The Createur Podcast
Welcome to The Createur Podcast, an energizing Christian entrepreneurship series inspiring young professionals and college students. Hosts Spencer James and Karli Byrd explore the intersection of faith and business, drawing from the expertise of successful entrepreneurs. Our program is proudly affiliated with the McGraw School of Business at Olivet Nazarene University, renowned for its groundbreaking Entrepreneurship degree program.
This student-produced podcast is a gateway to understanding the relationship between Christian faith and the entrepreneurial journey. Experience captivating stories, valuable insights, and strategies that unveil God's design for business. "The Createur Podcast" is your guide to the intersection of innovation, growth, and personal development within the context of faith and business.
Embark on a transformative journey with us—explore the annual Createur Conference and Pitch Competition. This Free Event is happening April 15-16, 2024. Participate in a Shark Tank style pitch competition with $15K in prizes, world-class keynotes, and networking. Open to high school and college students, as well as Olivet alumni. Learn more at Createur.Olivet.edu.
The Createur Podcast
Curiosity and Connection: Ty Lewis's Path to Real Estate Success
Ever wondered how curiosity and the power of storytelling can transform a career? Join us as Ty Lewis, a remarkable real estate investor and advocate for BIPOC academic success, shares his inspiring journey from a college graduate to owning multifamily units and developing single-family homes. Ty’s unique path highlights the importance of networking, mentorship, and strategic investments, including his impactful role with the African American Leadership Society at United Way Quad Cities. Through his story, we promise insights into how faith and proactive approaches can lead to a debt-free college education and open doors in the competitive world of real estate.
Listening is more than just a skill for Ty; it's a cornerstone of his leadership philosophy. Hear how Ty’s experiences, from volunteering to securing a full-ride scholarship, underscore the transformative effect of exposure to new opportunities. By setting aside ego and embracing genuine curiosity, Ty’s journey emphasizes the significance of building meaningful connections. We explore how these connections have helped him transition from nonprofit leadership to real estate and why young entrepreneurs should prioritize these practices to advance their careers.
But Ty’s wisdom doesn’t stop at career advice. Discover how intentional giving and the art of storytelling have shaped his leadership style and personal growth. Through personal anecdotes, Ty reveals the ripple effect of deliberate mentorship and financial support, inspiring others to lead with empathy and purpose. We wrap up with Ty’s thoughts on persistence in public speaking, real estate ventures, and the profound impact of community support. Tune in to be inspired by Ty’s journey and learn how you too can foster a fulfilling career through storytelling and strategic connections.
To learn more about other entrepreneurship opportunities and the McGraw School of Business’s very own Createur Conference and Pitch Competition, go to Createur.Olivet.edu.
This week we're excited to welcome Ty Lewis, who will be sharing his inspiring journey from college graduate to success as a real estate investor. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:Where faith and business meet. This is Creator.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Creator Podcast. Join us as we dive deep into conversations with visionaries, innovators and doers.
Speaker 2:Whether you're building your brand, launching your next big project or simply seeking inspiration, this is the space where ideas come to life.
Speaker 1:I'm Spencer James.
Speaker 2:And I'm Carly Bird where faith and business meet.
Speaker 1:This is the Creator Podcast. Hello everyone, this week, carly and I have the pleasure of being joined by someone who has made a significant impact in the world through speaking, coaching, mentoring and seeing some stuff on LinkedIn too lately. Super, super cool Ty Lewis, the man, the myth. Here he is in the flesh.
Speaker 2:We're so excited to have him here on the show today and the African American Leadership Society at United Way Quad Cities. He has helped invest $100,000 to support BIPOC academic success and launched an emerging leaders program for young professionals. In 2023, ty received the Quad Cities Outstanding Young Philanthropist Award and was selected for the St Ambrose Alumni Association Board. He has spoken for various organizations and he is currently a real estate investor who owns two multifamily units and is currently developing single-family homes. Ty, thank you so much for joining us today. We're so excited to have you.
