Latest / The Future of Luxury Podcast with Dr Daniel Langer / Life Amplified: What the Next Generation of Ultra-Wealthy Actually Want in the AI Era

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Life Amplified: What the Next Generation of Ultra-Wealthy Actually Want in the AI Era · The Future of Luxury Podcast with Dr Daniel Langer

• 0:02
  [music]
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  >> Most brands think they sell luxury.
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  Very few actually create desire. [music]
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  This is the difference. The future of
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  luxury podcast with Dr. Daniel Langer.
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  >> [music]
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  >> So,
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  welcome Mauricio to another episode of
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  the future of luxury podcast.
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  And it's really you know not only
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  a privilege to have you on the podcast
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  but also a huge huge pleasure.
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  And
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  you know for
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  for everyone here on the who's listening
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  today or watching us today.
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  I'm in Singapore.
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  And
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  arrived
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  two when when did I arrive two days ago?
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  And
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  >> 48 hours ago.
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  >> 48 about 48 hours ago.
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  And
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  I came for a very special for a very
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  special occasion. And this is to
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  celebrate the result of a project that
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  we have been studying almost about two
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  years ago. You know two two years ago
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  Mauricio
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  Yeah, pretty much two years ago Mauricio
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  contacted me. And
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  we started a journey that we are at the
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  point where when we started I think we
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  didn't really know where where we would
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  where where this would lead us.
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  But definitely it led us to have a very
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  beautiful friendship. And
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  and a lot of
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  really very in-depth discussion not only
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  about luxury but
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  you know really about the customer and
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  the humans that are the consumer of
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  luxury. And this is basically what we
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  are going to talk about a little bit.
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  But
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  you know that actually
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  I don't know if I ever asked you.
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  But
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  you know how did you how did you find
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  me?
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  How did how did the whole how How did
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  the whole whole thing started?
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  >> fully
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  recall how I met you, Daniel.
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  It may have been through Jing Daily cuz
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  you write
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  a weekly column over there.
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  Um
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  I I read something about luxury over
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  there and then I start following you on
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  LinkedIn and I was amazed at and
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  one of the things that
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  really captured my heart was your
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  definition of luxury. I don't think
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  anyone in the world has a better
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  definition of of of luxury than Daniel
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  has. Uh I think it's part of your
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  uh doctorate and thesis and everything
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  else, but uh
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  when Daniel actually said that, you
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  know, luxury is the creation of extreme
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  value that that truly captures my heart
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  and my attention. I start following you
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  over there and it took a few months
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  maybe to take the courage to, you know,
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  send you a message and say, "Uh may I
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  share what what we are doing here, you
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  know, in the other side of the world in
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  Singapore?"
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  And I think we managed to schedule a
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  call.
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> Um
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  we were
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  we were in this very small office. We
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  were literally a startup about 2 years
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  ago. Um uh we already had our our name,
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  our brand, uh but there was not much in
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  much there besides
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  the desire of
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  of being something different with our
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  industry. And so, uh for the ones who
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  don't know, we are technically speaking
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  we are on the wealth management
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  business.
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  Technically speaking we are in a
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  subgroup within the wealth management
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  that there is like private banks and and
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  wealth managers and you know, big
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  financial groups, but also there is a a
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  subgroup which is independent wealth
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  managers, which in the US I think there
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  is a a of your audiences in the US,
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  which is in the US called the RIAs.
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  Uh so technically speaking, we are there
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  also like a multi-family office.
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  But because there is a sea of sameness,
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  like you like to say,
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  I always wanted to be something
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  different. Our name, our
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  whole identity and where we come from is
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  very different that we couldn't
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  communicate that. So we had a call. I
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  had a call with Daniel that day. And
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  uh yeah, it was awesome. It was
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  enlightening.
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  Uh but there was a point in our
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  conversation that you came to me and
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  said, "Mauricio, you're not in the
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  wealth management business. You're not a
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  AM multi-family office. You're in the
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  luxury business." I was like,
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  God, he said, "If I understand what you
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  do, you're actually creating extreme
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  value to your clients. So you should be
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  in the luxury business." And that that
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  was the start of this
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  beautiful partnership, friendship, and
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  and and and
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  you know, uh way of work to try to
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  change the world for better.
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  >> Yeah.
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  No, and I I I remember that, you know,
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  what what captivated me was
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  um
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  when you were describing the business
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  model um of um of of Mo IQ, or maybe
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  even before you said the business model,
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  I remember um you were describing
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  how you came to the name Mo IQ. And um
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  and uh you know, it's this famous song
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  from the Notorious B.I.G., um more
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  money, more problems. And um I found
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  this quite fascinating because typically
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  when people think about wealth, um
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  people think about the wealthy. And you
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  know, this is to me, you know, one of
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  the the the areas, of course, that we
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  focus a lot on and where um you know,
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  also do lots of trainings on, but it's
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  a question I get all the time, you know,
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  what are the what are the traits, so to
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  speak, of the high net worth
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  individuals, ultra high net worth
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  individuals, what are trends, how do we
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  communicate better with them, how do we
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  get better to with them. Frankly, every
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  company in the world that is in the
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  premium or luxury business is
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  has the goal to get to the target group.
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  Why? Because they have money.
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  And it's kind of fascinating because the
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  more money, more problem from what I
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  still recall from that conversation and
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  of course subsequently from all the our
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  interactions over the last two years
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  is this somehow quite the the opposite,
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  especially when we have people with
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  relatively recently acquired wealth.
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  Maybe explain a little bit to the
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  audience where this more money, more
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  problems comes from. How did you observe
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  it? And
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  how why this is in in your point of view
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  such a key insight?
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  >> Yeah.
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  >> Because it's kind of I would almost say
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  it's almost a bit um
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  uh you know, counterintuitive because
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  normally we would think more money, less
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  problems.
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  >> Yeah.
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  Yeah, so
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  um
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  I had a previous life
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  which I was an entrepreneur. I sold my
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  company
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  um me myself I I I create my own wealth.
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  Um and I put my money in a private bank
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  and uh
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  uh I experienced that my myself. Um um
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  when you make money through some sort of
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  event
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  that maybe you're dreaming of, but you
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  know, you're not prepared for that. You
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  inherited a lot of things you never
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  thought about, right? Simple things from
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  having a girlfriend, you know, and
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  suddenly you have, you know,
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  10 million, 20 million, 100 million
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  dollars. You know, you need a pre-nup
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  and all these things come into play that
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  you never had to think about it cuz if
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  you are not that wealth, things are
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  simpler or more straightforward. Or if
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  you have problems, you know, it's all on
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  the public domain. There is a lot of
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  things that when you have wealth are not
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  exactly there.
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  I When I sold my company, I moved to
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  Hong Kong to do an MBA. A little bit
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  accident, a little bit by design, I
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  decided to join private bank.
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  Um there was a
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  a common
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  thing between the wealth people and
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  funny enough or sad enough or ironically
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  enough
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  uh some of the most miserable people I
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  met were some of the wealthiest people I
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  met.
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> Right?
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  Uh
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  the amount of money instead of bringing
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  happiness or fulfillment actually was
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  creating a lot of problems from
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  children going to drugs to
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  you know
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  troubled divorces and so on. You can
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  name it. Like I saw I saw all the ugly
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  side of of wealth, right? And and I knew
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  the song from The Notorious B.I.G.
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  Actually, I
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  I like it. Another song from The
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  Notorious B.I.G. was he hypnotized me,
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  but like "More Money More Problems" was
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  his biggest hit ever. And and I always
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  liked it that and and every time I
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  bumped into this, I would always say
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  "More money, more problems."
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> And that stuck with me for a very long
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  time. And when we had opportunity to
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  actually start My IQ from the scratch
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  because again there was a a sea of
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  sameness like all independent wealth
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  managers trying to emulate that they
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  were
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  you know, 100-year-old Swiss banks,
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  which they are not, which was a big lie.
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  Uh I decided to come with something that
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  was
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  true and honest, mhm, which it is more
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  money, more problems. Yes, I know a lot
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  of people say no money, a lot of
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  problems, but more money, more problems,
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  right? And more money, more problems
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  means that when you have wealth
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  when you inherited wealth or you make
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  wealth, you going to have very specific
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  problems
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  that most of the people are you know,
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  equipped to deal with.
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  >> Mhm.
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  >> We have been trained in this wealth
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  management
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  business in a private bank for long
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  enough to be able to
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  either sort it out the problems, or even
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  better, try to avoid those problems.
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  >> Mhm.
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  And um
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  you know, this this this um
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  I I think this is very fascinating
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  because in
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  in a way, um you know, if if you look at
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  categories, you you used the
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  used the term um a little bit earlier,
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  um the sea of sameness. And this is
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  something that I've been observing now
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  over the last couple of years in
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  practically every single category that I
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  analyzed. And the the reason why the sea
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  of sameness is and, you know, for for
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  those who listen in, um
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  what I observe is that over time in
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  practically every category, the players
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  in the categories, so the different
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  companies, they tend to do the same
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  thing. And if I say the same thing, of
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  course there's always differences and so
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  on, but fundamentally the business
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  models tend to gravitate towards towards
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  each other. And very often it can start
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  sometimes categories start with one
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  disrupting company, and then at some
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  point there's a second one, and then at
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  some point a third one, and in the
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  beginning typically there's a hierarchy,
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  there's will be one offer that is a bit
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  more premium, and then others that try
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  either to be be even more premium, or to
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  kind of undercut the cost. But then what
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  happens over time is um company A gets
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  some customers, company B gets some
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  customers, company C gets some
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  customers, and then everyone gets afraid
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  that um if, let's say, company B does
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  something, then company A say, "We have
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  to do the same thing, because otherwise
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  our clients will go there." And so, um
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  you know, whether we speak about private
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  aviation, whether you speak about
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  automotive, whether you speak about
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  fashion, jewelry, and also banks, over
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  time everyone seems to do the same
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  thing. And
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  and what is interesting is that also
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  over time the industries start to forget
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  what the true insights are. So, when we
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  think about bank and wealth management,
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  and you know, when we first spoke then I
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  also reflected about my own experience,
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  you know, with my own bank.
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  I then just decided to think, okay, when
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  was the last time that I went to my bank
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  and that it was actually a pleasant a
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  pleasant interaction. And a pleasant
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  interaction I mean that I felt that um
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  I didn't waste my time, that I got a
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  value out of the time that I invested
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  in, and you know, ideally that actually
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  maybe I even had some fun or feel felt
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  better.
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  And then I thought it was zero. I don't
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  even remember. So, typically when I
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  think for example, sometimes I have to
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  go, I don't know, maybe to sign
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  something or to you know, get something
• 12:35
  notarized or and then it's always this
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  exactly this always this term that I
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  use, I have to go to my bank. And then I
• 12:42
  think, okay, I have to go in the
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  car and then I have to drive like 20 30
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  minutes and then
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  do I find a parking space and then is
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  the person is my banker there although I
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  have a So, there's always this kind of
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  it's it's not basically the same when I
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  think about
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  you know, maybe going to a fashion brand
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  to buy something. So, it's not basically
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  an experience that you're looking
• 13:03
  forward to or that you believe you get
• 13:06
  something for it. And in the end it's
• 13:08
  about yes, managing the money, but
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  fundamentally I feel always is like
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  I deposit the money, so it's basically
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  like a money depository and then I get
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  yes, I get something back for that, but
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  it's relatively limited.
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  And then everything I can do on my app I
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  do on my app because
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  then at least I don't waste time, so to
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  speak. And it's quite sometimes
• 13:31
  interesting to, you know, to kind of
• 13:33
  reflect when you reflect on a category
• 13:35
  to be kind of brutally honest and to ask
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  the question, is this actually a
• 13:41
  pleasant experience, a value-creating
• 13:44
  experience? Um and ideally if you if you
• 13:49
  used my definition of extreme value
• 13:50
  creation, really extremely
• 13:51
  value-creating experience, or is it an
• 13:54
  experience that if I would switch from
• 13:56
  my bank to the bank next door, would I
• 13:59
  get fundamentally something different?
