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Visit Huntress.com slash propg to start a free trial or learn more. Support for the show comes from AWS. Are you a startup founder looking to turn your big idea into a reality? Join AWS Activate and unlock the power of the world's leading cloud. With up to $100,000 in AWS credits, exclusive offers and access to a global network of experts. AWS Activate provides the fuel you need to supercharge your startup's growth. Experiment with the latest technologies, including
the Android AI and launch faster build with confidence and scale more effectively. Don't wait join the over 280,000 startups with already chosen AWS Activate to power their success to learn more visits startups dot AWS. Welcome to the Prof. Pods office hours. This is the part of the show where we answer your questions about business big tech entrepreneurship and whatever else is on your mind.
Hey, props. Hey Scott and team. Hey Scott. Hi, pro. G. Hey, pro. G. Hi, professor G. And last week's office hours, we answered your questions about Airbnb's role in the housing affordability crisis microplastics and raising American kids in the UK. We need some sort of federal legislation or funding that encourages just more housing permits and more construction because it is become so difficult to build housing in the US that there's just a supply demand imbalance.
So let me get this. I've got plastic and my testicles. I mean, this question wins for the question. I know the least about my thinking is in the rationalization for moving to the UK was that what could we give our kids? It would be amazing. And the idea of letting them live in a foreign country for several years and experience a different culture. You know, I wish my parents could have done that for me.
Today, we'll answer your questions about sheen's design practices qualities look for when hiring and how to pivot when you're a mid career professional. So with that first question. Hey, pro. G. I am a big fan of yours writing him from the Mahavi Desert. I know you recently defended sheen because of how it's low prices, enable young people to buy a peril.
And I've definitely ordered from sheen before I know my sister has many times and my 21 year old nanny definitely has. Leaving aside the many environmental concerns of fast fashion. Are you at all concerned about the company's design practices. There's a lot of independent creators that are starting to call out sheen for copycatting its designs like Cassie how it blog a lot ease and pop flex active.
It's pages are full of trendy pieces that are ripped off from other companies and I've been a business journalist for over 10 years and I know that getting justice over IP is notoriously difficult. I think I've covered one case where fast fashion company was found liable for stealing a trademark textile pattern and obviously knockoffs are nothing new.
But I'm kind of curious what you think about a 32 billion dollar company stealing creative ideas and IP from other companies is this simply capitalism at work. Do we need an IP reckoning does original creation hold no value in today's world. And that's a bummer of true. Also when you're coming back to Palm Springs, let me know and I will show you all the hot spots.
Oh my gosh, I'm coming now Palm Springs. I was just there for stage coach. I have no interest in country music, but I heard that it's now the cool Coachella and daddy likes to go where the young hot people go. So I went to stage goes for the first time I stayed at Larry Ellison summer home, which he has essentially turned into a total hot spot.
What is the name of that fucking place beautiful hotel. Anyways, had a great time. I love Palm Springs. If I lived in LA, I would consider I would consider getting a home there. But thanks to the great offer and bottle it sounds like you're you have a baby in the background and you have such a lovely voice.
Anyways, I just like I don't even know you and I like you. Alright, so IP and IP theft or borrowing. So absolutely what she is doing is finding other impressive designers that have got traction in the retail market and copying them copycatting them whatever you want to call it.
So now do pottery barn restoration hardware old Navy and essentially every other fashion company and I remember being in board meetings, especially retailers and they were very careful to say that it was inspired by and almost every major selling product at a high end or you know not even a high end in mid brand or mid tier apparel fashion furniture company.
You're going to find that the design was inspired by an artisan who at a much higher price point is doing something really incredibly creative. This has been this has been an enormous source of frustration and debate across the artisan community for the last 30 or 40 years. And the reality is correctly incorrectly it is very hard to impose that sort of IP protection around something and to a certain extent to a certain extent I mean walk down. I live in so how and if you walk down canal.
There's just no controlling the knockoffs I can go 50 feet and get a Chanel bag a Rolex watch and and and our mess bag that actually doesn't look.
