Latest / Women Disrupting Tech / How a Female Tech Entrepreneur Builds a Sustainable AI Company, with Melissa Solis | Ep. 139

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How a Female Tech Entrepreneur Builds a Sustainable AI Company, with Melissa Solis | Ep. 139 · Women Disrupting Tech

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You know, one thing my mom always told me was always have
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an attitude of gratitude, and that is that you need to thank
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other people regardless. Nobody owes you anything.
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And when people does something for you, regardless whether you
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pay them or not, you should always be thankful.
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And so I do it not only at work, I do it when I'm at a hotel, I
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do it in a restaurant. I think everybody, I think the
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busboy, I think the waitress, I think the person at the front
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desk is checking me in because all of them are participating in
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my moment right up working. I'm sitting down.
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And you know, when I founded Gayak, the one principle that I
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wanted to make sure was to create a work environment where
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people wanted to be there. They valued it because I
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realized if your employees feel valued and care for, they will
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take care of your customers. You just heard the voice of
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Melissa Solis. Melissa is my guest in episode
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139 of Women Disrupting Tech, where we talk about how she
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built an AI company on gratitude agency Emerit.
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Melissa has been in tech for three decades, and she's the
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founder and CEO of Inventor, an AI company focused on improving
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customer and employee experiences through intelligent
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automation. Those decades of experience in
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tech shape how she thinks about leadership, AI, and who gets to
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succeed. In this conversation, Melissa
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and I explore why blindly pushing AI solutions to get
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revenue breaks customer trust, how AI gives opportunities to
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people without formal tech credentials, and what women need
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to understand when they perceive a lack of support from their
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male colleagues. We also discuss why DI alone may
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not solve tax inclusion problem, how gratitude shows up as a
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leadership choice, and why starting your own company can be
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an act of leadership in itself. This is a conversation for
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founders, operators, and leaders building an AI who want to
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create long term value without losing sight of people, culture,
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and trust. So when you're ready to listen,
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here's my conversation with Melissa Solis.
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Melissa Solis, good afternoon. Welcome to Women Disrupting
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Tech. It's an honor to have you
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question. I always start as a background
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question is how did you get into your current role as CEO of
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Inventor? Awesome.
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Well, thank you for asking me to be on the podcast.
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So how did I get here? Well, it's, it's been a long
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journey, but starting corporate America.
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Spent over 15 years in the insurance industry, first
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professional job, answered phones and customer support
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contact center and then moved to where I actually helped open a
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service center in Texas. Got out of there, became COO of
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a technology company that my brother and I founded at fraud
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and risk company called Guyak Systems.
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We sold that 16 years later to London Stock Exchange for $610
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million and retired, became my husband's full time CEO.
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He decided he didn't need a full time CEO and so we ended up my
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brother and I and Tritium Partners out of Austin, TX,
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bought Inventa and the rest is history.
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That was about around 3 years ago.
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OK. And Inventa is was originally I
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think from Spain. Yes, Barcelona was founded in
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Barcelona. Do you still go there?
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I do all the time. In fact I just got back.
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I was just in Europe, was in Switzerland, Paris and also
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Madrid and Barcelona seeing customers.
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So I'm there all the time. I spent a month and a half last
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summer. Okay, cool.
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So what does inventor do? What?
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What is the problem that you solve?
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So I, I like to say that we take your data and regardless whether
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it's siloed, whether it's not in a format that's really usable
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for AI and we make your data intelligent and bring it
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together so it's accessible. And then we help you solve
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problems or solve workflows or make AI simple.
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And so we really are partners to companies because we realize
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that every company is different. And so we we really help
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understand what companies are trying to accomplish and then
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help them make it easy and partner with them to be
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successful. OK, so making AI easy, that sort
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of sounds beautiful, but it's also sounds really complicated
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because you you said OK, you pretty much take on the customer
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as is. So regardless how the data is
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structured, if there is any structuring in data.
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How do you? Get from let's say that stage to
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where AI is, where they are AI ready.
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Absolutely. So we this has a wonderful
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question and we talked to large companies and small companies.
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What's amazing is I've yet to talk to someone that says, hey,
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our data is all together organized, tagged and ready to
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be used. And I always say when I meet
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that person, I'm going to stop, take a picture with them and
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they're going to go in my office in a frame.
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Because the truth is that's a challenge everybody has, which
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is why so many deployments are failing.
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And you know, I like to say what's really sad about this
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industry, a lot of companies don't care and they've thrown
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solutions up for companies and it's failed and it's actually
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caused more friction because they didn't solve the data
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problem. And so it is so critical to your
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success. And so we basically understand
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where all that data is. And then there's a lot of things
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that goes behind the scenes. But Merlin, my partner, who's
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also our CTO, has really done an amazing job bringing the AI
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tools together and all the other processes that we use to help
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bring that data together, organize it, tag it and get it
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ready so that it can be used across the whole enterprise.
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And, and it's amazing once that's done, just the power that
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that within itself does. And then we, we say, OK, what do
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you, what do you want to do, right?
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What are you trying to solve? What are your pain points?
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And then we partner with them. Sometimes we deliver full
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platform, other times we help them organize and get their data
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ready and deliver it through tools they've already deployed
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on their solution. So we're really truly a partner
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with companies because we believe that's how you're going
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to be successful in AI is whether it's a full deployment
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or partners understanding where they're at and not asking them
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to, you know, waste all that money they've already spent and
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repeal and replace place. But meet and write where they're
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at and partner with them and help them be successful in their
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journey. Yeah.
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I didn't make sure that you know the company well enough to be
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able to to take the data correctly because I from my own
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experience that that is you have to understand, have a deep
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understanding what the customer does.
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So first of all, my mother used to say God gave you 2 ears and
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one mouth for a reason. You'd listen as twice as much as
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you talk. So it's about asking the right
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questions and then listening and then also helping guide them
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through the process. We're the expert, right?
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We're doing this for many companies and we've been doing
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it for over 16 years, actually almost 20 years.
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So we have lots of experience and we know the challenges and
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we have customers all over the world.
