Resilience, Risk, and the Power of Purpose | Jeannette Linfoot

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Episode Topics:

• Get an inside look at what it takes to take a company public.
• Learn why most people underestimate what they’re truly capable of.
• Hear about my experience advising the White House on AI and cyber security.
• Discover why failure isn’t the end, but it’s a necessary part of the journey.
• Find out why boldness is the secret to success in business and life.

 

Rick Jordan  

What’s shaking. Hey, I’m Rick Jordan. Today, we’re going all in.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

We are going across the pond to the US. We have the wonderful Rick Jordan with us here. Welcome to Brave Bowl. Brilliant Rick.

 

Rick Jordan  

What’s shaking? Jeanette, it’s good to be here. I’m excited about our talk today. Yeah, let’s go. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

I am super excited about this. You have got a lot going on in your world, and we’re going to get into everything, entrepreneurship, business, cybercrime, social media, you name it. Taking a business public, yeah. My first question to you, Rick, my gosh, Reachout to technology. You started the business. You founded the business and you took it public. How did you manage that? What are the tricks?

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, I figured it out along the way, you know, and it was, I mean, that’s, that’s really the gist of it. I mean, if you want to sum it up, I know it doesn’t sound romantic, you know when you talk about it that way. And trust me, nothing about the process is romantic either. Going through it is grueling. It is very emotionally taxing. It is very much a test of your own resilience to go through that process, you know. And it took several years, and it was kind of baby steps the entire way too, you know, I originally hired consultants for this whole thing back in it was 2020, you know, it was right around the time all the pandemic stuff started. I’m like, I’m doubling down. I’m going after this this year because I can see where we need to go. And being the first in this industry as an MSP, we literally were the first to actually go public, which is exciting as well. I like to be the first, you know when I look around and I see obvious ideas, I’m like, Why the hell is nobody else doing this? You know, and then I start to, I start to think of why nobody else is doing this. I’m like, whatever. But then I quickly push that out of my mind. But then going through the process like I, you know, calling back to the test of resilience. Now, I understand, you know, I truly understand why no one else in this industry is probably the first in many industries, you know, even like Jeff Bezos with Amazon. It’s probably like, Why did nobody have an online bookstore, which is the only thing that Amazon did at the start of it, you know? And I’m sure he found out why. But look at where he’s at right now, you know? 

 

Well, look at where he’s at. He just had his yacht rated by the FBI, right? Just a couple of days ago. I can’t remember exactly what for, but it’s the Baby Steps Jeanette, you know because in 2020, we started doing what was called a regulation, a public offering. It’s where private companies can sell regulated shares of their company to the general public, you know. And you don’t have to be accredited investors, you know, you’re not listed. You are not listed when you do a regulation, so you have to make your own market. You have to sell the dream, sell the vision, you know, tell everybody about the future. But it is, if you want to compare it, it’s kind of like a first round if you want to look at it that way, a first real round. So after friends and family, because I did a couple of those rounds too prior, for investors that wanted to just jump in even before. So they got in at half the share price of Regulation A, you know, it was 50 cents for them, whereas Regulation A was $1 a share. And then after that, it was a few years later. So I started looking. It’s like, Oh, everybody, the question I got is like, Oh, you’re public. That’s great. It’s like, yeah, a portion of the company is, you know, a portion of the company was public with that Regulation A, and they’re like, Well, where are you listed? I want to go check it out. Like, well, and it became this roadblock mentally for both me and them, whoever was asking about it, to be like, Well, you can’t go look at it. You can’t. It’s not listed, you know. I’m like, Well, I found out that a regulation, A is great in theory, you know, because if you take it all the way back to and this is for anybody that’s thinking about this right for raising capital as a private company. If you take it all the way back to when in the United States, where President Obama established the Jobs Act, he was able to put this regulation a thing in place, and then President Trump, during his first term, expanded some of the opportunities for this as well. And the whole idea is to be able to sell a lot of shares of your company and raise money from just regular people, you know. And that’s not meant to be a condescending term. 

 

I’m talking about comparing regular investors, people who want to trade on the stock market, who might want to buy $50 or $100 worth of shares, that’s it, versus somebody putting hundreds of 1000s in or millions of dollars into the company. It’s able to go to the public at Mass and say, Hey, jump on in on this thing. You know, very much kind of a democratic way of looking at these things. Everybody, of course, gets voting rights. It’s common shares, all of that, however, and this is where the grueling part starts. You start figuring out how much this costs, and you start figuring out how long it takes to do this process, and what we thought was going to take, you know, around six months. Ended up taking about a year and a half. And a friend of mine, who went to the Wharton Business School in the US, said, Yeah, it’s the rule of threes. I’m like, What are you talking about, dude? And he goes, that’s what they teach you. Morton, he goes, it’s always going to take three times as much time and three times as much money as you think it’s going to take when you go into it. And that was 100% true. Now, even after that, with doing we use the reverse merger. So we took an existing company that was already listed on OTC, and I’ll get into some of the fun stories on that in a bit, in a bit. And then we took Reachout technology, and we jammed it right into that, you know, as a subsidiary, and that’s how we ended up becoming listed and going fully public as a company. Now, this whole process, ironically, when I said in 2020 I’m like, Cool. 

 

I’m telling investment like it’s going to be three years until we’re listed, three years, you know. And during that time, like, hey, what? Where’s the process, you know? I’m like, Well, we already did, we did a regulation, and they’re like, well, that’s great, but I can’t tell my friends to go look it up, you know. And it was three years almost to the dates not planned out, but you talk about, like, manifestation, you know? And it ended up being that three years until we were actually listed. From the time we started the process to go through these intermediary steps to getting listed on OTC under a company now which is Younglings Ice Cream Corporation. I wish that was a joke, but it’s also really funny because now I’m like the Willy Wonka, I say, of cybersecurity. I’ve been signing things as an ice cream CEO for the last year, and same scenario, right? It’s been a year now, a little over a year, going through this reverse merger and audit process, when originally it was going to take four months, three times as long, and we’re just about out of it, too. I’m talking like weeks away from what it looks like we’ve got. We had our transitional annual report file our first quarter, and second quarter, about a month apart towards the end of last year, and now, within the next couple of weeks, will be the third quarter. We’re completely caught up. Currents closed the books on that process after going public, which was supposed to take four months, but has now taken a little over a year. So again, the same thing held true three times as much time and also three times as much money power of three. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

Rick, it is mergers and acquisitions. Myself. Throughout my corporate career, I was buying businesses in China, India, Brazil, all over the place, and yeah, it takes a long time doing anything like that, listing M and A work, but you’re through, hopefully through that process very soon, which is, which has been a, you know, a massive learning curve for you and the team. I’m sure it sure has been, yeah, you know what? What a with Reachout technology, right? You’re a leading edge cyber security expert. Now, you use some jargon earlier, so I’m just going to, just going to reiterate people what MSP means, which is a managed service provider.