Speaker 3:Oh, thank you guys for allowing me to be here. Thanks for the opportunity. I'm excited to kind of dig into the conversation and give some gems to the people listening.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We're super excited. Well, ty, your career trajectory is truly impressive, let me just say that, and you're spanning from impactful leadership roles at United Way Quad Cities to your current ventures as a real estate investor, which is really interesting. I think it would be great if you could just share some of those pivotal moments and turning points that significantly shaped your professional journey, and then you know. I guess I could go into that a little bit deeper. But additionally, you know how did some of these experiences influence your transition from more of the nonprofit leadership side to real estate investing, and you know what those lessons have. You know what lessons you've taken with you from that experience.
Speaker 3:Yes, well, first off, thank you for the introduction and the bio. You guys are amazing. Like man, I need you guys to always hype me up like that, but no like, as you're giving me that question and talk about pivotal moments. One of those things for me was, as I got into college, one of the things that I always realized was it's not what you know, and then who will vouch for you in rooms you're never going to be in, right? Who will vouch for you in rooms where you know you're not going to get to say anything, but you have an advocate or somebody telling you your story or telling you how great you are. So one of those pivotal moments for me was I got a full ride scholarship to my four-year college. So I went to Blackhawk Community College, which is in the Quad Cities, got there on a presidential scholarship. So they had this program where if you graduated top 10% in high school, you got to go to the local community college on a full ride. So I went there for two years, worked at Chick-fil-A. While doing that, became a manager, leveled my leadership up there, learned about customer service, money management, how to lead a team. That was great.
Speaker 3:One of the things that happened while I was there and as I was looking for my four-year college was I was looking for scholarships, right, and I was putting out there to the world praying about it. I was just like, hey, god, like I want to graduate debt-free, right, I went to this two-year full ride. I want to get to my four-year with as many like scholarships and less loans as possible. So I kind of put that out to the universe, right, and as I was doing that, I was still taking action, right. So I did college visits to University of Iowa, university of Illinois, went to Iowa State and ended up selecting Iowa. I was like, ok, this is, this will fit me. I love their Tippie School of Business. I had a couple of friends already in there from high school. So I was like this is a perfect fit. So, as I was going there, like I said, it's not what you know, who you know, who knows you. So at the time, somebody that knew me and I knew them as well, I kind of asked them. I was like, hey, like I think I'm going to go to Iowa. Are there any scholarship available for any like two year to four year students, any students that are in business? I got the Chick-fil-A scholarship, so I was blessed to get that.
Speaker 3:But one of the things that happened was I ended up going to a volunteer event to help out some youth in the Quad Cities. At that youth event I got connected to community leaders, a CEO of a college and a CEO of a bank, and I didn't know that at the time. So I'm in the room just helping, volunteering, just kind of being myself. I didn't realize who was in the room at the time. But this goes back to, like I said that statement, like who knows you? The lady knew who I was and she saw me doing a really good job with the youth and, like I said, this is just like me being positive, me just sharing my story, telling the youth, like, hey, like, college is possible. You know, getting into Chick-fil-A right At the time, that's where I was at that's possible. You can become a manager. I'm only like 19, 20 years old and I'm already leading a team of 15 team members, so it's possible, just sharing that story.
Speaker 3:And the lady saw me and afterwards I was like hey, like thank you for inviting me, this is great. You know, I'm going to be going up to Iowa, so just keep me posted as more opportunities come along. If I'm back home, you know, come back to the Quad City area, you know, let me know if I can help out. So told her this. And this is where God is amazing. God, this is where God really like showed up in my life, in my story. Showed up in my life, in my story.
Speaker 3:She called me after I accepted my offer to Iowa, got my roommate, knew my major. She called me and says hey, ty, you won't believe this, but we're developing this program. We're looking for a young man in the area who's interested in business and finance, who could get into St Ambrose because the CEO of a local bank in my area Quad City Bank and Trust. They want to select a young man, give him a full ride, scholarship and an internship at a bank. Wow, she calls me, says, hey, ty, you won't believe it. But two people that are in this program that are kind of selecting people, we all thought of your name and we would love to offer you this full ride, scholarship and internship to St Ambrose and Quad City Bank and Truck.
Speaker 3:That was so blessed for me to have that opportunity, not just because of the full ride, but because I really wanted to graduate debt-free right and I really wanted to learn more about banking, learn more about business. And I really wanted to graduate debt-free right and I really wanted to learn more about banking, learn more about business. And I was planning to work at the Chick-fil-A in Iowa City where the University of Iowa was. But this offer came around and, long story short, that offer allowed me to stay in the Quad Cities where I got raised by my dad, where my dad actually passed away right before I started my junior year, because this happened in COVID. So I got the full ride scholarship, covid. It took my visit, still got to Ambrose, but in the midst of all that my dad passed away.
