, you know, have learned a number of things along the way. Still, I'm quite happy that this is the path that I've taken. It hasn't always been easy for For for sure. Um, it is it really specifically to pay ability in terms of why, Why? I started pay ability. It was really came down to that. We discovered a very large group of small businesses that were massively under served, and we felt like we could deliver a really interesting solution to them. And we had some some unique insight into being able to deliver a solution to their particular challenges and problems. And so that was really the kind of the initial, uh, genesis anyway, for for the inspiration for the company.

eso way to describe it is that we provide both capital as well as payment solutions, and it really specifically targeted to e commerce sellers. Eso An example would be that if you are one of the five million or so e commerce sellers in the United States, that is maybe selling through Amazon or through Walmart or maybe even through eBay through Shopify. Then, generally speaking, you are going to be capital constraint. And these are usually online only businesses. That generally means that traditional means of risk assessing thes types of companies is very difficult for banks and other types of financial providers. And so, as a result, these these these groups of folks tend to be very, very underserved or completely unserved. Um, so So it ends up creating, I think a you know this this this market, that when we saw it, we looked at We said, There's really these two types of sellers in this particular category in this particular group of e commerce sellers, and it's it's unserved. It's underserved. We know that we can. They are very, very hungry for a particular solution. Um, so that really was, you know, kind of the the initial idea, I guess. And and and really the focus and the reason why that particular group was was very interesting to us. The work around behavior and what they did previous to us having a solution for them was really just about, you know, the kind of the option was all of the the very, very, very alternative means of capital raising meaning, I'm gonna max out my credit card. Maybe I'm gonna take a home equity line of credit. Maybe I'm lucky enough to have a rich Uncle Harry that I can call up on, get a, you know, a loan from or or some sort of friends and family. But for the most part, most of our customers, the alternative to get any sort of any sort of capital is just frankly, grow slower, and so they would start out is very, very small businesses. Stay is very small businesses, and there was a very high mortality rate than with those businesses on. Then some that do reach about, you know, some amount of escape velocity can start to build up some profits and actually start to grow very, very difficult path without some amount of the initial capital

Yeah, it's interesting. Um, and I don't know if I would say, you know, as I look back now, it's been it's been almost six years ago that we started the business, Um, difficult to discern between those first weeks in those first months. What I would say is that it is when you're you're in a very early stage. I think you you don't really resemble a company. Really. What you are is you're just a scrappy group of hopefully very smart people who are determined to try to figure out how to be able thio add value. Teoh A you know, hope a very large group of folks who are in need of that particular value. Um, so So it's not It doesn't really look like a company, and it changes significantly once you figure out that product market fit once you figure out Hey, this is what we're actually going to deliver once you've actually built something minimal that you can actually deliver. Then it starts to resemble a company. But in those early days, I think that's the biggest differentiator is that is that you're really not a company. You don't have any of the the infrastructure of a company you don't have, typically the hierarchy of a company. If you do, it's probably just getting in the way on DSO thinking about it very, very differently in those early weeks and months until you reach that point of product market fit, which is usually not a particular point. It's usually some sort of a gradation, but then you start to look like more like a company on the other side of that.