 

Rick Jordan  

You got it? Yeah, thanks for breaking it down that way. Right on. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

No, no, it’s fine, because some people go, what’s the net and what’s an MSP? Yeah, yeah, managed service provider. And you are a specialist in cybercrime, and you know, all of that cyberspace tech piece. So How does your business help the clients that you have? What do you actually do, in simple terms, for someone who doesn’t understand the space in too much detail?

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, you got it. It’s complete. B to B. Yeah. A managed service provider is very much B to B. There are no consumer products or services that exist in this market space right now. It is something that I’m looking to change within this sector as well. Because, I mean, the biggest pillar, it’s like, why everybody asked, Why did you go public? I’m like, Well, I have three pillars, you know. And the very first one, number one, is cybersecurity for all, because there’s that big gap right between what enterprise-level customers. I mean, if you look in the US, I’m talking like fortune, 100 companies, and banks, right? Financial, large banks, Chase Bank of America, large institutions, Verizon Wireless AT T, you know, humongous corporations that have the budgets to do what they need to do, and still, obviously they they need that protection. Because, I mean, our wireless system in the US, Verizon and AT and T was just hacked by China, you know, and they were grabbing text messages, phone calls, records, all of this stuff. And, of course, the Treasury Department was just hacked too, you know, the United States Treasury Department, same scenario. So obviously it’s needed. It’s needed at that big level. But then to answer your question directly, it’s also needed at the at the small business level, and that’s where MSPs are supposed to shine. 

 

So the services that are offered are those same bundles of what a large organization might need at a small business level, and that’s where that pillar cybersecurity for all comes in, because it’s trying to bridge the gap between how expensive this stuff is to where only enterprise level, big business corporations can can afford this stuff. But in addition, it’s also the competency, because you also have the have to have the people on board within these organizations to be able to utilize all the tools, to be able to strategize everything that has to be. Done to keep these bad actors out. Now, what? Well, you might not have China or Russia, for that matter, hacking into your carpet cleaning business. You know what you will have is you’ll have things like E crime groups ransomware that will shut you down to where you can’t dispatch your trucks to go clean the rugs. You can’t you can’t pay people because you can’t get into your payroll anymore. All your data is just locked down and encrypted unless you pay 50,000 to 500,000 depending on whatever they they slap that price sticker on there, and those are the things that we help prevent on the front side. And when it does happen, and I say when, you know there’s that old thing that they say, it’s not a matter of if it’s when I hate it, because it’s so cliche, you know. So I’ll just phrase it as there’s no completely secure way of protecting something 100% though, while a lot of this industry focuses on like, we’re gonna stop it, we’re gonna prevent it, it’s like, yeah, great. What’s the recovery plan when it actually does happen? And that’s a big part of what we do, too. We do, too, is a recovery plan, you know, because, I mean, I’m still proud to say that any of our customers that have been onboarded properly with us more than 90 days, the longest amount of time that anyone’s ever been down has been two hours. 

 

That’s it. You know, while it’s annoying, we’ve done full recovery as little as three minutes from one of these attacks and getting them back up and running, and it’s all process and procedures. I got to tell you, it’s not rocket science, and that’s what a lot of people say. It’s like, oh, yeah, you’re just, you’re just smart, you know, you know how to do this. It’s your industry. I’m like, No, it’s not. I look at it like McDonald’s. Jeanette, seriously, there’s a place for everything. There’s people flipping burgers, you know, there’s people putting the sandwiches together. There’s tools like the like the stagers to where they keep the meat warm. You know, there’s individuals that are washing the dishes. There’s people dropping fries. You know, there’s all places for these things, just like in cyber security, there’s a tool for EDR, which is the next gen anti virus. There’s a tool for multi factor authentication, you know, it’s just putting the right components together to deliver that outcome. It’s really just like puzzle pieces. That’s all that it is, you know.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

And I think, sorry to enjoy you. I think, um, there is a bit of a perception. It’s a black art, you know. And people businesses are frightened of it and, and I think that’s why it’s great, you know, with the business that you have with Reachout technology, it’s around bringing, I think it’s around bringing the best of big business to a small business in a relevant way. Exactly it, yeah, problem, you know, because I spent most of my corporate career as a corporate CEO running huge bit travel businesses globally, with 1000s of people on my team. But now I also work with big corporates advisor, but I also work with SMEs, and I think it’s trying to get that formula, isn’t it, for the business, for the client, and keep it simple, you know? Because I think sometimes people are get frozen because they’re frightened around that, around not understanding a space like this. So how do you make it easy for them so they understand it. You take the pressure away, you deliver the service, and you keep them as safe and secure as possible and minimize the risk.