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So being able to understand and ask the right questions and then
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listening twice as much as talking and then walking through
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and helping them understand the importance and helping them, you
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know, through different challenges, even sometimes
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getting the data and getting access, helping them to have the
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conversations that necessary enterprise wide cause a lot of
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times silo data, other departments Oregon that, you
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know, organizations within that company are not quick to give up
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their data, but helping them be able to educate and and talk
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about why that's important. Again, it's critically, you
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know, it's critical to their success.
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And so I think it's really about partnership and just coming
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along with them and walking hand in hand is so important.
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Yeah. So you've been around a lot
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longer than most of the AI platforms many of us know.
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What's one thing you've seen going wrong, or maybe going
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right in how companies structure their data that that now
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becomes? Well, a lot of it is because you
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know, they will come in to solve a problem, but they, they only,
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they don't really look at the problem holistically.
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And so what's happened is, is a lot of companies, when you, when
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you read statistics that are Gartner, Force or IDCTSIA,
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they've all published them. 7 to 85% of all deployments are
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failing, stalling or are causing more friction or not producing
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the ROI. 95% of JDI deployments are failing or stalling.
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Why is that? And it's because companies are
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just selling something to a customer and not really being
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their partner, trying to solve the problem, not really getting
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involved enough to really understand it.
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And one of the things that we did really well at GAIAC, we
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owned it for 16 years and we just didn't lose customers.
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We had the largest customers in the world.
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Why was that? It's because we treated our
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customers how we want to be treated.
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We weren't just listen, we're we're in the for profit
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business. Don't get me wrong, it's about
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revenue, but you've really got to care about that customer and
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you've got to want them to be a customer for life.
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So when you go in there, it's not about just revenue.
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It's about giving them a solution that solves the problem
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so that you can grow with them. In fact, I said with a large
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corporation the other day that that has some serious issues
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because they picked the wrong vendor and it's a legacy
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provider that if I said the name, everybody knows, right?
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But it's it's not working. And you know, he said, why would
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you sit here and help me solve this problem when you're going
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to get a small piece out of the gate?
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Because you're going to help me do this, which is going to help
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me solve this problem over here. And I said, you know why?
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Because I'm coming back to ask for more business.
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I'm not doing this just to be this little provider.
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When I show you what I can do in the power of our platform, I'm
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going to become your solution provider.
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And he started laughing. He goes, you know, you're
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probably right. And I'm like, listen, I'm in
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this for the long haul. And and you know what?
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We're going to do what we say we're going to do, and then
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we're going to want to grow with you.
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I'm going to be back and then I'm going to be talking about
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how do I get more of your business?
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And so again, it's that mentality, understanding,
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respecting and in really valuing that customer and be willing
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again to listen twice as much. And if you don't treat customers
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that way nowadays, these are modern customers, you will not
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be around. You will lose your, you know,
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your share of the market. And you know, a lot of companies
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are either selling, merging or they'll go away because they're
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not investing the time, they're not modernizing their platforms
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not and just straight up, they don't care about the customer.
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It's about revenue and you have to care about that customer.
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So why don't they care about the customer?
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Because I would assume they see the same trends as you see
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customers become more vocal, more demanding, more savvy.
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Even so, they they see the same trends, but they are still like
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selling us a solution to them instead of rather than instead
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of really pinpointing the problem and then building the
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solution together with a with a customer.
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So why do you think that is? Why do you?
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Well, I think you could, you could say a couple things, but I
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think it's more complicated than people realize.
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So 1 you have what I call the legacy vendors.
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And at one point they had an amazing platform, but they've
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not continued to invest and because they just Band-Aid and,
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and, and you know, take things up to try to keep up with what's
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happened with AI. It's it's made a challenging
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because with, you know, the ever changing landscape of what is
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happening in this space, if your platform is not modernized, then
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eventually, you know, you're not going to be a player in this
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space anymore. So some of it is just because
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they've not, you know, kept up with what's happening.
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They try to, you know, buy a company or, or Band-Aid a
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solution or partner with someone.
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So that's one piece of the puzzle.
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Then I have what I call the partner, or if you want to call
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it a you, you could call it where they've kind of brought a
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bunch of solutions together. The CRM systems, you know,
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you've got the larger companies that have a customer base where
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maybe conversational AI or an AI platform such as ours is really
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just an afterthought because they're losing customers because
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other players in the space are going out and bringing companies
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in and, and merging it so the customer doesn't have to go out
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and get multiple vendors. The problem is that we're seeing
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in that space is 1 is it's like anything else.
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You can go buy three companies. And I've seen it in front of
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risk. I mean, we saw with all the
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bureaus. I mean, so it's not like it's a
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new problem, but you've got three companies that do business
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three different ways. You have 3 development processes
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completely different. And unless you, I like to say it
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is not for the weak, unless you are strong enough to come in,
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bring those systems together and almost do either a wrapper or
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you've got to basically rewrite that platform to merge it
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together. You've got to bring culture
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together. You've got to bring it doesn't
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happen. So what happens is the core
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business is where they put their innovation dollars, where they
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pay their attention. That's what I would do if I was
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them. The problem is this space over
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here that is a critical part of people's success is not getting
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the same attention. So you have gaps of service, and
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then I like to say the third type is these LLM solutions only
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you have companies that have raised a lot of money that goes
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in and just throws up an LLM solution.
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It doesn't have the governance, it doesn't have the guardrails,
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it has hallucinations, it has drifting.
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If you're not keeping up with the latest version of the LLM,
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then you start having problems because these LLMS, once they
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roll out a new version, they forget the old one, they move on
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and it starts having issues. So, you know, some of it is not
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even, it's really not even about desire.
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It's just about that. And then you have some people
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that, you know, have raised a lot of money.
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They're technologists, but they don't have the operational side
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and really understand you can go get a customer because it's a
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new shiny, flashy thing. But it takes a lot of work to
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keep a customer and keep them happy.
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And so that's why you see so many people moving around in
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their jobs. You see, you know, movement that
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you see a lot of money being raised.
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A lot of these companies are burning money.
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They're not making anything. And it's again, at the end of
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the day, this market has got to level out.