• 14:01
  And probably the reason why, you know,
• 14:04
  after years of saying I have to go to
• 14:06
  the bank that I didn't switch my bank is
• 14:09
  that my expectation from bank B and bank
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  C is more or less the same thing. So we
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  get typically more of the same. And so I
• 14:17
  remember when we spoke
• 14:19
  about more money, more problems and also
• 14:22
  your ambition and your vision to change
• 14:25
  that, to solve that, to tap into this
• 14:27
  insight and actually to create something
• 14:30
  for the for the customer. And I remember
• 14:32
  also one anecdote that you told me, you
• 14:35
  told me about Mark Zuckerberg.
• 14:37
  And and the the family office that he
• 14:40
  that he built and the the gentleman that
• 14:44
  >> Iconic Capital.
• 14:45
  >> Yeah, Iconic Capital and the gentleman
• 14:46
  that basically built built that family
• 14:48
  office. I remember that you told me the
• 14:50
  story that he became kind of known to
• 14:54
  walk the dog of Mark Zuckerberg and
• 14:56
  >> Find the beers from the grocery store.
• 14:59
  >> So so
• 15:01
  and the the the and I think the the that
• 15:05
  was also kind of a very interesting kind
• 15:07
  of thought process to think,
• 15:10
  you know, it's not just if if you have
• 15:14
  someone that is not just basically
• 15:15
  managing your money, but if in a moment
• 15:18
  where you don't have time, maybe manages
• 15:21
  the dog, maybe
• 15:23
  brings the laundry somewhere and so on.
• 15:26
  In a sense, it's not anymore managing
• 15:28
  the wealth, but it's starting to manage
• 15:31
  other aspects of the of the person. And
• 15:34
  so, tell us maybe a little bit more
• 15:36
  about what are for example um
• 15:40
  more problems, so to speak. What are
• 15:41
  things that you mentioned already a few,
• 15:44
  but what are things that you typically
• 15:45
  observe or have observed what happens in
• 15:48
  the life of someone who suddenly
• 15:51
  um
• 15:52
  has access to much more wealth than the
• 15:54
  person was used to.
• 15:56
  You mentioned already a few examples,
• 15:58
  but what are things that that happen to
• 16:01
  these people typically?
• 16:02
  >> I think maybe maybe the best way to
• 16:05
  explain that dynamic is that you know,
• 16:07
  what is what is actually My EQ test is
• 16:11
  beyond the more money more problem,
• 16:12
  right? Um
• 16:14
  we we we strongly believe that
• 16:17
  wealth management and the word wealth
• 16:19
  has been completely distorted through
• 16:22
  history, right?
• 16:24
  Uh if you look at any
• 16:26
  private bank or whoever calls wealth
• 16:28
  management, they are
• 16:30
  purely looking at how much money you're
• 16:33
  worth
• 16:34
  and how much money I can manage and how
• 16:36
  much money I can make, right? And then
• 16:38
  if you rewind and goes back you go back
• 16:42
  to you know
• 16:44
  what actually wealth means,
• 16:46
  and then you go to the dictionary, you
• 16:48
  go to the old old archaic English and
• 16:51
  you look for the word wealth.
• 16:53
  There is no mention whatsoever of money,
• 16:56
  property or asset, right?
• 16:59
  The the archaic translation of wealth
• 17:04
  can be a little bit different, but it's
• 17:05
  usually translated as happiness,
• 17:09
  wellness and what is precious to you,
• 17:13
  and I like the third one. What is
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  precious to you? So, if we take our
• 17:18
  clients, and maybe if you take any
• 17:20
  wealth person in the whole entire world,
• 17:23
  I would try and talk with a hundred
• 17:24
  wealthy individual and ask them, "What
• 17:27
  What are the most precious things in
• 17:29
  your life?"
• 17:31
  And I can bet with you
• 17:33
  that the top three is not going to be
• 17:35
  money.
• 17:36
  It's usually family,
• 17:39
  health, wellness,
• 17:41
  and something else. Can be the toys, the
• 17:44
  watches, uh whatever. Money is there,
• 17:47
  somewhere there. Right? But there is a
• 17:49
  business, there is so many other things
• 17:50
  that is precious to the client. So,
• 17:53
  if wealth
• 17:54
  does not exactly mean money or
• 17:58
  asset,
• 18:00
  then we should be managing what is
• 18:02
  precious to the client. And you can only
• 18:05
  do that if you actually understand what
• 18:06
  is precious to the client.
• 18:09
  And when you pursue what is actually
• 18:11
  precious to you,
• 18:13
  then you're going to face problems.
• 18:15
  Right? So, for us,
• 18:16
  money is just the enabler
• 18:19
  of what you can actually achieve with
• 18:21
  your dreams and your lives.
• 18:24
  Problems can be anything. And and and
• 18:28
  I I don't want to go too much deeper
• 18:30
  because it can be
• 18:32
  sad, but we have clients who are
• 18:34
  extremely wealthy, send their kids to
• 18:35
  start offshore, you know, get involved
• 18:38
  with drugs because they have no
• 18:39
  motivation, they have no purpose in
• 18:40
  life.
• 18:43
  And now I need you to go and ask ask
• 18:45
  you. There is uh broken families, there
• 18:48
  is
• 18:49
  uh
• 18:50
  dissociation with reality and and you
• 18:52
  know, and power and everything else.
• 18:54
  Right? So,
• 18:57
  money should be
• 19:00
  and wealth should be an enabler to your
• 19:02
  dreams and purpose and
• 19:05
  you know, when and why you are here and
• 19:07
  then and and then one of the very um
• 19:11
  uh
• 19:11
  different approaches that we have is try
• 19:13
  to understand
• 19:15
  every individual, every client that we
• 19:17
  have, every prospect that we have. We
• 19:19
  try to understand, okay,
• 19:21
  who who are you? Where were you where
• 19:24
  you are?
• 19:25
  >> Mhm.
• 19:25
  >> Where would you like to be, right? I'll
• 19:28
  understand all the universe try around
• 19:30
  the client and try to
• 19:33
  actually make money works towards, you
• 19:36
  know, where you are or where you want to
• 19:37
  be, right? Understand [clears throat]
• 19:38
  who you were cuz maybe you can
• 19:40
  understand, you know, if if if if if
• 19:43
  what you're expecting is exactly what
• 19:45
  you, you know, what will fulfill your
• 19:47
  life.
• 19:47
  >> Mhm. [clears throat]
• 19:50
  >> I'm Dr. Daniel Langer. I advise some of
• 19:53
  the most iconic luxury brands in the
• 19:55
  world, and I'm also the executive
• 19:56
  professor of [music] luxury strategy at
• 19:58
  Pepperdine University, and I teach
• 20:01
  luxury at NYU.
• 20:03
  The luxury industry [music] is changing
• 20:04
  faster than ever before. Dramatically
• 20:07
  shifting consumer expectations, the rise
• 20:09
  of Gen Z, and AI are redefining what
• 20:12
  luxury means today. [music]
• 20:14
  And this means companies must operate in
• 20:18
  a radically different way.
• 20:20
  This moment demands action. And this is
• 20:23
  why we created Equite Intelligence. It
• 20:26
  redefines [music]
• 20:26
  luxury training for top management,
• 20:28
  marketing, sales teams, and
• 20:30
  client-centric roles. It's an innovative
• 20:33
  digital learning solution that [music]
• 20:34
  equips your teams with the strategic
• 20:37
  capabilities needed for the next era of
• 20:40
  luxury.
• 20:41
  Our platform delivers real-world
• 20:43
  insights [music] and tools your teams
• 20:45
  can apply immediately. The world's
• 20:48
  leading brands trust us to prepare their
• 20:50
  teams for this transformation, and this
• 20:53
  is [music] your moment to future-proof
• 20:56
  your organization.
• 20:59
  >> Yeah, and and um so and this was this I
• 21:03
  I remember this was we we had this kind
• 21:05
  of discussion in a way in our very first
• 21:08
  call. And uh this was the moment when I
• 21:11
  was saying, you know, you have to think
• 21:14
  in a different way about
• 21:16
  the business. And because you were
• 21:19
  already you were already on to
• 21:21
  something. Um but I said fundamentally
• 21:25
  then if you if you really mean that,
• 21:27
  then it's not just wealth management.
• 21:29
  Then wealth management is a part of
• 21:32
  something much bigger.
• 21:33
  And this was when I also personally
• 21:35
  started to really become become
• 21:38
  enthusiastic about about the idea
• 21:41
  because I'm also, you know, I'm I see so
• 21:43
  many different things and so many
• 21:44
  different ideas. And sometimes they are
• 21:46
  ideas that where I know that the teams
• 21:48
  behind are very passionate about, but I
• 21:51
  don't feel that they are very different
• 21:52
  to what is in the market. And here I had
• 21:54
  the feeling this is something that if
• 21:56
  it's executed in the right way, if
• 21:59
  there's an ecosystem that is built
• 22:00
  around that that is really strategically
• 22:03
  thought through from the beginning to
• 22:04
  the end, then it can actually also
• 22:07
  really make a difference to to people.
• 22:09
  And that's where there again my this my
• 22:11
  conviction of extreme value creation
• 22:13
  comes into play because if you can now
• 22:16
  solve that that insight that more money
• 22:21
  creates more problems on on different
• 22:23
  dimensions and individual to every
• 22:25
  person. And as you said, then to
• 22:27
  understand what is this for this for the
• 22:29
  individual and then as an organization,
• 22:31
  if you can actually help that individual
• 22:35
  to solve those three [snorts] or four or
• 22:37
  five things
• 22:39
  or maybe one thing that is kind of nasty
• 22:42
  for them so that they can now get all
• 22:45
  their energy and focus actually on other
• 22:47
  things. Um that was that was what I
• 22:50
  found very very intriguing. And then
• 22:53
  we started I think a really fascinating
• 22:55
  process um then that and I have to say
• 22:59
  this is the beauty of of actually what
• 23:01
  I'm doing is that
• 23:04
  is not only you know to help my clients
• 23:07
  to you know to
• 23:10
  define the strategy, define the brand,
• 23:12
  but I'm also learning a lot through each
• 23:14
  project because it only works if if
• 23:17
  there's full transparency. So I have to
• 23:19
  basically download and learn everything
• 23:21
  about the category,
• 23:23
  but I also have to be careful not to
• 23:25
  learn too much so to speak. So it's
• 23:27
  always a fine line because I don't want
• 23:29
  I don't want to get blind and now be
• 23:33
  from in the inside out. My my aim is
• 23:35
  still to look from the outside in. So we
• 23:37
  had this very
• 23:38
  fascinating dimension between you and
• 23:40
  me, but also the entire team where my
• 23:43
  role was to take the outside in view to
• 23:46
  kind of take the view of that customer
• 23:50
  and to
• 23:52
  you guys the inside out view, but also
• 23:54
  with all your experience of
• 23:56
  many years and decades to work with
• 23:58
  these customers in in the all the
• 24:00
  previous experiences and then to really
• 24:02
  find out what is the sweet spot,
• 24:05
  what is basically the
• 24:07
  the development. And I would be curious
• 24:09
  to to
• 24:10
  learn from you or to to get your
• 24:12
  feedback on
• 24:13
  um
• 24:15
  how was this process for you? This kind
• 24:16
  of discovery process or how did you
• 24:19
  because you had already the vision. So
• 24:20
  there was
• 24:22
  you clearly saw where the problems are
• 24:24
  and what the traditional companies
• 24:27
  are not doing.
• 24:28
  How was it for you kind of to discover
• 24:31
  or to go through this kind of process
• 24:33
  and and
• 24:35
  maybe get
• 24:37
  even more clarity on the vision.