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, right on. It’s a great question. Yeah. And I liked your word formula because it gave me an analogy that I’ve never used before. So you’re going to be the first one to have this. You know, I usually use, like, the the whole like carpenter analogy, which I like, it’s like our job is to hang the cabinets and make them look good, and still they don’t fall down. You know. It doesn’t matter if we’re using DeWalt tools, Milwaukee, Porter Cable or whatever’s in our tool bag, we’re delivering that outcome, you know. So your cabinets look beautiful and they they don’t fall however you said the word formula, and specifically to your question, if you want to compare it to the culinary arts. You know, because it’s a recipe is not necessarily complex, or it’s not necessarily difficult, but it can be made that way if you don’t have people that understand those components. You know, because if you put, you know, like an extra teaspoon in of thyme, you know, or any other herb, you might all of a sudden have a really disgusting tasting dish that you can’t even serve. Yeah, so in MSP world, that’s the part that’s overwhelming for most MSPs, is they don’t take the time to educate themselves on that formula, that as you use that word or on that recipe to be able to put the right components together. And it doesn’t even have to be the same across every MSP. It could be, you know, some MSPs can specialize in pasta, you know, some MSPs can specialize in a great hamburger, you know, or great fish and chips, which I’m a big fan of, by the way. It just, it’s just, you know, making that batter. I mean, you know, I mean, you’re from UK, obviously, right? There’s, can be some great fish and chips when it comes to the bat, and then there’s some that’s like, I never want to taste this thing again. You know, are using cod, are using haddock. What’s your, what’s your personal preference? Are you using too much salt in the batter? And all of a sudden, this thing just, you know, you start to just have dry mouth. And. Cottonmouth, because it makes for a poor experience. MSPs are similar in that word, formula or the recipe, to where you have to understand the right components. 

 

And that’s the overwhelming part. Because this has moved. This industry has moved so fast, so incredibly quick, especially over the last, I would say, eightish years. You know, is about when cybersecurity, maybe 2016 2017 is when it started becoming mainstream, or at least edging its way into mainstream, prior to that. I mean, when I started, I mean, I remember drinking, you know, some scotch. I have a prop right here, right? It’s a rocks class right on New Year’s Eve, I think it was 2014 one of our clients had one of my original clients, actually, when it was just me that founded the company. You company, he had, it was bad actors, and they were from China, because he had 14 international patents on some of the things that he manufactures. Of all things, it’s snow plows, right? And biggest snow removal company that exists in the Midwest of the United States, you know, they have something like 1200 trucks right now. They span lots of different states of the US. At that time, he had 14 international patents because he started manufacturing, there’s plows and China was after the intellectual property. You know, that’s really what it was. So New Year’s Eve, I had already had like, six scotches, you know, slammed them back, and here I am fighting China. You know, no tools or anything. This is before cyber was mainstream fighting China to keep them out, you know. As I see them kind of bouncing all over the world, it was myself and one other dude who’s been with me, really, almost since the start. This was before all these recipe ingredients, this formula, existed, you know. So you’re thinking only 10 years ago, and it’s moved so quickly, it’s been difficult for the mainstays in this industry. You know, those who have had companies for 20 years? You know, I’m 45 years old, but I’m talking those that are not even much beyond me in years, maybe just 50 years old, who have had a business for 1520, years. It’s difficult for most people to keep up, you know, especially when they don’t know how to expand. And, I mean, the the whole point of your show is being bold, right? And I it takes boldness to learn new things. Yeah, it takes, it takes resilience to to adapt to the changes as they come at you, you know. And you don’t have to know how to build the stuff in this industry. You just have to know how to use it.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

Yeah and get smart people around you. Rick, that can do it for you

 

Rick Jordan  

Exactly! away, like your good self. And actually, Rick, that leads me on, because you are a big authority, you know, in you, you have a lot of influence, shall we say, in terms of, you know, NASDAQ, Harvard, you know, you You’ve spoken on some amazing kind of media platforms, like maybe in the US, but you know, you’re very much a recognized force. I think you’ve been described as a magnetic force. Rick, I was reading somewhere, which is a lovely thing to be said about you, but it also, when I was doing some research, showed that you have advised the White House, yeah, wow. What was that like? What was the situation? And how did you help them? If you’re able to disclose, yeah,

 

Rick Jordan  

absolutely can. And I’m looking forward to this possibly being a thing here, now, coming up in the in the next four years, you know, because it was with the, the first Trump administration, and it was in 2020, when it when I was approached, I’ve been a part of a lot of entrepreneur groups and other industries. And this was a, this was an AI company. So even before AI was mainstream, you know, and we were looking at some things for the Department of Defense, you know. And some of the things, just to really dumb it down, was the ability to machine learn different things, like human trafficking routes coming into the US. Because, I mean, even in the United States there, this still hasn’t changed in four years. Is that, and we were looking to change this. Is that at the ports, you know, where that, where the ships come in, still pretty much the only security is a dude walking around with a dog sniffing the crates. That’s it, you know. So we were looking at Tech to be able to pretty much use drones and go out to the sea, you know, it could be employed by the Coast Guard or whoever else, somebody on shore, and scan these ships, you know, and be able to tell all the way down to the individuals that were in these crates. I’m talking kids, right? The human beings. How many were dead? How many were alive? Who had broken bones, you know? And start to determine how these it’s sad to put it this way, but how these human products were coming into the United States. I mean, if you compare it to drugs or anything else, you know, it humans are treated like a commodity, and it’s horrible when it comes to human trafficking, they’re just treated that way. 

 

So we were trying to learn a lot of these things, and then, of course, protect the ports with a lot of other different things, those things I won’t talk about, but this is just an example of that, you know. So in the process, I’m a good communicator, you know. And. I’ve known that, you know, because it’s a I have all the tech people, and some tech people, they’re amazing, like you were talking about the brilliant people. They should be in front of computer screens all day long, you know, not really interfacing with other humans, you know. And that’s okay. That’s okay, because it’s a place for all kinds of people in all kinds of industries. I can break down the concepts, and then I can understand at a high level, on the technical level, but then speak in plain talk, and then with the history I’ve had with training from CIA agents and other intelligence arenas, putting all that together, I was able to go into the room, and I was invited by this AI company that I was forming a partnership with to go in and pretty much sell this whole concept to the Department of Defense. So it was, it was incredible. So we’re in there, and the Deputy Secretary of Defense is at the head of the table. I end up at the foot of the table. You know, I think it was just kind of fortuitous destiny. I have the founders of the company on my right side. I have two special forces guys on the left side. That’s it, six people at the table in what was called the Secretary of War Room in the White House. 

