Jessie Vaid is the co-founder and CEO of ReadyWhen, a digital estate management solution. He has over 15 years of experience running a notary practice, helping his community future-proof their estates.
From Microsoft certified systems engineer to notary, to company founder, let’s follow Jessie’s business transformation journey. In this episode, you’ll learn about
– what notaries do in British Columbia
– how purchasing an established business works
– why it’s essential to have a backup for your important estate information, and more.
For more starting a business tips, how to focus on work better, and successful business ideas, listen to our previous episodes.
Find more about Jessie here:
ReadyWhen: https://www.readywhen.com/about/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessie-vaid-8a148288
John: Thank you for listening to the business sphere. Don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode. Joining me today is Jessie Vaid, he’s the founder and CEO of ReadyWhen a digital estate management solution so, I’m interested to learn a little bit more about that. Jessie has over 15 years of experience running his own notary proctor, practice and started this company during the pandemic. So, in the last year and a half really, thanks for being on the show, Jessie. So, I’m excited to learn a little bit about yourself.
Jessie: Perfect! Thanks, John.
John: So, if you don’t mind.
Jessie: Thanks for having me.
John: Yeah no, no problem. If you don’t mind sharing with the audience members how did you get going in terms of this new venture during this pandemic? And how did you, your previous company work? And did you always have this entrepreneurial spirit in yours?
Jessie: Yeah, perfect! Thanks again, John for having me and I’d love to dive a little bit deeper about our journey so you know I won’t go back too far but basically you know I gotta kinda go back after university because that’s kinda when I went into IT so, after I graduated from UBC I actually took a program at BCIT that was basically a certified systems engineer back I’m dating myself but a Microsoft certified systems engineer and that was my real introduction into IT and so I did that for a few years, did the course and then was in the IT world and then 2001 is kinda of 2000 is you know the dot-com bust and so I saw the writings on the wall and I was like, what am I gonna do next? And so, I really liked law and business and so I had just purchased my first home and used a notary to actually complete the transaction so if you’re unfamiliar with notaries in British Columbia. So, notaries and British Columbia basically do solicitor work so we basically focus in, on areas of real estate and estate planning so real estate being sales, purchases, refinances, and doing all the work associated to transferring the property from one person to the other and then also estate planning documents from wills, power of attorneys, healthcare, directors and so forth. So, I decided I was actually gonna study from Allstate and go to law school, notary, the notary was a little bit quicker to where I wanted to get to and with being a notary most notaries are their own, they own their own business so that was very appealing to me to have my own business and so, right out of the gate so in 2004 I became a notary, in 2009 I became a director of the notaries of the society of British Columbia and I’m also the current president of the society right now, and so you know been doing that for since 2004 and in late 2019 I had a lot of clients coming to me just asking me various questions from you know “When should I make a will?” “What’s the difference between a will and a power of attorney?” Why do I need a power of attorney?” “What’s a health care direction?” Just you know the typical questions that we always receive and then unfortunately I had individuals coming to me and saying “You know we’ve lost a loved one you know I’m the executor of an estate and where do I start? You know where do I begin? What do I need to do?” And there just there’s no guidance and direction and so I started thinking about you know, you know what there’s gotta be an easier way to consolidate this information and also disseminate this information and that, that’s kinda really where the ReadyWhen journey began. So, late 2019 I started doing some due diligence and research about you know products out there and it shouldn’t be a surprise but I couldn’t find anything that really spoke through my lens of what I’ve you know my matter expertise and so, and if there was a product out there I’d probably already using it and advocating for it so I would already be telling my clients because you know we create the estate planning documents then we tell our clients, okay go keep this will and power of attorney in a safe place and make sure that you know your executive and you loved ones know about all your other, your assets, you know your digital footprint and everything else that goes along with settling in a state and so there wasn’t anything out there I did some due diligence I did more due diligence and I started talking to people about building what is today ReadyWhen and so I talked to my co-founder Sachin Bala and unfortunately he had lost both of his parents. So, really resonated with him about yeah there’s no guidance, there’s no real solution out there and so you know we started talking it’s like yeah, this seems like it could be a you know, could really make sense and what to build and what people really need and so that was late 2019 and in 2020 we worked with apply digital, their local software company in Vancouver and we built