We interviewed Paras Shah, Cybersecurity Expert and Founder of LAMR Group.

Question: Paras, you’ve been involved in security now for more than two decades. How has it changed?

Almost everything has changed. Technology has changed– smarter, faster and more comprehensive coverage. People have changed– it is no longer a niche community. Security awareness and skill have permeated throughout every pillar and level of organizations. Policies have changed– technology has invaded every part of our lives – social and commercial. This has led to far more encompassing security policy in nearly every market and geography.

Question: What is your focus at LAMR Group?

With respect to the enterprise, we focus primarily on software security services; provided on a project and staff augmentation basis. We are a small firm with an emphasis on quality and a select network, so it is not always possible, but if a client has needs outside of software security we do our best to meet the requirement. This could be something like a SOC analyst or technical writer. My personal career started in professional services and ended running enterprise sales for small and large security vendors, so at LAMR we also offer advisory services for $0-$10M security startups; product market fit, pricing structure, and sales recruiting.

Question: What is the role of AI in cybersecurity?

Not dissimilar from the ways AI has impacted other software solutions. Current iterations of AI make many existing (and new) security solutions smarter and faster and more efficient at building baselines, recognizing deviations and building new patterns. In short, AI is making security solutions better at sorting through ever increasing alerts and correctly identifying real threats.

Question: How can security companies differentiate themselves in Marketing? In other words, is it all about inducing fear in the customer?

I am not a marketing professional, but speaking from the buyer’s perspective, which I do understand, inducing fear is almost never a good idea. Enterprise security buyers are smarter and more informed than ever before. They make decisions informed by a great deal of research and self-learning. Fear might work in rare corner cases, but clear, concise and use case specific messaging will be a better differentiator.

Question: Does the increasingly fraught geopolitical situation increase the need for cybersecurity expertise?

It definitely has not decreased the need for cybersecurity expertise. The battle against malicious actors has always been global and shifting political dynamics does not materially change that. But what we do see in the short term, at least in the United States, is reduced spending by the federal government on direct cybersecurity spending and basic research. This has the compounding impacts of ceding a research edge to other governments and causing some of the leading cybersecurity resources, at various US based three letter agencies, to find alternative employment.

Marketing Darwinism: Megan, tell us about Ashby & Gabriel. What is your philosophy and approach?

Megan: The essence of our company is the multifarious world of communications. At the heart of every business, every transaction, every organization, every connection, every innovation is communication. Technology is incredibly important but communications trumps everything. We started the company to test that claim and we’ve been lucky enough to have it borne out with our incredible customers and THEIR success.

Marketing Darwinism: As a marketer myself, communication is next to my heart. But how do we create differentiation via that channel?

Megan: My view of that is what I call “Customer Depth” or what others call “Surrounding the Customer.” In other words, until you know the full context of your customer, and your customer’s customer and so on, you cannot craft a communications strategy that both works and is differentiated. Deep knowledge matters but it shouldn’t be taken to suggest that you need a long process to acquire the knowledge. The first great act of a marketer is listening to understand. Once you understand, you can build a playbook and execute.

Marketing Darwinism:For a small firm, you have an incredible array of customers. Tell us more about that please.

Megan: Our roots were with non-profit and conservation-related organizations. That came out of my passion for the natural world and for preserving it for generations hence. We realized that just as non-profits have clear missions, there are for-profit companies that do too. We have been able to nucleate business with some incredible companies- in technology, real estate, and other areas that all are based on some version of “community” and “connection,” two of our pillars.

Marketing Darwinism: On to more operational questions. How do you deal with all the various tools and innovations in “Modern Marketing?”

Megan: No-one, not even a genius, can know every tool, every technology, every app, and every new-new thing. We try to keep up only because we need to offer the best to our customers, but we also know that being too diffuse creates mediocrity. In addition, the “stop and start” and “bright, shiny object” approach to marketing is bound to fail. So we think we are good at what you call “Modern Marketing” but we also rely on some old-word ideas- like listening, connection, creativity, consistency, and purpose.