 

And then along the walls was an additional 30 ish individuals, you know, from all different parts of government, from all the different intelligence agencies, the CIA, the NSA, homeland, CISA, you know, you could go down the list, and it was all the they’re called CIS CIS O’s, which is a C level role in companies, which is the Chief Information Security Officer, you know, the CISOs and the network administrators from all these different intelligence agencies, you know, to kind of validate and and lend their input into the conversation. And as we’re looking to sell this technology, really into the government, really partner with the US government, to do a very good thing, a very good thing for humans, period, you know, they’re asking all the technical questions, you know. And then at the end of the table, here’s me, because I’m just listening, I’m absorbing. And I raised my hand, you know? And I’m like, hey, hey, you know, it’s a little dramatic. I understand that. It’s like, like, Yeah, I’m like, I’m at the foot of the table. Mind you, I’m like, I’m just a guy. I’m just a guy who was brought in here that runs a private cyber security company, you know, I just happen to speak at places like NASDAQ Harvard and go on nationwide media like Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC, and this tech, you’re diving too far into the technical, you know, and that’s what all these guys are asking. I’m like, grasp the concept, grasp the outcome. And then I went down this, this long trail which led to the meeting after the meeting where we sold this, you know, and President Trump, now former and now President Elect in the previous administration, he had the AI defense bill, which was a billion dollar project, and we were slicing out about 25 to 30% of that for this project. However, that was through October of 2023 and the political tide shifted. And then all the money went to what he had called back then was Operation warp speed, which was all about the COVID vaccine. 

 

So the majority of those dollars went into that this was put on hold. The idea was that he was going to be re elected, which we all know didn’t happen, you know, because that was four years ago now at this point, and the Biden administration, unfortunately, didn’t see this as a priority, yeah, so we’ll see if it comes back up. But this was they brought people in, at least the previous administration, to try to address this issue, try to address, you know, because it’s a blend. And I always say that cyber security is completely a blend between the technological and the human, and that’s where these two intersected for this project, you know, because they recognize that there was obviously a very human issue that no technology was being implemented to help resolve right now. I mean, it was just a canine walking around the ports. What can we do to help stem this problem, you know? And what can we do to actually make us kind of a leader in the world, which I would love to be, in order to fight against things like human trafficking and other things that are of that importance level to society. So I’m hopeful that when this administration comes, obviously it’s a very different looking administration now. I mean, we have new departments in the government, the US government, like Doge, the Department of government efficiency. I mean, this would have done that. This would have been very, very efficient and sustainable. That’s the cool thing about cyber is it has a very sustainable aspect to it that really dives into this magic buzz word of sustainability. It helps that it reduces expenses and also accomplishes very real, human, real world outcomes.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

Yeah, and let’s, hey, listen, let’s hope that project kind of gets, you know, we hope so, you know, reignited, and actually you can help. To, you know, solve the problem. Yeah, human basis, most importantly, of course. So fingers crossed on that, but must have been a great experience. But, you know, entrepreneurship, business isn’t easy. That’s you’ve just given a great example there, where you go into pitch to the White House. You win the pitch. It might have been a few, a few meetings in, but you win the pitch ultimately, and then the deal doesn’t happen in the end. It’s never done till it’s done, right? So the money’s in the bank. It’s never done. You got it? Yeah, certainly business. So, and as an entrepreneur, you know, you do have these highs and lows. You do have these areas where you think, you think you’ve cracked it, you’ve got the deal, and then it doesn’t. And it can be you can have the lows in business. So how do you Rick yourself as a business leader, as an entrepreneur, as a voice in the sector that you’re in? Kind of bounce back from those disappointments or things that don’t go your way and build that resilience that you mentioned earlier, because that must have been hugely disappointing when you think you’ve, you’ve won the won the gig, and then it doesn’t actually happen. But you know, you gotta bounce back, haven’t you? So how do you, how do you manage your yourself bouncing back when things don’t go right in business or in life?

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, that’s a great it’s a great question, and the reason being is because I think we have to separate the plan from purpose in order to answer that. And the thing is, is that plans can change, and they almost always have to change. Your purpose, however, is not something that typically changes once you figure out that there’s a component that needs to be part of the core of who you are. That’s something that doesn’t change throughout your entire life. Now, you might have seasons of what that exactly looks like, you know, I’ve discovered, you know, you might have five years, 10 years, 15 years, of accomplishing a certain milestone in that purpose. But if you can truly determine what that looks like, you know, and it might not be completely formed. And I coach people. I try to inspire people on this all the time. You might not know exactly what that looks like, because it’s not like you’re gonna seek out your purpose your entire life. Your purpose is right there. It has to reveal itself to you. It’s almost kind of the opposite direction. And the only way to accomplish that, I feel, is to actually do some shit, to go out there and actually act on these plans that you develop, and be like, I might only know the first step or the second step, you know what I should do right now or do tomorrow. As long as I execute on that, I’m going to figure out if this is the right direction, you know, because I know it’s like, my purpose is not even cyber security. 

 

That’s still a component, you know, that’s part of the plan. My purpose is to help humans in any way that comes towards me, you know. And I think that most of us can have that, but I have a huge longing to see people have a transformation that could be a transformation from, you know, being an employee to an entrepreneur. It could be a transformation from being an abused spouse spouse to somebody in a great relationship, or a transformation of an under performing students into somebody who becomes one of the best genius inventors in the world. It’s that journey and that transformation that really excites me, you know? And then it’s also the other part of who I am. At my core, is a protector and provider. And I know that there’s some men especially, right? It’s a typical quote, unquote, male role, if you want to look at that, but I don’t know how many actually act on that. Yeah, and the protector role, it’s like, great, because I see people being taken advantage of, and it’s like, I want to help. I see people who are, they maybe have had a bad stroke of luck in their life, you know, probably because of some decisions that they made. It’s like, cool, if you really want to do something about this and you have a desire, I want to be able to help you with this. So even cybersecurity is just part of the plan to accomplish that purpose. It’s just a portion of it, you know, same with speaking on stages or, you know, throwing up reels on an Instagram account, any of that,