our prototype and so once we built our prototype we test that prototype amongst colleagues, lawyers, financial advisors and then just regular individuals about what we were potential gonna build and great feedback and it was consistently like this makes total sense you know everyone needs a ReadyWhen account now will they actually take the be proactive and initiate it and get it done. So, that was you know basically right when the pandemic started so we had built our prototype, we had tested it and then the pandemic hit and so it obviously a lot of people were thinking about the what if during the pandemic and when it started and so we carried along, we raised funding for our mvp, we released our mvp in late 2020 and November, December is when we released our first mvp and then after 2021 we went to market with our full product and our full suite and so, what ReadyWhen basically is, it’s a secure, fast, digital storage of all the estate information that you would require to settle an estate. So, that would entail all your asset information so your you know, your bank accounts, your properties your life insurance, your pensions, your vehicles, you’re also your legal documents, your legal documents can be stored electronically from your will, your power of attorney and your health care directive and then your spouse’s legal documents. Health information that would be while you’re alive so that if you were incapacitated it would allow you to store your various doctors, your allergy information prescriptions, health insurance, travel insurance. We also have the ability to store your digital footprint so all your social media, your email accounts, your Ebay, your Amazon or your you know different subscriptions and then we allow you to share that information as well so, just a little bit, we’ll get more into a product but that’s where it is and so currently we have 600 plus almost 700 users on the flatform really focusing right now on the legal and financial advisors, professionals so our model is b to b to c with education for b to c. So, we do have b to c for you to come on and test our product for free and then we have a pro version. So, I’ve been talking a lot John so I’ll save and get questions that’s kinda where we’re at today.
John: No, that’s amazing to learn why you started this you know company because there was a gap in the marketplace. You couldn’t find it for your existing customers and you were getting the same challenges and problems and questions but you didn’t know where to turn to so just like every entrepreneur they go out and invent it or go out and find a solution for their base of customers and then there’s more people out there in the world that needs that solution if it’s not only your customers, it’s everyone. So, I love hearing that but before I get deeper into that new venture I wanted to ask you a couple of questions prior so you’re originally from Canada, I believe?
Jessie: Yeah, yeah. Born and raised in, born in Victoria but primarily raised in Vancouver and Ladner, and Toast and if you know the area, so.
John: Amazing! So, I frequent BC, annually and I love Victoria, I love Vancouver, you know I love you know Whistler, I love BC culture. Your upbringing I wanted to ask you, any of your family or friends in business like, because you were really wanting to get into law school going to different subsets. How did you start this business?
Jessie: Yeah, I mean I also played volleyball so that was my one of primary reasons is going to university was to play for UBC and I also plays for UVIC so that was my primary reason to do any education was being led by my the, opportunity to play volleyball and you know I think you know with, with my circle of friends and family you know even being in that volleyball culture you know usually, typically you see volleyball players that you know are you know pretty motivated to do you know something right? It may be engineering or being a business or financial advisor or going into law and so you know I kinda fall in footsteps of a lot of my other you know friends and family and you know being motivated to do something you know challenging myself constantly right? And going out there and finding a career that you was at least self satisfying to a certain degree and so my friends, a lot of my friends currently have their own businesses so it’s easy to get more motivated by what they do it maybe you know owning their own company and you know being a professional, a doctor, a dentist, a chiropractor, or you know owning their own company in a niche market so you know I’m definitely surrounded by friends and family that have their own businesses. I would say more than the ones that work for somebody else have their own businesses in my network of friends and family.
John: No, that that’s great to hear because you are the average of the five people you spend most of the time and it’s hard when you’re younger in your 20’s and you don’t know what direction you wanna go right? And for all the listeners that are thinking of starting a business or just early stages it’s hard running a business is difficult, it’s not for everyone, and you need to really focus on why you’re doing what you’re doing , are you serving as a need in the marketplace? Are you really adding value? Are you really servicing yourself for a better you know life? Are you doing things that you actually enjoy doing right? So, how did you come into like notary and running that business versus did you work under someone before you started to see how it worked to then become you know the president in BC? And do you still own that company?
