Casey LeBlanc | Serial Entrepreneur, Real Estate Tech Guru & Business Development Addict

Greg Spillane: 0:04

We're just talking a second ago, you got your own podcast, "Fuck You Fridays", which is an amazing title. But you were explaining a little bit where that came from. I'd love I'd love for you to do it so that anybody anybody tuned into the show right now can

Casey LeBlanc: 0:19

hear it. Yeah, the, the, the Genesis started back when I was in college and our strength and conditioning coach, you know, would get this sense on on Friday mornings or sometime during Friday that some of the team would be out partying the night before. And so he had this thing and fuck, he was gonna he was gonna have a fucking Friday, this was when I was a true freshman. And he would he would take everybody out and and basically pit two people against each other that were either didn't like each other, or were competing for the same job. And the only rule was that there was no close fisted punching. So it was basically getting a ring and you're going to compete in the whole kind of Genesis around, it was like, we're not going to take Friday's off. You know, Fridays is a is a third day of the weekend mentality type of thing. And so we started this podcast thinking, you know, when I came down to San Diego, I was fascinated by how many people were, you know, kind of cutting out work at 12 o'clock, or, you know, Friday, just not showing up in general, in this very lacks kind of beach town mentality. And I was from the Bay Area, and it just wasn't like that up there. And so we started doing this podcast, and we started talking to elite athletes, one of my friends and CO, he's a co host. So the, you know, my buddy in the CO hosts has this elite group of athletes that he's able to kind of coordinate and sync up with. So they've been coming down, and we've been interviewing them. And it's, it's interesting, all these people have done really cool things from you know, all all pro NFL guys, new professional boxers, to attorneys that were representing representing, you know, Olympians in the in the balco case, it was just, it's fascinating to see all these elite people and the similarities that they have. And and I think one of the things that we wanted to do with it was just explore some of this stuff, talk to him about what was making them elite, and a lot of them don't even recognize some of these inherent traits that they've been utilizing, or just subconsciously, you know, doing over their, their entire careers, a lot of them, you know, kind of come from, you know, where they, I guess, either small town or just this mentality of I'm going to make it happen no matter what, and just have the fortitude and will to that, they just continue to press through each and every time there's an obstacle. And it's, it's incredible to kind of hear their stories, and then for them to reflect back. And it's like one of the first times where you dive in deep enough and you ask them enough questions, and they start to really think like, where they came from, and some of the things that they've accomplished is what they always get asked, however, when they when you make them go back and kind of remember, like, what did you do to overcome this, or what were you thinking during this time, it's really interesting, these these, these elite people that have done cool things, they all have this mentality of, it's always, if the glass is always full, I'm always going to persevere, like things do get bad, but I'm always gonna overcome those things. And you put a circle and a sphere around you, of people that believe in you, and they're building you up. And that's going to be the way that I win. And so a lot of that kind of translated, translates into so many different things in your life. So that that podcast originally kind of manifested from college, but it's kind of grown into a really cool kind of, you know, an hour sit down with people that are that are just really interesting and does some really cool stuff.

Greg Spillane: 3:43

Yeah, no, that's, that's amazing. I mean, that's, you know, I think we're coming from it, coming at it from slightly different angles. But, you know, I think what you're identifying, and you know, what, what you guys are looking to accomplish was exactly what I wanted to accomplish with this show, right? I mean, the initial turret, you know, when I first started coming up with this idea, the the initial Title I had was the grit and grind podcast. And it was really about that, I think, kind of what you mentioned, right? That like ability to persevere that ability to grit to grind through things. And, you know, it translates entrepreneurship, that translates to, you know, elite athletics, I think it translates to, you know, the elite military. I mean, there's so many places where you're in this highly competitive environment, right? I mean, whether you're trying to be a professional athlete, or whether you're trying to be a successful entrepreneur, or you want to become a Navy Seal, or you want to fly jets, so a lot of people that want that. I mean, there's a lot of people that want the same thing. They've had the same dream, and it's hard and it's competitive, and who are the people that are able to persevere, right that aren't going to give up that are willing to put in the time and the effort and the work and I obviously you're fascinated by it, and so am I so that's That's so cool. So the fuck you Fridays, that's, that's that's the show?

