With whats ahead for the gen z. A robot on the 10es court, shall we play a game . Disrupts the business of death. Thats this week on press here. Good morning, everyone. Im scott mcgrew, one of my favorite subjects when we arent talking about ai are robots. A Company Called figure is showing off a humanoid robot. Theres a Silicon Valley company that makes a robot called verde that trims and blows your lawn. While that is taking care of your lawn man you can snook off and play some tennis. Volley, i can remember shucking balls with my dad and youd think we could have boughtmore tennis balls and it would have made my life easier. With us is the co founders of the company, lets start with that, not with my dad, but these have been around for years, these are those tennis cannons i saw when i was with my dad in the 80s. They have been around for years and i learned how to play golf when i learned how to play tennis, way too late in my life and there were simulators and things like that that helped me get better faster and on the racquet sport side i was underwhelmed and i thought there was much more opportunity to Bring Technology in the equation to help me progress and understand what im doing and doing wrong so i can get better at it faster and thats where the idea for volley was born out of my personal needs. A tennis ball launcher, a dumb one shoots the same tennis ball yours will see what i do and compensate . Thats exactly right. From my perspective im also an engineer and whenever im faced with frustration, how can we make it better . How can we improve this . We were running other businesses and we had computing platforms and ai and thats where the idea came from, why cant we take this ball machine and put Computer Vision on it and know when youre out on the court from the players perspective, if you can track the ball and understand where the ball machine is on the court and layer over top of that, the engine that understands how an opponent plays the game you can create a simulated racquet experience and thats what we set out to do and accomplish. It can return the player a tremendous amount of data, as well. Thats one of the things that are running or people track their sleep. People love to see the data on the thing theyre doing. You get that immediate video feedback that you can just turn to your student and see exactly whats going on. The other big benefit is the pros are standing next to you and no longer trying to feed a ball from 30 feet away and it turns out to be a better experience overall. Let me challenge you on the ai, and i ask this of anyone who says oh, our thing has ai because everybody says that right now. A thermostat makes a decision based on an input and creates an output, but its not thinking. How are your machines using actual ai and what is the outcome of what it is that theyre thinking about and deciding . So we can do it on kind of all different levels. The most simplest one would be you park the machine on the court, serve the ball up to the machine and it will throw a ball back at you just as if a player had returned it. So when the machine processes it, there will be a return shot. We can record some of the data on what happened on your volley of that shot. Where did it go . And we start giving you actionable data and maybe theres room for improvement and areas youre succeeding at. That might be the simplest way of being a smarter machine and the more exciting part of it is we take into account where you are at on the court and now you come up to the net and for example, well try to throw a few hard shots past you and then well lob it over your head and when youre back on the baseline, were not going to throw a lob at you because thats not a shot that you see in the game. Its making real time decisions about your level and what you would see on the court and creating an awesome experience out of it. And with all of this, you chose nvidia chips and shout out to the local Santa Clara Company nvidia which by now everyone in the world has heard of. No doubt. They are the leader in the area for Computer Vision. Tell me about, it will also work with platform tennis which i am completely unfamiliar with. Thats where we actually got started. Platform tennis is played usually in the wintertime and its heated up where you can melt the snow and played with two partners so there are two people on the court all of the time. A lot of people call it the chess of racquet sports because you dont necessarily overpower the people because you can play it over the chicken wire thats behind you and you can set it up and the tactics in order to win the points and platform tennis is where it got started and it works, and its a similar sport and its one of the bigger phrases in the u. S. And its also phenomenal for pickle ball and tennis. Thats what i was going to ask you, can i stick pickle ball in there right now . We have a model specifically for pickle ball. It is bigger and you cant impress it on the way out and not a lot is left of pickle ball. This something i would find in a club, right . This is not something that i would purchase, not that i have a tennis court in my house, this is something thats offered at a club. Yeah. Right now our model is we lease them to clubs and it is a clublevel machine. And this is your what . Fourth startup . Serial entrepreneur, right . That is correct. Tell me about previously. What did you work on previously . We had a equipment where we built equipment for john deere for 30 years and were an oem supplier and we built something that was rugged and able to keep functioning and we had 15,000 deployments across the u. S. Where we had touchscreens and displays. My brother and i started a company that we started together and we did a bookmark manager in the 90s and that was a lot of fun. Last question for you, whats been the biggest challenge or Biggest Surprise about the machine that it didnt behave the way you thought and that didnt go the way we intended it to . I think one of the Biggest Challenges that we had was just seeing how many different uses our Customer Base is coming up for this. Its a great tool and one of the fun parts about this is seeing how people apply that tool for themselves to get better. Through the app they can create their own workouts. They can create their own use cases and thats been one of the more exciting and challenging things thats part of it. So they will send Something Like, hey, i need