Jessie: Yeah, so before I was actually in IT and I left, I was at a dot-com company then I went to BC rail as a business analyst and that’s when you know CN was our BC rail was you know potentially gonna bought out and so I know the writing was all on the wall there, so I got into the notary program and I started by articling you know working with another notary. So, I worked with Nancy Schick in Richmond with the intention that I would have my own practice but I wanted to get my feet wet and so forth and so, I think it was, it was the best thing that I ever did and so I worked with her for about a year and a half prior to having my own business and so what happened was once I was working with Nancy, Nancy I got to familiarize myself with the business running at all the you know the different types of transactions, how to actually complete the transactions. Knowing full well that I was gonna purchase or run my own when I graduated and so when I graduated, I was fortunate to buy a practice so I bought an existing practice. So, Bert Atkinson whose Atkin’s Sanitary Insurance back in the day had the notary practice for 25 years in the same location or within the same you know complex and so he was a very established notary in North Delta and so when I, when I came in and basically wanted to purchase his practice it wasn’t more that I was looking to interview him. He was actually interviewing me. So he wanted, so he interviewed me not that he wanted to you know sell it and make the money, it was all about him ensuring that his client base that he had built up over 25 years was gonna get service and was gonna get service well and so that was, it wasn’t matter of him selling to you know I want to sell it to the highest bidder it was like I’ll sell it to the person that I feel is going to service. The, the clients that he’s been servicing for 25 years and so it was a great fit with myself and Brent and so I purchased a practice from him and literally hit the ground running in August of 2004 whereby, we started servicing the local community here of North Delta and Surrey and Delta as a whole and so that was kind of you know how we began and so you know I’ve been fortune to you know almost 18 plus years practicing in North Delta and Surrey and really servicing the clients that you know this product ReadyWhen we built for as well and I continue to have the practice as of today, I do have a notary that kind of runs. The notary practice now and you know I’ve got 9 full-time people on ReadyWhen plus we have a couple of contractors and so my focus day in and day out is r ReadyWhen with assisting the notary that runs the note read practice. I’m still in my office day in and day out to answer any questions on that side but the focus still is on ReadyWhen today. So, you know it’s you’re right when you say about being an entrepreneur and working hard you know doesn’t matter what job you have but you know there’s a little bit more of a I guess stressor when you know you’re running your own business and especially if you’re an entrepreneur starting a new business and a new venture about you know, is this idea really gonna fly is it really go? Am I gonna be able to you know feed my family? And the stresses that go along with all that so you know I’ve gone through that you know with my practice and there’s a lot of overlap now with ReadyWhen and building that from the ground up as well.
John: I love how you have gone through strategically on not just your career I would say like when you pivoted and you were sports right? Like that the whole work ethic mentality to lead and train, and you know make sure that practice because I was a volleyball, basketball guy too in high school. I never went to university before that I just was happy to go to university first time and then afterwards, it was more like getting work experience and what I heard from you was working for a year and a half under someone like a notary to get experience, to learn the ins and outs, and then having that hindsight to actually purchasing established business versus starting from scratch, saving you 5, 10 years of grinding out to get and maybe not even getting the established client base right? Like to get that brand recognition you shrunk time out of that like I look back at what I did and I’ve been running my agency for 9 years but if I were to buy a business it would have shrunk 5 years of my life right? To get things ball, the ball rolling but I chose the hard way out not knowing and knowing what you did, do you have any regrets?