Casey LeBlanc: 5:04

Yeah, that's it, I think for me, I was always curious on exploring some somewhat of a brand, not just with myself but with company and then utilizing some of the, like the core principles of what helped me get, you know, to whatever successes I've had in my life. And really it's that grit, the grind a lot of the things from being, you know, a smaller guy in a smaller school and you know, kind of chip stacked against you in that the idea of you, not much was expected of me. And I like I like where I appreciated taking that into the business world. I think now, the world has gotten a lot more of a glimpse inside of that entrepreneurial spirit, I think sports has always been, you know, front and center in the world, I think it's all you know, a lot, a lot of popularity with it, people follow it. Now, people are gambling on it. So it's always been kind of front and center. entrepreneurialship has really started to take its own course. And it's gotten a lot more notoriety over the last 10 years with social media. And so there's this kind of glitz and glamour associated with the word entrepreneur. And a lot of people call themselves that a lot of people want success in the business world and want to want to do it themselves. However, there's a reality that comes along with this, with this quest, that sometimes it's not that it's not talked about. So I tried to bring some of that business perspective into the podcast and try to help people understand that there's a lot of, you know, kind of front running and a lot of pounding on the chat that happens on social media in that it, it almost gives this identity that entrepreneurship, just an easy course or path. But it's, it's really hard. And that's what you have to be prepared for is what happens because I tell you, when you when people are winning, and this is in life is whether it's sports, business, personal, it doesn't really matter. But when you're winning, it's easy to be in a good mood, when you're when you're having success in business, or personally, it's easy to feel good, but it's literally those times and it could, you know, it could be a small instance, or a large one, it's what you're doing, when you when things don't go your way, or when someone doesn't respond like you would want them to respond or just things happen in over the course of your life, that that's really where you'll you'll be defined. And that's where I think, you know, at least talking about it being aware of it is really interesting and fascinating to me. And that's it's one of the reasons we got into the podcasting. But it's, it just has kind of hyper focused me and in understanding that people that have all people that have done elite things have gone through a lot of that. And it's really those moments, where they take, they take it as an opportunity as a challenge in to really force themselves in into not necessarily pretend that it's not there, but just rebound quicker than most people either can or Would Have you have you been

Greg Spillane: 7:48

able to triangulate? I mean, you're you're talking to these people, you're obviously a very successful entrepreneur in your own right, you are an athlete, you're now you're talking these people were both discussing this sort of trait, this ability to bounce back this, this this ability to persevere. Have you triangulated? Like where were you see this coming from? Like, where are the similarities and the conversations you're having? As far as how was that developed?

Casey LeBlanc: 8:15

Yeah, I think for a lot of people in, in sports, it's not a linear line to the right. You know, and so, success is going to be bumpy there that you as you go through your sporting career, a lot of people, a lot of people that we've talked to you do have an athletic background. And as you go through that career, you're you're forced into dealing with adversity at a, whether it's a young age, or at some age, and it can be devastating. So it's it's kind of coached, it's taught, it's learned, I think it's all of those different things. But one of the things is a lot of self awareness, a lot of understanding kind of themselves, understanding the situation, the circumstance, and really fighting it, those particular moments that, you know, the challenge has kind of arisen, and it's it's right at your doorstep. And it's what you do at those moments, I think, is where you can see the difference in, you know, maybe someone who hasn't had some sort of success. Now, again, these are people with incredible talent. So I don't ever want to just say, Look, you can just grit your way into being an Olympic Olympic athlete. That's silly. People that say that or they just really don't understand what they're talking about. I mean, you know, I think for me, I'm five foot 10 wide receiver, right like I can't just will my way into being an All Pro receiver. Because I work really hard and I want it really bad there's there's some athletic talent that I just wasn't blessed with. But also to like then then I have to look at what my skill set is and and what I am good at and where I can use those skills to the best of my ability to have the biggest influence in the shortest amount of time. So I'm kind of always doing this cost benefit value analysis of where my time goes where the value Are you is and what the benefit would potentially be. And I'm some I'm, I'm almost like creating this, I tell people that that work with me, I have this algorithm, and I take it, and I'm always refining it. And I'm, you know, Google is great. But my algorithm is personal to me, and I'm always new information in continues to better the algorithm as to what I am doing, what I could be doing, what I should be doing, and what's the best use of my time and energy for the success and results that I'm looking to get?

Greg Spillane: 10:28

Oh, interesting. I want to dive into that algorithm. But But yeah, one thought keep in mind, as you were talking about that, like, you're right, like, obviously, physical ability plays a huge part in athletics, right? I mean, it's, you know, being seven foot tall is a big advantage if you want to play professional basketball. And, you know, there's, there's only so much opportunity that exists for, you know, certain people that don't have, you know, the God given ability, but I had this football coach in college, Ed, white, mazing, human being played 17 years in the NFL, offensive guard. And he still always tell us, he's like, there's a lot of 300 pound guys that are, are sitting in a bar right now, you know, And his point was, the God given ability, like everybody in this room has it, that doesn't mean anything, there's a lot of God given, you know, people that have God given ability, that aren't willing to put in the work and aren't willing to grind. And, you know, they're not going to go anywhere. So yeah, I agree. It's absolutely a combination. But this algorithm, I love this concept, I had a conversation the other day about somebody who, who, who described something similar, you know, he kind of had this visualization of like, you know, he looks at, it's almost like, he's looking at this, he looks at his life in like this machine, and there's the inputs that come into it, and then he processes the input, and then you know, the output is what he's trying to accomplish. Houses, I mean, tell me more about sovereign.