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

I 100% agree with you, Rick and I think you and I are very similar in lots of ways, because I’m also really clear on my post, my my and brave, bold, brilliant, which is the title podcast, really, all my values. You know, I 100% believe every single person has got greatness within them, but it’s not always easy to unlock it. So my purpose is genuinely to help as many people as possible, whether that’s individuals, whether it’s businesses, whether it’s teams, whether it’s huge corporate organization, step into that greatness. And it is by being brave and bold that they’re going to get there and get the brilliant so that’s my purpose, which is similar ish to your purpose, actually. So it’s really, you know, kind of, it’s just meant to be sometimes when you meet someone, you have a conversation. And I love that, that there’s a bigger picture. Because like you, I might be advising someone on selling their business, or I might doing a big piece of strategy work with a footsie 100 business. But behind all of that, that’s the detail. It’s still the same thing. It’s actually Unlocking Potential go into that next level and being the best version of yourself and the business that you can possibly be. And that’s why I exist, you know. And I think that energy that you bring is so is so important. So it’s interesting. We started off having a conversation about cyber security. We’ve gone all the way around to purpose, yeah, failing, not failing. But is failing failing, or is it learning? You know that example with the White House, okay, you didn’t get the deal. Maybe it’s just timing. It might come back to you again in a slightly different form, but I bet you learn a lot through the process, and I oh for sure.

 

Rick Jordan  

And the doors that have opened just from going through that process too are just insane I

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

can imagine. So if you’re not failing, then you’re not trying enough. You’re in the comfort zone. Get out and try some stuff. Take some action, as you said, yeah,

 

Rick Jordan  

if your plan is executed perfectly, exactly how you planned it, it probably wasn’t a big enough plan, agreed

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

100% Rick and I want to talk a little bit about your presence on social media, yeah. Because, as we before we press record, obviously did stalk you. Rick, you know, we always do diligent on all of our guests with my amazing team. But you know, you’ve got, you’ve got quite a decent following on Instagram, at 1.6 million followers. And before we press record, I said, Oh, I’m really interested how you’ve built, you know, such a great presence on Instagram. And you said, Oh, well, it’s all been done genuinely. There’s no kind of, you know, black art behind it. Can you talk us through that? And why is it important, do you think to to have a following on social media? And then I want to touch a little bit on the pros and the cons of social media, because there’s a lot of yes out there as well. As we all know, you seem like a very straight up kind of guy. So Instagram following, getting your voice out there. How have you done it? How have you built your presence? Why is it important? 

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, for sure. And if we can be transparent on that word genuinely as well, because genuine does not mean limiting yourself to just posting and trying to build organically. You know, one of the best things I’ve learned in my life, and this is Social Media and also relation to speaking and going on as much TV as I have almost always, you know, at least, I haven’t found a situation where it has not been the case in my life. You know, I’m open to somebody else’s view. You always have to pay to play when you first start out, you know, in order to do some of these bigger things, I mean, the stages like you talked about, it’s like the NASDAQ is an example, my very first one, you know, when I launched the personal brand, that was an event that I paid to be at. It was an entrepreneur event, and you could look at it as a sponsor of that event. So where I got a speaking slot, you know. And out of that, I got a lot of great collateral photos. I mean, my face on the Jumbotron in Times Square, you know. The the backside of it, though, is like I sponsored the event, you know, which is how I was there, you know. And out of that, of course, came business, even the the consulting agency that worked on my Regulation A for me. They were trying to vet people. They stalked me, just like you said, and they found that photo of me in the NASDAQ board room, and that’s like, that’s our guy, that’s somebody who we want to work with. So same with social media, like the genuineness of it does not mean that you don’t pay for exposure, because it’s the exposure side of it, you know, it’s not buying followers. 

 

I’ve done giveaways to, I’ve partnered with companies, you know. I think the biggest one I ever did was, like a Cardi B thing, you know, she was running a giveaway for a Mercedes or something like that. And I think I paid $10,000 to be a part of that. Again, it’s a sponsorship of an event, you know. And as that, you know, the whole thing, it’s like, you get exposure as part of that, because she’s like, Hey, here’s our sponsors for this, and then there’s my handle, you know? So, of course, it generated, I mean, just that alone, I think, generated something like 40,000 followers in just a matter of a couple of days because of the exposure. It’s advertisement, it’s marketing, you know, that’s what it is. So the genuineness of it, I don’t think anybody needs to limit to be like, Oh, I’m just going to post, you know, I’m going to go out there. There’s very few that I believe that make it that way. If you’re not running ads, if you’re not doing collaborations or not doing sponsorships, if you’re not investing your resources into your presence, your exposure is going to be minimized. That’s just how things literally work in the world. Now, the other stuff that has done a lot of great for my online presence has been doing things offline that have generated traffic online. Though, when I do speak, you know, there’s a lot of influx, you know, and I speak many times a year, there’s a lot of influx. When I do go on TV, you know, I just went on news nation yesterday. You know, that’s where Cuomo, you went from CNN to news nation, large nationwide news network here, just like CNN, they actually have higher ratings in CNN now. And when I’m on there, I get millions of eyeballs on me, literally millions. I mean, I did just Fox in Washington, DC to talk about something stupid two years ago about UFOs, and they reached to me, and they’re like.

 

Yeah, that was just a cool 1.7 million people who saw that segment, you know, and those now at this stage, I don’t pay to do those, you know, I paid for a media coach six years ago who trained me and put me in front almost seven years ago now, and put me in front of segment producers for local news networks like Albuquerque, New Mexico, some tiny little town in the United States to now, I have this credibility portfolio that I’ve built up so they know that they have a reliable guess. And trust me, I’m a lot better now than I was seven years ago, too. There’s always been a level of talent. Yes, at the same time, I’ve worked hard on it, because I’ve done, I think I’m approaching 250 or so TV appearances in the last seven ish years. You know, number 250, looks and sounds and feels very different than number one or number 10, just like podcasting, similar scenario, you have to augment if you want to build a great influence, and even more so that portfolio of credibility, which can be your Instagram account, which can be your clips that you post on your website, it has to be done now. And you have to start paying for that initially to get to the point to where you don’t pay for them, or you get paid for them. That’s the trajectory that I don’t think a lot understand. It’s like you think you’re going to be a great speaker or an author, and all of a sudden people are just going to invite you even more so pay you to come on their stages and start teaching people. That’s not how it works. You don’t get a great book deal in New York Times bestseller with your very first book, because no publisher is going to take you. You have no credibility. You have to build that up just like CNN. Or, you know, I’m told that Cuomo is going to give me a call. You know, I’ve talked with this producer a couple times. You know, news Max, I was on twice just two weeks ago. I’ve done Fox. I’ve done all these cheddar Bloomberg, all these amazing nationwide networks that even get broadcast out in the world, and they call me now to say, Hey, can you come break this down for the country, please? It’s because I’m credible, and that didn’t, they wouldn’t have done that seven years ago.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

