Kevin Yip & Taylor Smith – Co-Founders of Blueboard; the Need for Having Real World Experiences; Creating Culture; Taking Humbling Sacrifices; Sticking to a Mission.

Segment 1: (Length :05:00) – General Updates; Introduction to Kevin Yip & Taylor Smith and their journey as entrepreneurs thus far, as well as their background; Blueboard as a need to have more real world experiences.

Kevin & Taylor’s finer points:

“We met when we were little kids playing basketball together . . . We’re Bay Area born and raised, which is pretty rare for the startup scene, and we came up with the idea for Blueboard when we were living together with some buddies from high school.“

“A couple things that came into play. The first thing is that we were realizing the more that we worked, the less that we were making time to do the things that we loved.”

“Life was becoming really routine. Blueboard started as a pact between roommates. We all wanted to get out and do more interesting things with our lives. For three months we all took lessons doing separate things.”

“After 3 months we realized that we were actually happier, we were all looking forward to this, telling our friends about this and were adding extra dimensions to our personalities and to us as people.”

“We prematurely and abruptly quit our jobs and decided to start Blueboard. The whole idea was getting people out and about to the real world to challenge their comfort zones, to experience new things and indulge in their passions.”

“Let’s create Blueboard to empower companies to empower managers to recognize and reward people who to show they actually give a damn about.” 

Segment 2: (Length :07:00) – Talking with Kevin Yip & Taylor Smith; Learning from their Mission; Types of Experiences their audiences like; Creating culture

Kevin & Taylor’s finer points:

“We’ve learned that Boomers love experiences too, just like Millennials, but it’s a very different type of experience. We started taking a more scientific approach to what we’re offering people.”

“Millennials love the novelty. We want to go to Prague. We want to drive on the autobahn. We want to go to Southeast Asia. We love that stuff. Boomers also have experiences, but they tend to be centered more around relationships.”

“With Millennials, we’re not satisfied with having a stable job where we’ll have great retirement in 30 years. We want to live life and experience right now.”

“The first thing is purpose. Millennials want to be doing something that’s meaningful to them. Having a purpose . . . What am I doing throughout the week that’s creating impact.”

“The second thing Millennials want is to be their own boss (autonomy). They want to have say. They want to have clout. They don’t want to be micro-managed. The second thing is having the autonomy to be creative in what they do.”

“The last thing is to become great at what they are doing. Being able to build a marketable skill that can transfer across jobs.”

“If you build an employer brand of investing in them (employees) and giving them autonomy and purpose, that will build your brand outside. They’ll spread it and it will be better for you in the long run.”

Segment 3: (Length :07:00) – Talking Sacrifices;

Kevin & Taylor’s finer points:

“When we quit our jobs, it was definitely a bit premature. We really didn’t know how to make a business out of this.”

“We started with no savings, but we started with enough to live in San Francisco for a year . . . and we thought that within a year we’ll probably be able to raise money. We just had no idea how hard this was going to be . . . almost 4 years ago now.”

“Kevin was driving Lyft right when Lyft first started . . . that’s actually how we got our first Venture Beat article. He drove the Venture Beat editor.”

“Yeah, I drove the Venture Beat editor, pitched her the idea of Blueboard and when we launched 4-5 months later she got us our first feature.”

“We lasted a year and then we had to move back to our parents’ place. We were both born and raised here and I was about 25. Doing well and then having to move back in with your parents kills your social life. I think that was really humbling.”

“Fuck, we can’t pay rent. What are we going to do? Do we get a job or do we keep going? Let’s keep going. Alright, let’s move back to our parents’ house and pretty much didn’t socialize for a year and a half. We were working and hustling.”

Segment 4: (Length :03:00) – Hustler Thought of the Day:

“Do whatever it takes to survive. Stick around long enough to give yourself a chance to get that lucky break.”

– Kevin Yip & Taylor Smith

GENERAL NOTES:

Kevin Yip & Taylor Smith – Co-Founders of Blueboard

• Blueboard delivers a recognition program for company cultures that drive real results .

• According to Blueboard, 63% of employees are unsatisfied with their current recognition program.

• 78% of US consumers prefer investing in experiences over material things.

• 92% of Blueboard reward recipients reported increased job motivation.

• Blueboard designs recognition programs that gets company employees excited, talking, prove impact and execute flawlessly.

• After graduating from UC Davis, Kevin Yip began his career at Price Waterhouse Coopers where he learned that it’s hard for people to make time to do what they love.

• Kevin was inspired to create Blueboard to help companies recruit and retain millennial employees, understanding that traditional recognition programs don’t resonate with younger.

• Taylor went from selling carwashes & smoothies door to door in grade school, to running a $3M diamond and fine jewelry business at age 24.

• Taylor created Blueboard to get people out of their desk chairs and into the real world, where they can discover new hobbies and indulge in their passions.

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