Marketing Darwinism: A parting question for you. How do you see agency marketing playing out in 2025 and beyond?

Megan: We are a small agency so can speak only to the opportunities firms like ours have. We’ve seen what we think of as a re-embrace of the agency. It’s not a question simply of having more people on your “virtual team,” but also of working with folks that aren’t in the same structure as you are, to get a fresh view of strategy and a fresh way to execute. We are lucky to get more queries than we can handle. So I think agencies are in a great place going into 2025.

Hot off the presses here is an interview with Victoria Cote the conference producer of AI Summit in New York

SPOILER ALERT I will be speaking there with my dear friend Romi Mahajan!

Q:  Informa’s AI Summit has become an important conference on the AI circuit. Can you tell us a bit about your role and what your vision for the Conference is?

As the Conference Producer for The AI Summit series, my role centers on curating and developing content that captures the most urgent and innovative developments in AI today. I’m responsible for producing the Practitioners, VisionAIres, and Solution Center stages at our flagship events in New York and London, while also anchoring The AI Summit Cape Town within the Africa Tech Festival, which has been a cornerstone of the industry for 27 years. My goal is to create a platform that not only showcases groundbreaking advancements but also connects AI leaders across different sectors, influencing impactful partnerships and actionable insights.

Specifically for Cape Town, my aim is to ensure the summit addresses Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities by bringing in global leaders like Google, HPE, and Meta to share their insights. Through this addition, we’ll also provide attendees with access to a broader, more diverse audience, creating unique opportunities for global collaborations. My ultimate vision is to make The AI Summit Cape Town and Africa Tech Festival the must-attend AI event on the continent, where industry leaders, innovators, and decision-makers converge to shape the future of AI in Africa.

Q: What is the VisionAIres program, and how does it enhance the AI community?

The VisionAIres program is designed to elevate the AI Summit experience by bringing together senior-level executives and thought leaders who are at the forefront of AI innovation. It’s more than just a networking opportunity; it’s a space where industry leaders can engage in deep, strategic conversations about the future of AI. Peer-to-peer connections, knowledge sharing, and networking are at the heart of this program, and they are more imperative now than ever as the AI market evolves so rapidly. What sets VisionAIres apart is that it’s not limited to our live events—it’s an active community that connects members on a monthly basis through virtual roundtables, ensuring ongoing engagement and collaboration. By focusing on both global perspectives and local challenges, especially in regions like Africa, the program enhances the AI community by driving high-impact discussions that lead to tangible outcomes. This is essential in bridging the gap between different markets and nurturing relationships that have the potential to make a significant impact on a global scale.

Q: What role do events play in the overall marketing landscape?

Events like The AI Summit are crucial in today’s marketing landscape because they offer a unique opportunity for brands to connect with their target audience in a meaningful way. Unlike other marketing channels, events provide an immersive experience where brands can showcase their innovations and interact directly with industry leaders and decision-makers. This is particularly true in the context of Africa, where The AI Summit Cape Town, offers more access to a diverse and rapidly growing market. By participating in these events, brands can build strong relationships, gain insights into emerging trends, and position themselves as leaders in the AI space.

Q: What are some of the AI trends you are seeing, and what do we need to look out for?

AI is moving at lightning speed, and several key trends are really shaping its future across the globe. A major focus right now is on Responsible Innovation and Ethical AI, ensuring that as we push the boundaries of what’s possible, we’re also managing AI’s impact thoughtfully to promote sustainable and equitable growth. AI Governance is another hot topic, with ongoing discussions about creating policy frameworks that strike the right balance between innovation and societal needs.

We’re also seeing a big push for AI-driven Economic Growth, especially in areas like agriculture and healthcare, where AI can make a huge difference. Generative AI is another exciting trend—it’s making technology more accessible to non-experts, which is helping more people get involved in the digital economy.