• 24:39
  >> Yeah, so
• 24:41
  um
• 24:42
  So since the beginning we knew we we are
• 24:44
  different. And and even my career on
• 24:47
  private bank
• 24:49
  it it was very different from any
• 24:51
  private banker and I and I start on the
• 24:53
  bottom and I got out quite senior as a
• 24:56
  managing director,
• 24:57
  and
• 24:58
  I think the only edge that I really had,
• 25:02
  you know, among the other private
• 25:04
  bankers is that I always worked as a
• 25:05
  client.
• 25:06
  >> Mhm.
• 25:06
  >> When the people [clears throat] were
• 25:07
  putting products and their bonus and
• 25:09
  other interests, I was always putting a
• 25:11
  client interest. So, when I when we
• 25:13
  start MyIQ, I think that was
• 25:16
  the the really the foundation over
• 25:18
  there. And as I said before,
• 25:21
  we wanted
• 25:22
  we wanted to have like, you know, the
• 25:23
  pink and and and and the name, they're
• 25:26
  all different that we wanted to kind of
• 25:28
  translate what we do it differently. And
• 25:30
  that was one of the
• 25:31
  reasons we approached. And the
• 25:36
  And that was a very intense exercise.
• 25:39
  Um I think we started with surveys and
• 25:42
  questions, and we tried to show as much
• 25:46
  as we could about the industry view. And
• 25:49
  then you came here to Singapore, and we
• 25:51
  spent 48 hours, very intensive 48 hours.
• 25:55
  I think you remember that, because we
• 25:57
  worked it around the clock, just going
• 25:59
  back to sleep, wake up, and come back.
• 26:02
  And we did this very
• 26:04
  which I call it's a very
• 26:06
  deep, emotional
• 26:08
  dig into the core or of
• 26:13
  of who we are
• 26:15
  as the people behind the business, but
• 26:17
  also as a core of the business, right?
• 26:20
  And that's not a
• 26:22
  You know, for anyone attempting, that's
• 26:24
  not a easy thing to do,
• 26:26
  um and it can only work if you really
• 26:29
  open your heart,
• 26:33
  open your vision, and and strip out of
• 26:35
  everything else, and and go for there.
• 26:39
  So,
• 26:40
  um
• 26:41
  uh it was very interesting. We did We
• 26:43
  did something slightly similar, as not
• 26:46
  as deep as you did, when you actually
• 26:48
  came up with the logo. We also did this
• 26:50
  this development to try to translate the
• 26:53
  vision into into into a picture.
• 26:55
  >> Mhm.
• 26:56
  >> But I think the way you did was actually
• 26:57
  much deeper because we we had to
• 26:59
  translate
• 27:01
  what
• 27:03
  what we are proposing, what we want to
• 27:05
  do, or standard, what is a mission,
• 27:06
  vision, whatever you want to call it in
• 27:09
  in in [clears throat] simple words. Cuz
• 27:11
  we could like every time I had
• 27:12
  opportunity to stay like an hour the
• 27:14
  client he would understand what I how
• 27:16
  I'm different.
• 27:17
  But we wanted to do that like just I
• 27:20
  know in in a couple of seconds, right?
• 27:22
  So
• 27:23
  it it is it was a very intensive. I know
• 27:26
  I know we were not the first ones.
• 27:28
  We were not really the last ones. Maybe
• 27:30
  maybe you someone watching over there
• 27:32
  should try.
• 27:33
  But it's very intense, but it's it's
• 27:36
  it's also fascinating.
• 27:37
  >> Mhm.
• 27:37
  >> Because
• 27:40
  the result could have, you know,
• 27:42
  could have could have been better,
• 27:43
  right?
• 27:45
  Life Amplified is
• 27:47
  is exactly what we
• 27:49
  do and we want to deliver to our
• 27:51
  clients.
• 27:52
  >> Yeah.
• 27:53
  Yeah, so the process for for those who
• 27:55
  are listening, the process basically was
• 27:57
  um
• 27:58
  we
• 27:59
  we understood Mauricio's vision and the
• 28:01
  vision of the team. And then we did
• 28:05
  an incredible amount of um
• 28:08
  of analytics
• 28:09
  >> research
• 28:10
  >> and research around that.
• 28:12
  >> Yeah.
• 28:13
  The whole industry
• 28:14
  >> We basically analyzed I think probably
• 28:16
  like I don't know 150 200 different um
• 28:20
  um banks uh
• 28:21
  financial institutions
• 28:23
  >> from their websites
• 28:25
  >> everything from
• 28:25
  >> their leadership, their founders
• 28:27
  >> from social media. So we did have
• 28:29
  incredibly
• 28:31
  and this is basically for every project
• 28:33
  like the most thorough competitive
• 28:35
  analysis
• 28:36
  um and the the aim is basically to
• 28:39
  understand how the category's ticking.
• 28:42
  What are the what are the the the
• 28:43
  things? And then
• 28:45
  uh there were fascinating insights. We
• 28:46
  were even I remember we were at some
• 28:48
  point we were saying it's it's even
• 28:50
  painful to look at this. Because you
• 28:52
  know the the
• 28:54
  the the websites are so similar, the
• 28:57
  the the imagery the na- the names are
• 28:59
  similar, the images are similar. The the
• 29:02
  claims, the promises are similar. And
• 29:04
  then again, when you take and everything
• 29:07
  makes sense. I don't want to necessarily
• 29:08
  criticize. Everything makes sense, you
• 29:10
  know, because none of this
• 29:12
  is everything is logical what the
• 29:14
  players in the market are doing. But the
• 29:17
  problem is that if you have 100
• 29:19
  companies that fundamentally say the
• 29:21
  same thing, make the same promises, have
• 29:23
  the same imagery, again directionally
• 29:25
  the same. Now from a customer
• 29:27
  perspective, it's practically impossible
• 29:29
  to take a decision from a distance just
• 29:32
  looking at at what you offered because
• 29:35
  if 100 100 companies do the same thing,
• 29:39
  who should I choose? And then of course,
• 29:42
  what do we do? Either we choose
• 29:44
  convenience, you know, then the one that
• 29:47
  is closest or it's a recommendation or
• 29:50
  we choose the cheapest. So and this is I
• 29:52
  think also something we have discussed
• 29:54
  over the last 2 years quite
• 29:55
  significantly is
• 29:57
  is there is such a dramatic race to the
• 29:59
  button and that where you know, where
• 30:01
  private banking
• 30:03
  10, 20 years ago was something like
• 30:06
  luxurious.
• 30:08
  And you know, I
• 30:10
  I think your view is today it's a
• 30:12
  complete commoditization.
• 30:14
  >> It's simply a commodity. So
• 30:17
  if you go back like 25, 30 or 40 years
• 30:20
  ago,
• 30:21
  it it it it was a luxury service that
• 30:24
  people would pay
• 30:26
  cheaper cent of assets under management
• 30:28
  even up to 5% of asset management
• 30:30
  because you get
• 30:32
  there was a there was a a creation of of
• 30:36
  of value or even extreme value over
• 30:38
  there, right? And um
• 30:40
  and where the industry had it to it's
• 30:43
  it's it's it's it's it's very sad. All
• 30:45
  right? They still think they are doing
• 30:47
  the same thing. Like nothing changed.
• 30:50
  Like so if you look if you look through
• 30:52
  through through their history or their
• 30:55
  brand positioning or their promises is
• 30:57
  they're absolutely the same. Of course,
• 31:00
  they suffered, you know, the trends of
• 31:03
  you know, uh
• 31:06
  ecologically politically correct and DEI
• 31:10
  and everything else. Like actually last
• 31:12
  year last year all the banks had
• 31:15
  in in in all the LGBT flags on on the
• 31:17
  month. This year they don't have
• 31:19
  anymore.
• 31:20
  All right? So what changed like so they
• 31:22
  served this
• 31:23
  this short-term trends, but are the
• 31:25
  promise
• 31:27
  uh um uh
• 31:29
  their selling proposition
• 31:31
  what they're doing is the same of 100
• 31:33
  years ago. Like nothing absolutely
• 31:35
  changed, right?
• 31:37
  But
• 31:38
  a lot of things changed. So we are here
• 31:41
  in Singapore today and there is maybe
• 31:44
  80 private banks on the street from US,
• 31:47
  from Europe, from Switzerland, you name
• 31:50
  it. And uh
• 31:52
  if you walk in any private bank
• 31:55
  here on the street today, the overlap of
• 31:58
  products and services I I'm slightly
• 32:01
  conservative. I say the overlap of
• 32:04
  products and services is 95%.
• 32:08
  >> Mhm.
• 32:08
  >> I talked to some
• 32:10
  CEOs of private banks. They say their
• 32:12
  overlap is 100%. That on my
• 32:15
  language
• 32:18
  this is commodities. So there is no
• 32:20
  differentiation on products and
• 32:21
  services. So people bank with bank A or
• 32:25
  B for two simple reasons. One
• 32:30
  is pricing.
• 32:31
  >> [clears throat]
• 32:31
  >> Mhm.
• 32:32
  >> So you're like you're like on a on a on
• 32:34
  a on a on a on a business
• 32:38
  that the lower the price and maybe the
• 32:39
  the more clients you get.
• 32:41
  >> Mhm.
• 32:41
  >> Or because of a relationship.
• 32:43
  >> Mhm.
• 32:43
  >> Right? Because I have been banking with
• 32:45
  this relationship manager. I know him
• 32:46
  for 10 years and uh you know, if you
• 32:48
  move from A
• 32:50
  from bank A to bank B, I follow because
• 32:52
  I know all the guy. But like I don't
• 32:55
  care if he's on A or B or like I'm
• 32:57
  following the guy. I don't care about
• 32:58
  the bank because
• 33:00
  the bank is the same.
• 33:01
  >> Mhm.
• 33:02
  >> Right? And and and as you said, you go
• 33:04
  to you go to all the private banks, they
• 33:06
  say the same thing. Right? That was one
• 33:08
  of one of the most horrendous words that
• 33:11
  I hate on this industry like uh we
• 33:13
  provide holistic
• 33:15
  approach, right?
• 33:16
  No. You sell products that are the same,
• 33:19
  you know, that your neighbor sells your
• 33:20
  product, right? So um um I like to do
• 33:25
  maybe it's a little bit daring, but I
• 33:26
  like to do this comparison of the of the
• 33:28
  luxury brand that
• 33:30
  you know, private banks
• 33:32
  25, 30 years ago
• 33:35
  they were they were in the luxury
• 33:36
  business, actually. Right? Because they
• 33:38
  could charge so they were like
• 33:40
  you know, Louis Vuitton, Dior
• 33:43
  you name it, Gucci.
• 33:45
  And today, they are much more like
• 33:47
  Uniqlo and Zara. Like which is kind of a
• 33:50
  promise of luxury, but it's just like a
• 33:53
  cheap fashion that, you know, you just
• 33:55
  switch like that and you don't have
• 33:56
  quality or anything, right? Which which
• 34:00
  Which we are trying to go against the
• 34:02
  trend because the trend is actually
• 34:04
  going down.
• 34:04
  >> Mhm.
• 34:05
  >> So, if you look at the wealth management
• 34:08
  private banks today, they have this
• 34:10
  overlap of 95, 100% of their products
• 34:13
  and services. And what is What has been
• 34:16
  disruption on wealth management? It's
• 34:18
  even lower. It's the having hoods
• 34:21
  the hybrid advisor is like no service,
• 34:24
  even cheaper than them.
• 34:25
  >> Mhm.
• 34:26
  >> Right? Let's Let's remove Let's remove
• 34:28
  the last, you know, hanging thing over
• 34:31
  there, which is a relationship manager
• 34:32
  that you have. Let's strip that out,
• 34:34
  make it even cheaper, because yes, like
• 34:38
  who needs a relationship manager when
• 34:39
  like 95% of products and services is the
• 34:41
  same, you just click the button, right?
• 34:43
  >> Mhm.