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People's got to start doing good business and treating the
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customer right if they're going to be here for the long haul,
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we're going to be here for the long haul.
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That's why taking this company to profitability and all those
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things doing good business, that's so important.
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You've got to have a good model to build on and then how you
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treat your customer. You know, I'd rather take a
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little bit longer to get to the finish line and do a ride.
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So those customers love you and respect you.
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I mean, I'm five years out of Guy Act and the rest of the day
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here, Money 2020, I'm meeting with my customers from Guy Act.
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You know why? Because I treated him right and
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I followed him at the last five years and they followed me.
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They called me still and asked me questions.
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It's about relationship and when you don't guess what, I would
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rather have a customer for life that follows me even when I'm
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out of the business world and know that I've done them right
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than to make a buck and and treat people wrong.
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It, you know, it comes around, what goes around comes around
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and eventually it catches up. Yeah, it does.
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So when we talked before, I would just want to shift gears a
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bit. When we talked before, you said
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AI had another capability which is that is going to open doors
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for people without traditional agrees.
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Does that also mean that it makes deck and or AI more
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accessible for a female and employees with that?
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Absolutely not just female though, because I want to go
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back because listen, the reality is, and, and it's funny because
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I was at a dinner last night and a lot of people around the
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table, as you know, I went to Stanford, I went to here, I went
16:53
to there, my daughter went here, my daughter went there.
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And you know, I'm sat there and I'm like, hey, my brother didn't
16:59
graduate, graduate from college. He didn't go to college and I
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didn't graduate. And we did really well.
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Guess what? We had to work twice as we had
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to kill ourselves. But I don't have any of that.
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And I've done things you guys haven't done.
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And it's, it's funny because for so many years, I remember
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working at the insurance industry and getting overlooked
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for positions because I didn't have the pedigree.
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And you know, I, it's a like a piece of paper, but yet I was
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accomplishing 2 and three times what my other peers were doing.
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And so I am so excited about AI cuz it doesn't matter if you're
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poor, broke, fat skin, white, African American, Hispanic, if
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you're lesbian, gay, transgender, it doesn't matter
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if you're willing to put the time and you can go online
17:47
without walking into inside a, a institution of education and you
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can become the next AI, you know, leader of a company and,
17:58
and make millions of dollars. It's about effort and it's
18:02
leveled the playing field. Now I am a huge fan of higher
18:05
education. Send my daughter to college,
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send all of my nieces to college.
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I've sent many, many children to college.
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But this has changed what is happening.
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If you're willing to go online and put the time in, you can do
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it without walking in and incurring all that debt and all
18:22
those things. So it is leveling the playing
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field failed in this generation. And I am really excited because
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the greatest minds that we see in our business are the 212223
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year older that, you know, 10 years.
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Their mom was threatening to shut off the Internet if they
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didn't get off a fortnight. So the point is like it is
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changing how people can be successful.
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And I am so excited because it's, it's like I see kids
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coming out with like eighty $100,000 worth of debt and
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they're making forty $50,000. They're going to be under that
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burden of debt for generations. I mean, it's insanity.
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And it's like it's time that that switches and this is going
19:05
to, this is challenging colleges.
19:07
I know because I've had many colleges come and talk to us.
19:10
This is challenging these higher institutions say, well, time out
19:13
because the truth is by the time they get through the four years,
19:17
everything's changing. Everything they taught them
19:19
about AI is irrelevant. So they are going to have to
19:22
rethink how they do business in order to get those students
19:26
sitting in the building. Yeah.
19:28
Any tips for that? How would you approach it?
19:32
OK, absolutely. In fact, I'm working with some
19:34
of the the schools around our area in Texas because one is
19:38
they're going to have to create these six month or or 12 month
19:42
programs where kids can come in and have real live AI leaders in
19:46
there helping them teach and learn because it's a hand on,
19:50
there's huge amounts of knowledge online.
19:52
How do you bring that together and do it in a very interactive
19:55
class setting to teach them the principles?
19:57
There are some foundational principles they need to know.
20:01
And then I think, you know, they've got to make it
20:03
accessible and they're going to have to do more online learning
20:07
where people all over the world can come in and enroll and
20:09
participate and make it more accessible.
20:11
And I think, you know, right now it's throwing them on their
20:14
heels a little bit because they are slow burners and slower to
20:17
move and it's causing them to have to move quicker.
20:20
And I think what's really amazing is someone could
20:24
actually come out of a six month program or even no program at
20:27
all if they want to invest the time and be making, you know,
20:31
8090, a $100,000 a year starting out for a young person.
20:35
I mean, that is life changing. And so now we'll still need
20:38
higher education for some, like I don't want my doctor learning
20:40
how to be a doctor online. So there will be things that
20:44
were that college is going to be important, but if these
20:47
institutions are going to stay viable in this age, they are
20:51
going to have to change too. Yeah, yeah, I know.
20:54
I hear you. Absolutely.
20:55
And I think it's really also important indeed to, to, let's
21:00
say, cut up the curriculum because one of the things that I
21:04
would think they should do is to partner with companies like
21:08
yours, but also like, like do do sort of apprenticeships.
21:13
People can learn the foundations, then they go to you
21:16
and, and learn, put it into practice.
21:18
Then they go back so much more, let's say back and forth.
21:23
And that way is. Big, right?
21:25
So there's so many areas and so really specializing in certain
21:29
functions and for certain functionalities are going to be
21:32
important too, because people come here, I want to learn AI.
21:34
Well, what the heck does that mean?
21:35
I mean, it could mean about a bajillion things, right?
21:38
So really understanding where they're going to play and where
21:41
the need is and going to these companies saying where are the
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gaps? How?
21:44
Who do you need to hire so that they can build these programs to
21:48
support the workforce? Yeah, yeah.
21:50
And then the only thing with that is always that demand
21:54
generation is always following demand, but the demand shifts
21:57
over time. So by the time those people have
22:00
that, you also can solve through let's say these more mixed
22:05
curricula that you can actually make make the demands more
22:10
flexible or the supply more flexible.
22:13
I agree. I agree.
22:16
So I want to pick up on something you said earlier.