Speaker 3:So when you asked the question about pivotal moments, that was a pivotal moment for me not just getting the full ride scholarship, but losing my parents. All that kind of shaped me into realizing, oh my god, like you're not promised tomorrow, right? And then here's the crazy thing I was starting a business just at that time before he passed away, didn't know much about credit, didn't know much about business. He started his business that same year, passed away, and he passed away like, I had this internship, we got this scholarship. I was like, oh my gosh, like I cannot just put this to weight. Right, I need to get into this room, I need to connect with people, I need to learn about banking, learn about business, which then kind of taught me to learn more about real estate, which led to me now getting a real estate property right after I graduated and I just got another one right A couple months ago in May. So that was a really pivotal moment for me as I'm looking back in my career of the Full Rise Scholarship and my dad passing away.
Speaker 2:Wow, ty, first I just want to say I'm so sorry for your loss and thank you for being so open and transparent with us on the show and sharing your story.
Speaker 2:It really means so much to us. But also I think it's really interesting to just looking at your story and kind of what you've been saying. You know, I think it's really interesting too, just looking at your story and kind of what you've been saying. You know, I keep going back to some of the old podcasts that we've already done or recent ones even, and recently we had Auntie Ann Beiler herself on the podcast, which was a huge opportunity for Spencer and I and I think it's interesting she actually brought up you know we really focused on people in that episode brought up, you know, we really focused on people in that episode. And one piece of advice she gave that's from her book actually was never underestimate the power of someone believing in you. And I think it's interesting that you talk about just those pivotal moments where someone recognized you, someone noticed you in that crowd and saw your potential and gave you that opportunity. That's really what it's all about. So thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3:Of course and I'll add to that too I wouldn't be where I'm at without people. Right, god has put people in my life that have blessed me. Blessed me to be able to get into real estate, learn more about business, learn more about college, right, learn more about just being a man. But it comes to people, and I'm big on people, like I'm I'm I'm a people person. I love connecting. I told you guys, like, let's connect after this and get some coffee, but it's. It comes to people. Like, I didn't get my real estate property without connecting with people.
Speaker 3:I would have not gotten that full-life scholarship without going and volunteering right, not even knowing that was going to happen. Right, just being myself and just wanting to help people. And I think it's one of those things as the listeners are listening like there's people out there that want to help, and I'm a living testimony of people have blessed me in situations where I didn't think anything was going to happen. Right, I was going to keep walking the way I'm walking, but somebody took me aside and said hey, ty, you're doing some great job. Hey, ty, I'm going to call you and make sure you're taken care of. I'm going to look for some scholarships. Oh wait, I actually got the scholarship program for you at St Ambrose, so it's all come through people. So it's crazy, as you say, it's people make things happen. But I believe God put those people in my life and I think I've been intentional about that and that's that's provided such dividends for me in my life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've talked about this before in some other episodes, but the power of saying yes to things and the power of of just like it opens doors, and doors you don't even think are possible, and so I love that. I love that, I love that story so much. How do you think that those experiences have maybe shaped you, looking back on it, just to kind of like, even where you are now as a young entrepreneur, I mean, you have this property right. But maybe from the point of leadership, how do you feel like you're a better leader out of these different experiences and meeting new people and making those connections?
Speaker 3:It's a great question, spencer. I think one of the things that it's taught me as a leader is everybody has a story, everybody has a story, but will you take the time to listen? Will you take the time to put your ego aside and hear what they have to say? Because that's what I was doing at that volunteer event and then, as I was doing that, I wasn't expecting to get that full ride scholarship, right. I wasn't even in real estate, right. I'm going to conferences, going to events, networking opportunities to learn more about real estate and agents, the investors. I'm just looking to hear their story.
Speaker 3:How did you get started? What would you wish you would have knew back in your 20s? But as I'm talking, right, and as I'm listening, no one else is doing that same thing for me. So, as a leader, it's like everyone has a story, but will you take the time to actually listen to them and give them feedback about it and tell them man, that's a great story, I'm proud of you, I can believe in you.