• 34:44
  >> But I don't think like I honestly don't
• 34:46
  think that's the the future of wealth
• 34:49
  management. I think the wealth the
• 34:50
  future of wealth management it is
• 34:53
  going back to what it used to be, a very
• 34:56
  high level of service that you can only
• 35:00
  deliver if you're able to scale. And the
• 35:02
  only way you can you you are able to
• 35:04
  scale that business if you use AI and
• 35:08
  technology over there.
• 35:09
  >> Mhm.
• 35:09
  >> Right? Not to deliver something cheaper
• 35:11
  without service, to deliver a very high
• 35:14
  touch of service
• 35:16
  capable of being scalable without
• 35:19
  actually, you know, dramatically
• 35:20
  increase your cost or or reducing your
• 35:22
  margins.
• 35:23
  >> Mhm.
• 35:24
  Yeah, and so this this basically from
• 35:27
  from that starting point, then we looked
• 35:29
  into to, you know, what should how
• 35:31
  should we describe that that um
• 35:34
  that that business. And the the it was
• 35:36
  clear that what you and your team wanted
• 35:39
  to do is so much more than just the
• 35:41
  wealth management in the traditional
• 35:43
  way. So, and I think the moment when we
• 35:46
  were discussing and saying, let's think
• 35:48
  about wealth management maybe just
• 35:50
  about, I don't know, 10 15% of what the
• 35:54
  business is or what the service is to
• 35:55
  the customer is. And then everything
• 35:58
  else
• 35:59
  um the things that you that you
• 36:00
  mentioned about, you know, um helping
• 36:03
  the person maybe to find the purpose,
• 36:05
  um helping the person to all kind of
• 36:07
  struggles that they may have, and
• 36:10
  all the other things that are probably
• 36:12
  as individual as the clients,
• 36:14
  um once we basically really
• 36:17
  put it out there to say the wealth
• 36:19
  management part is actually maybe just a
• 36:21
  fraction and not the central part. And
• 36:24
  of course it has to be managed in a
• 36:25
  super excellent way, but it's just a
• 36:27
  fraction of this, then suddenly we came
• 36:30
  to this idea to say fundamentally what
• 36:33
  Mo IQ is doing is to manage the life of
• 36:36
  the customer. But not just to manage the
• 36:38
  life of a customer
• 36:40
  for the sake of managing the life.
• 36:43
  So it's not a concierge service in a
• 36:45
  way,
• 36:46
  but with one purpose as you said before
• 36:50
  is to make it more livable, to make it
• 36:53
  more wealthy in a sense in this holistic
• 36:56
  way to make a greater sanctuary where
• 36:58
  the person
• 36:59
  really feels much better and this means
• 37:01
  it's a life
• 37:03
  amplified. And this is how how we
• 37:06
  developed the
• 37:08
  brand platform
• 37:10
  and so on was through a process I think
• 37:12
  in the end it took us
• 37:14
  in a in a very very collaborative way,
• 37:17
  but with like an incredible amount of
• 37:19
  you know data and science and and
• 37:21
  research behind I think probably like
• 37:23
  four five months six months to to get to
• 37:26
  to get to the point.
• 37:27
  But then the the most important is then
• 37:30
  and I think this is also where in my
• 37:31
  experience
• 37:33
  and also in all the research you know
• 37:35
  when I'm
• 37:36
  teaching also innovation and so on when
• 37:37
  you see the the super innovative
• 37:40
  companies but that then
• 37:43
  don't
• 37:44
  either don't survive or don't don't make
• 37:47
  a really an impact is
• 37:48
  the promise is one
• 37:50
  but you have to deliver on the promise
• 37:52
  and this is what you just meant
• 37:53
  mentioned with the with the AI. So then
• 37:56
  the next step was that we had to and we
• 37:59
  we actually then I remember you know the
• 38:01
  question I I I asked you should we
• 38:03
  should we go live with life amplified
• 38:05
  and then we said no.
• 38:07
  We need to have an ecosystem.
• 38:09
  We need to have an ecosystem first fully
• 38:11
  in place that actually allows to deliver
• 38:14
  to each of your clients on that promise
• 38:17
  and and before the ecosystem is not in
• 38:19
  place
• 38:20
  then we don't even we don't even
• 38:23
  >> The thing is that we we we we we were
• 38:26
  actually delivering life amplified for
• 38:29
  the four five clients we had at the
• 38:31
  time. Right? Without
• 38:34
  without actually consciously realizing
• 38:36
  we are delivering life amplified. And
• 38:38
  then when we came to life amplified,
• 38:41
  which we have a
• 38:42
  >> [cough]
• 38:42
  >> wider reach.
• 38:43
  >> Mhm.
• 38:43
  >> Right? And we're talking not about four
• 38:45
  five clients, but maybe like 50 clients
• 38:48
  or 100 clients or 200 clients.
• 38:51
  We would not be able to scale the
• 38:53
  business.
• 38:53
  >> Mhm.
• 38:55
  Now this was
• 38:55
  >> That was a very That was a very tough
• 38:58
  decision because we want to
• 39:01
  we When we came like actually when you
• 39:03
  presented this to us, I had like tears
• 39:05
  in my eyes
• 39:07
  because
• 39:09
  since day one, that that's that's
• 39:11
  exactly what I wanted to to to say.
• 39:15
  >> Mhm.
• 39:15
  >> I need I need to
• 39:16
  I couldn't articulate and put things
• 39:18
  together to come with with this
• 39:21
  translation of, you know,
• 39:23
  what is actually my IQ.
• 39:25
  Uh so I had like tears in my eyes and we
• 39:27
  were super excited and we sit down
• 39:29
  inside.
• 39:31
  You you you you said that.
• 39:33
  Daniel said that. Very clear he said,
• 39:38
  This is a very ambitious
• 39:40
  promise
• 39:41
  that the life amplified
• 39:44
  is your promise.
• 39:45
  >> Mhm.
• 39:45
  >> So every single client going to step
• 39:48
  into my IQ.
• 39:50
  You need to deliver that. Are you ready
• 39:52
  to deliver that? I say, Oh, we already
• 39:54
  do that. But like, Okay, you did it for
• 39:56
  five clients. Can you do it for 50?
• 39:59
  100? 500?
• 40:02
  No. So So you have to go back to the
• 40:04
  drawing board and then again try to find
• 40:09
  how can I scale the business? And it
• 40:11
  took And it took
• 40:13
  to
• 40:13
  >> one of the obvious to get to get there.
• 40:15
  But I think this is This is to me the
• 40:18
  the
• 40:19
  This is so important just this part is
• 40:21
  is so important and I think such a big
• 40:24
  learning because I see two huge problems
• 40:28
  today in
• 40:30
  across the different
• 40:31
  categories that brands have. The first
• 40:34
  problem is
• 40:36
  and this is like a fundamental
• 40:38
  fundamental problem if it's not
• 40:41
  addressed is most companies don't know
• 40:43
  who they are.
• 40:45
  They have a a vague idea
• 40:48
  and this vague idea is a little bit what
• 40:49
  what we just described. Of course, they
• 40:51
  know in which business they are and they
• 40:53
  know which role they play in the
• 40:55
  business, but they define themselves
• 40:57
  from a product perspective. This is what
• 40:59
  99% of companies in the world do. They
• 41:01
  they are product focused. So, they say
• 41:04
  let's say if you have a car company you
• 41:07
  know, we don't have to put names, but
• 41:08
  let's say you have a
• 41:09
  premium car company, then they will
• 41:11
  define themselves I like to call it a
• 41:13
  quality vector. So, they will say, you
• 41:15
  know, we are
• 41:17
  in these five dimensions better than
• 41:20
  company B.
• 41:21
  And this is basically what they want to
• 41:23
  own. And then you have another company
• 41:25
  that said, "Okay, in this dimensions, we
• 41:26
  want to own those dimensions." So, this
• 41:29
  is a quality this is a product-centric
• 41:31
  view.
• 41:32
  And but if you ask the management team
• 41:35
  of that these brands and practically
• 41:39
  most of the companies in the world you
• 41:41
  ask the management teams independently
• 41:43
  from each other
• 41:45
  which which business are you in? What
• 41:47
  are you actually doing?
• 41:48
  Describe the brand in in you know, in in
• 41:52
  simple words to you know, some of your
• 41:54
  friends
• 41:55
  almost never will you find the board or
• 41:59
  the leadership team
• 42:01
  saying exactly the same thing. They will
• 42:03
  say something like you know, we are
• 42:07
  we are a premium brand within the
• 42:09
  category or we are superior here or
• 42:11
  there or we are doing this in an
• 42:13
  elevated way. They will use these kind
• 42:15
  of words.
• 42:16
  But if you really say, "Okay, what does
• 42:17
  it mean?
• 42:18
  How should How should your customers
• 42:20
  feel versus the others?
• 42:22
  What are you delivering on an emotional
• 42:24
  What What are you What is your key
• 42:26
  promise?"
• 42:27
  You will find very very few companies
• 42:30
  where you have this this congruence. So,
• 42:33
  this is a a fundamental problem because
• 42:35
  if I don't have a problem promise and if
• 42:37
  the promise is not ambitious enough, not
• 42:40
  big enough, then of course I'm never
• 42:43
  going to deliver anything big.
• 42:46
  But now the the second thing is now
• 42:50
  if you have a very strong promise like
• 42:52
  what we just said with with Life
• 42:53
  Amplified, now you have to build an
• 42:56
  ecosystem
• 42:57
  um that allows you to deliver on that
• 43:00
  promise. And this was also I thought a
• 43:03
  fascinating phase in in in the
• 43:05
  development um where we had to think,
• 43:08
  "How do we do that?"
• 43:09
  How do we How do we get there? And um
• 43:13
  I think the you know, I um
• 43:15
  I don't know if you want to to maybe
• 43:17
  share a
• 43:19
  a couple of things about the
• 43:20
  technologies that that you and the team
• 43:22
  are building
• 43:24
  um and what it enables the clients to
• 43:26
  do, but I think it's fascinating to to
• 43:28
  see what is possible in in in today's
• 43:31
  world.
• 43:31
  >> Yeah, so so so um
• 43:35
  we went back to the drawing board.
• 43:37
  Um
• 43:38
  um
• 43:39
  we we we had to think differently.
• 43:42
  Um usually companies on on on the wealth
• 43:46
  management of private bank
• 43:48
  every
• 43:50
  100 clients that you bring it in and you
• 43:53
  to expand
• 43:55
  your teams dramatically, right? From
• 43:58
  operations to compliance to investment
• 44:01
  to to to relationship managers and
• 44:03
  everything. And
• 44:05
  um
• 44:07
  And we thought that was not the way to
• 44:08
  do it.
• 44:10
  Because also the experience is very
• 44:12
  poor, right?
• 44:14
  Um
• 44:16
  our the experience with private banks
• 44:18
  haven't changed too much.
• 44:20
  I I always like to say that the biggest
• 44:22
  biggest disruption that happened in a
• 44:24
  private bank from a client perspective
• 44:27
  with you one
• 44:29
  PDFs in an email and other one a web
• 44:32
  portal that it's a pain in the ass to
• 44:36
  connect and whatever you need and never
• 44:37
  do it, right?
• 44:39
  So
• 44:40
  we wanted to disrupt everything from the
• 44:43
  onboarding process to the reporting
• 44:45
  process to everything else.
• 44:49
  And I think we were
• 44:50
  fortunate enough to
• 44:53
  um
• 44:54
  be exposed to AI in in in in a
• 44:58
  relatively early earliest stage than the
• 45:00
  rest of the of the industry.
• 45:02
  Uh we managed to build up a
• 45:05
  a team. So we have a
• 45:07
  we have an office in Hong Kong that's
• 45:08
  called IQ Digital
• 45:10
  um
• 45:11
  which extends also to Korea. And we have
• 45:14
  been developing all these tools over
• 45:16
  there. We found out that the only way to
• 45:19
  scale this business is to use AI across
• 45:22
  the board.
• 45:22
  >> Mhm.