It's actually pretty decent quality at least from kind of a foot away if you will and to a certain extent a certain amount of IP theft whether it's people borrowing passwords from Netflix or certain amount of people ripping up and producing Chanel bags they're not dumb they kind of know what's going on and a certain amount of leakage if you will is actually good marketing for them now having said that should IP protection be increased.
I think you could argue that the the final frontier of that or the next frontier is AI and that is.
A lot of people have found that more lawyers have found that AI or check C. B. T. was producing articles that had lifted line for line word for word articles from other major publications without compensating or that so am I worried about it I don't think this is a new problem I'm not saying it's wrong or right but it's been going on across all sorts of you know apparel and fashion and furniture companies.
And I realize it might be very frustrating for some artisans but if you look at the brands that would be most likely to be ripped off and have their design stolen and have fast fashion at their runway shows and then within 60 minutes the photographs are sent to a design lab they come up with some sort of rendering of it and then it's in the factory and it's on the shelves within six weeks and I think that's what Zara is able to do this is kind of the ecosystem and how it works now at some point our
the designs absolutely so incredibly close that you probably have some sort of case yes but it's very hard to enforce. Burk and stock pulled all of their products off of Amazon because they said that the IP theft was just a extraordinary and they didn't like the way they were treating the brand in terms of pricing and kind of using sort of mob.
Mob policy techniques to enforce that they couldn't discount their products anywhere else unless the lowest prices on Amazon and some long winded way of saying the ecosystem builds in a certain amount of IP theft and I don't think she and is doing anything that everyone from pottery barn and old naviens are having been doing for decades now.
Having said that I think I bring on a new set of dangers that were probably have to be more thoughtful around so is there additional IP protection needed I don't know is the honest answer I appreciate the question question number two is got this is Bryant from Salt Lake City I'm an advocate follower enjoy listening to my commute.
While walking the dog doing whatever I'm doing around the house my question for you is about leadership I work in law enforcement my department recently underwent around promotional testing for sergeant. My question for you is one what qualities do you look for people that wish to promote and to how would you test for those qualities if any such test even exists thanks for all that you do keep the insightful content include jokes flowing.
Oh hey Bryant from Salt Lake City and thanks for thanks to your service and what you do I have no idea how you would distill leadership qualities into a test and it less it's sort of a road thing where you have to have a certain baseline level of knowledge but I would argue that's not.
The test is not going to be a great means figuring out who to promote I think it might be a baseline you have to have a certain level of knowledge around key issues but I don't think you use that as quote unquote the the full from the decided for who to promote.
So in terms of wanting to get promoted I think there's just a few basics if you see yourself as someone you want to be tapped as a leader and get promoted faster than your peers one is you got to demonstrate excellence and that is you just have to be very good at what you do and reflect a real interest in passion for law enforcement to
and it sounds real basic show up that is 10 minutes early leave 10 you know 10 minutes earlier than anybody else leave 10 minutes later be seen and get a reputation as the person that speaks well that talks well of people behind their back. Listen try and really promote other people's interests the key to being successful I think is to develop allies along the way and that is people will find out I assume that everyone I think it's just a good assumption that.
That a safe assumption that everyone will hear eventually everything you say about them so it's one thing to provide feedback constructive feedback to people in a professional situation but for the most part you want to talk up your colleagues you want to be there for them. And you finally want to act like an owner and it's easy in a private setting private company act like I know I can just tell.
When people are clearly acting like shareholders the reason why I'm a private company you give or I've given shares to everybody in the company is you want them thinking about what's best for the business 24 by 7 because it directly. Motivates them because they see their compensation and well being an ability to take care of their family directly tied to the well being in the company start acting like owners so how do you act like an owner.
You represent the police force you represent your specific civic domain and you make a real effort to know that you're a spokesperson for not only our society but that local. Municipality that department and you go out of the way to just trying to enhance the brand if you will the value of that department and that that force you speak well of people behind their back you go out of your way to try and help others you demonstrate excellence you're the guy that.
Understands the exact code of the law understands how to handle difficult situation studies up on this stuff takes it very seriously shows a passion for law enforcement and a lot of it comes down to being in the right place in the right time and also also it sounds like an ambitious young man recognize.