Casey LeBlanc: 11:55

So I, so I apply it to a lot of different things in life, right, my friendships, the the depth in which I, I, I work with my family, relationships, each business relationship, my health, my sleep, all of these things, right. And so what I'm trying to do is be the most successful, the happiest, and the most satisfied, all while trying to live a life of, you know, giving back. So Mike, I'm a big believer in my energy in the things that I can influence and how I can help be the person to you know, that, that other people want to be around, and they're excited about that. So, I guess, like, an easy one is what's the least amount of sleep that I need to to feel a certain way? What are the things that I need to be eating? That, you know, obviously, you know, some people like to go out? And I do too, is what are what am I putting in my body that I can still I can have the most fun and but yet still feel good? business wise, you know, I was using the example the other day is, do I need to know how to use QuickBooks or, or our accounting software? Or do I need to understand at a high level, what we're doing in accounting to make sure it's accurate. So I get the numbers and information in the data that I need to run the business and make informed quick decisions to keep business and, and, and all of us running in the right direction, make sure that we're solvent that we're growing and all these different things. So it's, it's not necessarily learning everything. But it's also not not learning everything, right. And so I think for different leaders, it can take on and or manifest in different ways. And that's where you need to understand yourself what your strengths are. I'm more of a recruiter, a sales guy, a revenue generator, and less on the operational technicalities that need to go into the execution part of it, right. So I'm a grower, I'm a mover, I'm a talker, I like to I like the people part of business. But if you had to, if you wanted to, you know, tell me, hey, you need to build an Excel spreadsheet with with formulas in it, it would take me six months to figure that out. It's just not the best use of my time. So I'm always looking at my time when you know who I'm spending it with what I'm doing with it from the business perspective and and what I'm getting out of it. I think, you know, that algorithm over time, if you're self aware, it should be getting better. Yeah, no, that

Greg Spillane: 14:22

makes sense. I am Yeah, I agree. There's there's a there's a point in life where being a Excel ninja you know, it doesn't it doesn't it doesn't matter anymore. You know, I think I think when you're you're 23 years old and coming out of school or you just you know, just graduating and you get your analyst job and you're trying to learn the trade you know, you got to be able to get into to excel and do all the modeling all that type of stuff. But you know, I think you get to a point in life where you hire that guy and he does it for you. And then you need to know the key inputs and numbers and and outputs that you're looking for. Right? The first I was, you know, just doing a little bit of backer on research for a conversation and the very first line on your LinkedIn profile is, um, basically you call yourself a business development addict, or whoever writes your profile calls you that I absolutely love that. And I just love that terminology in the wording that you use there. You talk a little bit about a second ago, but I'd love to hear a little bit more what that means to you.

Casey LeBlanc: 15:19

So that we were growing up in a world at least at this point, were the things that I learned in business school, I can't believe I'm even talking like this, but it's, it's true and appropriate now are so different, right? Fundamentally, 20 years ago, when I was in business school, they talked about revenue and all these different things. And now you're seeing pre revenue companies get billion dollar valuations, and like nothing makes any sense anymore. Right. And, and then with the last couple of years, and the flood of money coming into the system, it's it's, the world is changing in the evolution of changes happening so much quicker than than what I think we were used to 20 years ago. And even more recently than that. So being a revenue generators on this, I feel like it's kind of an old school thing, but I'm, I'm very much a generate revenue, and then you figure out how to make money off of that revenue, revenue is the way that you create a business in my eyes still, and again, I know tech companies kind of turn that upside down. But for a majority of us, as we look to take on an entrepreneurial venture, we have to figure out who our client is, and how we're going to satisfy the needs of those clients, what problems we're actually solving, and how we're going to articulate that and create relationships that are gonna, that are gonna be long lasting, revenue generating, you know, fulfilling relationships on both ends, right, they need something, we solve a problem for them, they pay us to do it. Old school business stuff, right. Like, that is is really where I think one of my strengths is the other thing too, with, you know, business development is it is relationship. So it's recruiting it is bringing in people it's, you know, when when, when I was playing football, where I was given opportunity to be a captain as a junior. And that was one of those moments in your life, where you look back and someone took a chance. I mean, it was very rare in college athletics. For a junior, it was after my sophomore years name, three junior year, which was really early in the process. And the head coach at the time, made the announcement. And at the time, I didn't understand what leadership was, I probably knew I was always kind of a leader, as I look back, and even recognizing it, then but, but at that moment, I remember thinking, Okay, you never know a responsibility. And for someone to give me that responsibility. So early, I took it. And really, it meant a lot to me. And I think that propelled me. So I think, you know, some of it is someone else believing in you, I think some of it is given an opportunity. I'm a big believer in looking at what opportunities that you have and finding out what fills you up who believes in you. San Jose State is a great example. Right? I had a lot of offers. You know, going into my senior year, I ended up tearing up my knee at the end of it. And everybody pulled all the PAC 10 or 12. And so I was left with kind of a hodgepodge list of colleges that, and I just went through one by one and I made lists of who actually wants me what system do I fit in? And who believes in me the most and where, who am I going to be surrounded with that I'm going to have the best opportunity coming out of college. So very similar. When you're looking at your career, I think that those types of things are are important, at least from my perspective is finding the right fit. You see a lot of you know, see a lot of people in the NFL or any sport were really talented. And they just can't find the right fit, and they don't they end up kind of fizzling. And I think that is a big one. And so for me, I'm kind of an old school business guy, when it comes to that in trying to figure out, you know, the right fit with recruiting, bringing in new clients building long term relationships, and how that's going to equate to actual revenue, where your actual revenue, you can make money off of it. Gotcha.