• 45:23
  >> Right? From
• 45:25
  from the onboarding process to deliver a
• 45:27
  bad experience to the client to try to
• 45:29
  shorten the period that you convert a
• 45:32
  prospect into a client which is a bottle
• 45:35
  neck. This There's several bottle necks
• 45:37
  on this business that this is a big one.
• 45:39
  How long it takes for you from prospect
• 45:40
  to client? How do you shorten that?
• 45:43
  Um
• 45:44
  how do you do a onboarding process that
• 45:46
  is completely different that is an
• 45:48
  experience rather than you know, filling
• 45:50
  up paper that is totally meaningless.
• 45:53
  To also
• 45:55
  be able to scale all the operational
• 45:57
  side, all the regulatory side and also
• 46:00
  the investment side. So, uh
• 46:04
  AI and technology
• 46:06
  the way we have been using, I think, is
• 46:08
  is slightly different from the rest of
• 46:10
  the industry.
• 46:11
  For us, it's not using AI to replace the
• 46:16
  human factor. It's more using AI to
• 46:19
  augment it or, you know, making
• 46:21
  superpower of of the human.
• 46:23
  >> Mhm.
• 46:23
  >> We still strongly believe that if you're
• 46:26
  working with high net worth and
• 46:27
  specifically ultra high net worth
• 46:28
  individuals,
• 46:30
  no, they they will not log in any of web
• 46:34
  portal.
• 46:35
  They will not download your app. They're
• 46:38
  going to talk to you, and you better use
• 46:40
  the technology in the back to be able to
• 46:41
  deliver whatever you talk to. They're
• 46:43
  going to talk to you because they don't
• 46:44
  have time to talk to you.
• 46:46
  >> They're going to say, "Hey, I want this,
• 46:47
  whatever it is, whatever." And then you
• 46:48
  go there and and set up that, right? So,
• 46:51
  uh uh AI has been a game changer. I
• 46:54
  think we managed to assemble one of the
• 46:56
  top teams here.
• 46:58
  Different from the rest of the industry
• 47:00
  as well, everything that we are
• 47:02
  developing over here is actually
• 47:03
  proprietary.
• 47:04
  >> Mhm.
• 47:05
  >> Of course, there are engines in the
• 47:06
  back. We're not We're not We're not
• 47:08
  saying I'm developing LLMs or anything
• 47:10
  like that, but all the interfaces that
• 47:14
  we are using here for everything is
• 47:16
  proprietary ours. Nobody else has. A lot
• 47:20
  of other guys, you know, are using the
• 47:22
  same one. They just
• 47:25
  change the label or the color, but the
• 47:27
  engine in the back is the same.
• 47:29
  >> Mhm.
• 47:29
  >> Um um
• 47:31
  um so, I think I think I think we are
• 47:33
  pretty much far ahead of the of the
• 47:36
  of the rest of the industry on this one.
• 47:38
  >> Yeah.
• 47:40
  >> I'm Dr. Daniel Langer, and after [music]
• 47:42
  advising many of the world's most iconic
• 47:45
  luxury brands and teaching both at
• 47:48
  Pepperdine and NYU,
• 47:49
  >> [music]
• 47:49
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• 47:51
  industry is evolving. And the reality is
• 47:54
  most universities simply can't keep up.
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  Today's students [music]
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  want more than theory. You want industry
• 48:02
  relevant skills and real frameworks.
• 48:05
  >> [music]
• 48:05
  >> You want a clear path into fast-growing
• 48:08
  fields like luxury fashion, luxury
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  beauty, luxury hospitality, and other
• 48:13
  luxury sectors.
• 48:14
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  It lets you add a globally recognized
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  luxury certificate directly to your MBA
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  or undergraduate [music] degree.
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  future.
• 48:57
  >> And to me that shows again that um that
• 48:59
  when I I was just reflecting while you
• 49:01
  were talking about, you know, the
• 49:03
  how how many brands underestimate the
• 49:06
  power of of brand storytelling and the
• 49:09
  power of that and very often sometimes I
• 49:11
  have discussions with uh you know, the
• 49:13
  boards of companies and so on and I
• 49:15
  speak about brand storytelling and then
• 49:17
  they understand is oh yeah, it is
• 49:19
  this is it uh we have a communication
• 49:21
  department, they will develop that. And
• 49:22
  I think what we just discussed um is
• 49:25
  actually shows
• 49:27
  it is the most fundamental thing. Before
• 49:29
  we before we had the brand story of Life
• 49:32
  Amplified defined, we didn't know which
• 49:35
  ecosystem we need to deliver on the
• 49:38
  promise.
• 49:38
  >> Yeah.
• 49:39
  >> So, I don't think that the investments
• 49:41
  into the AI, the proprietary AI
• 49:44
  technologies, and everything, the teams,
• 49:46
  building up the teams that you would
• 49:47
  have done that without that promise.
• 49:50
  Because once the promise was there,
• 49:52
  once basically the we outlined the
• 49:54
  ecosystem, we we developed together the
• 49:57
  the ideal customer journey and the
• 49:59
  customer experience, and then we said,
• 50:01
  "Wait a minute." As you said, "With five
• 50:03
  people, 10 people, we can deliver."
• 50:06
  But 10x, 100x, 1,000x,
• 50:10
  then we will not be able to deliver this
• 50:12
  anymore in a consistent in a consistent
• 50:14
  way because, you know, now you have
• 50:17
  humans and
• 50:18
  can you guarantee that if you open an
• 50:21
  office in
• 50:22
  place A, place B, place C, that everyone
• 50:25
  always does the same the same thing? Not
• 50:28
  if they if they don't have this kind of
• 50:31
  technology superpower behind them that
• 50:33
  guides them in a way to to do that. And
• 50:36
  this this really shows how critical it
• 50:38
  is to think completely strategic about
• 50:41
  the business. And to start with, you
• 50:43
  know, more problem more money more
• 50:45
  problem, which was the inside,
• 50:47
  then obsess about that inside.
• 50:51
  Fundamentally, what you had been doing
• 50:53
  in the in the early days was kind of the
• 50:55
  prototype that maybe even without
• 50:58
  understanding that without without
• 50:59
  knowing that it was a prototyping. And
• 51:02
  then basically to say, "Okay, then when
• 51:04
  when we met, we basically said, 'Wait a
• 51:07
  minute. What are
• 51:08
  What are we actually doing?'"
• 51:10
  And then to to from from there to say to
• 51:13
  package that into into a story, and then
• 51:16
  to basically then then to build the
• 51:17
  structure around, and then the biggest
• 51:19
  question was, "How do How do you do How
• 51:21
  do you do that?" And I really have to,
• 51:23
  you know, give you huge kudos for that
• 51:26
  to
• 51:27
  that you you took a lot of also you put
• 51:29
  a lot of your personal investment in in
• 51:31
  there to to say, "Okay, I believe in
• 51:34
  that vision."
• 51:36
  But it's not never going to work
• 51:38
  if it's also not just backed also with
• 51:40
  significant investment in in putting,
• 51:42
  you know, the the technology behind to
• 51:44
  put the to put the the right team in
• 51:47
  place, the right people in place that
• 51:48
  can then scale that and bring that to a
• 51:51
  to a different level. So, that really
• 51:52
  shows shows how critical
• 51:54
  um this this um strategic approach is.
• 51:58
  >> there is a very important thing that I
• 51:59
  mean like I'm
• 52:01
  I'm one of the clients here, right? And
• 52:03
  I always I think like I said, I was I
• 52:05
  was successful in PrivatBank just
• 52:07
  because I thought as a client, right?
• 52:09
  >> Mhm.
• 52:10
  >> Um
• 52:11
  what I see a lot also in the industry
• 52:13
  that is very interesting is that
• 52:15
  all that tech
• 52:17
  everything is developed without asking
• 52:21
  anything to the clients.
• 52:22
  >> Mhm.
• 52:23
  >> So, you have like the CEOs and the COOs
• 52:26
  and the CTOs and they sit down there and
• 52:29
  they're not necessarily clients of the
• 52:31
  private bank. They never been a head of
• 52:34
  client of private bank. That was
• 52:35
  completely, you know, lack of knowledge
• 52:38
  of how it is to be a high net worth
• 52:40
  ultra high net worth.
• 52:41
  And then they develop something that
• 52:43
  they develop something that, you know, I
• 52:45
  need to go
• 52:46
  open your computer, open your browser,
• 52:50
  put this and then has a password that
• 52:53
  maybe came through your mail or
• 52:54
  whatever.
• 52:56
  That that's already just wrong. And then
• 52:59
  they use all these legacy
• 53:02
  systems
• 53:03
  that haven't been evolved in and then
• 53:05
  the whole thing
• 53:06
  >> Mhm.
• 53:07
  >> is horrendous. The user interface is
• 53:09
  like is like, oh, no, thank you. Like,
• 53:12
  I'm not going to use this. Like, so they
• 53:13
  spend like zillions of dollars to
• 53:16
  develop something that is
• 53:19
  not actually relevant
• 53:21
  to the clients, right?
• 53:23
  It's just like
• 53:25
  waste of resources, waste of money,
• 53:27
  nobody uses. It may solve their problem
• 53:29
  as a CEO, as a CTO, as a COO, but it
• 53:32
  actually doesn't add any value
• 53:34
  whatsoever to the client, right?
• 53:36
  >> And and and and on the top of that,
• 53:39
  right? They keep insisting on the same
• 53:42
  things that they have used 100 years
• 53:44
  ago.
• 53:44
  >> Mhm. So, a lot of those players they go
• 53:47
  and like, "Yeah, what is your story
• 53:49
  telling?
• 53:51
  I haven't been around 100 years ago.
• 53:54
  Okay. Maybe for my grandfather that was
• 53:57
  very relevant.
• 53:58
  Maybe for my father was very relevant.
• 54:00
  For me is irrelevant. For my son is even
• 54:02
  more irrelevant. I mean, my son going to
• 54:04
  have uh they have a branch in Roblox,
• 54:07
  right?
• 54:08
  >> [laughter]
• 54:08
  >> Right? So,
• 54:11
  the the the storytelling is is crucial,
• 54:15
  but how do you evolve your storytelling?
• 54:19
  The story can be the same, but how do
• 54:21
  you deliver to my grandfather, to my
• 54:25
  father, to me, or to a Gen Z, right?
• 54:28
  The the the the storytelling
• 54:31
  like the core of what you are, how you
• 54:32
  are, but I how do you deliver? Like do
• 54:35
  you want to deliver the same way you
• 54:36
  have like my grandfather, you know, was
• 54:39
  raised like with radio and not even TV.
• 54:41
  My parents have like black and white TV.
• 54:44
  Like when my son was born like with an
• 54:45
  iPad on his head, right? So,
• 54:48
  uh uh there is this very like it's it's
• 54:51
  a dissociation from reality.
• 54:53
  >> Yeah. This is also what I find
• 54:54
  fascinating because now again now for
• 54:56
  you know, I I I
• 54:59
  I'm almost about to call now Singapore
• 55:01
  my second home because
• 55:03
  because I'm I'm because I'm I'm spending
• 55:05
  now also quite significant time time
• 55:07
  here since since we have been
• 55:08
  collaborating, but it's also fascinating
• 55:10
  you know, is is is you also traveling
• 55:13
  traveling through the region like crazy
• 55:15
  and you know, whether I'm
• 55:16
  in Japan, in China, here
• 55:19
  in in the other Southeast Asian
• 55:21
  countries. What is it fascinating is the
• 55:23
  speed of change and also the embracement
• 55:26
  and it's such a young also such a young
• 55:29
  culture. And it's you know, I I remember
• 55:33
  for example the first time I did a
• 55:35
  masterclass about Gen Z um was actually
• 55:39
  with um with one of my first clients.