22:20
You said that you were best offer for promotions and in our
22:24
earlier chat you also said that women should earn recognition
22:28
rather than receive it. So what happens when recognition
22:32
sort of becomes standard so that people just receive it outright?
22:38
What's the problem with that? Yeah, that's called DEI so and I
22:43
know that's it. It's a bit of a loaded term in
22:46
the US. So I'm a woman and I'll address
22:49
it because I think it's really important.
22:51
So listen, I am not naive and, and I like to say I, you know,
22:56
I, I have, I play a little bit in a lot of areas.
22:59
One is I'm married to an Hispanic man.
23:01
I have biracial African American and and Caucasian or white
23:06
nieces. My best friend is Asian and we
23:10
have people who, you know, have different sexual preferences
23:13
than I do and you know a lot of different things.
23:17
None of that matters. It does matter because there's a
23:20
lot of pressure. But when it comes to earning
23:22
things, none of that should play in it because the truth is, if
23:26
he no law is going to change people's heart, all the
23:30
prejudice and mistreatment that I've received and I've received
23:33
a lot. And plus, I was always chunky.
23:35
OK, I was not Barbie. So I remember people telling me
23:39
I was getting passed up because I was overweight and I didn't
23:42
fit the profile. And I remember feeling like,
23:45
what the heck, not only am IA woman, but I'm now getting
23:48
passed over because I'm chunky. They didn't say fat.
23:51
They said chunky that which was even worse.
23:52
If we're better off, just call me fat and and so the point was
23:57
I had two ways I could look at this.
23:59
Then I was at a trade show six years ago and someone asked me
24:03
if my husband was legal. I'm like, what do you think I
24:05
did? I rather than illegal alien.
24:07
I mean, come on. So I've listened.
24:09
I have faced a lot of adversity. Plus I'm dyslexic and and so
24:14
I've had to work twice as hard to do things.
24:17
But here's what I realized at the end of the day, I cannot
24:22
force anyone to respect me or treat me right, right?
24:28
I can't make you do the right things because it's a hard
24:31
issue. But when I refuse, right when I
24:35
sit at the table and I earn my way there or I build my own
24:39
table, that is how you're going to change things because people
24:42
will give you respect even though they may mistreat you and
24:45
disagree with you. When you've done the things to
24:48
be able to sit at that table and know you've earned your way
24:50
there, as hard as you may be, that that's how you're going to
24:54
change it. And I tell women all the time,
24:56
because women come to me and say I'm being mistreated, I'm being
25:00
overlooked. I'm and I'm like, why are you
25:03
there? Like go where you are
25:05
celebrated, not tolerated. And I know sometimes that can be
25:09
hard, but I was a single mom and I walked out of the job that I
25:13
was making six figures many, many years ago, had a car
25:17
allowance, had expense for clothes and everything else.
25:20
I walked out because they were not treating me with respect and
25:24
I took a huge pay cut to go to a company that gave me the respect
25:29
and allow me to grow and and you know, look where that took me.
25:33
If I'd have never been willing to take that, that chance and
25:36
risk. So it's not that I don't think
25:39
things need to change because I do.
25:41
There's so many prejudice. But whenever a company which I
25:45
have worked in public companies and they come in and say, OK,
25:49
we've went to the marketplace and you can't hire no white
25:53
people, no men, and you can only hire, you know, Hispanic, Asian,
26:01
you know, gay, lesbian, transgender for the next 50
26:04
people, that's wrong. That is reverse discrimination.
26:08
Just because they went out to the market and said this is our
26:11
pledge. You should hire the person that
26:14
walks through the door that can do the job the best.
26:17
Not based on color, not based on sex, not based on sexual
26:21
orientation, anything. It should simply be who can do
26:26
the job best. And when you don't operate that
26:28
way, you are being prejudice yourself.
26:31
So I refuse to do that. I treat everybody the same.
26:35
I don't care what your religious belief is.
26:37
I don't care whether you're married to a man, a woman.
26:41
I don't care. I don't care what color you are.
26:44
I don't care. I don't care if you're fat,
26:46
skinny, tall, short. I care.
26:49
Can you do the job? And can you help me get where
26:52
I'm going? And if we don't start operating
26:55
that way, we will never get to a world where people are treated
26:58
fairly and equally. And how that happens is go start
27:02
your own companies, guys, when you have a good moral compass
27:06
and you treat people with respect and you treat people the
27:09
way they deserve to be treated, you need to go start a company
27:13
and be a leader so that you can create a workforce where people
27:17
can come and be celebrated and to grow and give them
27:20
opportunities to then teach them how to go out and start a
27:24
business. I, I mean, I look at my past
27:26
employees, some of them have already started companies and
27:28
they're super successful and it's so exciting to support them
27:32
in that journey because I know them principles of how you
27:35
should run a company and treat people is there.
27:38
So when they hire people, they're going to do the same
27:40
thing. So women, if you are out there
27:43
and you are not being treated right, start looking and go
27:47
somewhere where people are going to treat you right.
27:49
And if they're not going to give you a seat at the table, go
27:52
build your own dating table. I mean, quit waiting around for
27:56
someone to give you your opportunity.
27:59
Go get your opportunity, community.
28:01
And that's how we're going to change the world is not putting
28:04
a policy in that says you got to be good cuz let's get real.
28:07
All you're doing is teaching. Number one, you're pissing
28:09
people off. And I hope that isn't bad to say
28:11
that, but you're pissing people off that have a bad attitude
28:14
anyway. So they're going to treat you
28:16
worse or figure out how to get around the system.
28:19
So if you want to bring change, it starts with you.
28:24
It starts with you making a decision to no longer accept
28:27
that type of treatment and doing something about it.
28:30
That's how we're going to change the world.
28:33
Yeah, not accepting any more that you're treated badly and
28:36
just taking and maybe then even packing up your backs and.
28:40
Absolutely. At the end of.
28:43
The day listen, I got a daughter and two beautiful granddaughters
28:48
and all my actions shows them how they should be treated
28:52
right? And they have what demands they
28:53
should put and and you know, that's why I like I tell, I
28:56
mean, I went to a women's conference and they had this
28:59
women's breakfast and I'm sitting up there and they're
29:01
just complaining about men the whole time.