Another pressing trend is the focus on addressing the AI skills gap, which is crucial as the demand for AI expertise outpaces the current supply. Upskilling initiatives are becoming essential to equip the workforce with the necessary skills to thrive in an AI-driven world.

Q: What is the best message to AI marketers for sponsoring or connecting to the AI Summit?

For marketers, The AI Summit offers a unique opportunity to connect with a diverse and influential audience. The key message for sponsors should focus on the value your brand brings to the technology ecosystem, especially in addressing specific challenges and opportunities within emerging markets. By aligning with The AI Summit, you’re not just gaining visibility—you’re positioning your brand as a leader in a market ready for significant growth. It’s about creating meaningful connections and contributing to the broader conversation on how technology can be leveraged for sustainable development.

Marketing Darwinism: Advaiya has gone through a few stages of evolution, from its beginning. Your GTM is now very clear. Can you describe the changes and how you got to where you are?

Manish Godha: Advaiya started as an eager, nimble group of techies and consultants who have been enthused by technology’s potential to rationalize and transform businesses. We sought and found opportunities for impact and that led us through this journey of evolution. Our initial focus was on helping tech companies communicate the value of their technologies for businesses. This indeed meant that we could bring our skills of business and technology consulting along with marketing in interesting ways; while gaining enormous expertise and experience in the cutting edge technologies in enterprise contexts. The work we did, especially for Microsoft, used approaches grounded in the enterprise architecture concepts within the contexts of newer digital possibilities of transformation. We slowly shifted to the larger marketing and digital marketing needs of businesses, in general. Technology enablement remained our forte, and we were indeed more successful where we could address marketing concerns with data, automation, and web apps. As we worked for tech companies, conglomerates, consumer businesses, e-commerce companies, and service companies, we matured our engagement and delivery processes to better understand business, support business critical workloads and build deeper technical skills on newer enterprise technologies. With these strengths, we refocused on business productivity solutions as relevant to services businesses and service functions within large businesses. We realized that in services businesses customer experience and engagement are intrinsically and directly connected with service delivery and productivity solutions when seen in the context of customer engagement are highly relevant, but most businesses have approached them in a bespoke manner which did not unlock their true value. This is the opportunity that we are geared up today to address, as our unique capability in this regard flows from the many years of work in the fields of enterprise technology, business context mapping, marketing digital and business apps.

Marketing Darwinism: The Technology and Business services you offer a variety of customers are focused on enterprise productivity and adaptation. Does this fall into the category of future-proofing and ensuring that the digital infrastructure exists to grow even in a recession?

Manish Godha: Our services build the digital infrastructure for customer engagement and productivity. These aspects go hand-in-hand and, most obviously in case of services businesses, are core to the business model. Our solutions typically lead to a more resilient customer connection and services delivery. These can be critical for survival and growth of a business. Whether it is about managing leads, building client relationships, organizing field or project service delivery, or analyzing billings and costs, a digital infrastructure can bring the required robustness with efficiencies as well as agility during downturns to be able to offer more relevant client experience, which then becomes foundation for growth. Our services go beyond building and implementing a technology stack, we work with our clients to ensure that the solutions are used well and their employees feel supported and confident. This does unlock the business’s potential to innovate, as the digital, operational and analytical backbone provides the requisite confidence. Our clients have, for example during the pandemic, revamped how they packaged their offerings in no time as they could digitally roll out newer schedules, billing methods and so on.

Marketing Darwinism: How does a great Technology Infrastructure lend itself to a great customer or consumer experience? In other words, when a company has “Advaiya Inside” how does it work with its customers better?

Manish Godha: We realize that customer experience is primarily a consequence of how a business connects and relates with the customer and how it delivers its service—digitally or otherwise. Our solutions address these very aspects directly. The sustained high-quality customer interaction creates a latent capital that yields enormous dividends for the business’s growth. Businesses with integrated and cohesive customer interaction systems move customers more quickly through the sales funnel while providing a favorable brand experience. For example, we help create a fluid and straightforward physical and digital transaction experience which is personalized, comprehensive and responsive. With our solutions for work management and productivity, businesses can also ensure faster delivery, a better after sales service and serve their returning customers better. We help create an insights driven operation which not only provides better experience, but also is more efficient, as better logistics, work management, value chain management—all feed from it.