• 55:42
  This was with Ferrari. And there was
• 55:44
  they they they they had a very very
• 55:47
  early kind of insight to say, "Yeah, we
• 55:49
  have to we have to prepare early for the
• 55:51
  next generation." And I found this
• 55:53
  fascinating because you know, you have a
• 55:55
  brand that is so iconic um but basically
• 55:59
  before everyone else already was
• 56:03
  um
• 56:05
  I I would say, yeah, not concerned but
• 56:07
  maybe obsessed with doing the right
• 56:08
  thing for the next generation. And um I
• 56:11
  still remember, you know, that
• 56:12
  preparation and I've been since then
• 56:14
  done I don't know hundreds if not
• 56:17
  thousands of of presentations and master
• 56:19
  classes about the generation and we are
• 56:21
  probably the ones that have now
• 56:23
  the the maybe the the richest archive on
• 56:26
  on on data and understanding about this
• 56:28
  generation and we are doing this also
• 56:29
  now for Gen Alpha. But I remember
• 56:33
  in in the if I take the last 8 years or
• 56:35
  so um
• 56:37
  there's so many people I spoke to that
• 56:40
  still even today say, "Oh, Gen Zs, they
• 56:43
  have no money. Gen Zs, they have no
• 56:45
  idea. They are not our customers." And I
• 56:47
  I I always say, "You know, guys, they
• 56:49
  are maybe not your customers
• 56:50
  >> But they have no money though.
• 56:51
  >> Yeah,
• 56:51
  >> [laughter]
• 56:52
  >> yeah, maybe not your customers
• 56:54
  because maybe you're not relevant for
• 56:56
  them. And um and I think in this region
• 56:59
  is so fascinating to see as you spoke
• 57:01
  crypto, you know, every time I'm here we
• 57:03
  speak about Bitcoin and you know,
• 57:05
  yesterday night over dinner we spoke
• 57:07
  >> You cannot see but there is a
• 57:09
  later we talk.
• 57:10
  >> [laughter]
• 57:10
  >> Yeah. But even yesterday night over
• 57:12
  dinner, what did we speak? We spoke
• 57:14
  about crypto and and Bitcoin and so on.
• 57:16
  So so and the this is also something
• 57:20
  that a lot of industries don't take
• 57:21
  serious is there is always a huge shift
• 57:24
  when it goes from one generation to the
• 57:26
  next. Um we are I I can say in you know,
• 57:29
  in my company as as advisors, we are
• 57:32
  investing so much now in in Gen Alpha
• 57:35
  and understanding of Gen Alpha because I
• 57:38
  I was on the forefront of Gen Z. I want
• 57:40
  to be on the forefront of the
• 57:41
  understanding with Gen Gen Alpha because
• 57:43
  this is my obligation to to the clients.
• 57:46
  And it's so funny that, you know,
• 57:48
  there's companies
• 57:50
  that are not yet even ready for Gen Z
• 57:52
  and then there's other companies that
• 57:54
  like we we already preparing for the
• 57:56
  next generation. Gen Z is I don't want
• 57:58
  to say is already
• 58:00
  old for us, so to speak. But the to me
• 58:02
  also is fascinating that there's always
• 58:04
  for each each new generation there tend
• 58:07
  to be also
• 58:09
  um a reluctance of the incumbent
• 58:12
  companies, incumbent businesses to also
• 58:15
  intellectually accept that this is
• 58:18
  actually a generation that has a lot to
• 58:19
  say
• 58:20
  and but also generation that does things
• 58:22
  very differently. And so maybe from a
• 58:24
  because you have so much insights into
• 58:26
  also into that that group also as more
• 58:28
  IQ focus is always on the next
• 58:30
  generation of of customers. Um tell us
• 58:33
  maybe a little bit about those maybe
• 58:35
  preconceived notions about um you know,
• 58:38
  Gen Z and that they don't have money and
• 58:40
  that they don't have taste and there's
• 58:42
  so many I hear this all the time.
• 58:44
  There's so many things that they don't
• 58:45
  have and then sorry, those companies
• 58:48
  that say them at some point they will
• 58:50
  not be your clients because they don't
• 58:51
  like you. So so this it's it's
• 58:54
  interesting. So tell us a bit about
• 58:55
  wealth and Gen Z.
• 58:56
  >> I think the first thing like um
• 58:59
  regarding our business, I have wealth
• 59:01
  management. [clears throat] Wealth
• 59:02
  management um um
• 59:05
  one of the purpose of wealth of wealth
• 59:07
  management is like your business should
• 59:09
  be a trans-generational business.
• 59:11
  >> Mhm.
• 59:11
  >> Right?
• 59:12
  So
• 59:13
  you should like if you are successful,
• 59:15
  you should have cater the grandfather,
• 59:18
  the father, the children, the
• 59:20
  grandchildren and so on.
• 59:23
  Right? And
• 59:26
  the current businesses, they have been
• 59:28
  very successful with the grandparents.
• 59:30
  I like to say that the grandparents,
• 59:32
  you know, they created wealth. They were
• 59:34
  here during the booms days and Asia
• 59:37
  growth, blah blah blah. And and then the
• 59:40
  children had no choice but but bank with
• 59:43
  the same relationship manager that they
• 59:45
  had from the grandfather.
• 59:47
  And then the the grandchildren,
• 59:49
  right, which is millennials or Gen Z,
• 59:53
  the parents are saying like, "Do the
• 59:54
  same thing." Right? So, you go to the
• 59:56
  private bank and then
• 59:58
  they're all like with suits and ties.
• 59:59
  Like, people ask, "Why why why I'm like
• 1:00:02
  this?"
• 1:00:03
  Well, I'm like this because I don't want
• 1:00:05
  your grandfather's money. I don't want
• 1:00:07
  your father's money. I want your money.
• 1:00:10
  Right? Because
• 1:00:11
  uh in this business as well, sometimes
• 1:00:14
  we need to have very uncomfortable
• 1:00:15
  conversation. And this is a very
• 1:00:16
  uncomfortable conversation and this may
• 1:00:18
  may shock your audience, but like we
• 1:00:20
  always say, "What is the only certainty
• 1:00:22
  you have in your life?"
• 1:00:24
  There was just one thing you can be 100%
• 1:00:26
  sure and you can bet all your money in.
• 1:00:29
  Is that one day you're going to pass
• 1:00:30
  away. You're going to die. Everyone die.
• 1:00:33
  Throughout history, there's nobody who
• 1:00:35
  live forever, at least as we know.
• 1:00:38
  So,
• 1:00:40
  if you know that then that's the only
• 1:00:42
  certainty you have in life, you know
• 1:00:44
  that the money is going to be
• 1:00:45
  transferred to the next generation. So,
• 1:00:47
  focusing on the current generation, yes,
• 1:00:50
  it's very smart. It's smart as the ones
• 1:00:52
  in the next generation. Right? And the
• 1:00:54
  next generation, right? And I think in
• 1:00:56
  my industry, they have failed to go
• 1:00:59
  through the third generation. Totally
• 1:01:01
  failed. They sell succession plan. They
• 1:01:04
  sell all these trusts and and insurances
• 1:01:07
  and life insurances and blah blah blah
• 1:01:08
  blah blah blah but like internally in
• 1:01:10
  the private banks, they failed
• 1:01:11
  completely. If you go there and look at
• 1:01:13
  the average age of private bankers in in
• 1:01:15
  the region here, it's like a 60 plus
• 1:01:17
  plus plus. But they dress like they are
• 1:01:19
  70 plus plus plus. But there's nobody
• 1:01:22
  that actually can communicate or connect
• 1:01:25
  properly with the next generation. It
• 1:01:27
  was one of the big things
• 1:01:29
  why you went with the pink,
• 1:01:31
  why you go to our website and it doesn't
• 1:01:33
  look like any website in the industry,
• 1:01:35
  because we want to speak with next
• 1:01:37
  generation. I've been involved in crypto
• 1:01:38
  since 2011.
• 1:01:39
  >> Mhm.
• 1:01:40
  >> I think crypto
• 1:01:42
  it's an
• 1:01:44
  very very important thing for next
• 1:01:46
  generation.
• 1:01:47
  Like we we we still have an office in a
• 1:01:51
  metaverse. Like my Gen Gen Alpha, I
• 1:01:54
  don't think this is
• 1:01:55
  >> [clears throat]
• 1:01:56
  >> this should be public knowledge, is that
• 1:02:01
  millennials
• 1:02:02
  and even Gen Z, they are very much
• 1:02:06
  social network generation. They are all
• 1:02:10
  on Instagram, TikTok, and all of that.
• 1:02:12
  They want to show up. Gen Alpha is
• 1:02:15
  completely different.
• 1:02:17
  They are introverts.
• 1:02:18
  They were born inside of Roblox. They
• 1:02:21
  don't like it. They don't like K-pop.
• 1:02:24
  They don't like putting their face on
• 1:02:27
  Instagram or any like this, right? So,
• 1:02:30
  you need to get all these nuances and
• 1:02:31
  like be in the
• 1:02:34
  in the forefront of these trends, so you
• 1:02:37
  can position your business
• 1:02:39
  to be delivered through generations.
• 1:02:42
  Like then I think I think Gen Z is is
• 1:02:46
  like
• 1:02:48
  it will be probably
• 1:02:50
  one of the richest generations we have
• 1:02:52
  ever seen. Not only because the money
• 1:02:54
  they inherited, but because the wealth
• 1:02:56
  that's been created. And the wealth
• 1:02:58
  that's been created through like two
• 1:03:00
  >> [cough]
• 1:03:01
  >> two industries. One is crypto.
• 1:03:03
  >> Mhm.
• 1:03:04
  >> And and and and the other one is AI.
• 1:03:06
  >> Mhm.
• 1:03:06
  >> They're going to use AI. They're going
• 1:03:08
  to use crypto like you and me have never
• 1:03:11
  used it before.
• 1:03:11
  >> Yeah.
• 1:03:12
  >> And
• 1:03:13
  >> And we have the
• 1:03:14
  >> all the CEOs of like 60, 70 years old
• 1:03:16
  don't don't don't even have it.
• 1:03:19
  >> And we have the then we have the
• 1:03:20
  influencer economy also which which also
• 1:03:22
  creates creates an incredible wealth.
• 1:03:24
  You know, I was just I was just in in in
• 1:03:26
  Shanghai and
• 1:03:28
  you know, there are 100 million paid
• 1:03:30
  influencers in China. And and this is if
• 1:03:33
  I if I if I share that number in US in
• 1:03:37
  the US or in Europe
• 1:03:39
  I'm in the boardroom I get like eyes
• 1:03:42
  like an alien has has said something.
• 1:03:45
  And I think this is again very important
• 1:03:47
  for every business is
• 1:03:49
  you have to be strategic about your
• 1:03:51
  future and
• 1:03:53
  I always like to say
• 1:03:54
  to me any business has to over index
• 1:03:58
  with the next generation. The only the
• 1:04:00
  only way how I can get gain market share
• 1:04:02
  over time is that I over index with the
• 1:04:05
  next generation. If I if I
• 1:04:07
  >> pay now.
• 1:04:08
  >> It doesn't pay now, but it's going to
• 1:04:10
  pay pay later.
• 1:04:11
  >> time later.
• 1:04:12
  >> Yeah, and if you don't do it now
• 1:04:14
  and you think you can wait until the
• 1:04:16
  next generation is is let's say already
• 1:04:18
  like in a critical mass
• 1:04:20
  it's the same thing. This is the in in
• 1:04:22
  my point of view now, you know, one of
• 1:04:25
  the big challenges that so many luxury
• 1:04:27
  brands are facing because they didn't do
• 1:04:29
  that that transition.
• 1:04:31
  Some did, but many others didn't do.
• 1:04:34
  They thought we have time.
• 1:04:37
  This is something I heard this so often
• 1:04:39
  in in board meeting. Yeah, we have time.
• 1:04:41
  We catch up later. Yeah, they're not yet
• 1:04:43
  they're not yet our clients. They're
• 1:04:45
  they're not yet our clients. At some
• 1:04:47
  point they will be our clients. And then
• 1:04:48
  I always said no, they will not.