Jessie: No, not at all I think you know it was you know there’s a method to the madness and to get to where you are and I think everything’s you know happened for a reason and where we are today but you’re exactly right you know purchasing the existing practice of Brent I mean you know a lot of the you know my colleagues that graduated probably shield away just because of the sticker price but I you know for me was the business mind going, okay I’m paying x but I’m also gonna make x back in a certain percentage and I’ve got an established business that I’m walking right in its turnkey and you know the reputation that Brent built up in the community you know that Atkinson brand you know had a lot of respect and so walking in that under my belt and Brent actually you know was facilitated you know the client transfer over to myself you know meeting some of his established clients and saying you know “Jessies here taking over the practice.” and so forth. So, it was a really smooth transfer from Brent to myself but overall I wouldn’t really change it up at all because you know I had that you know revenue coming in the door like you said you’re right probably saved myself 5 years of grinding and then you know the terms were very favorable as well what Brent set up again itt wasn’t about money for him as much as it was ensuring that his clients were serviced and serviced well, So, you know setting up the financial structure of me buying the practice was you know secondary or even down on the ladder for him so he wasn’t gonna make me starve to purchase his practice, let’s say that.
John: Yeah, and that’s great to hear. Were there people instrumental for you to purchase an existing business versus trying to start your own or work under someone else because you did work under that other company for a year and half because obviously there’s different options right? When you’re in your 20’s and you’re getting established right? Getting some skills you know harvest.
Jessie: Yeah.
John: Why buying versus starting your own versus working someone out and then moving up the ladder?
Jessie: Yeah, I think you know for myself you know I was raised by a single mom so I think that the biggest factor of where I am today is my family you know my mom, my sister, and my my brother and so you know they’ve assisted me financially, obviously emotionally, mentally to you know I guess basically to you know build who I am today right? Like you know really fostering a lot of those work ethic and motivation and all that stuff from a young age and so they were you know when you say instrumental they were definitely instrumental into you know getting that notary practice off the ground, you know purchasing the notary practice and again Brent you know I’ve got a mentor and Chris Dupuy who’s a fellow notary and you know having you know Chris and my family, you know Brent I think those were you know some of the individuals are very instrumental in really starting the notary practice from when I took over from Brent and then you know there’s obviously other names that I could mention as far as mentors and people that assisted but those were the ones that really started you know getting my practice off that she was obviously a big assistance in getting the day-to-day operations and so, and then you know I think It’s a lot of, a lot of those personal traits that I think I inherited growing up playing sports and the surroundings that I was in that ground, I had you know the existing paralegal that stayed with me and so, t really played you know I use this often is that losing isn’t an option you know it’s like you know I that to Brent when I came in it’s like losing isn’t an option and even with ReadyWhen losing is not an option. We’re gonna do whatever it takes to win and it might be, some might call it arrogance and some might call it motivation right? And so that’s the kind of philosophy that I go with is that you know whatever I’m gonna do, I’m gonna do it as hard as I can and ensure that I’ve put in the full effort and so that goes with you know the notary practice and doing I think a fairly you know decent job of servicing my community over the years and then you know cross over to ReadyWhen now.
John: And I love the fact that you’re talking about like your social network of people right? Mentors, family, which is fully why you’re doing what you’re doing to support them to and there’s always gonna be people instrumental at different stages of your life. Coaches when you’re in sports, mentors or even managers or business owners throughout that career I would say business career and of course family along the line right? Always constantly there, so I love you mentioning that and I wanted to ask you like throughout those 15 years and plus when running this notary. There has have been challenges right? There’s always ups and downs, how do you stay focused? To really have that mindset this what I’m gonna keep doing for however long because every entrepreneur gets stuck somewhere. They either want to continue growing, scaling, you know multiple offices or whatever or they get bored so, how do you stay focused on doing the best job you can to continue doing it?