29:04
And I'm sitting there thinking this isn't solving anything,
29:06
right. What's really sad is a while
29:09
back, a few years ago, I was at one of these women breakout
29:13
sessions and a man was there and I remember thinking everybody
29:16
was giving him a hard time, you know, like, why are you here?
29:19
And he's like, hey, I got an opinion too.
29:21
And he actually his wife had drugged him.
29:23
So he was there unwillingly. But here's what happened.
29:27
It really changed how even I think.
29:29
And I was always very forthright on how I thought about this, but
29:33
because my mom was always like, hey, and she called me Lisa and
29:36
Lisa. And quit making excuses.
29:38
You, you, the only person that can determine what's going to
29:42
happen to you is you. So if you accept what people are
29:45
saying, that's exactly what's going to happen.
29:48
But this man spoke up because there was a question asking, you
29:52
know, was talking about something to do with a man and
29:55
he had done something to a woman.
29:57
Everybody was like, oh, you poor thing.
29:58
And I'll never forget. He said, you know what?
30:01
He said maybe I'm going to get beat up for this.
30:03
And of course, his wife had her head down because she looked
30:05
like she's to kill him, forget him and say anything, but never
30:09
forget. It changed even the way I
30:10
thought. And he said, you know what?
30:13
I know you guys think that we're just, you know, we don't pay a
30:17
price. But let me tell you something.
30:19
I have come home and looked at my children and my son asked me,
30:23
Dad, why wasn't you at my school program?
30:26
You know why? Because I was at work, because I
30:28
knew I wasn't going to get that promotion unless I missed that
30:31
program. And he started talking about the
30:34
things that he had sacrificed to be able to provide for his
30:38
family so that his wife could stay home and be a mother and
30:42
man, It spoke to my heart because I realized, like, we're
30:46
sometimes blaming people because that's what we think, but we've
30:50
not even taken the time to have the right conversations with
30:54
them, right? Sometimes we just have to talk
30:56
to people that we think are the culprits.
30:59
And what we find is they're dealing with their own situation
31:02
and their own challenges. So open conversation is all
31:06
about it. I, I'm not afraid to have those
31:08
tough conversations to say, Hey, how you're treating me is
31:12
disrespectful. Why are you treating me that
31:14
way? Am I doing something wrong?
31:17
And listen, you're not always going to get the answer you
31:19
would, but those are important conversations.
31:22
And then understanding the other sides of viewpoint.
31:25
And, and it really touched me because listening to that man
31:28
talk about his disappointment, how he had cried sometimes
31:32
because he missed those moments trying to be a good provider for
31:35
his family. And so sometimes what we deem is
31:39
discrimination really is that person fighting just to provide.
31:43
And it's nothing to do with discrimination.
31:45
So I think as women, we can also be better conversationalists.
31:49
We love to talk. And so we could also do a better
31:52
job in asking the right questions and then listen and be
31:56
able to hear other other sides and other opinions.
31:59
Yeah, I think hearing the other side of the debate is always
32:03
really important to that to your point area.
32:07
So what I was wondering about two things I want to pick up on.
32:12
One is that you talked about merit.
32:15
So the best person for the job should be hired and if that's if
32:19
he's where she is, whatever background they have doesn't
32:23
matter. Doesn't matter.
32:25
So how do you look at the statement that sort of the
32:28
background determines filter through which you determine
32:31
who's the best person for the job?
32:34
So I don't have filters personally.
32:36
At Inventa, I interview people and I look at each one of them
32:40
as unique individuals. Doesn't matter.
32:42
And I think when you put filters on and you're going back to the
32:45
same problem, you're already just reverse discrimination
32:48
before they even get in the door.
32:49
You're not even looking at them. You're just basically saying,
32:51
oh, you'd hit this persona. And the truth is, listen, I, one
32:56
of my best friends in college was African American.
32:59
In fact, we went to college together.
33:01
She, I made straight A's and she did, she made D's and C's.
33:06
She was not good at school. If she made AB, it was a good
33:09
day. She got a full rise scholarship.
33:12
I didn't and I remember being really upset about that.
33:16
You know why I didn't? Because I was a white female.
33:18
But what they didn't realize is my mother was a single mom.
33:21
We were on welfare. We had food stamps.
33:24
We lived in, you know, state assisted housing, did Medicaid.
33:28
I know what it feels like to stand in line and be made fun of
33:31
because my mom was using some food stamps as a kid, being told
33:34
she's a lazy pig. My dad ran off with a woman.
33:37
She had four kids and never worked a day in her life.
33:40
I know what it's like to have nothing.
33:42
I remember my mom telling us when our electricity got caught
33:45
up off and we were using candles, you know, saying, oh,
33:49
this is so cool. We're like a little house in the
33:51
Prairie bullshit. We were broke and poor and we
33:54
didn't have electricity. So the point is like, it's, it's
33:58
those moments. But yet how did I not deserve
34:01
it? Now I had to work.
34:02
I work full time and went to school and it sucked and it was
34:06
hard. But you know what?
34:08
I don't regret any of it because I realized that lesson taught me
34:12
something is that they should have looked at us equally and
34:16
given the scholarship based on the hard work.
34:18
I had spent hours in the books and done all this work, but at
34:22
the end it was, you know, I wasn't picked because of that.
34:26
And so that was a valuable lesson.
34:28
I could have got mad. I was still her best friend,
34:30
still hung out with her, still went to school and and you know,
34:34
but the point is like that was the beginning to realize like,
34:36
hey, life isn't always fair. And the only way that you're
34:41
going to make a change, Melissa, is be successful and successful
34:46
just looks like different things for different people.
34:48
And then tell your story and be willing to stand up and stand
34:52
hard on your beliefs, right? And bring others along for the
34:55
journey and, and getting people to understand that there is
34:59
nothing in life that is free or given to you that has great
35:03
value. The most valuable things in the
35:06
world, in the world. Listen humanly on this earth is
35:11
not just given to you. I mean, for me personally as a
35:14
believer, I believe the only thing you're given for free is,
35:16
is Christ love. But other than that, everything
35:20
cost you something. And, and So what I have found is
35:23
the things that I've worked and sacrificed for when I get him, I
35:27
respect him, I appreciate him and I take care of him.