• 1:04:50
  And and this is exactly what what is
• 1:04:52
  happening. So we have as a business it's
• 1:04:55
  an obligation for every business
• 1:04:57
  business
• 1:04:58
  owner and business manager is to think
• 1:05:01
  of course about the current customers,
• 1:05:04
  but even obsess more about the the the
• 1:05:07
  the others. And you know, the book is
• 1:05:09
  already I don't know, 20 something years
• 1:05:11
  old, but if you if for those of you have
• 1:05:13
  read the Blue Ocean Strategy,
• 1:05:16
  there's to me the most important part of
• 1:05:18
  Blue Ocean Strategy is is not the the
• 1:05:20
  Blue Ocean Red Ocean, but is basically
• 1:05:23
  um the the um the insight that your
• 1:05:26
  current market is only a fraction of
• 1:05:30
  your total addressable market. The
• 1:05:32
  current market for every company will be
• 1:05:35
  5% uh if 5% is already
• 1:05:38
  amazing 1% maybe if you're lucky of what
• 1:05:42
  you could address. There are people who
• 1:05:44
  are not yet in the market, there are
• 1:05:46
  people who reject the market, there are
• 1:05:48
  people who are maybe soon to be in the
• 1:05:50
  market, but if you look at the
• 1:05:52
  the total population
• 1:05:54
  any brand could be 10 times bigger if
• 1:05:57
  they would be able to tap into into that
• 1:05:59
  that thing. This is an insight that is,
• 1:06:01
  you know, 25 years old uh in today.
• 1:06:04
  If I, you know, I as I said, I teach
• 1:06:07
  innovation also. Um
• 1:06:09
  when when when I show that number,
• 1:06:10
  people are shocked. And um and it's it's
• 1:06:13
  it's and this is also where where we
• 1:06:15
  have to um where we have to prepare. And
• 1:06:17
  you know, all the things, you know, what
• 1:06:18
  that you mentioned from crypto,
• 1:06:20
  different perceptions, um different
• 1:06:22
  perception about social media, AI now as
• 1:06:25
  AI native. Um this these are going to to
• 1:06:29
  be things that are going to shape the
• 1:06:30
  the next generations.
• 1:06:32
  >> like the speed like being being deeply
• 1:06:35
  involved in crypto and AI.
• 1:06:38
  >> Mhm.
• 1:06:39
  >> And you know,
• 1:06:40
  I'm I'm
• 1:06:41
  I'm I'm on my 50s, right? So, I come
• 1:06:44
  through I came from a time that there
• 1:06:45
  was no mobile phone and uh
• 1:06:47
  we saw the speed of internet and then we
• 1:06:50
  saw the speed of mobile phone.
• 1:06:54
  There's nothing like the speed of crypto
• 1:06:57
  and AI.
• 1:06:57
  >> Mhm.
• 1:06:58
  >> So, if you think you have time to No,
• 1:07:00
  you're not. You're going to be left
• 1:07:02
  behind and people going to eat you and
• 1:07:04
  then you go into extinction.
• 1:07:06
  >> Mhm.
• 1:07:06
  >> There are I see
• 1:07:08
  an IC private bank, to be very honest, I
• 1:07:10
  think it's one of the dinosaurs. I think
• 1:07:12
  there would be so many industries, so
• 1:07:15
  many players within the industry that
• 1:07:17
  going to go into extinction like the
• 1:07:18
  dinosaurs.
• 1:07:19
  >> Mhm.
• 1:07:20
  >> I like to say, you know, like there is
• 1:07:21
  this
• 1:07:23
  big light in the sky and then, you know,
• 1:07:25
  there's some some some dinosaurs saying
• 1:07:27
  like, "Oh, that's cool. We're going to
• 1:07:29
  get tanned." You know, there's some
• 1:07:30
  other dinosaurs I want to get closer, we
• 1:07:33
  run. No, there is no time.
• 1:07:35
  >> Yeah.
• 1:07:35
  >> That that impact and that speed is going
• 1:07:37
  to come is like like
• 1:07:40
  nothing we have witnessed before.
• 1:07:42
  >> Yeah, and I think that it's also in
• 1:07:43
  [clears throat] interesting this this
• 1:07:44
  kind of
• 1:07:45
  again, this is for me always
• 1:07:47
  fascinating. Every time I'm here in in
• 1:07:49
  Southeast Asia, it's speed, you know,
• 1:07:51
  and of course China is the fastest. I
• 1:07:53
  always call China the ecosystem of
• 1:07:55
  speed. And you know, we have we have
• 1:07:58
  this kind of joint
• 1:08:00
  joint love for Labubus.
• 1:08:03
  And the the
• 1:08:05
  >> Yeah, you should do watch his Instagram
• 1:08:07
  or
• 1:08:07
  >> Yeah, so so
• 1:08:09
  Mauricio just gifted me my second my
• 1:08:11
  second pink Labubu this week when I
• 1:08:13
  came. So my my travel bag
• 1:08:17
  >> Yeah.
• 1:08:17
  >> was
• 1:08:17
  >> Daniel has something for the pink more
• 1:08:19
  than me.
• 1:08:20
  >> [laughter]
• 1:08:21
  >> And so anyone who sees me who sees me
• 1:08:23
  and sees the two two pink Labubus knows
• 1:08:25
  they come from from Mo IQ.
• 1:08:27
  >> Yeah, they think it's from me.
• 1:08:28
  >> [laughter]
• 1:08:29
  >> But and they are from you, yeah. But but
• 1:08:32
  no, I think also the Labubus are an
• 1:08:33
  interesting phenomena because again,
• 1:08:35
  I've
• 1:08:36
  from from the last 6 7 months, I hear
• 1:08:38
  all the time, "Oh, the the trend is
• 1:08:40
  dead." And the trend is not dead at all.
• 1:08:43
  And it's it's growing and growing.
• 1:08:45
  They're opening one one store after the
• 1:08:47
  other and it's sold out all the time.
• 1:08:49
  And it's the the the thing is
• 1:08:52
  I think what what a lot of people don't
• 1:08:54
  understand is the speed and it's it's a
• 1:08:56
  scarcity, but it's a different scarcity.
• 1:08:58
  It's not anymore a scarcity where it's
• 1:09:01
  about it's not anymore artificial in a
• 1:09:03
  way that I put the price point so high
• 1:09:07
  or I I tell my clients you have to buy
• 1:09:10
  first for 10,000 of dollars and then you
• 1:09:11
  can purchase. No, it's a scarcity by
• 1:09:14
  excess. To be able to access a Labubu,
• 1:09:17
  to find one, this is the art. And the
• 1:09:20
  people that that have one, an original
• 1:09:22
  one, they somehow managed to to be able
• 1:09:26
  to access that. And that actually
• 1:09:27
  creates a different social currency. And
• 1:09:30
  I find this so fascinating because I I
• 1:09:32
  also wrote a few articles, as you know,
• 1:09:34
  about Labubus and then sometimes I get
• 1:09:36
  like comments on the articles where
• 1:09:38
  people say, "Ah, this is not luxury."
• 1:09:40
  And for me it's I'm always smiling when
• 1:09:43
  I get these these comments because it
• 1:09:45
  also shows
• 1:09:47
  a wrong view on luxury. Because if we
• 1:09:49
  define luxury the same way it was
• 1:09:51
  defined 20 years ago, and even 5 years
• 1:09:54
  ago, then we're completely wrong.
• 1:09:56
  Because yes, maybe for person A,
• 1:10:00
  they think Labubu is not luxury. And so
• 1:10:02
  be it.
• 1:10:03
  But then there is another group of
• 1:10:04
  people who actually would die for or
• 1:10:07
  would kill almost for a Labubu
• 1:10:09
  because of a very specific one because
• 1:10:12
  you know, that company practically every
• 1:10:14
  day there's new drops and then they sell
• 1:10:15
  out and then there's another drop and
• 1:10:17
  then they sell out. And the the
• 1:10:19
  fascination now is to get the right one
• 1:10:21
  at the right time to get access to that.
• 1:10:24
  And that's so fascinating how how
• 1:10:28
  perception shift, how what creates value
• 1:10:31
  shifts, what is valuable shifts. And you
• 1:10:36
  know, there was the famous
• 1:10:38
  in in
• 1:10:39
  in the last century in Holland, there
• 1:10:41
  were the famous tulips that were
• 1:10:43
  basically, you know, the luxury product
• 1:10:45
  of that time. And then there was times
• 1:10:47
  where pearls were the most luxurious
• 1:10:49
  items. And then there were times where
• 1:10:53
  maybe some spices, you know, from from
• 1:10:56
  India were the most luxurious items
• 1:10:57
  because you had no access to them. And
• 1:11:00
  today, you know, we don't think about
• 1:11:01
  spices anymore as a luxury product
• 1:11:04
  because things moved. It's different
• 1:11:06
  categories now.
• 1:11:08
  The um
• 1:11:10
  I remember I had a conversation recently
• 1:11:12
  with
• 1:11:13
  the the the the person that actually
• 1:11:16
  launched the first luxury backpack. And
• 1:11:19
  he told me that he told me
• 1:11:21
  an anecdote. He said, you know, when we
• 1:11:23
  wanted to or they wanted to kind of
• 1:11:25
  see how the market reactions and they
• 1:11:27
  went to Harrods in London to the to the
• 1:11:30
  purchase director and showed him the
• 1:11:32
  backpacks. He said, you know, backpack
• 1:11:34
  is utilitarian product. It's not a
• 1:11:36
  luxury product. We will not we will not
• 1:11:38
  put it here on the floor. And you know,
• 1:11:39
  this was I don't know, 10-15 years ago.
• 1:11:42
  Um today it's history, you know, every
• 1:11:45
  every luxury brand on the planet has a
• 1:11:46
  has a backpack and the prices of
• 1:11:49
  backpacks, I don't know, 10 years ago
• 1:11:52
  were $100 maybe and now we speak about
• 1:11:54
  far 5-6-7,000.
• 1:11:56
  So, things change and this
• 1:11:59
  evolve and I would say as of this
• 1:12:01
  conversation, my personal takeaway is
• 1:12:05
  are few. The The first is what we
• 1:12:06
  already discussed. We have to be very
• 1:12:08
  strategic. We have to be You cannot
• 1:12:09
  treat a brand as the after after
• 1:12:12
  thought. If you want to disrupt the
• 1:12:13
  category, if you want to make a change
• 1:12:15
  in a category, you have to have a story.
• 1:12:19
  The story has to be a promise. It has to
• 1:12:21
  be incredibly elaborated in terms of how
• 1:12:24
  it's developed because you don't honest
• 1:12:27
  this kind of raw honesty. And as you
• 1:12:30
  said, it's these discussions are not
• 1:12:31
  always
• 1:12:33
  if I would have, you know, sugarcoated
• 1:12:35
  in the beginning at some things or so,
• 1:12:37
  then it would not have been a
• 1:12:39
  you you wouldn't have had the benefit.
• 1:12:41
  So, these are tough discussions that to
• 1:12:42
  get to get there. We're a very honest
• 1:12:44
  discussions and in both directions
• 1:12:46
  always. And then,
• 1:12:48
  but then when you have the promise, you
• 1:12:49
  have have also build the ecosystem
• 1:12:51
  around the promise to deliver on that.
• 1:12:53
  But then the the other thing is we are
• 1:12:56
  also now have to always see are those
• 1:12:58
  insights relevant? Are those insights
• 1:13:01
  shifting? Um and I think that the more
• 1:13:03
  money, more problem will always be a
• 1:13:06
  relevant insight. I would I don't think
• 1:13:08
  that there will be this will ever go
• 1:13:09
  away.
• 1:13:10
  What will change is what the problems
• 1:13:12
  are.