Speaker 3:So that's one of the things as a leader, as I'm now not just in real estate, but as I'm public speaking, as I'm doing consulting work, as I'm doing coaching work with young professionals with college students. I need to make sure that I'm listening to them, because I was once in their shoes where I wanted somebody to listen to me and I just wanted to share my story got to do the same for them. So that's one of you know, when you ask that question, it's like everyone has a story. You've got to make sure you listen and give them an opportunity to share it. I think that's one of the big things I've learned in my journey as a leader. I love that.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah, ty. Looking at your current history with real estate, I kind of want to switch gears for a moment. You currently own two multifamily units and you're developing single family homes. How did you identify these opportunities and what criteria do you use when you're evaluating potential real estate investments? We have a lot of young aspiring entrepreneurs that listen to the show, that are really interested in real estate, so I think that would be interesting to share on that.
Speaker 3:There's a quote that I've heard before that really put this into perspective your level of exposure will determine your level of success. Say that one more time your level of exposure will determine your level of success. When I was in college, like I said, I was blessed I had the internship in a bank. That banking internship got me exposed to seeing people in real estate, that own property whether that was their business property, their personal property, vacation homes, airbnbs, whatever that was. I saw that in the bank. So that's one of the things where I got exposed. Not just that, I took classes in college when we talked about real estate, but I think one of the things going, I got exposed. Not just that I took classes in college when we talked about real estate, but I think one of the things going back to what you said, people I got curious and I was like, hmm, like these people and this is COVID right so during COVID in the bank they had a lot of loans going out SBA loans to kind of help out small businesses and I got to kind of see all that. But one I got to kind of see all that. One of the things that I saw of people that were successful during COVID was they had this extra income in real estate. And this goes back to my story of losing my dad. One of the things I realized about my dad was he worked so much he was a truck driver. And there's this book, rich Dad, poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki, and I read that book right after he passed and as I was in banking, one of the biggest things I realized in the book is you can't just work for money. You gotta allow your money to work for you, and that was one of the things I didn't see my dad do growing up, or even my mom. Right, just letting the money work for them. And as I'm in this banking internship, I'm like, oh my gosh, these people are letting this real estate money. Right, make them more real estate money and make them more money to help with their families or whatever their ventures are. But I saw that I got exposed to that.
Speaker 3:So, as I did that, right, ask questions. Right, hey, like, how'd you get this? As a college student, what should I do? Reading more books, getting invested into BiggerPockets, which is a platform that I listen to, which is all about real estate investing. Asking my professors questions hey, do you know any real estate agents. Do you know any real estate investors, any lenders, contractors, right, just getting that exposure to that industry because I didn't know anything. So, as a listener to listening, like, I got exposed early. Right, that led me to ask some questions, which led me to getting to events, which led me into getting connected and having more coffees with investors, which led me to asking them how did you do, what do you own, what should I do? Which led me to realizing some programs and opportunities where I was like, oh my gosh, six months after graduating college, I could probably get my first property if I saved property, got my credit right, taxes, some of the things I've learned. But it all came just from getting exposure right and asking questions and get curious. I don't think enough people in life are curious and are asking questions and getting the exposure that they need. That's changed my life, right, I got exposed to that volunteer opportunity. It lets me get a full-ride scholarship.
Speaker 3:So, as I'm talking about the exposure, like people have to get in the room, like one of my sayings is you have to be in the room right, me being in the room has led to me, right after graduating college, owning a two-unit, a duplex right, where I lived in one side, rent out the other side, and then I got a roommate on my side because there's a three-bed one-bath so that allowed me to live for free right, while getting some income from the place I live. Only six months after graduating college and I was talking to people in college like, oh, that's impossible, ty, like you can't do that. No, I got exposed and I saw other people doing it and I was like this is possible. But I think the thing that happens is if you don't get that exposure, you don't think that's possible. Right, seeing is believing. Like, I saw people doing this and I, like I said I didn't get exposure to that at an early age. Right, I didn't see my parents doing that.
