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At Five Star Bank,
community is at the
heart of what we do.
Every day we strive
to have thoughtful solutions
for our customers and
help our communities prosper.
Honest dialogue about the
issues affecting the region
is vitally important
to that prosperity.
We are proud to be a part of
the conversation and
hope you'll join in.
♪♪
>>At the heart of a thriving
economy is a strong base
of entrepreneurs.
They are the small business
owners and the owners of
developing companies on the
verge of major growth.
Rising home prices,
new business openings and
the employment scene slowing
coming to life are all signs
that the worst days of our
economy are behind us.
Or are they?
A new question on many
minds is how turn a modest
recovery into a robust
climate for prosperity.
Joining us today in
partnership with the
American Leadership Forum
are three entrepreneurs from
very different vantage
points in our economy.
Vikram Janardhan,
CEO of Insera Therapeutics.
Griselda Barajas, President and
CEO of Griselda's Catering
and Event Planning,
and Warren Smith, President,
Sacramento Republic
Football Club.
So, are we recovering, Vikram?
>>Um, slow but sure recovery
and, um, there are several
things that, uh, we can place
to ensure that the recovery's,
um, speedens up.
>>Like what?
What should we be doing?
>>Y'know, I run a
technology company and so I-
I speak from that angle.
I think if we foster
technology and innovation,
um, and, um, encourage
our youth to be creative,
come up with ideas, um, they
can start their own company that
leads to job growth and, uh,
we can do it all right here.
We have the infrastructure that
this, um, technology companies
need to build, sustain and grow,
um, successful organization.
>>Right. Uh, y'know there's
a couple of catalysts that kinda
come along the way to create
that sort of environment.
And, Griselda,
I always consider food and
entertainment to sort of be
the canary in the cave.
And so when people start to
go out to restaurants,
when they start to actually
enjoy themselves and step
out of their homes.
I always see that as- as kind of
a sign that confidence is
coming back because people feel
confident enough to come out.
What are you seeing?
>>I am seeing that people, um,
enjoy now the experience of
having someone who's going
to be able to take care of
their needs and not worry
about- so much about,
y'know, oh my god, y'know,
am I gonna have job tomorrow or,
um, that confidence is
starting to come back.
So that's very important to us,
that, um, people are tr-
are trusting us again, in the
economy, to have that experience
of enjoying it- the evening out,
and not worrying so much
about tomorrow, and so that-
that builds confidence in
everyone and it's good for all
of us in the community.
>>Right. And- and Warren,
your- your business...
>>Mmhmm.
>>...right now is
professional soccer,
which is another destination,
recreation sort of activity.
>>Right.
>>You're- you're stepping
out right now in bringing
professional soccer to town.
What gave you the confidence to
make this move at this moment.
>>Well, first of all, I mean,
Sacramento's got a
really good foundation.
As much as we've gone through
some challenges, uh, we, uh,
from an entertainment
standpoint we do get out.
We actually do support,
in fact if you look at both
the River Cats and the Kings,
both have led in attendance
in their leagues and we have
a- a- a sport that's really
the world sport so it just
me- it made all the sense
in the world to actually
roll this out now,
pre World Cup next year, uh,
and to, y'know, essentially try
to get to major league soccer,
which is our goal, uh, and,
uh, and frankly, y'know,
we're- we're amazed at how
much support we are getting.
If there's a recovery issue
or there's a market issue,
we're not seein' it.
Uh, we've got over two thousand
season tickets that we've
already sold to date.
>>Since, when did you
get started?
>>We just rolled those out
six weeks ago.
And that's- it- that's
really with, uh, only people
that've been following us.
We're not even out to the
general public yet.
So, it's either the support for
the sport in general or the-
the fact that people what to
do more in our community or,
we're not sure, but we-
we're very excited about the su-
success that we're having today.
>>Y'know, I hear the optimism
in your voice and...
entrepreneurs are usually
pretty optimistic.
Does it take a certain type
of personality in order to
be an entrepreneur?