No. And I think I really love, love your honesty. Rick, you know, because, because there’s naivety, I think, around some of this, there is very much so and there is, there is a sort of, I suppose, a purist view of the world. You shouldn’t have to do that. And I’m an expert in my field, and I lead with my values and all of that. But then there’s also, it’s business, right? Everything’s business, and the algorithms, you know, the algorithm is, I’m not an expert on social media, but very few people will see your posts organically. So if you’ve got a strong message and you want to help people and support, you know, in a positive, constructive way, then you’re doing a disservice to the world by not actually being able to reach people. So what you’ve described is, again, just a mechanism to reach more people, help more people. And of course, through that process, if you’re you’ve not got the credibility, the knowledge, the experience, well, then that’s what’s fake. But that and you have the right combination, then that’s the magic. I think, on social media, you know what? What you see is a lot of people that present a version of themselves. When you actually scratch the surface, there’s nothing there. The experience not there. And that is fake, that is disingenuous, but what you’ve just described there is sound business. It’s serving in a way that allows you to reach more people, help more people, and do good in the world. But you’ve got to be realistic about it. But it’s the credibility and your values that sit behind it that make it relevant and, you know, and ultimately positions you in the correct way in the world, right?

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, I couldn’t agree with you more on that, too. And even now, even on the days when I get asked to come on TV, on the nationwide network, it’s like on social, I still pay for eyeballs. I still pay for exposure, you know, through ads or groups, or whatever it is. But then the stuff that I do, it’s like a, you know, going on TV that also gives the exposure, like I said, millions of people at a time, and then they look you up and that this is a process. You just have to continuously step up. You know, not everybody’s like the hook tall girl, you know, that all of a sudden starts going all over the place and goes viral just because of a weird clip that was put out there. Most people are not that way, you know, thank God too. By the way, she’s, she’s Interesting,

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

yeah, one to one side. Rick, you know, in terms of, you know, you’ve had a great business life. You’ve had the ups, the downs, the great successes you’ve obviously, you know, very much aligned with your per. Purpose, and you lost your father at an early age. How old were you when, when your father passed away? And how do you think that has shaped who you are as a human being, as a man, as a business person, as a father, as a husband, as a friend. Because that you know that that clearly was a big, a big thing in your life at the time, right? Yeah,

 

Rick Jordan  

it sure was. I was almost two weeks past my 16th birthday when that took place. My brother and sister were even younger. There’s a pretty decent age gap between us. My brother’s almost five years, and my sister almost six years. So they were 11 and 10 at the time. I mean, very, very young, and it it very much shaped things. You know, I do truly believe that people are designed to be the way that they are at birth, and then, of course, you have your environment and the way that you’re brought up, and the things that the values that are instilled by you, by the people at around I mean, parenting is, I’m huge into that, of course, because, you know, if you want your kids to learn your values, you are the one that has to instill those values into your kids. You can’t abdicate that responsibility, you know. And I had a great example in my dad for that for the 16 years, it’s, it’s something I can look back on. I mean, even when things take place at Christmas, it’s like I still miss him, you know, this last year, I absolutely still miss him, and I only knew him for 16 years, if you, if you look at it that way, my brother and sister only 1011, I don’t know if they miss them, you know, I don’t know. Because how much can you actually form emotionally in those years? I was grateful I was a little bit older to still have matured for that still. I mean, it was a jump from having this, if you want to call it a normal childhood, you know, with a with a great set of parents into having someone need to take adult responsibilities right away. 

 

That’s really what took place, you know. And when I say that you you still are who you are, you know, I started working with a work permit before i It’s technically legally allowed. You can get this permission to do underage work, and I started at McDonald’s, you know, about a year and a half before I got special release from school. You know, to do that, I wasn’t really interested in great grades. It was just who I was. I wanted to apply things right away and learn things through an alternate route that still hasn’t changed. I mean, look at where I’m going. I look at where I’m going. It’s like, Sure, let’s go public. Why not know how to do it? Nope, I sure don’t, but I’m gonna find out how that was still me at 14 and 15 years old. So when my dad passed away, it was still very much me to be like, well, there are things that have to be done. My mom obviously cannot go to work and support the family financially, you know. And at the time, she was only making $7 an hour to be able to provide for us. And at the same time, get my brother and sister to school, get them up in the morning, make sure that they’re fed, you know. So it was sharing some of those responsibilities. It was not parenting. I was never a parent to my my younger brother and sister. I was a caretaker, and that’s one of the biggest things that shifted. But I had a great example on how to do that. But at the same time, it’s still who I was before then. You know, I was still involved in church a lot then, and I always wanted to help, to do whatever I possibly could. I see some of these same traits in my kids, you know, I’ve seen him since, you know, in my oldest, especially Richard, since he was three years old with his mom. I mean, I remember him saying, I help you, mommy. You know, he would just jump in. And even at three, like to lift something. It’s like, oh, you’re strong. 