Marketing Darwinism: Advaiya has had incredible success building both the US market and the Indian domestic market. Few companies can boast of that. Can you share a bit of your secret sauce there? What markets are next for you as you expand your global footprint?

Manish Godha: We depend on our ability to understand our client businesses better and provide exceptional support. We have consciously built these for the US and India markets. We have invested in “local abilities” not necessarily in the sense of physical proximity, but in regards to having deeper and exhaustive understanding of our clients’ business context and environment, and in regards to providing support as relevant to the criticality of the solutions we implement. We have been successful in creating this “nearness” and availability, which have been found invaluable by our clients. This bolsters our technology capabilities and capacity, to maintain those we have stayed similarly near and available to our talent. It has required us to be somewhat focused in terms of geography of our client base, and we see enormous growth potential in the US and India. We plan to further strengthen our service and support capabilities in these markets and expand within.

Marketing Darwinism: You have partnered with companies like Microsoft and have kept abreast of their offerings and changes. What investment areas are you most excited about and what areas will you be doubling-down on in 2023?

Manish Godha: Our partnership with Microsoft has been quite successful with us driving revenues and customer relationships collaboratively in multiple segments. We have built multiple advanced capabilities along with “Gold” level solution partner competencies. This has of course allowed us to be on the leading edge, as regards Microsoft’s business technology offerings. Our solution offerings have evolved accordingly. We believe that Microsoft’s investments in the areas of business applications would be enormously valuable for organizations globally. Specifically, in the areas relating to customer engagement, we believe the Microsoft technologies are amongst the best, and are best suited for organizations across. Whether building a customer data platform or intelligently driving customer interactions, the Dynamics 365 applications and the Power Platform, can help organizations transform themselves digitally rapidly and reliably. These are the areas where we are investing as well, in terms of capacity as well as building integrations and offerings relevant to businesses in our target markets.

Marketing Darwinism: Culture. It plays a huge role in all companies but especially in Tech-focused companies. You have won a series of culture awards- what is your differentiator here?

Manish Godha: Our culture has been a huge advantage for us. We understand that at our scale we get the benefit of being small enough to bring multiple abilities quickly to an engagement and be agile, and at the same time being large enough to have systems and processes to provide continuity, coherence and reliability. These are a direct function of our culture built on our values of being customer centric, having passion for technology, always learning, excellence in work, and most importantly, respect for individuals. We take our values very seriously and that has helped build our culture where our team members are comfortable seeking and providing help to each other, engaging in each other’s pursuits, building deep capabilities, being sensitive to clients’ purposes. We are deeply conscious of the fact that in professional services businesses like ours, it can be difficult for our team members to balance client goals, company goals and personal aspirations. Hence, we try hard to build and maintain alignment with our team members’ individual goals as we organize our teams and projects.

1. Tell us about Blueprint and how you approach the communities in real estate that you serve?

We see Blueprint as a “big tent” event, including all of the different real estate asset classes, and all of the different ways that technology is disrupting their various businesses. Blueprint is the single event every year where you know that all of the major players in the real estate tech ecosystem will be gathering to learn, network, and get deals done. We see our annual Vegas event as a vital mechanism for the industry to push innovation forward, and we take a “white glove” approach to building our community in the sense that we want to facilitate as many connections as we can among the important players. We have done our job right if everyone at Blueprint feels like they’ve made important contacts at the end of our event, and can go back to their offices energized, full of ideas, and with connections for partnerships.