>>Y'know I- I sometimes joke
that entrepreneurs are a
mutant of the human species.
[laughter]
Uh, y- y'know we see a
better future ahead of others.
Y'know, and we're determined to
get the rest of society there.
Um, so, every region
needs entrepreneurs.
You need people that are
hopelessly optimistic,
they can see that
better future and strive
relentlessly to get us there.
>>Right, bu- but going out
and taking those risks,
and all of you have been
serial entrepreneurs.
In fact, in many ways you all
just keep inventing yourselves-
reinventing yourselves
over and over again.
But what- in- in your case,
Griselda, what gave you the push
to get started in the beginning?
>>It was my mother. My mother
who had a great concept, who had
a great recipe, but couldn't
take it to that next level.
Um, I- I was, uh,
naive and I was cocky.
>>How old were you at the time?
>>Eighteen years old.
>>Mmhmm.
>>When I started my business.
I mean most people at eighteen
years old, y'know, um, are still
trying to figure out- I-
I already had a sense of what
I needed to do any felt- okay,
this is what I have to do
and this is- I need to help
my family go to the next level.
>>Tell us your story.
Tell us your story.
>>Well, um, I-
my story is my parents came
here from Houston, Texas.
We had a very great role model,
her name was Ninfa Laurenzo.
It was one of those, um,
individuals that we met when
we moved to Houston, Texas.
She was very successful, uh,
single mother of, um,
eight children, um.
Y'know, her husband died
in the army and so she went on
and opened about- over 50
restaurants in- in Texas.
And so when I saw that in- in an
individual who was so close to
us and who was always mentoring
me and my family, um, I always
felt that it was possible.
And the thing about it is-
I never saw her complain.
You always want- you saw the
enthusiasm she'd walk out with
and every moment it-
there was enthusiasm in
everything she did, and I really
wanted to be part of that.
I wanted to be part of enjoying
everything that I did,
from the moment I woke up to
the moment I went to sleep.
>>And when you got started,
how did you finance your
first business?
>>I financed my business
through credit cards.
No one would give me a loan.
>>So that was your
venture capital?
>>That was my venture capital.
Y'know, apply to as many
credit cards, pay one off,
and then use the other one
to pay the other one off.
And it was a cycle,
it was a vicious cycle, uh,
to try to carry a business
that I had no idea what
it was all about.
But I did understand one thing,
and- and that's what really
helped me the best,
was surrounding myself with
people that knew the other
things and not being afraid
that I didn't know it at all.
And making sure that I
got the right CPA,
that I got the right banker.
It built little by little those
relationships because, um,
y'know, it- it's one of those
that you're going to- even
though my banker didn't give
me a business loan I didn't
hold it against him,
I didn't take it personally.
>>You went back again.
>>I went back again.
Y'know, and I don't know how
to take "no" for an answer.
And I knew "no" was
never gonna kill me.
>>How important is that,
Warren, in- in being a
successful entrepreneur?
>>It's everything.
>>It is.
>>It's everything, 'cause, uh,
there are so many roadblocks
that are thrown to you
on a daily basis is-
it's so easy to give up.
And I think, y'know,
back to Vikram's point, uh,
it really takes, uh,
a certain personality to say
"Hey, that's just a challenge.
We'll get around it,
we'll move on and-
and find a solution."
>>Now this is not your
first rodeo, to use another
sort of sport analogy,
in- in launching this
professional soccer team.
>>That's right, yeah.
>>You were in the leadership of
bringing the River Cats to town,
and I know that there's a
lot of scoffing that- that,
uh, baseball could ever
come to Sacramento.
What- what made you know
that it was gonna happen,
and that it was possible
when ev- when all the-
all of the- the people on
the side were saying
"It will never work."
>>It was pretty simple,
I mean it's all data.
Sacramento's the, uh,
the largest community in
the country without such,
without any professional
baseball and yet it was,
at the time, the number two
sport in- in the country.
And- and we've been known as
a baseball town forever.