35:31
And then I, I, I love to share and, and, and really share with
35:35
others how I got there. So, you know, again, there's a
35:38
reason why when you get it, when it says free, it's not that
35:42
good. No.
35:44
The second thing I want to pick up on this issue and you
35:48
mentioned is also when we had the conversation before, you
35:53
actually make a practice of walking around in your office
35:56
and thanking people and giving them recognition.
35:59
Yes. For a job well done.
36:02
So how does that help you attract and also retain probably
36:09
the right people? Well, you know, one thing my mom
36:12
always told me was always have an attitude of gratitude, and
36:15
that is that you need to thank other people regardless.
36:19
Nobody owes you anything and when people does something for
36:23
you, regardless whether you pay them or not, you should always
36:25
be thankful. And so I do it not only at work,
36:28
I do it when I'm at a hotel, I do it in a restaurant.
36:31
I think everybody, I think the busboy, I think the waitress, I
36:34
think the person at the front desk is checking me in because
36:38
all of them are participating in my moment, right?
36:41
They're up working, I'm sitting down.
36:43
And you know, when I founded Gayak, the one principle that I
36:47
wanted to make sure was to create a work environment where
36:49
people wanted to be there. They value because I realized if
36:53
your employees feel valued and care for, they will take care of
36:56
your customers. And if they don't, they won't.
36:59
And so, you know, our motto was we want you to be a customer for
37:02
life. And so I literally would set
37:06
because I would get extremely busy.
37:08
I would set timers on my calendar or on my phone.
37:12
And several times a day I would get up and walk around and just
37:16
talk to people and say, man, I just really want to thank you
37:18
for what you're doing. And I would literally go to
37:20
their leaders periodically and find out so I could talk about
37:23
detailed stuff to make him know. And I think one of the one of
37:27
the that really touched me is one day I walked by and this
37:29
gentleman worked in the development department.
37:32
And I went up and said, hey, I just want to thank you.
37:34
Like I talked to your leader and they were telling me the man
37:38
started crying. I was like, man, what did I say?
37:41
And he goes, Melissa, I have worked over 20 years and never
37:45
had a leader tell me thank you. That blew me away.
37:49
I mean, it just really got to me.
37:51
I was like, that is so sad. And he goes, man, this means so
37:54
much to me. You don't even know how much.
37:57
Guess what? But that moment I, I realized
37:59
like all this time sometimes when I didn't want to do it and
38:02
I was busy like it matters and, and taking the time, I knew all
38:07
of my employees and names. I knew many of them would call
38:10
me when their parents were dying or a child was in the hospital.
38:14
I was the one who drove up to the hospital and sat with them
38:16
sometimes because they didn't have family, but they knew I
38:19
cared about them. And so I tell leaders all the
38:22
time, you cannot do it by yourself.
38:25
And I, I go into meetings like I, I, I, no, no, no, no, no, no,
38:28
no. You can't do anything by
38:30
yourself. You need a team.
38:32
And so understanding, respecting, giving them credit,
38:35
making them feel cared for is so important.
38:38
It is critically important to your success.
38:40
And then when they do something that is amazing, give them
38:43
credit. Don't try to take credit.
38:46
I know in my career and you know, in corporate America used
38:49
to irritate me whenever I would do something and my leader would
38:51
take full credit, not give me or my team any credit.
38:54
It's, it's, it's demoralizing. And that's why people leave.
38:58
And when you look at the statistics and studies that are
39:00
out there, people don't leave because of pay.
39:02
Most of the time they leave because they feel undervalued
39:06
and they don't feel like they have an opportunity for growth.
39:09
And, and so it's your responsibility of a leader.
39:12
Don't expect your leaders to stand in the gap and be
39:16
thankful. You need to be thankful as the
39:19
leader and then it will go down and it will help other people
39:23
with that example. When they see you doing it, they
39:26
will start doing it. So, you know, I tell everyone,
39:29
don't expect your leaders underneath you to be the gap
39:32
and, and just be thankful and to really appreciate your
39:35
employees. It's your responsibility.
39:37
It starts at the top and works its way down.
39:40
How did you get to this practice, by the way?
39:43
Because the idea, when we talked, there was a special
39:45
story about it. Oh, absolutely.
39:48
Walmart, Sam Walton. But there was even some before
39:51
that. But Sam Walton actually came.
39:54
We didn't know it. It was right before Christmas.
39:56
And you know, I was working at Walmart at the customer
40:00
services. We're getting ready to open and
40:03
a man in a hat and overhauls came and knocked on the door.
40:06
We're like, no, Sir, you can't come in till we open a day.
40:09
He said OK, thank you. And he stood there.
40:11
And so Tom. Mom was the store manager and he
40:14
came around the corner and he was like, Oh my God, open the
40:16
door. That's and we're like, oh, we're
40:18
getting fired. So we go and open the door and
40:21
let him in and he came in. He's oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
40:23
You did great. He got everybody up there and he
40:26
gave us all a $50 bonus. And I remember that was big
40:29
money back. I was 16, I'm almost 60 now.
40:32
And he was getting a hunting license because he was going
40:35
hunting with one of the employees husbands there in Fort
40:38
Scott, KS. And he was driving an old pickup
40:41
truck. And I remember just being like,
40:44
could not believe that this man did not throw a fifth.
40:47
He didn't get mad. He didn't say go get your store
40:49
manager. He said thank you and stood
40:51
there and wait. So that was like one of my
40:55
first. But I think, you know, even
40:57
before that, my grandfather and my mother were just such
41:01
advocates of gratitude. I mean, I saw that displayed in
41:05
their lives. And I think that that's why his
41:08
parents and I tell people all the time, the greatest job in
41:12
the world is being a parent and, and you are raising the next
41:16
generation of leaders and they are going to determine how this
41:19
world is. So even my grandchildren, like I
41:22
was just with him this last weekend.