• 1:13:13
  And what changes what the problems are
• 1:13:16
  to understand we need to understand the
• 1:13:17
  next generation of customers. And uh and
• 1:13:20
  as they move faster and faster as you
• 1:13:22
  mentioned technologies move faster and
• 1:13:24
  faster and with the faster technology
• 1:13:26
  the next generations will be those who
• 1:13:27
  adopt them fastest. So this means that
• 1:13:30
  the change we are going to see between
• 1:13:33
  Gen Z, Gen Alpha and let's say Gen Beta
• 1:13:36
  and uh
• 1:13:37
  going forward, I predict this the speed
• 1:13:40
  of change is going to increase. The
• 1:13:42
  magnitude of change is going to
• 1:13:43
  increase. And so I can only say, you
• 1:13:45
  know, if for those of you listening or
• 1:13:47
  watching this to stay relevant,
• 1:13:51
  my recommendation is
• 1:13:53
  prepare for that change now.
• 1:13:55
  Um if you don't do it, you will not have
• 1:13:58
  time. I really like what you said um
• 1:14:00
  the extinction the extinction the
• 1:14:02
  dinosaurs, you know, there is and it's
• 1:14:04
  not you know, it's not to be nasty or
• 1:14:06
  it's not to be um you know, um someone
• 1:14:09
  who uh
• 1:14:11
  wants to paint a um
• 1:14:14
  a gloomy picture. I think it's the
• 1:14:15
  opposite because for those who embrace
• 1:14:18
  everything we just discussed in this
• 1:14:20
  conversation. For those who actually
• 1:14:24
  take that serious, there's a extremely
• 1:14:27
  bright future. You are going to be the
• 1:14:29
  leaders of the future. For those who
• 1:14:31
  think you have time,
• 1:14:33
  you know, arrivederci. It's time to say
• 1:14:35
  goodbye. Um
• 1:14:36
  it's extinction. It's not going to it's
• 1:14:38
  not going to work and you know, I I'm
• 1:14:41
  not going to say which which brand it
• 1:14:43
  was, but I was recently in in um you
• 1:14:45
  know, from a prospective client and in
• 1:14:47
  in the board
• 1:14:48
  um for a presentation and um
• 1:14:51
  the
• 1:14:52
  I
• 1:14:54
  I we had a kind of few hypothesis on
• 1:14:56
  what the what the issue is and then I
• 1:14:59
  asked the board members
• 1:15:01
  um you know, how intensive they are on
• 1:15:05
  social media. You know, what are they
• 1:15:07
  what are they doing on social media? How
• 1:15:09
  much how their own profile is how much
• 1:15:11
  time they spend.
• 1:15:12
  And
• 1:15:14
  I was not surprised that uh huge part of
• 1:15:17
  the board is not engaged in social
• 1:15:18
  media. And then I I said, you know, guys
• 1:15:22
  in today's world, if you want to be
• 1:15:24
  relevant to Gen Z as you said, you have
• 1:15:26
  to understand how they see the world.
• 1:15:29
  So, if you're not engaging on those
• 1:15:31
  platforms,
• 1:15:32
  um if you're not actively on them, too.
• 1:15:35
  If you're not understanding them, if
• 1:15:37
  you're not at the forefront of what is
• 1:15:38
  new, how can you have a honest
• 1:15:41
  conversation or a conversation where
• 1:15:43
  they take you serious? And where they
• 1:15:45
  they listen to the message.
• 1:15:46
  >> to become irrelevant.
• 1:15:47
  >> And then you become irrelevant very
• 1:15:48
  relatively fast. So,
• 1:15:50
  this is um this this means we have to
• 1:15:53
  all of us, we have to adjust, we have to
• 1:15:56
  embrace change even more than ever
• 1:15:58
  before. And the complacency has never
• 1:16:01
  been good, but in in times like these
• 1:16:04
  uh complacency is deadly.
• 1:16:05
  >> It's your
• 1:16:06
  >> And um and
• 1:16:08
  >> event.
• 1:16:08
  >> It's an extinction event and to be
• 1:16:11
  successful, it's it's even anticipate
• 1:16:13
  things faster and be prepared that what
• 1:16:16
  was right even two or three years ago
• 1:16:20
  may not be right anymore. So, this these
• 1:16:23
  even these kind of you know, best
• 1:16:25
  the word I hate most is best practice,
• 1:16:27
  but these best best practices or things
• 1:16:29
  that worked
• 1:16:30
  um the the time span in which a strategy
• 1:16:33
  works is getting shorter and shorter.
• 1:16:36
  And this is again where the promise like
• 1:16:38
  the the life amplified promise
• 1:16:41
  to develop a a promise that is a
• 1:16:43
  universal one that can stand the test of
• 1:16:46
  time where yes, the the execution may be
• 1:16:49
  different over time. The the what as we
• 1:16:53
  just said, what the things may be that
• 1:16:55
  may change. But the fundamental promise
• 1:16:58
  should never change and I think this is
• 1:17:00
  something that
• 1:17:01
  also a lot of brands underestimate and
• 1:17:03
  they see this too much as we said as a
• 1:17:05
  campaign or so. But yeah, this was such
• 1:17:07
  a pleasure Mauricio to um
• 1:17:09
  >> so much Daniel. Thanks so much for
• 1:17:11
  making Singapore your second home.
• 1:17:12
  >> Absolutely. This is uh it's you know, it
• 1:17:15
  there's
• 1:17:16
  there's not so many places that I would
• 1:17:18
  rather be. So it's it's it's not only a
• 1:17:20
  wonderful place, but again also this is
• 1:17:23
  for me the
• 1:17:24
  the beauty of what I'm doing is um
• 1:17:27
  it allows me it it's also my obligation,
• 1:17:30
  but it it allows me to travel a lot. And
• 1:17:32
  I say my obligation because everyone
• 1:17:33
  always tells me Daniel you your life is
• 1:17:35
  an airplane. You're always you know,
• 1:17:37
  you're permanently jet
• 1:17:38
  >> was here for
• 1:17:40
  48
• 1:17:40
  >> 48 hours and now I then then now back to
• 1:17:43
  the US and then and then I don't even
• 1:17:44
  know where I'm next week. Um
• 1:17:47
  But it's also this is also something
• 1:17:49
  that I will never you will never hear me
• 1:17:51
  complain about traveling. You will never
• 1:17:53
  you will never hear me because it's I I
• 1:17:55
  wouldn't know how to do the business
• 1:17:58
  without being with the clients all the
• 1:18:00
  time. But not only with the clients, but
• 1:18:02
  being now in Singapore and you know,
• 1:18:04
  speaking with you with the team, going
• 1:18:06
  for dinner,
• 1:18:08
  speaking with the cab driver that that
• 1:18:11
  drives me. This is
• 1:18:12
  >> is Daniel is very special because
• 1:18:15
  and very different because
• 1:18:17
  um
• 1:18:19
  everything he shares, he teaches or he
• 1:18:22
  uses with his client is not just
• 1:18:26
  theory like
• 1:18:28
  everything he does and I think all
• 1:18:31
  all your knowledge and and and all all
• 1:18:33
  your wisdom comes from your life
• 1:18:36
  experiences. And I know every time you
• 1:18:38
  travel, if it was in Saudi Arabia or,
• 1:18:41
  you know, Abu Dhabi or you went to
• 1:18:43
  Milan, and Cambodia, and Singapore, and
• 1:18:46
  Tokyo, and US, whatever, that that that
• 1:18:50
  that's part of what you always share
• 1:18:52
  with us.
• 1:18:53
  Uh
• 1:18:54
  which is always very precious.
• 1:18:56
  We really appreciate that.
• 1:18:57
  >> Yeah, it's it's I think it's important
• 1:18:59
  because the our clients also are global.
• 1:19:02
  The clients are and you know,
• 1:19:05
  in your business, but also in everyone
• 1:19:07
  who watches your clients will be global.
• 1:19:09
  If you're not there, if you don't
• 1:19:10
  understand the the lifestyle. And you
• 1:19:13
  know, as you yesterday over dinner, we
• 1:19:14
  spoke a bit about my experience in Saudi
• 1:19:16
  Arabia, and it's there were so many
• 1:19:18
  things that surprised me that I didn't
• 1:19:20
  expect and then you see things suddenly
• 1:19:23
  in a different in a different light. You
• 1:19:24
  see opportunities where maybe there were
• 1:19:26
  things you never thought before. And so
• 1:19:28
  this is also something I just urge all
• 1:19:30
  of you uh travel a lot. See it never as
• 1:19:33
  a
• 1:19:34
  obligation. See it never as something,
• 1:19:36
  "Oh you know, I have to be another
• 1:19:38
  10, 15, 20 hours in a plane." It doesn't
• 1:19:40
  matter. What is
• 1:19:42
  there's always things you can do.
• 1:19:44
  Uh
• 1:19:44
  you can work, you can watch a movie, you
• 1:19:46
  can do whatever, but it it allows you
• 1:19:49
  to see the world and because it's
• 1:19:51
  changing so fast.
• 1:19:53
  Um
• 1:19:54
  you have to experience the world in
• 1:19:55
  today's time in real time. And it's not
• 1:19:58
  sufficient to see it through Instagram
• 1:20:00
  or through other things. Um it's it
• 1:20:03
  helps because it gives it gives a it
• 1:20:05
  gives a glimpse.
• 1:20:06
  But you have to see the humans because
• 1:20:07
  again then it's it's all about the
• 1:20:09
  humans. So, uh Mauricio, how can if
• 1:20:11
  someone is interested to learn more
• 1:20:13
  about More Accu, about Life Amplified,
• 1:20:17
  potentially to become a client, um how
• 1:20:19
  can they find you?
• 1:20:20
  >> Absolutely. Well, we have
• 1:20:22
  we have a active social media. You can
• 1:20:25
  find us on on Instagram, LinkedIn, or
• 1:20:28
  you can go to our website More Accu
• 1:20:30
  Capital. Yeah.
• 1:20:31
  >> Wonderful. we are.
• 1:20:33
  >> So, we put that in the show notes.
• 1:20:35
  Connect also Mauricio has has a really
• 1:20:38
  fascinating
• 1:20:40
  LinkedIn, so follow him on LinkedIn.
• 1:20:43
  He is on LinkedIn as outspoken as
• 1:20:46
  we have we have seen him.
• 1:20:48
  >> not as big as
• 1:20:49
  >> [laughter]
• 1:20:49
  >> uh yeah.
• 1:20:50
  I'll reach him one day.
• 1:20:52
  >> No, and but there's always this
• 1:20:54
  incredible insights that Mauricio is is
• 1:20:57
  is sharing. And I think it's really you
• 1:21:00
  know, whether you are in the wealth
• 1:21:01
  management industry,
• 1:21:03
  it doesn't matter because Mauricio is
• 1:21:04
  not anymore more from wealth management
• 1:21:07
  to life management so to speak to life
• 1:21:09
  amplified. So, I think there there will
• 1:21:11
  be a lot of things that are very
• 1:21:12
  interesting. So, follow follow him,
• 1:21:14
  follow what this company is doing.
• 1:21:17
  It's the pink man, but
• 1:21:20
  you know, this is I always like to say
• 1:21:22
  don't underestimate people who look
• 1:21:24
  different, who do who have a bit of a
• 1:21:27
  different attitude
• 1:21:29
  because that's actually those are the
• 1:21:30
  ones that really
• 1:21:32
  push the world forward.
• 1:21:34
  They dare to say
• 1:21:35
  do do things in a dare to do things in a
• 1:21:38
  different way. And there's not too many
• 1:21:40
  of of those who you know, are the true
• 1:21:44
  disruptors. And so, it's really
• 1:21:47
  fascinating to to follow him. So, thank
• 1:21:49
  you for
• 1:21:50
  being with us today. And we will be back
• 1:21:54
  very soon with the next episode. Thank
• 1:21:56
  you so much and thank you Mauricio.
• 1:21:57
  >> Thank you so much, Daniel.
• 1:22:02
  >> [music]
• 1:22:03
  >> If this changed how you think, share it
• 1:22:05
  with someone who needs to hear it.
• 1:22:08
  Bookmark this show, new episodes [music]
• 1:22:10
  regularly, The Future of Luxury with Dr.
• 1:22:12
  Daniel Langer.