Speaker 3:So as I got exposed to that, I'm like man, this is possible if I can get my credit right. Right, here's the thing college students, you can use your transcripts to qualify you for a home. That counts as full-time work. So I got a full-time job after graduating college, so I was getting full-time income and that and that sort. They was like, hey, do you have your graduate degree? Do you? Do you have your transcripts from your college? I was like, yeah, this counts as your full-time two years of working right because you were working in school and I had the savings. But it's like if I didn't get exposed, I don't even know that was possible. So exposure is everything. Get exposed, it exposed, it can change your life. It changed my life.
Speaker 1:That's great. Yeah, I love that. I love that let's talk a little bit about giving back. I mean, you're so generous, you're being generous with your time, even today with us, and what's giving back look like for you as an entrepreneur in that space?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, when I talk about giving back, it's one of those things where you have to be intentional about it, right, because sometimes people are caring.
Speaker 3:Right, I'm a caring person, right, people say they're caring people. But I think when you talk about giving, you have to be intentional about that, right, because time is money, right, but it's also it would be such a disservice if I'm getting such these blessings I'm getting moved up in leadership at Chick-fil-A, I'm getting this banking internship, I get this leadership position at United Way. It would be a disservice, right, if I didn't get to the younger generation and say, hey, here's how I did this, right, here's what's possible for you, right. So a lot of my giving back right now is mentoring, right, people in college, people in high school, even financially right, rather than say let me pay for your first course, let me pay for this conference for you, right, let me buy your first product for your business, right. But I think you have to be intentional about it. Like, I think people want to do good and you want to give that, but I go back to you. Got to be intentional, like, that's one of the big words is being intentional, right, going back to, like I said my being in the room and and exposure. Right, I was intentional about that. Same thing with giving back. But you have to be intentional about going out of your way to help people, because sometimes it's like you're too busy. Right, we got significant others, we have our job, our mental health, um, our friends maybe have college, your job, like there's so much going on in life.
Speaker 3:If you don't set time aside and be intentional about giving back, you won't do it. Yeah, right, you might do oh yeah, like hey, how's it going like? Or hey, like, you know, let me give you a compliment, but it's like I think you have to be intentional. I'm intentional about hey, let me make sure I go my way and let them know hey, you can, you can get this property. Or hey, you can invest in a stock market or whatever financial business, even just life, mental health, um. But I think the word is you have to be intentional and that's one of the things I've done.
Speaker 3:And I think when you're intentional about giving back, god bless you. I mean, god is amazing, god will come back and bless you. But I think you can't look, you can't, you can't think about that in the moment, like I'm doing this just to get blessed by God, like he knows your intentions, right. So you have to have good intentions about that and, I think, when that happens, right your attention about giving back. Right, even if you don't get anything returned, cool, you just help someone else's life, the people that helped me and told me hey, here's what you do for your saving, here's what you do for credit. That has now blessed me to have two properties at 24 and I'm cash flowing almost $4,000.
Speaker 3:That's insane for me even to say that, but that's come because people have given to me. So now it's my responsibility to do that for somebody else, because there's somebody else out there that maybe just doesn't know that. You just have to be intentional, or financially right. I used to work at united way, right? So sharing information about, hey, like, your dollars here are going to go to some kids education or some family education or some person's health care, right, just explaining that and just saying, hey, like, if you have it, give it. Right, because it's like it's the right thing to do so. But it comes to being intentional. You have to be.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, Ty. You've also spoken for a variety of organizations, including John Deere and the Quad City Chamber of Commerce. How would you say that some of these speaking engagements that you've participated in have shaped your approach to leadership and even philanthropy itself?
Speaker 3:Storytelling. Storytelling is such a key leadership trait that I realized I have to have because I'm a storyteller, as you guys kind of just heard before. Right, I'm telling stories about how I got my four ride, how I've gotten in the room and got my properties, how I give back. I realized through speaking that people listen to stories. Right, People are going to listen to your story because they can relate Like, oh my gosh, like I went to a two-year college or, oh my gosh, I was looking for scholarships and got a scholarship come in that I didn't know.
Speaker 3:Or, oh my gosh, I went to this volunteer opportunity and, you know, got to help these kids and then all of a sudden, somebody at the volunteer opportunity blessed me with something else. Right, it might've been a full ride for you, but it could have been something else. But I think storytelling when I speak has led me to realize like, oh my gosh, like if you could tell a unique story, and it's, it takes practice, right, I've been doing this for a little bit now, Like I, and it's crazy because I just got my first paid speaking gig a couple of weeks ago. And I did it a couple of weeks ago and somebody asked me like man, it's how, like you got you get paid now Like you're cool and oh my gosh, it's like no, like I did about 50 free ones before that first one right A practice. And how do I, how do I articulate my thoughts?