41:25
And I'm always telling them, you are blessed, you know, be
41:27
thankful. Like even they're they're, you
41:30
know, three and four and, and four months.
41:32
But I'm always telling them the principles like, Hey, you are
41:34
loved, you are special. You know, you are smart and and
41:39
you will be thankful and grateful because you are blessed
41:42
and just teaching them over and over and over again.
41:44
And then showing that through your actions is really how we
41:48
will raise the next leaders. And that's why I can look at
41:51
them and I look at my nephews and nieces who are now becoming
41:54
leaders and they're showing them principles.
41:56
And it's great because I know that like we do have hope.
41:59
I hear people say we have no hope at this.
42:01
No, no, no. Some of this next generation
42:04
coming up are some of the fiercest leaders and they're
42:06
going to be so much better than we are.
42:08
But again, it's that gratefulness and and
42:11
thankfulness and being willing to take risks.
42:14
But also then I didn't understand it.
42:15
You didn't do it by yourself. Yeah.
42:17
So final thing I want to pick up on is you're talking really
42:22
confidently, and I think that's really powerful.
42:27
I think it's beautiful from a man or a woman, doesn't really
42:30
matter. But do you have any tips for
42:33
women who listen to this, who think like, hey, how do I start
42:38
doing this? Like really telling the story
42:41
with conviction, with confidence.
42:44
Yeah, so I will tell you there's a few things.
42:47
One is, you know, I have amazing family and a husband behind me.
42:51
I mean, my, my husband Robert is such an amazing husband.
42:55
He's very quiet. And when he speaks like he's so
42:59
when he says something, I always like pay attention because it's
43:02
so powerful, because he I like to talk.
43:05
So I, I tend to talk more than he does.
43:07
But when he says some, it's so thoughtful, right?
43:10
And so I tell people, first of all, surround yourself.
43:13
And I think sometimes you think you have to have all these
43:15
friends know you just have to have some good friends that will
43:18
tell you the truth. And don't surround yourself by
43:21
people who will tell you what you want to hear.
43:23
They will you need to find people who will tell you what
43:25
you need to hear. I never go find people that are
43:29
in my own sphere or my own limitations.
43:31
I always go fine, like mentors that will challenge me then no
43:35
more than I do and, and are smart And but they will tell me,
43:39
Hey, Melissa, that is so wrong. And you're way off on that,
43:42
right? Because that's how you grow.
43:44
So be willing to hear hard stuff and be willing to process it.
43:48
And know that when someone, even when I give people advice, I
43:52
always tell them I listen before I tell you, understand.
43:54
Half of it's spot on, 1/4 of it's completely off, and 1/4 of
43:58
it is probably off because I don't know all the
44:00
circumstances, right? Because a lot of times you don't
44:03
know all the facts. So take what you think is
44:05
appropriate and apply it. Or if you have questions, come
44:08
back to me because I never think that someone should apply all of
44:11
the information. But I also think you've got to
44:14
know who you are, whether it's faith in God, whether it's faith
44:19
in something else, you need to be grounded.
44:21
For me, it is my faith in God. Like I remember when I started
44:25
Kayak, literally just sitting there and praying because I was
44:28
a single mom, had no money and we started it with $300 and
44:33
didn't take an investment dollars in, grew it and sold it
44:35
for 610 million to the London Stock Exchange.
44:38
So for me, it was my faith because whenever things were
44:42
swirling and a disaster around me, that was my grounding point.
44:47
And then of course, Robert, now that I, I met him and married
44:50
him, he is a grounding point. But I also have great family.
44:53
I have a beautiful daughter who was always a strong source.
44:56
She's a very strong woman also. And and I love that she went for
45:01
pharmacy and now she's being a full time mom.
45:03
She may pick that up again someday.
45:04
But you know, again, just like and my brother Merlin, who is my
45:09
partner. I wasn't my partner Guyak and
45:11
also my partner here. So I, I have these family and my
45:14
niece Lindsay and, and you know, my nephews and nieces in Merlin
45:17
side, but I have these great surrounding family and then I
45:20
have great friends that are there for me.
45:23
And I tell you need a community. If you're going to be a strong
45:27
woman or man, you need a community around you because
45:31
that's when things go wrong. It always will.
45:34
You know, it's not if you will get through it.
45:36
There's always a beginning, there's a middle and an end.
45:40
It's not if it's where you at in the process, but if you don't
45:44
have that community around you, you'll get discouraged.
45:47
You may give up and never get to the end.
45:50
And so I tell everyone like surround yourself with
45:53
community, whether go to church, go to an organization, go to a
45:56
women's book club, I don't care what it is.
45:59
Find that community. So when times are hard, they're
46:02
there to encourage you and be a cheerleader.
46:04
It's really important, but more importantly is you have got to
46:09
have a foundation and and know why you're doing something.
46:14
What is your end game? For me, it's changed when when I
46:18
did kayak, it was because I wanted to create, you know, a, a
46:22
number one, be able to retire and be be able to enjoy, but
46:25
also create for my daughter to be able to leave her a something
46:28
and also change the environment around me because I want to.
46:32
I've sent a lot of kids to College in my lifetime.
46:34
I've given, you know, Merlin, I gave over $20 million away to
46:38
nonprofit organizations to help kids and children and colleges
46:42
and a lot of different organizations that guy act.
46:45
So we are huge givers and so don't be greedy when you are
46:50
blessed. The only reason you are blessed
46:51
is to be a blessing. Be willing to help those who are
46:54
less fortunate around you. Not because you have to, because
46:58
you want to and so. And because you can.
47:02
Because you can. And I tell everyone at the end
47:05
of the day, someone said, Melissa, at the end of your
47:09
life, you know, how do you want to look?
47:12
What do you want to look back on and feel like is your biggest
47:15
accomplishment? Accomplishment.
47:17
And I thought about it and I said, you know what?
47:20
I want to get to the end of my life and know that I have done
47:24
everything possible to leave this world in a better place for
47:29
my grandchildren. And if I can do that, knowing
47:32
that I helped pave the way so that their life will be better
47:36
to me, that is success. Because I can't take money with
47:40
me, I can't take anything with me.