I mean, there's a long history
and it was really just solving
a problem that ultimately
would allow us to actually
locate a team, and that was
building a facility, so...
We embarked onto that,
to actually get, y'know,
people behind our effort and
we were fortunate that
Raley's decided to in-
invest and put their name onto
the facility and that led to,
y'know, ultimately the
public-private partnership.
Uh, the- which has really never
been done in our community
is the County of Sacramento
crossed lines to- to help
the City of West Sacramento
and the County of Yolo to
finance this project,
and- but it was really just
getting out in front of people,
getting people supportive of
your ideas and concept,
and asking them to work
together and- and, y'know,
overcoming each challenge as
they- they came in front of you.
>>Now, you- you've done this,
uh, uh, in different-
in different venues.
You've done sports.
>>Yep.
>>You've done clean energy.
>>Yep.
>>Y'know, with founding...
>>Clean World Partners
>>World Partners.
>>Mmhmm.
>>What is it that sort of makes
you gravitate to an idea?
>>Well they, uh- I-
Gosh, I love this community and
I want more for all of us, and I
know we want more for ourselves,
and I'm just one of those
people that I'm a salesman
by trade and- and, uh,
had a lot of success in
technology and frankly
I just use those skills to
actually help the, y'know,
the community and frankly,
um, y'know, I'm not sure-
Clean World was really an
opportunity that came to me
at a time where I'd left
the River Cats and was seeking
something to be passionate about
and, uh, I'd bought a Prius and
I thought I was gonna save the
world and frankly, uh, I was
very excited to actually- to,
uh, to form a technology company
that ultimately is now
successful and, thanks to
Michele Wong and...
>>Y'know, Warren, um, you're-
you're self effasive to a fault
but his story is the perfect
definition of leadership.
It's incredible.
And I see leadership as...
>>How so?
>>It- it's the creation-
my definition of leadership is
the creation of a better
future that simply would not
have happened without you.
And- and you listen to
Warren and Griselda, y'know,
they picked, um, they had
a vision for the future and
they just went after it.
Y- y'know, you-
you face your fear and you
do it anyway- that's the
definition of true leadership.
>>Well- well you wanna talk
about facing fear,
your company, Insera,
has a stroke technology...
>>Mmhmm.
>>And you're going through
the FDA approval process.
>>Correct.
>>And if ever I've seen
something that makes
executives in medical and
biotech firms quake,
it's going through that process.
[laughter]
So tell us about your
own facing of fear with
regards to your own journey.
>>Sure, um, y'know, um,
allow me to take you
back to early 2007.
I was the president of a company
called Global Energy Software.
We were in the midst of selling
this company to private equity.
My brother is a Harvard trained,
um, interventional neurologist.
Invites me to a conference,
we're talking about strokes,
which I learned is when you
have a clot in the brain or
your brain blood vessel ruptures
Brain blood vessels rupture.
And he showed me the
surgical devices of the day
and in jest I picked up
two or three of them and
I said "I think we
can do better than this."
And he paused and said
"You should do better than this.
Start a company
and I'll help you."
And, um, y'know,
one thing led to another...
>>Just that easy.
>>And, uh, uh, y'know-
the other personal motivation
was both my brother and I
lost three out of four
grandparents to stroke.
Um, y- y'know, and-
and nobody wants to lead
a mediocre life and just
kinda go through the motions,
and we knew this was way
outside our comfort zone, but
we said "We gotta do this, we
gotta make a difference here."
So, uh, within 48 hours I had
picked a name for the company
and incorporated it,
and we- we got cracking
and here we are.
We're completing clinical trials
>>Y- y'know, Griselda, the- the
commonality is- it seems like
the- that entrepreneurs have
like an itch that they've
just got to scratch.
>>Yes.
>>And that there's something
that forces them to go
beyond just being complacent
with the status quo.
What do you think that is?
>>It's always willing
to get better.
Always willing to go
to the next step.
And you know, not
settling just there.