Speaker 1:How do I articulate my?
Speaker 3:story. How do I articulate this leadership point? But I think storytelling, not even just in speaking, right? Real estate Can you tell a unique story to the agent to let them know? Here's what the property I'm looking for. Here's why I'm even investing in real estate, right?
Speaker 3:The lady that I asked for scholarships here's why I want a scholarship. I'm one of the couple of people in my family to go to college and nobody's been able to graduate debt-free. I would love to be able to do that for the first time. Right? That story invokes emotion, which makes people more interested in trying to help you. So I think storytelling. Even a fundraiser right, If you're looking to fundraise, to get some dollars in donations, what's the story? Why should I give my money to you? Here's the story about it we had a kid do this. We had a kid do that. Their family, whatever the story is, but I think storytelling is something I've learned through speaking that's such a key contributor in life, not just in leadership, but just even your relationships with your family, your significant other, like. Being able to tell a good story, to laugh, right, but also to be impactful is so key.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the power of a story is so underrated, right, and uh, that it's one thing that for thousands and millions of years that has never really changed the power power of a story, right, and I think that's so great. I think that's so great. What's maybe one piece of advice, or maybe, looking back on your journey, that maybe you wished you could have learned earlier.
Speaker 3:I mean, you've been like pedal to the metal, right, but what's maybe something that, man, I wish I could have learned that a little bit earlier to give me maybe even more of a head start yeah, I think one of the things I'm realizing is how can you and this is maybe for not even just young professionals, right, this is even for maybe adults are looking to get mentored from um older, the older generation, right, but the thing I wish I would have realized sooner is how do you keep a conversation and just be able to have dialogue with somebody older than you? Right, especially in the college area, right, college students, right, you're comfortable talking to people your age and that's great. Right, love talking to you guys, love our conversations, love my friends that are my age. But I realized I got my property, I got my full ride, scholarship, because I put myself in uncomfortable situations.
Speaker 3:I'm talking to people that have they got kids our age. Right, they have kids in their 20s, in 19, 18. So it's like, how do you keep a conversation with them for 30 minutes? Right, that's on a golf course or a coffee meeting, or you're going to your professor's office hour, right, can you relate to them? Right, can you talk about different topics? Because I wish I would have realized that sooner, because now I'm in rooms with people that have, like I said, have kids my age. So now I'm having, okay, how do I relate to them. What questions am I asking? Am I'm having real? Okay? How do I relate to them? What questions am I asking? Am I talking sports? Am I talking about their business, figuring those things out? I wish I would have learned that earlier, because I think if you want to be great, you've got to get around greatness. And I think sometimes, right, your friends are great. Right, don't get me wrong, friends are great, they're going to motivate you, they're going to love you, support you, you support you. But I'm trying to talk like this. Here's something I think I also realize no-transcript, right? So if I'm trying to get a real estate property and my mom, dad, family, friend, they don't own any real estate, why am I asking them for real estate advice? They love me, right, don't get me wrong. They love me, they love you, but they're not doing what you want to be doing. So I had to realize, oh my God, if I want to get into real estate, if I want to get into speaking, if I want to get into nonprofit whatever that is for you, engineering your own business, coffee, whatever it is you've got to go to people that are doing that, and sometimes they're older than you. So how do you keep that conversation flowing? That's one of the things I wish I realized. But I'm starting to figure that out now Right. Rather that's just relating to what do your kids do? Or you know what is your favorite coffee, what sports? What have you learned in business Credit cards?
Speaker 3:You know? Just you kind of pick that up over time. But it took reps right. So much of my speaking like I didn't just start getting paid right away. I had to do 50 free ones before I got that first paid one. I had to look at six to seven properties before I closed my first one. I had to talk to a couple of different lenders, a couple of different agents before I found the right fit. So I think it just you have to do those reps. So that's one of the things I wish I realized a little bit earlier. That's great.