The one of the virtues of getting ahead is patience a lot of the most successful people in history I would argue probably all of them at some point they get passed over they don't get promoted as quickly as they like and the only thing I can guarantee in any organization is injustice and that occasionally as someone good will get promoted over you sooner and faster but typically the arc of promotions bends towards justice and over the medium and the long term good people get there get there do if you will but anyways I just want to wrap up by saying.
Appreciate your service and the fact you're even asking these questions and thinking about it means you're probably tracking so anyways Bryant from Salt Lake City well done. We have one quick break before our final question stay with us. Support for proffogy comes from master class if you're creative is tired of staring at that blinking cursor or burgeoning chef looking for better knife skills or maybe even an entrepreneur with a fresh idea that just needs to be sharpened.
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Hi Scott this is Kelly and New York. I know most of your advice is for young people starting out in their careers but I have a question that's a little bit different. I am a mid-career entertainment professional meaning I'm an out of work TV producer and frankly my career is basically over.
I worked for 20 years and built up an amazing reputation and have tons of contacts and experience in my field but guess what between the strikes the Hollywood and news contraction and business moving overseas and tiktok all my contacts are out of work and my so called skills are not necessarily translating to the real world.
I'm sure there are many other listeners who have the same predicament who are listening to your podcast and in the same boat I'd love to know what your advice is for us not starting out professionals who've already sunk costs into the business. Thanks.
Hi Kelly from New York. I think so many people are in your position you have an industry that went through first off the industry has to great and inflow human capital and that is so many people want to be in that industry that the industry is able to pay people less than people of that talent and other industries because there's someone who will be an associate producer for almost no money.
In addition with every seven year old in the nation spending less and less time watching television cable TV and go into the movies and spending it all on tiktok where there's 850 million creators who don't need health insurance or don't ask for it and are willing to make $10 or $12,000 a year to create what is probably pretty decent content in addition to their main hustle. There's just huge pressure. So anyways I'm not telling you anything you don't know or have an experience what what to do.
If you have been successful and it sounds like you have been I would shine right down the series or the attributes that it made you successful so if you're incredibly organized know how to bring together a disparate a disparate group of people to create an environment and production and focus on details and logistics and create a mood and a vibe.
Okay sales force is probably going to spend a couple hundred million dollars this year on events on production. You know anything live requires production talent. If you think about it entertainment is essentially trying to build the story that captivates people's attention in this medium of film and television and there's a lot of different.
I think industries where they're trying to capture people's attention across a different medium whether it's a corporate gathering whether it's an environment inside of a store you know kind of store design or what have you so start workshoping don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
Every day three or four emails to strangers contacts colleagues from your alma mater who are working in investor relations comms video production content strategy product management program management reach out can we grab a coffee in sort of get on it and just get back into the ecosystem if you will.
Also Kelly look into whether or not there are I don't call them support groups because that sounds sort of we the groups of people to get together to talk about what they're going to do next people in a similar situation.
There was an organization it's probably still around in your called second act and it was for for former finance professionals getting together to talk about their second act and these were ballers say my close friend and someone who was on my board who was one of the heads I believe
her co heads of private equity at city group was part of the group and it was all these former CEOs and total ballers in the corporate world trying to figure out what to do next to it have been laid off or quit their job.
And it's really helpful to get in a room of people and just talk about stuff and be mutual support of each other and bounce ideas off of one another so see if there's I'd be shocked if there aren't several groups like that and popped up in both New York and Los Angeles because of they just
just an extraordinary disruption taking place in the industry but again it's just so helpful to hear from other people one you recognize that it's happening everywhere and to again it's hard to read the label from inside of the bottle it's just nice having a group of people to brainstorm with. That's all for this episode if you'd like to submit a question please email a voice recording to office hours approaching media dot com again that's office hours of propped in media dot com.
This episode was produced by Caroline Shagrin Jennifer Sanchez is our associate producer and Drew Burrows is our technical director thank you for listening to the project pod from the box media podcast network we will catch you on Saturday for no mercy no malice as road by George Han and please follow our Profty Markets pod wherever you get your pods for new episodes every Monday and Thursday.