Um, for me, and- and we talk
about diversity but do we
really believe in diversity?
Do we really- I mean, and that's
where I have to ask myself,
and that's where I
constantly challenge myself.
I have to ask my-
at the end of the day,
and the beginning of the day,
I ask myself did I do better?
Could I do more?
Could I do more?
And- and the fact that I can-
I know that I have the
challenge to do more,
and I have a team,
I just wanna do more.
>>How do you put that in to
young people, though?
If we're trying to, sort of,
create opportunities for young
people to be the next Griselda,
how- what are the ingredients
you think that we need
to have in order to-
to give someone else,
another young person, the
platform to move like you have?
>>There's two things I ask 'em.
>>Okay.
>>Go and shadow somebody.
Somebody that you- you know- if
you were interested in cooking,
go- go shadow them for a while.
Give you time and really
learn if that's something you-
you're going to love doing.
Because once you learn a- what
you wanna do and you love it,
it's not a job it's-
it's a passion.
And this is something that makes
us look into the next thing,
and how do we share make
everyone else enjoy it?
>>Do you think- y'know,
that's an interesting point.
Do you all think that people
follow their passions enough?
'Cause that does seem to be
the critical thing that
gets an entrepreneur
through the tough times.
>>Not.
>>Go ahead, please.
>>Not often enough, I would say.
Y'know, within each one of us
is a authentic version
of ourselves that is
our true potential.
And I think entrepreneurs, we
find the place within ourselves
where nothing is impossible.
Y'know, and, um, but that is
deep within us and it's buried,
in many people, in self-doubt,
and fear, and concern,
and loss of stability of a
job and- and things like that.
Just let go of all of that.
Y'know, um, just go out there.
If you believe in something,
pursue your passion and
you'll see that the universe
realigns itself to make
your dream come true,
you just have to
trust the process.
>>I would have to
agree with that.
I think that so many-
so many of us tend to, uh,
think that we can't because
maybe we've been told no too
many times in our life
and not- not earned the
yeses in our life.
And- and, y'know, uh,
it's so easy to say yes-
uh, so easy to say no,
so difficult to say yes.
But once you've learned to
say yes it's a lot easier
to live your life,
out from my perspective,
and from an entrepreneur
prospect you go back to-
to- to the children- I,
y'know, what we all do,
in some way or another,
is we developed, y'know,
critical thinking, as you have
and, y'know, um, and
you're ultimately always
solving a problem.
And so, you learn that through
education, you learn that
through school of hard knocks,
and it ultimately, hopefully
people put themselves in
a place where they can
actually challenge their
mind a little bit and get out
of their comfort zone.
>>How important,
from your perspectives is,
entrepreneurship in creating
greater prosperity
in this region?
>>If I may, real quickly,
I think it's our- I think
it's our biggest challenge
in the Sacramento region.
>>Really?
>>Uh, yeah, I- yeah I think
that, uh, while we've had
some success, mainly from
individuals that've moved from
other parts of the state and
come into our great place,
who've had some, uh,
entrepreneurial success,
we still don't really have
the entrepreneurial, really, uh,
foundation that I think we need.
Y'know, for instance,
a lot of the financing's
outside of the region, um, uh,
a lot of the ideas are outside
of the region, and, y'know,
but it- I mean it's jobs.
So if you look at,
uh- if you look at
successful companies,
whether it be Apple or- or,
uh, Google or whatever, I mean,
they- they started with an
idea two- two- two people in
a garage that wouldn't give up.
But it ultimately led to a
lot of jobs, right?
So we need that in our region.
With not one Fortune 500
company here, we ultimately
need a lot more of the smaller
companies to fill that gap.
>>Y'know, we have all of
the right building blocks.
>>Yep.
>>We've got a fabulous, um,
um, uh, universities here:
Sac State, UC Davis,
Drexel University.
You've got nonprofits like
SARTA whose only job is to
make an entrepreneur succeed.
>>Mmhmm.