Greg Spillane: 19:01

So, so let's get back to San Jose State. Right? Yeah, you had a good career there. You know, just looking at some of your numbers. You You played a lot you played early. For anybody out there that doesn't know you know, being named a captain coming out your sophomore years, your junior years is actually very impressive, but it's, it shows something. So I'm assuming your teammates and you know, coaches people around you, there's probably just a work ethic, dedication, like a respect that existed for you. Did you know to pro football, was that something that was always in the back of your mind? Or did you just kind of have this like, and it's probably not realistic for me.

Casey LeBlanc: 19:41

You know, it's funny, when I was a freshman, my offensive coordinator Academy knew like, Hey, you have a real chance and I was like a real tanto what I was hoping he was going to say oh, you could potentially start this year or you could make the team at that point. I was so new and young and he was like, you know, you have some skill and ability where you it could translate. And anyway, fast forward cuz I never really thought about and I was always focused on, you know, the right now. And I think when you're young, that's one thing that I wish I would have had a more longer term approach to my mentality, but it was what's right now what's right in front of me how do I, how do I tackle this right now and and in as much force in will as possible. Anyway, after my after my fourth year at Tennessee State I did sign as a free agent played with the 40, Niners for a little bit got released. And that was a cool experience. I was a lifelong 40 Niner fan. So kind of going through that process, I saw what the difference between college and pro was like, wasn't at the time, either healthy enough or good enough, didn't end up making it. And that was, it was a nice way to kind of close the closure part of it right? I didn't, I didn't have these grandiose thoughts of like, Oh, I got screwed by the coach, or it was just it was a it was a great transition, I learned a lot. And I was glad that I had done so much from a leadership perspective, while while I was in college, I'd gotten my shot. It didn't work out. And then it was like, Okay, I wasn't gonna hang on to something that wasn't there. I think that that's a, at least from being at a young age, that was important. And so, you know, I guess I had a cup of coffee in the NFL, which was sure it was more than most. So that was exciting.

Greg Spillane: 21:21

Nice. And, and, you know, when when it was time to, you know, you make that decision? And and, you know, I remember I mean, I had, I was like four or five years out, I'd you know, I'd run into an old teammate and be like, man, what are you doing? He's the guy still trying to still trying to get into the league, and you're like, you know, alright, man, it's been, it's been five years, like, he's probably, you know, figure out what you're gonna do with the rest of your life. So I think that ability to kind of come to that realization, you know, early and be able to move on is important. How was that transition? Did you? Did you know what you wanted to do? Or? I mean, how did you fall into this career?

Casey LeBlanc: 21:57

No, I think, you know, for me it again, it goes back to relationships. So I have a lot of really strong relationships, I always have, I've always been a, someone who stays in touch with people who, who deeply cares about other people, I ask a lot of questions, I maintain a lot of friendships. And through that I was given access to, you know, to an opportunity and kind of work my way up that opportunity in a short amount of time. And I think one of the things is because I do do some things. With my with my college at San Jose State from a transition standpoint, we I think we talked about this on the phone, the sports in when you're done, there's this transitional period that's similar to, to the military, from the standpoint of someone is telling you what to do at all, all hours of the day, all you know, days of the week, month and year. And when you get done, you're done. They don't tell you anything, they just good luck. Make sure that you're really successful, so you can donate to the program. But other than that, like, Hey, stay in touch we'll see at the games, maybe. And I think that that's one of the things I look at, when I go back and I try to mentor talk to some of the younger student athletes is how do you utilize your platform? How do you utilize the opportunities that you have while you're, you know, while you're while you are something that this university right, the university Loves You When You're good when you're on the field when you're playing when when they're making money off of you and your likeness? And hopefully from from winning? How do you use that. So whether it's, you know, attending all of the optional donor, you know, meetings or dinners, if you can do public speaking I did a lot I was I was always trying to get up in front of those donors and talk and tell them about the program or what what it's like from a player's perspective, networking with those people, I remember, I ended up talking to someone and just we became friends. And he was almost a career coach for me for the first four or five years. But there was no organization to it, it was just basically me talking to somebody taking a liking to me, luckily, and me just continuing to follow up and stay in touch. But now I talked to athletes, and I'm like, Hey, you have this opportunity to go to all of these things where most people are like, Ah, I'm gonna probably say no to these things, because it's usually on a Saturday night, they have other things that they want to do. It's a lot of, you know, older people. So there's not a lot in common with some of these people. But I think those are, that's just one example of an opportunity that a college athlete should be taking advantage of and figuring out from there. It's like, do the internship, see who has the relationships, ask a lot of questions. You know, see if there's things out outside of football that you have time with, that you're interested in, that you can start working on while you're while you're there. I think those things are super valuable and you can use, you know, athletics to kind of help you transition quickly, right? It's not a matter of if a lot of college athletes have the discipline to do it. Some don't, but most do. And it's just a matter of trying to find that fit sooner rather than later so you don't waste So a lot of time kind of jumping around from career to job to, you know, bad situation and good. And I think you can use the platform when you have it. If you use it, right,