2. While many live in a world of Zoom, what are the special and particular reasons to do a large physical event?

I think COVID taught us all that there is only so much that can be done over Zoom. We all did the best we could to keep things rolling while under lockdown, but I don’t know anyone who prefers virtual events to meeting in person — both from an experience standpoint, and in terms of outcomes. It is just much, much harder to create the kinds of meaningful professional relationships that result in major deals without the experience of being in person. During our inaugural event last October, which was the first time many of our attendees had gone anywhere since the pandemic, we received overwhelming positive feedback about the joy and relief people felt in being around others again face-to-face — and I’m sure that was a major factor in why several fundings and M&A transactions can be traced back to connections made at the event last year.

3. You have a mighty array of speakers. What are the binding and common elements that make these speakers so great?

Ultimately we feel like the speaker lineup is the very best collection of real estate tech innovators and technologists ever assembled under one roof. We work very hard on our programming throughout the year to engage with the most dynamic companies and people who are working on solving the most difficult and important issues facing the real estate industry as it evolves. As we put together the agenda, industry leading VCs like Fifth Wall, Navitas, Moderne Ventures and Metaprop have been a great resource to help us identify rocketship startups destined for great things. And it’s essential to have the major real estate operators like Tishman Speyer, Cushman & Wakefield, Jamestown, Lincoln Property Company and Greystar to share with our attendees what the needs of industry buyers are, and where they need innovation most.

4. As you think about the real estate ecosystem, what are the nuggets that attendees can expect to receive- that help them, practically, do their jobs better?

We have a fairly wide range of content on stage, much of which is aimed at understanding where the ball is moving in real estate tech (both in terms of client needs and investor enthusiasm) and figuring out which innovative practices and technologies will be truly game-changing for the industry broadly. We’ll have panels that dive deep into multifamily management, fractionalized assets, ibuying, uses of data in construction, and much much more. Attendees will come away with a better and broader understanding of the industry, and that sharp lens will help them have a better understanding of how their individual companies can find green space and thrive.

5. Do you see a lot of investment activity in the space and do you expect a good number of investors to be present?

According to CRETI, $13.1 billion in venture capital was invested in the real estate technology space in just the first half of 2022. While the climate has been a bit rough for some sectors of the startup economy, proptech has continued to attract strong backing, and we’re still hearing plenty of optimism from the venture community. We are proud to say that every prominent firm investing in proptech will be at Blueprint, so it should be a rich environment for companies looking for funding.

6. What are your parting thoughts on attending your event?

Blueprint Vegas 2022 is the only event where the entire real estate ecosystem will gather. There is no better place to make meaningful connections with peers and potential partners. Come for the thought leadership from companies like Pacaso, Compass, Moinian Group and Morgan Properties; don’t miss the packed Innovation Stage filled with the entrepreneurs changing the face of the built world; take advantage of our world-class networking technology; and make time for a little fun at our After Party featuring the Grammy Award winning performer Nelly. This is really an event NOT to be missed!

1. Angela you have a storied career in Asset Management. What are the biggest opportunities in that space now?

There is more interest now than anytime I have seen to make an impact through investing. It is relatively easy to deploy capital into impact strategies that are tied to specific firms and funds. For example, it is fairly straightforward to find an S&P500 impact fund that is designed around specific metrics such as net-zero carbon.. The real opportunity, however, is in direct investing in specific impact assets. There is a very real demand for capital in global infrastructure assets that are needed for real environment and social improvement.

2. Similarly, what are the biggest challenges?

The biggest challenge I think is to be creative and more long-term focused on asset management. It is very difficult to get stakeholders and shareholders alike to show the patience and effort needed to deploy capital in meaningful ways, likely forgoing current returns in order to make a much bigger long-term return and impact.

3. Data. How does data play a role in producing ROI in Asset and Investment Management and is the industry adept at harnessing data? What are the learnings here?

Data has the ability to play a significant role in producing ROI because it can really help inform trends for long-term returns. The industry is incredibly adept at harnessing data and making short term determinations. I think they are much more challenged at looking longer term, looking for directional trends and seeing past short term impacts. Finally, understanding the data can highlight underlying risks that impact returns which in turn allows a manager to more actively hedge against those risks, adding to ROI.