Jessie: Yeah, it’s a great question John. So, you know for myself you know the market if you go back in time and look at 2004 and you look at the real estate market BC, there’s highs and lows costing I’ve probably hit you know four up and downs in the market lows in 2004 which you know were very scary at times but it seemed like after I’d gone through one that I knew that anytime there’s going to be a downturn in the market it was only gonna last a few months and that’s pretty much all the times that we’ve had a down market in BC it’s lasted 3 to 4 months and that’s rebounded and actually it’s increased right? So, you know you always know that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel but you know there’s definitely times when you’re looking at your going. What am I gonna do here because the market has turned and how long is this market going to turn because you know BC notaries are very, majority of the BC notaries are heavily reliant on the real estate market and so the real estate transactions you know BC notaries typically will do you know anywhere from 65 to 70 plus percent of the transactions in BC go through notice and there’s only you know around 4 just over 400 of us that complete those transactions and so we’re heavily reliant in real estate so when there’s a downturn you know you’re always like how long is this gonna last for? And I think for myself what do I so to stay focused and you know again you know tenureship of being in this office like myself you know almost 20 years, friend being 25 years so you know you’re you’ve got 40 plus years of notary being at 7 you know 80th and Scott Road right? And so people know that there’s a notary here so you know there’s always people coming in and asking for help in a wide array of transactions and knowing that you know when I’m, when there’s a down market there’s always something for us to do and we’re always servicing our community right? And I think you know people coming in buying their first home, seeing their faces of being able, having that accomplishment and assisting them with you know getting to the point where they can purchase that home you know for family members assisting their children now, purchasing homes so I’ve done the transaction from the parents, now the children are coming in and buying their homes through me and then unfortunately losing loved ones as well right? You know so, my clients said I’ve done estate planning for you know passing away and then their spouse, their children coming in and asking for assistance. So, you’re really going you know that circle of life of helping you know your clients with potentially the largest transactions that they’re gonna do in their lifetime and we’re facilitating that so you know it’s really nice to be able to be a part of that process and helping you know my community, you know ensuring that you know they’re getting that level of professionalism and completing their you know whatever transactions they might require.
John: And, and that’s where I think for you it seems like you relish right? To be able to support, help other people. Throw every stage of their life right? From you know great, amazing, emotional, getting married, buying a home, you know multiple investments, properties or whatever to potentially at the end of their life stage right? And then of course when it’s generational it’s even more rewarding because people remember you right? So, where the mouth referrals and then within family it’s amazing. So, I love hearing that because a lot of people go into business and have different professions, they don’t really enjoy it right? Like they go they go doing it for certain reasons whether it be like financial or you know different reasons of why you do certain things right? Like you into engineering, you go into professional dentist, doctor or whatever do you actually enjoy it right? So, I love that you’re supporting individuals and you have a lot of more emotional ties in that. If you don’t mind sharing, I was gonna ask you about the mentors because there’s people instrumental in that whole transitional period, were there people in particular I know during that transaction right? Buying the business that person who sold you he was there, still with you right? To guide you throughout the entire stages, we’re there other people like other business owners that you kinda you know ask questions because the whole new subset in this life journey right? Business ownership’s hard there’s so many different parameters form operation, HR you know managing processes to learning about suppliers, everything. How did you go about trying to figure it all out?
Jessie: Sure, I think you have to have mentors in different aspects you can’t just say well, I’m gonna have a business mentor in that set or I’m just gonna have you know personal mentor and stuff. So, you know, you know when you talk about you know the playing days, you know one person that was instrumental is Sharon Carter and she was my high school coach and then you know I actually ended up coaching with her and she’s a personal friend and I would consider her a mentor too just really you know creating I guess you want to say or really installing a lot of my characteristics at a young age you know she coached me since I was in grade 9 and so just a work ethic of playing under her you know there’s you know, she’s a very hard coach and I think it really guided to who I was you know when I left her program right? And she was your face and wanting to bring the best out of you on the court but off the court she was like a mother figure and wanted to protect you and ensure that you know that you’re well being and so that really shaped me I think at a young age you know as far as my characteristics and my drive and motivation and then you know she’s still a personal friend of mine today I’m able to call her if I need anything or vice versa. So, I think that was kinda you know the starting of you know some of the in you know characteristics of myself and being motivated to run my own practice and then when I purchased my last practice you know I would say you know Brent Atkinson who I purchased a practice from you know he was there and ensuring that you know again his clients were taken care of and answering any questions and then Chris Dupuy and so, Chris Dupuy who’s a colleague of mine. He’s been you know a mentor since day 1 you know I literally began you know being you know great friends with him when I first became a notary I literally the first conference we met and we started taking and he literally embraced me and brought me in and said you know I’m gonna be here to help you because he has had mentors himself and so he knew what we go through and how to guide me and so forth and then you know there’s other you know mentors as far as friends of mine that have run their own businesses and so I can you know, there’s a business side so you’ve got a business of being a notary so I can talk to Chris and then I’ve got another business friends that you know maybe you know they own a security company from dentist’s to doctors and just bouncing sometimes business thoughts and questions off of them. So, I think I’ve been very fortunate, lucky to have individuals in my circle that if I require guidance that they’re for me and we’re you know amongst our friends were all wanting to see other succeed so there’s never enough time where they’re not gonna answer a question or vice versa.