Speaker 1:That's great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, ty, I just really admire your work ethic and, you know, recognizing that you need to surround yourself by the right people that are going to help you in the part of life that you're currently dealing with. So that's very important, ty. You know this is so much fun and I just love talking with you. You make it so easy, of course, as we're starting to wrap things up. You know, as someone that has seen the show, that we always end with a quirky question of the week, so, spencer, I'm going to let you take this one this time. Let's see what we got.
Speaker 1:I can ask this one Are we ready, you ready, ty Ready, ready? Oh, he's ready, he's ready. All right, here we go. So you've obviously getting some paid speaking gigs lately, which is awesome, and so the quirky question is if you could give a TED Talk on any unrelated topic, what would it be about? What would the TED Talk be about? About anything A hobby, passion, life experience, something quirky, yeah that's a great question, I think.
Speaker 3:See, there's a couple of different things I'm thinking of. Y'all Let me think, because I think one of the things I talked about earlier. I started off at a two-year college, so I went to Black Hawk Community College. I can talk for hours about the benefits of starting small. Even just whether that's your hometown, people think you have to go to this big school, even Olivet. Olivet's not the biggest school out there, but you could do some amazing things. All of that, Right, my, my future fiance is graduating from all of that. My, my in-law went to all of that. So I've connected to all of that. But I think just the benefit of not just community college, but I'll probably speak towards community college Just the benefit of, hey, like you don't have to go to this big school, you don't have to go to this big national school to be successful, like you can go to the school that has great professors, great teachers, great people and be successful, so that I think that would be my TED talk right there I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it. That's such a great one, carly, what would yours be?
Speaker 2:I, I don't know oh my goodness that's a tough one, I feel like, yeah, wow, look at you coming at me now with the quirky questions. You know, honestly, I really love that. I feel like just you know, getting real deep and personal honestly from you know what you've described as well, and the ability to tell a story. I don't know definitely experienced in my life or witnessed many times the effects of depression on certain loved ones or people that I've seen, and have seen that up close and personal in many different ways, and I feel like I could talk forever on that topic as well and just recognizing who to lean into and who to lean on and trust as well as your, you know your faith in God just being there and realizing that you know sometimes you have to ask for help as well.
Speaker 2:But yeah, so that kind of took a turn.
Speaker 3:But that's probably where I would go, okay, spencer what about you?
Speaker 1:It's coming.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Spencer, now you have to go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I can load one up here. I you know I'm fascinated by my culture and the power of culture, like in an organization, and so I think that's maybe where I would go with. It Looks like I'm crying on camera right now. I promise I'm not, but I kind of tear up sometimes about it. I kind of tear up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're getting real deep today.
Speaker 1:We're getting real deep. But you know, I just something fascinating about how culture can literally transform an organization and can transform a place and how important that is, and I think it's underrated. And so I think that's maybe what I would talk about, and just talk about the importance of that and the importance of being a part of a team, being a team player and leading where you're at, even if you don't have assigned leadership right in your organization.
Speaker 1:I you're at, even if you don't have a side leadership right Uh and in your organization, I think that's how I do, but yeah, whoa, whoa is me, right, whoa is me, yeah. Well, hey, ty, thank you so much for being on the show today. Uh, just taking a couple of minutes out of your day. It's been so uh, so awesome. We've loved hearing your story and, uh, keep keep grinding, brother, like you're killing it.
Speaker 3:Thank you, keep going. No, you guys too. I appreciate you guys having me on here and I hope the audience took something. And, like my dad always said, a closed mouth never gets fed. So reach out to your professors, reach out to people. You're not alone in whatever you're dealing with.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, ty. Yes, it's really been great having you on the show today and listeners. If you would like to connect with Ty, you can go to the links that we have in our description today for his Instagram, linkedin or his website, so make sure to check that out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if you want to learn more about the entrepreneurship program in Olivet, you can go to Olivetedu slash entrepreneurship, simple as that.
Speaker 2:That's right. And finally, to learn more about the Creator Conference and Pitch Competition, feel free to reach out to me, carly Bird, at kabird at olivetedu, or visit our website, creatorolivetedu.
Speaker 1:Boom, all right, well, hey, that's all we got for you today. Thanks so much for listening. Thank you, ty. And where faith and business meet, this is Creator Podcast. We'll see you next time, thank you.