4. You have recently joined Pepper as an Advisory Board member. Can you help us with the value proposition there and how it fits into the future of Asset Management.

The platform Pepper has built fills a huge gap in the asset management space. As owners and managers of alternative asset portfolios, data comes from all different sources and systems. Often these different data sources, whether an electronic feed or a PDF document, need to have data loaded manually into a customized system that is not integrated with other risk and portfolio management systems. Pepper provides a platform that allows managers to analyze comprehensive data and gain an understanding of where risk exposures lie and inform any gaps in a portfolio, giving the manager the space and information to invest anew. This information absolutely increases the value of the portfolio as a manager can lean into the risk measures, de-risk where one needs to without necessarily giving up return.

5. Alternatives and Secondaries are burgeoning areas within Asset Management. What are the unique opportunities there in the next five years?

Alternatives and secondaries have changed so much in recent years. When I started with Alaska in 2015, the idea of evaluating the portfolio, selling certain assets and pivoting the alternatives allocation was the exception not the rule. Since then, the idea has gained traction and more asset owners are using the secondaries tool to more actively manage their portfolios. Over the next 5 years, especially if you see asset owners struggling with liquidity and total fund overweights due to down public markets, secondaries are going to be a key to staying invested in alternatives. Lower valuations will allow for many opportunities to those that have cash and asset allocation to invest.

6. Can you comment on the industry as a whole and its relationship to technology? Is Asset and Investment Management tech forward or a laggard?

I think overall asset and investment management is tech laggard. Asset & investment management is still a relationship business and we tend to adopt new tech reluctantly. I continue to see many opportunities for tech to significantly reduce transaction friction and increase price transparency – especially in the alternative, private space.

7. Pls share some parting thoughts with us.

The sheer volume of data today can be overwhelming and difficult to use and interpret with regard to investing. I think those managers that are going to be successful, impactful investors are the ones that are willing to be creative in their data usage, e.g. looking at nontraditional data points to inform potential future performance of an asset, but will only be as good as their data sets.

We caught up with Min Alexander, CEO of PunchListUSA.

Marketing Darwinism: Min, you are the CEO and Co-Founder of PunchListUSA. Tell us more about your mission there.

Min Alexander: We have a mission to make homeownership possible for as many as possible and to empower homeowners to maximize the value of their investment throughout the home-owning life-cycle. For us, the inspection report is a font of knowledge, from which we can derive a lot of information not only about the house in its current state but also in its future state. Helping homeowners understand this and, further, provide a tailored roadmap of ownership– for proper maintenance, repairs and improvements is our mission.

Marketing Darwinism: So for you the inspection is the pivot point for homeowners?

Min Alexander: Yes, it is. It’s almost like a “23 and Me” for a House. We utilize the current condition of the home, materials used for construction and ages of the major systems, among 400+ other data points to help homeowners to better understand, plan and manage the requirements to preserve and grow equity.

Marketing Darwinism: How does this fit into the crisis of home affordability in the US?

Min Alexander: Home affordability is a multi-pronged problem. Part of it is of course wrapped up in rising house prices, rising interest rates, and the need for high down payments. But part of it is also the ongoing cost of maintenance, which is roughly $4,000 each year for an average home. These routine costs do not include emergency repairs and replacement of major systems like HVAC and water heaters. We are here to help homeowners manage and plan for the full needs of their home. This solves part of the problem to ensure that homeownership is sustainable.

Marketing Darwinism: For our Marketing audience, how do you think about Marketing in general as you develop PLUSA’s plans?

Min Alexander: We very much believe in Marketing and it is a core competency for our retail business– as an emerging home services marketplace. First of all, our reputation and brand management are paramount. We are a technology in the business of repairing and improving people’s homes. This is a personal experience built on trust. Second, our omni-channel marketing strategies reflect both digital and analog components of our business. Sourcing, acquisition and ordering are online with field marketing and delivery at a local level. Third, personalized journeys and customized content based on the needs of each home will continue to be our focus. We are constantly learning and adding services and we need to stay in the circles of influence to test, refine, and excite.