Greg Spillane: 25:09

yeah, no, I think that's good advice, not just for for, you know, an athlete, I think it's just anybody in general, you know, reminds me that, that, I think it's a Woody Allen quote, and something extended, like 90% of life is just showing up. A lot of people just don't show up, you know, just just get out there, like, meet people talk to people build relationship, it's amazing. How much just comes out of having conversations with people and, you know, even myself, like, I think back at, you know, 22 years old, and, you know, trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life, like, the internship is something that like, it's hard to convince a young kid like, no, no, hey, listen, go, go go work for this company. Even if you don't take a paycheck, like, go do you know, because, especially, you know, back in our day, there was no, you know, I don't think you could even have a job when I was when I was in college as a scholarship athlete. Now you got the name and image likeness stuff. And yeah, I think people can kind of get some supplemental income in, but you're ready to, like, make real money. But, you know, you go get an internship in a in a field that's of interest to you, and somebody sort of takes you under their wing. It's amazing how that can jumpstart your career. I mean, in many ways, more valuable than going to business school, right? I mean, Business School is great from an academic perspective, but you know, being in the industry that you want to be in and actually learning from people around you in real life scenarios is valuable experience.

Casey LeBlanc: 26:29

Right? Well, we talk a lot too, as far as like compensation, right? Compensation is a big one that comes up. And I understand that, especially when people are young and coming out of college. I say, look, that is it's one piece of the pie, but it's definitely not the end all be all compensation is is important. You need to make sure you're satisfying your you know, your goals and your needs, and in some of that stuff, but I think it's the sphere and the people around you, and what those opportunities kind of can manifest and grow into what are the skills that you can learn from people that are either mentors or above you or, you know, surrounded by you? I think those are certain things that I wish I would have thought when I was a little bit younger.

Greg Spillane: 27:08

Yeah, absolutely. So you've got a lot of entrepreneurial ventures going on, right? I mean, you're, you know, you got your your main business, or at least I would assume it's your main business. But I mean, it's, it seems like you're you're one of those guys, that's got, you know, four or five ventures going at all times, when when you're thinking about potentially going in a different direction or starting a new venture. How do you look at that? What's your process? Like?

Casey LeBlanc: 27:34

Yeah, great question. There, it's a couple of things because I'm, I'm more of a, let's do it, try it, see if there's like, do it. Versus I'm gonna sit there and overthink things like analysis, paralysis type of thing. So if if I get a lot of it is in my gut, I'm like a gut entrepreneur. And I think over time, my first entrepreneurial venture was the scariest because I had no money, a little bit of belief and a lot of confidence. And that helped. I just as a side, I think confidence is something that people don't talk enough about is, who are you surrounding yourself with that are helping build you up? What are the things that you're doing on a daily, you know, even hourly basis, and weekly basis, annual basis that are helping you create momentum with confidence, competence, in that, that ability, ability to believe in yourself are so important, because you're able to overcome the inevitable challenges that are, that are going to come in sit in front of you, and you're going to be faced with in some of the competence and belief in yourself is something I don't believe is talked about enough. And so I, that started at a young age for me, and I was able to use some of that in the beginning to help get over that hump of, can you actually do this. And then as time has gone on, I've had slightly more success than I have failures. But I have had a lot of failures. And I've had to go back down to zero a couple of times and rebuild from scratch. And whether that's through divorce or breaking up with a business partner or a business failure, like I've gone through all those different things. And I think as you've gotten older, you understand there will be those things and they can't devastate you, you have to rebound quickly. As you as you approach a new opportunity. I think again, it goes back to the algorithm, the algorithms better for me at 42 than it was at 2222. I like to take every opportunity, you don't understand the importance of time, as I look at it, 20 years later, it's the cost and the time involved with the upside of the opportunity and where I actually think it'll land. So again, it kind of goes back to the algorithm and the like I said the algorithms different each and every year because you have a set of experiences that you're in your lens is a little bit different. So those are some of the things that I look at when I'm looking at new opportunities.