>>You know, you've got the
cost of living is great.
It's a fabulous place to
raise a family.
So you've got all these
building blocks and what I
would say to the youth is
just kinda- if- if-
if inside of you there's an
entrepreneur aching
for expression,
give it- give it voice.
Get out there.
Let go of your fears,
and- and you made
a terrific point.
Shadow another entrepreneur
who has done that.
If you're getting into
technology or you're getting
into the services industry,
find them, reach out to them,
cold call them, send an e-mail.
Never give up, never give up,
and- and it'll pay huge.
>>You story re- really
resonates with me because
virtually every important
thing in my life has come
from what I'd be willing to
do for free and not really
expect anything in return,
in apprenticing myself to
someone else who I admire.
And there doesn't seem to- I
don't know if that's
something that- that we teach
young people anymore to
apprentice yourself, and find
someone who you admire and get
out there and just learn.
Not looking for- for- if you
can get compensation, great.
If you can negotiate, well good.
But get the experience.
>>Mmhmm.
>>The experience is so valuable.
In- what I learned while
I was networking,
was that everybody in the
room was just as scared.
Whether, y'know,
you were a new entrepreneur
or you've been in the
business a long time.
We, uh- it is a scary, uh, area.
But the nice thing about it
is that, y'know, it's-
it's even better when
you're asking and you're
having to take their
experience and applying it,
um, and so that always
helped me in my business.
Um, the other thing about,
y'know- we gotta think about
how do we keep our young
talent here in Sacramento.
If we don't diversify and
we don't have opportunities
for them, they're gonna
go somewhere else.
And- and that's huge
for our community,
and that's what we really,
as entrepreneurs,
I think that we really can
do a big part of making sure
that our talent stays
here in Sacramento.
Because I want my kids to
find Sacramento to be not just
a place of- a safe community,
um, but also a place where
there's lots of
opportunities and that
is exciting for them,
and keep our talent here
because it- it benefits
everybody here in Sacramento.
>>What made you comfortable
with taking risk?
One thing- and- and I'm
asking that question not
just of you, Griselda,
but all of you because we-
it is commonly said this
is a government town.
>>Yes.
>>Government is typically
risk adverse, and some say that
that kind of notion
permeates everything.
You three are risk-takers,
and risk, at least historically,
in some quarters, is a bad word.
How do you learn to take risk?
>>For me was understanding
two things.
One, that I didn't know it all.
And two- have lots of courage.
Have courage to face
whatever it was.
I- I don't have a crystal
ball, but it was okay.
I had to tell myself
I have faith in God,
God is with me,
and he knows the destiny.
I don't know the plan.
He has the plan,
but I have to be able,
enough to have enough trust
in him to say it'll be fine,
whatever it is.
And surround myself-
continue to surround myself
by great people.
>>I'm not sure that I'd be the
right person to actually, uh,
talk about risk and, y'know,
'cause my wife thinks I'm crazy.
[laughter]
And, uh, and, um,
but y'know I just learned at a
very early age, y'know, uh, to,
uh, put myself in situations
that were uncomfortable, uh,
and, um, y'know it- my first job
out of college was sales and,
and I didn't know.
>>What is it about being
in a situation that's
uncomfortable that's part of
learning how to deal with risk?
>>Well I think it, you,
I mean all risk is uncomfortable
to some extent, right?
But after you learn to be in
the- in that environment you
learn to actually mitigate risk,
and you mitigate risk every day,
uh, you actually ascertain
where you are in your plan.
Where from a engineering
perspective,
a financing perspective,
but all- so you're always
analyzing in the
back of your mind,
but you- you're always
keeping the end goal out
there for yourself and that-
that- that shunny day, er,
sunny day that you're really
trying to get to, and, y'know,
you just learn to deal with it.
I cannot describe it,
it just- it just...
>>I guess what I'm looking for
is, for a person who's- who is
standing on the sidelines
and says, y'know, I really
want to follow this passion,
to live this authentic life,
but risk is paralyzing me.