 

You know, it’s you are who you are from birth, and you have different things throughout your life that that you can either rise up to who you were made to be, or you can cower and run away from who you’re supposed to be. Because these challenges, like my dad passing, sure, it created certain traumas, you know, that I had to deal with later in life. I mean talking like 20 years later in life is when you recognize them, you know, things that I was limiting myself because I saw what happened. You know, it’s this weird stuff that life tends to play on your brain. And I know trauma is a great buzz word. Everybody loves that word, you know, but, but real trauma, PTSD, if you want to look at it that way, mine specifically, without getting in too deep. It’s like I thought that no matter if I succeeded or I failed, I was going to physically die, you know. So if I do really, really well in life, I’m a great parent. I have great relationships. I take a company public, and it works, I’m going to die early if I don’t achieve too much, you know, if I don’t do anything at all. I’m gonna die early, you know. So I kept myself right in this place in the middle, up until about 2020, 2021, you know, to where I dealt with it when I realized it’s like you start to realize you have these things, but still about who I am in my core, never changed from the point when I was a little tiny. Kid, and you start to see that, because that’s the best view you have about who people are, is when they’re young and they haven’t been tainted yet, you know. And you can see that go through. 

 

So as a responsibility as a parent, which I believe my dad did really, really well, was to be able to allow that to grow. And even if I did horrible in school, which I did because I just hated homework, I saw no purpose to it, right? I know I’m intelligent, I know I’m smart. When I got a concept, when I understood it, I just didn’t see any reason to continuously practice it when I already knew what I needed to know to get to the next step. And I still apply that today. There’s certain things you need to practice improve on, because you continuously have better continuously have better results, like speaking, for example, I still talk to people about, you know, coaching me on different ways that I can better reach an audience, because I want to get better and better and better at it, because it’s something I’m actively doing calculus. Screw that dropped out after two weeks. So I’m like, I’m never going to use that. It’s not part of my purpose, you know. But I saw my dad do some of the similar things, you know, it’s a in but that was always me. Since I was very, very young, people get off track and they start to blame things that take place in their life. And this is where the when we talked about plans and purpose earlier, to have a call back, the purpose doesn’t change. Your plans might how you get there. Actually, I guarantee you your plans are going to change. They have to, and if they’re not, you’re probably too stuck in perfection. And you’re like, oh, that went exactly how I plan. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that away. So you’re telling me that you actually learn nothing through that process. You didn’t learn how to adapt, how to grow, how to get outside of your comfort zone, how to be unreasonable with your goals. You didn’t learn any of that through the process. You just played it safe because it was exactly according to what you had. You had no curve balls thrown at you. Maybe make it a little more difficult next time.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

And and what do you think your dad would say? What do you think he would he would he would say about if he could send you a little message, what do you think he would say about

 

Rick Jordan  

I mean, I think he would throw his hands up in the air, because it was a lot of me that, I think that he didn’t quite understand, you know, especially like, you know, I remember my parents talking that young. It’s like we don’t know what to do with this kid. I mean, it’s like he just failed English class, you know, how do we get him motivated to do the work he’s supposed to do, you know, to get good grades. But in my mind, I’m thinking like the good grades didn’t define me, you know, and we never had a chance to really have that conversation, you know. So, so I don’t know, you know, because he passed on. I don’t know what he would say about that right now, but if I imagined him, because he’d still be the dude that would show up to everything. I mean, I played baseball for nine years, the guy was at every single one of my games. It was an important thing for him in his life, to prioritize being there, you know. And for me, it’s a little different. For me, with my kids, I prioritize being able to show them things that are possible. Yeah. So while my dad established this amazing, solid foundation for me from a family life my kids, I want to establish that they know that their loved, respected, cherished, supported, prioritized, whether I’m there with them physically or whether I’m out traveling. And when they see that, I go out and I chase after my dreams, because that’s one thing I don’t know. I don’t know really know what my dad’s dreams were, and I saw him maybe his dream was just to provide that amazing family, and there wasn’t much beyond that, which is great, because that means that he won, right? He won the game. For me, I want to go after everything that is possible that’s within my purpose, and that’s what I want to show my kids, because this is like generational building, you know, my dad had, and this was a thing for me. My dad, his parents got divorced when they were 16. You know, the same thing happened with his dad and my dad’s grandfather, you know, 16 years old. It’s like the the father was completely removed from the life. And then look at me, Father completely removed from my life when I was 16 years old. It’s like, that’s something I want to be able to show them that doesn’t have to happen. So when you talk, if you want to call it a generational curse, I don’t know what you want to call it, it’s like, I’m a Can I swear on here. I don’t know if I can. Maybe I’m a fucking curse breaker. Yeah, and that’s get a little emotional with this too, because that is part of my purpose, yeah, and I need to show my kids that, yeah. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

That’s another way.

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah. I don’t care how big the obstacle is. Whatever dreams you have, yeah? Now, mind you, none of my kids could ever be a pro baseball player, but maybe my oldest, right? I’m not going to instill like, because there’s physical characteristics with them, right? There’s a floor that you kind of have to start at. You know, my youngest son is six foot five. He, you know, 14 years old and six foot five. It was like, Oh, he’s going to. Play basketball. I’m like, No, he’s not, like, the dude is so uncoordinated. That’s, it’s, it’s not within his makeup to be able to do that, which it’s not his purpose, you know, but he might. He wants to do something like The Tonight Show, like Jimmy Fallon. He wants to be in entertainment. It’s like, cool. I can see with that, because he’s super witty, and he comes up with these things all the time. You know, remember him practicing jokes literally when he was 12 years old. He heard, that’s what she said for the first time, I think, on the office, you know. And then he, he kept practicing it for maybe two months straight, and kept going. I’m like, I’m like, nope, nope. And I never explained it to him what it actually meant, because he didn’t ask. You know, I do believe that if your kids ask the questions when they’re old enough to ask the question, ask the questions, they’re old enough to know the answers. He just never asked. He just kept practicing. Then one day he got like, That’s it, dude. He’s like, Oh, then he understood the whole thing. But my daughter, it’s like, if I didn’t do the things that I’m doing right now, you know, and doing all these, if you want to call them big things, she would have never auditioned for AMDA in New York and got accepted and got a scholarship that’s just happened a couple months ago, and would not be pursuing being on Broadway. You know, in a year and a half, she’ll be auditioning for shows on Broadway, and she’s 17 right now. She just got accepted into one of the most prestigious musical academies, musical theater academies that exists in New York. And if it’s like, I know when I was when I took her to the audition, it’s like, if I didn’t do the things that I did and go after my purpose and try to continuously provide an environment to where that purpose is revealed, none of my kids would want to do the things that they want to do. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

Yeah. Well, I mean, Rick, I think your dad would be incredibly proud. It’s like, also, like you drop a pebble in a pond and the ripple effect, right? And how that reaches, when it reaches the shore or wherever, and you know the impact that you’re having is truly, is truly wonderful. So you should be incredibly proud. I’m sure your dad will be very proud of you as well.