Greg Spillane: 29:57

Yeah, what do you what are you tracking right now like What what out in the world? What ages are exciting to you that you're, you're diving deeper into?

Casey LeBlanc: 30:05

Yeah, um, you know, it's funny one of the things that I took away from COVID in the lockdowns was understanding crypto, I hadn't spent a lot of time in crypto. And so I started to understand blockchain and start, you know, you go down the rabbit hole and some of that stuff. And it's just like, you can't get out. You're just fascinated by this technology and, and how things are changing with respect to that in the world. And so I'm looking at it from, you know, what are these changes? How are they going to impact and influence the real estate world? You know, for me, my main core business is escrow. And we basically, you know, fundamentally we move a lot of docs around, we move information around, we we want to get all parties to agree on on contracts. And so the idea of smart contracts and the idea of technology and how blockchain could could influence some of that make it more efficient. I'm interested in a lot of that I'm interested in real estate, how if the NFT space can get involved in whether when you buy a property if you're also going to buy, you know, the digital asset as well. So the the world is moving really quickly. And I want to stay, you know, abreast as to some of that. And so, while in the in my early career, I was like I've always said, I'm a single and double Center. I'm not a home run hitter. So I'm not going to create Google, but I'm going to use Google to create a really efficient business and, and build something that that is more of a single double, like I want to say, hey, I want to be the Tony Gwynn of the entrepreneur world's gonna be the Barry bond. So that has always played well. It's like I don't ever overshoot. But as I as I've gotten older, and again, I'm had a little bit of success in certain areas, some investments have paid off, now you can start playing in arenas that you weren't necessarily working in at a younger age. So I knew my strengths, weaknesses at a young age, wanted to use those to be able to build momentum, build confidence, build experience, those things can then propel me into maybe larger opportunities as I grow older because you can afford the loss, right? Like, if I don't hit a home run, and I strike out, it could be devastating at 22. But at 42. You can weather some of those storms a little bit better if you're smart enough.

Greg Spillane: 32:18

Yeah, no. Well, it's funny at 22 You can't afford it because you don't have the money, but your time, and then you don't need

Casey LeBlanc: 32:26

money. That's another thing too is right, right now you don't need money, right? Like if you're competent enough, smart enough. You have enough people around you. The money part is easy, really. But I did. Yeah, the money part, especially right now the money part is easy. You can go out and find money. If you have an opportunity. And you can and you can talk to people, you can probably get them to stroke you a check. Yeah, I think for you know, for now, it really comes down to what the opportunity looks like. And what if there's anything in that opportunity that I'm uniquely qualified to help with? That would make me feel like, Hey, this is something I could get involved with. Get involved with that would be exciting.

Greg Spillane: 33:00

Yeah, we we were talking a little bit about the kind of the blockchain and I've, I've been diving pretty deep in it as well. And I'm doing actually a lot of work in it. And it's interesting, right there kind of this web three point out. This is like the buzz term that's going around, everyone's talking about this is this sort of the next evolution of the web, which to me makes sense, right? If you think about Web 1.0, being this static, early iteration of the website, you create a website, it has information, somebody goes to the website, they read that information. And there's there's no two way communication to this web 2.0 world, which was really like the advent of social media, there was the ability for any individual to contribute, right? It was a two way street, I'm uploading pictures, I'm creating blogs, I'm tweeting, right, and it sort of goes back and forth. And, and this this web 3.0 is really around decentralization, which you know, is blockchain is just, you know, the perfect technology or not perfect, actually some issues with it. But but the concept behind blockchain makes a lot of sense. People are like, well, what are we going to do with this, you know, how's this going to work? And it's like, the thing I say is, you know, web 2.0, this kind of world that started in 2000, to 2003. Like, you couldn't necessarily foresee Instagram, or tick tock, or whatever it was in 2000 to 2003, you just knew that this thing was going to evolve, and it was going to kind of create this new sort of revolution in the way we digest information we operate. And that's kind of how I think things are today. And that's what's really exciting. Like, it's immature, it's not right, like the technology's not quite right. We're legislation. You know, we talk about smart contracts legislation is going to have to catch up, right? We, they don't even know what they're going to do with some of this stuff, right? Any crypto in general can be hugely disruptive to the country and to the global economy. But you're not you're not putting this thing back in a box right that Bell has been wrong and there is going to be an evolution and I would much rather be at the start of it. Be ready to iterate and evolve as as society evolves, then kind of sit there watch from the sidelines sort of missed the boat as it goes by?