John: And that’s great to hear because a lot of people who are starting their journey business ownership or getting into entrepreneurship they don’t have people that are going through the same struggles or going to the same perspective life situation as they are running a business, buying a business. Being bought you know in operation of a business everyone is usually a professional getting there’s experience in place right? So, having that network of influence and I love the correlation between sports and I love that analogy of sports right? Because you know you played volleyball, I played a lot of sports too and I still do just recreationally but I look at like NBA players or NFL players they spend 20 years getting the best experience but when they get to that epic center of championship or olympics just happened right? And you know you look at Andre De Grasse, everyone wants now to run right? And yet he’s been doing it for so many years no one talks about all that years of grind and you know they got coaches, they got nutritionists, they go that dedication of everyday, the habit right? Of skill set, mental fitness and you know making sure that you’re, you’re ready for that 10 second race, no one talks about it right? So, you just laying it down that there’s people, there’s you know the skill set and they really guide you to become who you are today because the value that they ingrained in you, the ethics, the work ethics, the mindset and it was never really the money focused it’s of all about those other intangible stuff which is the people around it. So, I’m loving this conversation Jessie because you, I get you because it’s like you know for me very similar, I humble roots in Hamilton grow up in Toronto now and it’s like you know just hard work it was like the people got me to here and it’s nothing to do with me it was like yeah I just stayed the course right? I just kept working but it was ingrained early days right?
Jessie: Yeah, I know I think you know, I you know I don’t want to use the analogy of sports because you could be you know an artist or a musician and regardless of what you know activity that you know excel at you know you’re right no one sees the you know the 10 second race, no one sees the 6 hours of training you do for the last 20 years for that 10 seconds right? And so you know for myself that you know another thing that helps me is, is that training you know I still like to work out. I still like to be active and you know go for now I started biking a little bit more and it’s just take my you know when I played volleyball at a competitive level is that you know you can leave everything at a door right? You go in, you step on that court if you’re playing basketball with recreational with your friends or you’re going for a ride or doing anything physical activity for myself that is you know is a happy place for me right? I go out and I train, and I train hard. When I do train and put and a valiant effort when you’re doing that as well and that helps me too and helps me focus you know from vacationing with my family and my wife and kids to working out I think it’s all those things that you know you ask that question, what allows you to be focused when you know things aren’t going well or things are going well I thinks it’s ensuring that I have a little bit of all that right? It’s not just all work I mean you know I was raised by my mom I know that the time and effort it needs to be spent you know raising your children to you know time with your spouse so you gonna make time for everything but whenever you’re spending that time doing that activity be laser focused and give it you know that extra effort and that’s I think you know it’s easier said than done I mean it’s the cliches are coming out but it’s true right? You gotta be you know you gotta be put time and dedication into whatever you’re doing for you know for those entrepreneurs is that you know nothing’s gonna be easy, no one’s gonna hand it to you I mean you know there’s few viral products that get you know unicorn status quickly but you know the other companies that do get unicorn status or the ones that are having you know healthy exits or healthy IPOs. There’s a lot of work and time and effort and energy, and a lot of people that you know build that build that company and you know for myself and r ReadyWhen it’s not just about myself, it’s about my team and you know I’ve been very fortunate to having an amazing team that’s dedicated to ReadyWhen and ensuring that we’re building a product that’s really gonna help Canadians right? And I think that’s been the you know focus for my team is that you know we believe that everyone you know has an asset has children needs a ReadyWhen account because we don’t know when the inevitable is gonna happen and you know my team is so about you know building something that’s really gonna help people and make a difference in people’s lives and you know we’ve installed that culture it was really easy because they came in with that mindset and you know even before we started 2021 and you know the throne speech of 2021 was is that you know you’re really gonna see you know someone unfortunately in not too distant future is gonna come and let us know that you know thank God we had a ReadyWhen account because you know we lost someone you know tragically and we’re in so much of a better place knowing that we know where everything is and we know what to do next and I think you know all the things that I’ve done in my career this is really rewarding as far as what we built that ReadyWhen.