47:42
But if I can leave that legacy, that is success.
47:46
That's beautiful. So I'm building this AI funding
47:49
coach to connect female founders and investors with each other.
47:53
Yes. You've been working with AI for
47:57
longer than I know it exists. So I was wondering, it's from
48:02
your perspective, what is one element that I should have
48:07
absolutely in that solution to make it successful?
48:11
So I think a couple of things and I know this is not really
48:14
about AI, but I work with a lot of PE and investment companies.
48:18
I did consulting, you know, when I remember when they invested,
48:23
you know, in our company, I remember one of them told me
48:26
when they were looking, they're like, we normally don't invest
48:28
in, you know, sibling companies were brother and sister because
48:31
they fight, which Myrtle and I have done this together for over
48:34
20 years and we still, don't get me wrong, if we don't agree, we
48:37
will talk about it. We don't fight.
48:40
And then they say, you know, we don't invest a lot with female
48:42
CE OS because they're hard to deal with.
48:44
We've got to change that perception.
48:46
And the reality is sometimes female CE OS can be a nightmare
48:50
because have to fight where they get.
48:52
So I like to say they either do fight or fly.
48:54
They're they're ready to punch our, you know, lights out.
48:57
So they're kind of rough or tough for me or they fly every
49:00
time something goes wrong, they cry.
49:02
And we've got to get to the point where we can sit at the
49:05
table and not tear people up and be like, I don't think so.
49:09
And I can do that. Like I don't sit at the table.
49:11
I can sit with any mail table. Trust me, I have 0 problems
49:15
sitting there and then I don't have to back up a niche, but I'm
49:18
not disrespectful. And so we've got to get better
49:22
at that and change the perception.
49:24
So I do think that the one thing you could do that would be very
49:27
helpful is start educating people what amazing female
49:32
featuring, talking about the things you do like what you're
49:35
doing right now. Believe it or not, seen a strong
49:38
female CEO that's been able to be successful and do things from
49:42
corporate America and an entrepreneurship and and that
49:46
I'm not looking for a free handout changes the perception.
49:49
What you're doing is, is part of what has to happen.
49:52
But featuring these CE OS that are doing amazing things and
49:56
then giving them mentorship where you're connecting other
49:58
women like myself that could say, hey, this is what I did
50:02
when that happened and this is how you can move forward.
50:06
Knowing the PES that are giving funding to women and treating
50:09
them with respect and really helping them is going to be
50:12
critical. And I do that now, even just
50:14
within my own network, like when I come across leaders and
50:17
they'll tell me like, hey, Melissa, I'm struggling.
50:20
And I'm sitting there thinking, it's amazing.
50:22
I've heard some crappy ideas they've given money to.
50:25
And I'm sitting there thinking, this woman's got a great idea
50:28
and you're, you're not giving her money.
50:30
Are you serious? But being able to have those
50:32
conversations when once you've been successful and you make
50:35
somebody a lot of money, they'll listen to you.
50:38
And so sometimes it takes someone like myself speaking up
50:40
and saying you need to pay attention to this woman and then
50:43
they will. So other women being able to
50:46
speak up and and be an advocate for other people is is
50:50
critically important. OK.
50:52
Yeah. And that's what I also try to do
50:54
with the podcast and by having you on.
50:58
Absolutely, but from what I hear it's also needs to be part of
51:02
the AI platform then. It does because I, I was just at
51:06
a conference, there was no other women AI leaders.
51:08
It was really quite sad. And, and there's a few here or
51:11
there, you know, but really like there's people that might be
51:14
AVP, but I mean really CEO leaders.
51:17
And so, you know, I think that anything you can do to push that
51:20
ahead. And again, I've been talking
51:23
and, and you know, talking to the leadership of the show,
51:25
saying time out like this is got to change.
51:28
There's a gap here cuz female are great leaders.
51:31
And so we're great multitaskers and there's so many things we do
51:35
well. So do men have great talent?
51:37
But I think like in this space, women are being underestimated.
51:41
So how do I move that forward? And I think that's why I'm glad
51:44
I'm in AI because I can be an advocate and a voice to speak up
51:47
and say, Hey, you guys are missing out on great
51:50
opportunities to have some fierce leaders because of
51:53
whatever pre determinations that you have, right?
51:57
And give them a chance. And then if, if they can't do
52:00
the job, I I get it, but at least let them have a chance to
52:03
take that chair. Sounds like a great place to
52:05
close Melissa Solis. Thank you from the from the
52:11
bottom of my heart for for being my guest today.
52:16
It was a pleasure talking to you.
52:18
If people want to learn more about you or about Inventor,
52:23
where would you like to send them?
52:25
So you can go on LinkedIn and connect with me, obviously it's
52:28
Melissa Solis, or you can also send sales@inventor.com.
52:33
Or you can go to our website and you can either send us an e-mail
52:37
or you can go down there and click on the little helper on
52:39
the right hand side and fill out a form.
52:42
Or you can e-mail me at melissa.solis@inventor.com.
52:47
Cool. And we'll include those links in
52:48
the show notes. Awesome.
52:50
Thank you so much. Melissa Solis, thank you very
52:53
much for an amazing conversation.
52:55
Listeners, thank you very much for listening.
52:57
And until the next episode, as always, keep being awesome.
53:08
Well, that's it. Thank you for listening to
53:10
episode 139 of Women Disrupting Tech titled Building an AI
53:15
Company on Gratitude, Agency and Merits with Melissa Solis.
53:20
If you have any questions for Melissa or for me, please leave
53:24
them in the comments on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.
53:29
I do read all of the comments to connect with Melissa and to
53:33
learn more about her work with Indenta.
53:35
Please use the links in the show notes.
53:37
As usual, you can find the show notes at Women Disrupting Tag
53:40
dot Blog and on my sub stack. Simply use the link in the
53:44
caption to get there. If you found this episode
53:47
useful, please take a moment to rate and review the show on
53:50
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53:53
And if you haven't already, hit follow or Subscribe button on
53:57
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54:01
Once again, thank you for listening.
54:03
I hope to see you in the next episode.
54:05
And until then, as always, keep being awesome.