 

Rick Jordan  

I think so, I know. So I still think they’ll throw up, his hand is in the air, and be like, Why is he doing that? But whatever, it’s working, you know, well, that’s it. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

You’re your own man, aren’t you? You know, you’re also that, as you say, the products are two incredible parents, and all the experiences that you’ve had and and everything along the way, and we’re all work in progress, right? So, no, that’s wonderful. And Rick, if you think through your life, and I’m sure you’ve had lots of great advice over the years, can you think of any standout advice that’s really stood you in good stead?

 

Rick Jordan  

Well, we definitely talked about the rule of threes, right? You know, that was one of the good ones. You know, that just totally broke every single myth the other the other piece of advice was, let me see if I phrase it this way. Because the way that I phrase it right now is that, you know, I’m only at where I am today because of the mentors and coaches that I’ve had along the way. It’s and with that, it was Be teachable. You know, it was around that, and that that’s, that’s the biggest thing, you know, because everybody can be hard headed, you know, everybody thinks that I can be pretty stubborn. You know, in a lot of ways, I’m just pretty confident. I think there’s a difference between a very stark difference between arrogance and confidence. Because arrogance is not not allowing your mind to accept anybody else’s viewpoint. It’s not even entertaining, you know, whereas confidence is you know what you know. And even more so people say this is like, you understand that you might not know something about it you know. So I think the only way that you can help establish that healthy ego, that’s what I’ll call it as a healthy ego, is through mentors and coaches, especially the ones that will just tell you how it is, and be like You’re wrong. You need people to be able to tell you that you respect, that you have mentally submitted to, to have this place in your life. And by oh man, be selective too, because there’s been great coaches that I’ve had. There’s been a few weird ones at the same time, there have not been any coaches or mentors that have spanned a really long period of time, you know? I think that one that I have right now is Kevin Harrington from the original shark, from Shark Tank. You know, he’s on my board of the company, still a mentor, right? And the reason he’s still a mentor of mine is because he continuously involves evolves, and that’s a big part with coaches. If you see them get to the point to where you’re having these conversations and you’re not progressing any further with this stuff, it’s like, give me some more info. Give me it’s like, well, you know, that’s it. It’s okay to be like, cool. This person taught me as much as they knew, and that’s a season to be able to move on to somebody else. So it is coming back to that best advice of just be teachable.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

Yeah, I so agree with you. That’s great advice to pass on to anyone that’s listening, that hasn’t had a mentor coach, or maybe they have in the past and they’ve had a break or they need something fresh. Yeah, absolutely. You know, we’re always, I think, learning and growing through through life and business and. Yeah. So, yeah, absolutely. And, you know, Rick, if you could describe this year in a word, one word, I know you, you’ve got lots of words, but what would be one word that would describe this year for you? Do you think,

 

Rick Jordan  

Oh, the last year 2024, definitely would be resilience, absolutely, yeah, taking the company public, dealing with some of the hits that I had in business with, with bad acquisitions, you know, even criminal activity, from from sellers, you know, it’s a it’s resilience, you know, and it’s, uh, it’s been revealing, you know, it’s not like I doubted that I have had it, but then just revealing, really, where the breaking point is. And I think most people can handle a lot more than what they think they can. Yeah, so and almost nothing, almost nothing, will tank you. No matter how bad you think it is when something hits you, almost nothing will tank you. Resilience is the word, and I’ll quote a good friend of mine who has this on his wall, is everything is figureoutable,

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

I absolutely love that as well. Now also, Rick, last couple of questions for you. Now, I know you’re a musician, so this and you are going to love, right? So I want you to tell us what your last song before you die go to track that you absolutely love, that makes you dance around the kitchen, whatever it might what’s your what’s your go to song? Because we want to include it on our brave, bold, brilliant playlist. 

 

Rick Jordan  

Yeah, that’s awesome. I do have a playlist that’s called before the show, and if there’s a moment I need to center myself, one of the best songs that’s on there is fix you by Coldplay. I mean, everybody knows that, you know. And it’s I love songs that continuously build that way, you know. But, but if it’s something that that you’re talking like before I die, something that has to be there, it’s most definitely hears my heart by David Crowder, you know. And it goes back to who I am spiritually. And, you know it, I think a lot of life has to do with surrender and it come. I mean, it’s, it’s not even the song, of course, is about God, you know which, which is where my everything comes from. But I also think that it, it should be about surrendering to your purpose. And this is calling back to exactly what we talked about before, yeah, so that’s definitely there. I mean, fix you is a song to get me pumped before I go up on stage, you know, because it’s great how it just continuously builds. There’s a couple other songs on there, but here’s my heart by David Crowder, is absolutely the number one for me. Fantastic.

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

See Rick, you are the gift that keeps giving, because I asked for one and I got two, and I go. So much. Value. All went vivid. That’s great. And Rick, what does brave, bold, brilliant mean to you?

 

Rick Jordan  

Oh, man, it means, it means winning. That’s exactly what it means. And winning is absolutely everything. I mean, I am a competitor. I most definitely am. And I don’t know what’s the point in doing any of this stuff unless you’re going to try to win. What’s the point of keeping score? What’s the point in having a stock price? What’s the point in having in tracking revenue and profits, and, you know, seeing your kids go away to an amazing musical theater school, you know, or looking after their dreams. If you’re not keeping track of how you’re doing, there’s no way to potentially win. So being bold, brave and brilliant absolutely means winning. 

 

Jeannette Linfoot  

To me, what a fabulous strong end to the podcast. Rick, I have loved chatting with you. Thank you so much.