Casey LeBlanc: 35:09

Well, yeah, I completely agree. I think the the idea of Facebook and the level of control and data and information, what that has looked like over the last year has really put a spotlight on the the power and influence that one company with all this information can do. And so when you talk about web three, and the decentralization of data and information can taking back your own personal I guess, it's almost like a I guess a lot of people call it like a data informational wallet where it's your own and you have control over versus these big corporations that can then use it to influence and in and create massive disruption within the world based on the access to it. So it'll be interesting. You're right. I think a lot of what blockchain crypto in general where that is today, it's it's like being in in 2001, two and three, when the internet started to come about. And so you're looking at the impact that's going to happen over the next several years, it's going to be a lot faster. So I think, you know, the internet really came about, you know, it took a little bit of time, I think you're already seeing crypto take off in a short amount of time, you're seeing blockchain. It's a buzzword web, web three is the new one. So yeah, a lot of that stuff, we're really early. And so it'd be interesting to see. And that's where I'm just trying to carve out a little piece for where our business is and what how it's going to be impacted by those, those things. Real estate industry is really slow to move. And so if I can get it a little bit, right, it can have a huge upside. So that's one of the things we talked about, as far as what what are you looking at? And how do you look at things now? And what do you what are you evaluating those things, you're looking at kind of trendy things, how that, for me, how that can be, how I can impact with those in the real estate space, with the least amount of money in the shortest amount of time, and have the biggest upside and impact that that's what, basically every single decision comes down to when it comes to long term growth.

Greg Spillane: 37:04

Yeah, no, I love that I love your mentality on the singles, doubles, triples kind of thing, right? It's like, you know, I'm not, I'm not necessarily looking to start this thing that's going to take over the world, I'm just going to find a way to build really solid, sustainable businesses that are going to spit off lots of cash. Right? And that, that makes a ton of sense. You know, we used to talk I saw we kind of talked about the concept of like, innovation triggers, right? Like, you know, for instance, at the time, when we were having these conversations, like Uber was the example you always go with, it's like, it's a, it makes a lot of sense. Uber Lyft, like, you know, taxi suck, like, it was a kind of this broken industry. But like it couldn't exist until really like the smartphone became ubiquitous, right? Like, I need this GPS enabled device in my pocket for Uber to potentially exist. But then it was sort of invented, and we all had iPhones and Apple and all those types of things. And then the innovation there enabled this sort of new industry to spin off. And I think it's a little bit of like what you're talking about, right? We have all these different changes. And this this shift, you're in this industry, that's, you know, as old as time, right? I mean, in some ways, real estate's been around forever and ever and ever, in the exchange of real estate. How do you come up with this new innovation that's built on this, this sort of breakthrough, that's, that's already going to happen that now you can apply to your industry? And I think there's billions of dollars of of, of wealth created for the people who were able to figure this stuff out.

Casey LeBlanc: 38:39

You're absolutely right like this. This idea of real estate and how it's going to change involve you think about it, in large part real estate is still transacted exactly the same as it was 20 years ago. Yep, we have, we're on the settlement side, right. So we are the neutral third party that executes the financial side of a transaction, make sure that everybody's in agreement, distribute funds and money in accordance with the contract, not rocket science. In large part, our business has been done exactly the same for 50 years. You know, we built a portal 10 years ago, where you could just log in and see what was going on. And it kind of was really unique at the time. It's not like, I'm not building something that isn't already built in almost every other industry. Same thing with electronic signature. I think 50% of our competitors don't use electronic signature. I'm old school, in some respect, but I'm also new school in the standpoint of if you want to work with me and you send me a document where I need to print sign and scan it back to you. I don't don't really actually want your email or your contact information in my phone. You're just not you move way too slow for me and your business. And if your business doesn't offer it, I gotta find somebody new So, we have a lot of these things that are already being utilized in other industry. And like I said, when I talk about singles and doubles, I'm looking for comparable industries. Insurance industry is a good example of that, you know, a lot of old school mentality. A lot of paperwork, lot of paper files, very similar. So now, I was like, okay, I can use some of the comparables in other industries and apply that to escrow. That's what I'm talking about when I say singles and doubles? Well, as we as we've accumulated a pretty good batting average with that now, now it's to your point. Okay, how does blockchain How do smart contracts? How does web three? How do some of those the NFT world and how can you sell digital likeness of real estate and property in this this whole metaverse? How is that going to translate into the escrow and real estate space? Now, because I was hyper focused on singles and doubles. Now I can say I can expand my horizon a little bit and start taking some chances on some bigger opportunities that could potentially have a much higher impact, because we've done a good job of, you know, getting on base. And I think that that's where we're just now transitioning as a company, and for me, personally, is to not stay so hyper focused and open up the blinders a bit, which I think was a good way to take a career. If I look back, and I was self evaluated, I don't see anything wrong with that. It's like look, understand your strengths, your weaknesses, what you're really good at, or what you can be best at in the shortest amount of time, and then do really well with that, and then use that, from a momentum perspective to try to date take on bigger opportunities. And I think that's where we're kind of moving in now is we're going to still hit singles and doubles. But we're going to look for the potential to hit more doubles and singles now, because you know, we're seeing the ball a little bit better gonna keep using this analogy. Yeah. Just you're just gonna have to just kind of to go with it at this point. Yeah. I was talking about football. We played football against each other. And we're using a baseball and

Greg Spillane: 42:02

baseball analogies.