to do faster shots or i need better shot timing and we make a software where two weeks later theyre off and running and thats the fun thing about the company volley that it is bringing a software mentality into the racket Sports Industry and our customers are loving it. Thats the great news. Thats fantastic. John, i appreciate you being with us. John is the ceo of volley and press here will be back in just a moment. Welcome back to press here, this year mark the beginning of what sociologists are calling peak 65, as 4 million americans born in 1959 turned 65 followed by 4 million next year and 4 million the following year. People retire every year, of course, but this is the boomer generation and they call it the boomer generation for a reason. There are a lot of people. Kelsey bishop is nowhere near 65, as best i can tell, but she is an expert in Workplace Culture and shes ceo of a Company Called candor. Kelsey, good morning. We often engage in stereotypes when we were talking about various generations, but i think it is fair to say that the bomber generation is a group of people who were and are loyal and reliable, right . Thats right. Yep. So if anyones going to show up to work on time its going to be a boomer and now were going to see that workplaces are maybe losing some of that culture. Its not the younger people arent hardworking. Its just that if you had to depend on somebody to get something done on time the older they are, the more theyre probably likely to do it. Its true, but its also that the Younger Generation values Different Things besides stability and job security. Were seeing a lot of millennials and gen zers look at things like flexibility and feedback, recognition in being able to fulfill that work become more front and center than the boomer values. I remember one business account, i wish i could were what newspaper it was in, its about a young person that showed up one apple earphone ready to work that would just mortify their grand parents. They do want flexibility and listening to music and certainly work from home and the flexibility to do what they want in the office. I think so, and i think it is also showing up as who they really are, being more authentically themselves. Previously boomers showed up as their work self. They had their work outfits and they showed up and did their job and went home, and i think what were seeing from the next generation is they want to show up as themselves. They want to be authentic and they want to be vulnerable at work and thats different, right . Yes, of course, you can show up with a headphone, but i think its more than that. I think its wearing casual clothes and working from home and its being seen as who you really are as a human and not just an employee. There was experimentation particularly at google and bringing your whole self to work and whether that is your politics or your favorite sports teams and everything. It lasted a while and google started to move away from that. You can take it too far. I agree with that. I think that there is work appropriate and home appropriate, and i dont think thats quite where gen z and millennials are looking, but more so when were remote and we dont get to see each other in the office and have the water cooler conversations, how do i get to know what my coworker does on the weekends and what their family is like and its creating the nextlevel conversation when most of conversations are zoom these days. One that we skipped over gen x. We dont wear plaid or necessarily listen to grunge and well probably be managers because well be the oldest generation. Right. Thats where it gets interesting. How does gen x start to adapt to these Younger Generations and their values and how they want to work because i dont think what works for the last generations will work for the next ones and companies and managers will really need to start to adapt. How much of this do you think when it comes to gen z and millennials is youth and just the world evolving and how much of it was pandemic . I think a lot of it was pandemic and i think remote work does make these shifts more prominent, and it makes the need for companies and managers to adapt a bit more extreme because a lot of what we got in the office, connection, culture building, we got it for free, where ass now when youre on zoom and trying to engage these remote employees you dont get the office for free anymore. You dont get those interactions in person when people are feeling connected or happy hours or any of that doesnt come with work and it takes a lot more intentionality to connect with your teammate and it takes more specifically from that manager to engage with employee ps. So they can get to know each other and your company does that and its like a facebook for work or a linkedin without the resume and we are showing yours now to viewers. Ive learned everyone in your family has a name that starts with tay and apparently, youre very impatient. Youre patient, as well. Yes. Those are both true things that my teammates have gotten to know up close and personal and its important for people to know who theyre working with and whoi am and get to know that i have Four Brothers all who start with the letter k and also how i work best and how to give me feedback and really how to engage in a way thats effective. Thats not something that youll get off necessarily linked in. Somebody could put it in their bio, but linkedin tends to be where did you go to school and where were you before had and not the kind of thing that i need in order to know you best. And linkedin doesnt tell you who you are as a human and we do get the highlevel superficial stuff and that doesnt help when youre trying to figure out how to best work with the manager and i have this director who ill never meet in person and how do i create a relationship. That was the impatient and definitely not 65yearold ceo of candor, kelsey bishop. Thanks for joining us and press here will be right back. If you feel like things dont add up right now. Youre not alone. Rent is up, and every family outing costs an arm and a leg. Well, we want to help. So when prices go up, we find new ways to go low. And now, weve lowered the price on hundreds of your favorite products. Designing something beautiful is easy. Designing something beautiful with great quality for a low price . Thats a different story. Its why were here. Thats a promise. Not a promo. Welcome back to press here