John: And it’s great to hear that because people before our call I was telling you that I had an upgrade on one of my browsers like the chrome and I couldn’t navigate and find my lastpass account and this is a small little blip but in reality bigger problems when something happens with significant other right? And you need access and therefore, you know just like my lastpass account with passwords of every email and my zoom account and everything else, I didn’t know where to go right? So, I have a good thing I have a hard copy as a redundant plan, I back everything up in hard drive this storage but also what are you backing up like files right? Like when you go to the doctor’s office there’s 7 years of documents people have to keep storage for, what are you doing as a backup? And this is what ReadyWhen you know provides right? At you worst case scenario where a lot of people don’t plan for things but if you’re a proactive and you understand that you know things like this happens and it’s the most unfortunate and you know it’s just like a will right? People don’t even want to create a will or think about a will but the ones that do are actually are planning for not just their next generation but 2, 3 years generations down the road so it’s great to know that there’s people like you being proactive you know understanding there’s a gap in the marketplace and you know fulfilling that with a need so I love that, Jessie.
Jessie: Yeah, thanks you know I think that’s exactly it is that you know you never know where when the inevitable’s gonna happen but you know for myself John as I’ve seen over the years you know I have couples that come into my office and they’re you know doing their estate plan and I’ll be like okay, so you know tell me about you financial accounts and so forth and they’ll share financial accounting information with the other spouse doesn’t even know about and other information about policies of a life insurance or a pension and stuff and it’s not because they don’t wanna share the information, it’s not about that I mean maybe some are but majority of the time it’s just they don’t get around to sharing that information and unfortunately you know what happens is you know murphy’s law is that they pass away and that information isn’t shared and so literally go on this scavenger hunt you play document detective and you know you’re spending upwards of 2 years of trying to settle in a state so not only have you know potentially, tragically you’ve lost somebody and you’re going through the stresses of losing that loved one or your spouse, or you know you’re the executor and then you’re thrown into this okay what do I do next? And there’s no real guidance out there right? And so you know we’re really trying to like you said is fill that gap and ensuring there’s just that you know trying to relieve the stress and the most stressful time of your life right? You know going through the loss of somebody and being that tool here that hey listen I’ve lost a loved one I’m the executor and I can stress and or the stresses of losing that loved one, I can grieve and I can deal with that knowing that I know what I need to do next it’s all there, it’s in the ReadyWhen account and I’ll get to it. When I get to it and I don’t have to worry about okay, where’s the next mortgage payment going out? You know, did we pay that internet bill? How’s that internet bill being paid? You know, what subscriptions do we have to cancel? And all that sort of information. So, you know we really trying to complete this product knowing that if something does happen to somebody and if you’ve completed your ReadyWhen account it’s all gonna be there and we have built tools to also guide you to ensure that you upload the information that you really need to because you know you might say “well, I can just do that in a google doc and or a dropbox” but have you really gone in and do you know that you know might need to change the home insurance when someone pass away if it’s an empty home and all those bank accounts that you might have had when you were a kid and a pension that you might have had from a previous job that you know could pay out something. So, you know really trying to make that we’ve given up a 360 holistic solution but at being proactive you said it right? Being proactive and this is almost like a life planning tool so that in real time you know between you and your spouse you know where everything is right? Like right now my spouse can go in and say exactly where everything is and it’s not because I didn’t want to share that with here I just never did but now we have you know built that tool for them.
John: You know it’s amazing I love how you took action and started a sas business to without any sas background to you know make it happen right? With not a lot of maybe it was not vc backed or whatever it was like, it’s great to see in a Canadian that’s an athlete right? Like all these things it was great, this conversation has been really refreshing I would say. Last question if you don’t mind sharing, so I know business is a huge part of your life and what I heard from this conversation so is family. So, is you know your past friends and people that inspired you throughout this journey, where do you go from here? Because it seems like you have a full life you have a great lifestyle, you have business in order, you have family in order, and you know you’re busy I’m sure right? Like you have family and kids and you do your thing right? So, where do you go from here?