How do they get off the ledge?
>>Y- y'know what I would say is,
you have to believe that
we're all here on earth
for a specific purpose.
>>Hmm.
>>We have unique talents
that no one else has.
You have to believe that.
Y'know, I know I'm here on earth
to leverage technology for
the betterment of society.
That's what I'm here to do
and I'm trying to do it.
Um, and what I would tell
somebody that is on the edges,
align yourself with something
much bigger than yourself,
and that is the only way for
your true potential to blossom.
Start at a different place,
don't start at the place
where you're staring at fear and
you're concerned about all of
the things that could go wrong.
Don't start there, start at-
at a completely different place.
Align yourself with something
much bigger than yourself,
and you will see that you
get that self-confidence and
courage to take on what is
seemingly impossible.
You will get that strength.
>>Who- who inspired you?
Who- who did you look at?
Griselda talks about
role-models.
Who- who did you look to and
say wow, y'know,
I can be like them?
>>Y'know my- my grandfather
was a successful lawyer and
partner in pre-independence
India and he met, uh,
Mahatma Gandhi at a speech and
was mesmerized by his message
of non-violence to end
British Colonial rule
that literally,
at that conference,
he decided to quit his job
and devote his time, pro bono,
for the rest of his life,
to an independence for India.
Um, just an- an- an- an
incredibly inspiring story,
and so I try to leverage that,
y'know, I like being an engineer
I am a technologist and, um,
I- I lost three out of four
grandparents to stroke,
so it was fairly
straight-forward for my brother
and I, in 2007, to say he's
a physician, I'm an engineer,
stroke is an insidious
and deadly disease,
let's do something about this.
We- we don't know where this
will lead us, y- y- y'know,
we have no idea of the
number of risks that we have
to take, and, uh,
getting regulatory approvals
seemed like a daunting task,
but- but the big thing is
when you align yourself
with something bigger,
there's a part within you
that transcends doubt.
>>Right.
>>We're gonna make it work.
>>And- and when it does,
what does it feel like on
the other side, Warren.
Like when you drive past
River Cats Stadium,
what comes into your mind?
>>Y'know, I, um- it's a- a-
I look at the two viewpoints.
Um, when we- when we first
accomplished the goal and
opened the first night, uh,
it was wonderful to sit
there and just, y'know,
to- to see everybody just
have a good time.
And- and when I drive by it
I'm not that emotional, um, I,
y'know- it's- it's kinda neat,
um, I thought I'd be more
emotional about it, uh,
it- it- it's really nice
to have played a role,
but what does drive me is
the fact that, y'know,
I got some letters
while I was there.
One from a grandfather- uh,
a grandson who was, uh,
away from his grandparents, um,
and- but for some reason his
grandfather asked him to
come out to a River Cats
game and he unfortunately
lost his grandfather, uh,
almost right after that.
So the story sticks with me
because, y'know,
it was a tool that actually
helped him reconnect with
his family and he was so
thankful for that.
So that's- those are the
true things that I try to
look at because it- it needs
to be bigger, uh, it needs to
be bigger than making monkey,
it needs to be bigger than-
than, uh, y'know, having a,
y'know, nice position.
It's all about what can you
do to actually make this
world a better place to
live, work, and play.
>>And I think that
that's the last word,
and the appropriate place
to leave it, thank you all.
>>Thank you.
>>Thank you.
>>Thank you.
>>And that's our show.
Thanks to our guests,
and thanks to you for watching.
For Studio Sacramento,
I'm Scott Syphax.
See you next time,
right here, on KVIE.
♪♪
>>At Five Star Bank,
community is at the heart
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Every day we strive
to have thoughtful solutions
for our customers and help
our communities prosper.
Honest dialogue about the
issues affecting the region
is vitally important
to that prosperity.
We are proud to be a
part of the conversation
and hope you'll join in.
>>All episodes of
Studio Sacramento,
along with other KVIE programs,
are available to watch
online at kvie.org/video