Marketing Darwinism: What is your prognosis for the Housing Market?

Min Alexander: We’ve had years of unprecedented gain. Even with a slowdown, economic conditions and market conditions make it hard for many people to manage. Housing is a key industry and has to be figured into regulatory planning. We also need to help people find financial pathways to homeownership.

Marketing Darwinism: Any parting thoughts?

Min Alexander: Homeownership is simple to dream but complex to manage without stress. We love and invite feedback on our technology and offering for continuous improvement. Let us know what you think

A Manifesto for a New Category:
Pulak Sinha and Ann Eberle Thomas, Co-Founders of Pepper

The portmanteau word “Fintech” has come to be associated with a variety of companies spread across the world of financial services that use digital products, services, and techniques to transact, pay, amass capital, and connect with customers.  Fintech is witnessing a boom, as measured by venture dollars, unicorn creation, brand awareness, and customer traction.  It makes sense since “that’s where the money is,” but it is also curious in one crucial way:  Financial Services companies have always been technology plays so Fintech is one part innovative and one part old wine in new bottles.

When you break Fintech into separate fields and foci, however, you start seeing the power of its innovative side.  Take, for instance, the area of “Payments”—the innovations over the last 5 years have literally changed how people make and receive payments.  In the area of consumer-investment, the barriers to entry have been reduced to almost zero.  And in the buoyant area of Crypto, it doesn’t take too vivid an imagination to understand what a sea-change this has wrought with regard to traditional finance.

We believe that AssetTech is just such an area- one that will see a renaissance in innovation and importance.

AssetTech can be defined simply as all technologies and platforms that help Asset Managers successfully use data to allocate capital.  While the definition can be seen as academic, in fact a visit through the data makes it very real.  The numbers are staggering:  World-wide, $120 trillion of assets are managed by professional managers.  The number exceeds the world’s GDP.  Within the $120 trillion, emerging areas like “Secondaries” are becoming multi-trillion dollar categories.  The complexities that face Asset Managers are increasing:  diversification of asset class, regulation, globalization, security, risk management, and changing investor profiles.  Managing such large flows of capital and generating ROI for investors requires a judicious combination of data, intuition, and systems through which to act on both of them.

That is the essence of AssetTech.

Societies have been made or broken by the modes in which they allocate capital.  Capital allocation is the hero when times are booming and the culprit when we face crashes like we did in 2008.  Great AssetTech is key to navigating the shoals, to steering the ship through the narrow passage dividing boom and bust.

AssetTech’s time is upon us.

Marketing Darwinism:  Mayank, ITILITE is on a fast track of late.  Can you tell us what is going on?

Mayank:  Paul, thanks.  We are growing rapidly- in fact we’ve grown 5X, but want to remain focused and humble and not let the success get to us.  The world of corporate travel is back with a vengeance as latent demand built during the pandemic and is expressing itself now.  Commerce, trade, travel- they are all back!  With travel comes expense management and with all of that comes a decision – whether organizations want to make it easy or complex.  We help them make it easy and generate ROI simultaneously and as a result, they have cottoned on.

Marketing Darwinism:  Everyone has experienced issues with corporate travel booking and with filing expenses related to travel.  What are the main problems to solve?

Mayank:  You spotted the issue correctly.  Very few users are happy with their organization’s travel and expense management systems.  They are often disconnected and unwieldy.  They lead to a dearth of choices, sub-optimal travel, locked-in routes, and piecemeal and error-prone expense management.  Further, they create a burden on the entire company.  Offering choices to users within a framework that can be managed, offering integration, and one-stop shopping to users is proven to generate efficiency and ROI from day one.  We identified the issue and corrected it and our customers are very happy right now.