qwest. In the previous segment we were talking about an aging workforce, and i suppose we can say finally this morning with something final indeed and that is the end of life. There is a Company Called empathy that is using technology to improve funerals and all the issues that arise with such a difficult time. It just received 47 million in venture funding. So, i dont know, funerals as a service, maybe fast. Empathys ceo is ron gura. Good morning. Lets start with that funding and clearly investors are taking what youre trying to do seriously. We think it is a meaningful injection of support and trust into a category that we find the single Largest Consumer fix and still untouched by innovation. Specifically unspoiled. We started the Company Three and a half years ago to help families deal with loss, and we couldnt be more excited about this new path and amazing benchmark for us. And you have Something Like 40 million users, right . We are supporting dozens millions of use ares in the u. S. Through our Life Insurance carriers and users. And to think about head space for grief combined with a turbotax for estate settlement. Probate, paperwork and the bure ok ras they comes with losing a loved one that we know is hard enough as it is. Especially if you havent gone through it the first time as an adult. There are a ton of things that have to be done. Oh, my gosh, were looking at hundreds of hours just to wind down the affairs of a loved one on average. We have an Impact Report that we publish every year and we see more than a year just to handle the bureaucracy and red tape and not to mention the emotional aspect of grief that we believe has no timeline. Generally, this service is offered by my employer, just like i might have an extra benefit and theres Life Insurance they get from my employer or other side benefits. This is something that generally you offer by employers. Correct, the vast majority are getting from employers and these are progressive, large employers while providing bereavement care on top of bereavement leave. We also see more and more insurance carriers and we work with new york life, metlife and guardian and many, many others that are showing up as a claim level beyond the payout and offering continuity of care. Walk me through the first moments of a new customer. What questions generally are you or are you asking of this new customer . What problems are you solving of this new customer when they first log on . So first things first, losing a loved one is very overwhelming. People dont know where to start. They dont know how to navigate the decision that needs to be made. We need to help them provide a customized plan, and kristen if youre in new jersey or arizona. You have five siblings or not and now we have a dedicated chair manager. He or she will be the quarterbacks for the next 24 months and helping you with the full range of grief and estate needs and bakley with time, money and stress when the in, vittable happens. Being, ai has come to the funeral business and its come through everything else. Combined with the right amounts of human touch. We let machines do what machines do well like financials and taxes, et cetera when it comes to the administration. And let humans do what humans do best is showing up and being on the other side of the line and showing up with compassion. Speaking of being human, is it hard to work at a business that fundamentally every single day is about death and grieving . Everybody says do what you love, but nobody loves death. Absolutely. I think its inevitable. We do what we love because we are helping empowering families through loss. We dont see ourselves in the death industry at all, actually. Death happens and we get to support families afterwards. So we are in the family care business and the same industry of maternity and care giving and Fertility Benefits that popped up in the last decade to help bring employees back to work and help bring employees with their whole self back to work. Thats where we are. Its a Meaningful Life event that doesnt skip any of us. Its fun or comic app, but it is a messy human and hopefully very empowering tool that can save people time and money. Finally, as someone who is an expert in the field, what would you say to somebody who would not get this benefit to their workplace who will not download your app, but what would you want them to know if they whats the thing they should do ahead of time that they should know . Most americans dont do any Estate Planning and that what you change, but from a human nature standpoint that will change that very quickly. When the inevitable happens and you are dealing with loss, just understand that the most difficult loss is always your loss and some people might not get that and make sure that youre surrounding yourself with support. Fair enough. A tough subject to talk about on a sunday morning, but i enjoyed it. Ron gura is the ceo of empathy. Thank you for joining us this morning. Press here will be back in just a moment. Welcome back to press here, hes been a frequent guest over many years and hes making news this spring as he guides the company he cofounded rubric to the public markets. Hes been on that podcast that were also constantly telling you about, sandhill road where i sit down with news makers for a longer, more indepth interview. Where people are interviewing get a chance to reflect on their journey, both entrepreneurial and literal. I can confidently say that we forget how magical it is and were still living in the basement, and it took me a couple of years to get them out of the poverty and with a different place to live. You can find my interview with dippel sinha on sandhill road anywhere where you find the podcast. Its in the archives and ill bet you find a lot of interesting people in there, as well. Thats our show for this week. My thanks to our guests and thank you for making us a part of your sunday morning. you made a cow actually its a piggy bank. My inspiration to start saving. How about a more solid way to save . Im listening. Well, bmo helps get your savings habit into shape with a cash reward, every month you save. Both cash reward . And theres a cash bonus when you open a new Checking Account to get you started. Wow. Anything you cant do . mugs. Bmo Damian Trujillo hello, and welcome to comunidad del valle. Damian im damien trujillo, and today using ai. To revitalize the mission on your comunidad del valle. Mugs