Jessie: You know for IAS right now is raising my kids they’re in elementary school getting into high school, getting them off the you know I think 2 things are you know my kids are you know my lifeline in that I wanted to give them the options potentially maybe that I didn’t have as a kid you know making sure they are set up and prepared for the world that we have today and so I think that is you know a big driver and a big motivator of what comes next you might say. So, there’s that and then there’s the business side and I think for myself you know creating ReadyWhen in this product that there’s really no competitors out there in Canada right? And that’s because we haven’t really focused our minds on that when you know someone passes away you just deal with it you know your parents pass away, your spouse passes away, you know you have family and friends that are right with you right when someone passes away but they’re not there. 6 months, a year, a year and a half and some close ones will be but they’re not there assisting you ensuring that you’re selling the estate and I think you know I’ve seen that, I’ve seen that for decades literally and you know building this product where we know that people need it and you know we’ve spoken to vc’s and they haven’t been able to really get their you know I guess wanting to you know understand the business model and seeing that this product, they know they need it but will people actually utilize and use it to the full benefit and so for myself it’s right now is proving some of those people saying you know there’s been you know people that have been attempted to build something like this and they haven’t been successful and I think you know we’re at the right time now to introduce a product like this out to market in Canada and ensuring that people be proactive and get a ReadyWhen account or do something to that effect if it’s not ReadyWhen do something because you spend your lifetime building you know your wealth you know you, that all you do you work as hard as you can for your family, your spouse and building that to be successful. Why would you wanna protect your legacy right? That’s the next thing right? And so, installing that and ensuring that people have a ReadyWhen account and or something to that and seeing people really you know when the time comes saying “I’m glad that I did this” “ I’m glad I was proactive” or “I’m glad that my spouse was proactive” right? Or my, my, my loved one was proactive and they, and they’re putting less stress on me you know they’re really thinking about me you know when they’re, when they’re building this and so making that successful and you know like any entrepreneur is to see that in the marketplace and going hey, I was a part of that you know I helped you know build that, create that you know it’s not just me it’s my team right? I never consider myself as a, as a person that build ReadyWhen it there’s a team behind it and seeing their you know fruits of their labor I think that’s the next journey right now that we’re focusing in on and I think we’re getting, we’re on the right path right now for people to really embrace what we built.
John: That’s amazing and thanks a lot. Those final words are inspirational because just like everyone who’s going through this life journey right? Things happen and throughout this business journey it’s timing and it’s all about education right? And it’s hard for any startup or especially if it’s not a brand or a thing that people are even aware of, it’s more about getting people comfortable to even acknowledge there’s a problem and gap in the marketplace and you serving that and filling it up so it’s interesting to see and hear from you, Jessie. Great to have this conversation, great insight, I loved our conversation if I’m out in BC I’ll you a hauler if you ever in Toronto you know ring me up I, I’m a big avid raptors fan by the way so if you wanna check out a raptor’s game come over but I really wanna thank you. How, what’s the best way people can check you out, reach to you if they have any questions, what’s some of the handles or.
Jessie: Pretty easy, Jessie J-E-S-S-I-E, Vaid V is victor A-I-D on LinkedIn and then my email is jessie, J-E-S-S-I-E @readywhen.ca. So, just like it is R-E-A-D-Y-W-H-E-N.C-A so check us out at readywhen.ca or .com that’s our url for our website and you can always contact me through LinkedIn or personally at my email address.
John: Amazing! Well, I’m gonna share that in our show note. Thanks a lot once again for being on the show, a lot of valuable tips, tricks, and insight about your journey so I love that and hopefully you have fun so thanks a lot, Jessie.
Jessie: Allright, great, fun! Thanks, I really appreciate your time John and then having this discussion it was great and a lot of fun.
John: Yeah, so I’ll stay in touch. Thank you!
Jessie: Thank you!