Marketing Darwinism: You managed to grow even during the pandemic years.  What is your secret sauce?

Mayank:  To be honest, our team held strong and believed that as the world recovered, we’d be there supporting that recovery. It is testament to our customers, our team, our investors, and our own belief in what we’re doing. That is what got us through the “tough years” with high marks and growth.

Marketing Darwinism: Travel is a global concept.  Did you set out to build a global company?

Mayank:  We are lucky to have hundreds of customers from all reaches of the globe.  Cloud-native solutions are easy to use from anywhere and the phenomenon of corporate travel and expense management is a universal need.  We are proud of our team’s focus and innovation and are grateful for all of our world-wide customers and partners.  We did set out to build a global brand and we feel we’ve executed well on that proposition.

Marketing Darwinism:  What are your predictions for 2022-2025?

Mayank:  We see companies employing a great deal of ingenuity in how they manage corporate travel.  We know that face to face interactions fuel commerce, that events are still hot, and that businesses are budgeting for an upswing in travel.  There are always going to be glitches and temporary issues but we see a secular path upward.  We will continue to innovate, to try to win markets, and to delight customers, and partners.

In an earlier article, Marketing Darwinism spoke to Pulak Sinha, Founder and CEO of Pepper.  Since we spoke with Pulak, the company has done some incredible things.  We enjoy watching the evolution and growth of those we’ve covered before.  

Marketing Darwinism:  Pulak, some amazing things are going on.  Tell us a bit about developments.

Pulak Sinha:  Thanks Paul.  There are many things to say but I’ll restrict it to three.  First of all, we couldn’t be happier with our customers.  They are amazing “partners” in the business and tell us that they are realizing real value very quickly from the Pepper platform.  As they take on new workloads, they are able to do so seamlessly and get to ROI in record time.  Nothing makes us happier.  Second, we are happy to announce that as of January 2022, we have over $6 billion on the platform, which is testament to the efforts of our team and the intense partnerships I referred to above.  Finally, we are happy to be able to announce our “Pepper Inside” campaign with you.  Please look for our ads on LinkedIn and elsewhere and check out our website for our benefits statement- how Asset Management and related companies can benefit from “Pepper Inside.”

Marketing Darwinism: Superb updates. Congrats on the $6 Billion.  What’s next?

Pulak Sinha: We are focused like a laser now.  We want to get more companies on our platform but also to deepen our footprint/partnerships with existing customers.  We built a platform for a reason- not to just offer one point solution and then be done.  We are talking full life-cycle, cross-workload stuff- truly a platform.  2022 is the year of the platform and “Pepper Inside.”

Marketing Darwinism: You’ve helped coin the term “AssetTech” as a sub-area of FinTech.  Tell us more.

Pulak Sinha: Paul, the numbers are just staggering.  PwC estimates that approximately $120 trillion is managed world-wide by Asset Managers.  $120 trillion!  This area dwarves so many others that get more “respect” and focus.  We want to change that. We want to help steward a new era of technology and trust in the world of Asset Management, an area of enormous importance.  Thus, the term “AssetTech.”

Marketing Darwinism: How do you see 2022 as compared to 2021?

Pulak Sinha: 2021 was a strange year.  People went through a lot.   Death and health issues were everywhere. Commerce pulled up.  Investors focused on different things than usual.  Tumult was a constant.  Our team worked hard to stabilize, to be optimistic, and to serve customers.  We more than doubled the business in the year and are very proud of that.  But there is so much more to do- that’s 2022!

Marketing Darwinism: Tell us about “Pepper Inside”

Pulak Sinha:  We as a team conceived of this campaign after a realization:  When we are “inside” an organization –which is to say when Asset Managers run the Pepper platform, the level of stewardship – of money, data, assets- goes up and investors can rest assured that their money is going to be handled with an eye towards high ROI, risk management, and so on.  Trust.  Pepper Inside is about trust and results.  When we realized that, we knew we had to go big with this campaign.