Casey LeBlanc: 42:03

I apologize about that. No, it's

Greg Spillane: 42:05

all right. Do you? I have asked us to a couple of guests, because we're all ex athletes. And we all talk in sports analogies. Do you? Do any your team ever, ever make funny? It's like, God, here. Here go. Casey goes again, if another sports analogy or anything like that,

Casey LeBlanc: 42:20

you know, so it's interesting. I am in an industry where it's 95%. Women? Yeah. So if I use sports analogies, this is not to be sexist. But they all they all tried to give me the benefit of the doubt and pretend like they're going with it. But yeah, it falls on deaf ears. So over the last 20 years, I've transitioned some of my sports the into, I think that's maybe why I'm using this singles and doubles analogy, if, if I use that in two of my managerial meetings, they're like, what basketball team? Are we talking about now? Yeah, I don't understand. So yeah, most of it is, you know, is is just in plain sporting analogy, English, I guess. And so I try not to use too many sporting analogies and just understanding my audience a little bit.

Greg Spillane: 43:06

Yeah. So, you know, one of the things that I think I've evolved a little bit in my career, but, you know, I think early on, when I, when I first started getting some leadership roles, I brought a definitely, actually mentality to leadership and to, you know, building my team, and kind of the way I've approached people and, you know, thought about building a team, and a lot of ways I think it's very, I've been successful thing, right? Like this, this, this, this concept of, you know, we're gonna compete, right. Like we're, there's, there's score, like, we need to make sure that we have metrics, and we're tracking towards them, and teamwork and collaboration and hard work and perseverance and all those types of things. But there's also the reality that somebody's coming to work every day, is it's not the same level of they have, you know, rigorous it was when you were at San Jose State and trying to make the team and trying to start at receiver and some young kid was coming in to try to take your job. So, you know, I think early on, he was a little bit harsh on that side of it. And I've kind of evolved, I'd love to hear your, you know, your leadership style in general, and what what you brought to you what you brought in from your athletic side, and what you've had to kind of evolve to people who don't come from that background.

Casey LeBlanc: 44:20

So I call it a chief energy officer. And in the way that I define that is that this culture, the enthusiasm in which we do things, it starts with me. So I take a very personal approach to this. I feel like if I have a lacks attitude, if I'm non communicative with my direct reports, if I'm not so excited about what we're doing, that you can't feel it on the other end of the conversation every single time you talk to me, then I'm not passionate enough for you to be passionate. So I take the onus and the responsibility on me, I need to make sure we're creating things where I'm listening to be back in Put on where this company is going where we're driving the boat. But also, it's not just from where I want to take it. Obviously, I'm, I'm, as the leader and CEO of the company, I have to sometimes make decisions, but I need to get a lot of input, a lot of direction, a lot of questions that need to be asked. And I think, then when we do pick the direction we pick that mission, right? It's, it's clear, it's concise. And we're enthusiastic about it, we understand what numbers and KPIs and all the things that roll into it. But at the end of the day, it's are we having fun? Or do we have a community of people that enjoy working together? Are we all rowing the boat in the same in the same direction, and if we do get some of that stuff, it's like anything else, this momentum and momentum can go both ways. But if we, if me sorry, we talked about leadership and, and the things that I find to be important from the role that I play. I think it starts a lot with what I'm doing. I think it starts, it definitely starts with my energy enthusiasm for that, that mission. And then it's the daily in in the energy that I that I create based off of it. And then to my direct reports, the direct reports get excited about I think there's this domino effect that can happen within it. And again, it's the you know, we I think we talked about this, but what are those things that you're looking for, in in people, I, this skill is so much less important, even though we have a technical job, but it's the energy that you're going to come with, it's the enthusiasm in what you're going to do. It's the openness, the creativity, the the team, all of these things. So while I did learn a lot of that, in sports, we have transitioned some of it into B, to be more appropriate from the industry that I'm in, and in the team that we have, I think a lot of those things, you know, kind of translate and a lot of people get really excited about I think, like our I tell everyone is escrows boring. It just is like there's there's nothing like ultra exciting about it. But our goal is to make it sexy, to make it fun and exciting is to change this maybe this traditional view of escrow and create something unique and different. And I think that's where we're I think I saw to your early age, what I would rather do is take an old, kind of maybe antiquated industry and make an impact through kind of that, I guess, drive in the in the thought, like, hey, we can do this differently. It's always been done this way, this is a terrible way to do it, just not knowing anything about the industry. Let's have some fun in making a real impact and change on how people are going to close the biggest financial transaction of you know, possibly their lives.

Greg Spillane: 47:43

I mean, that's amazing wherewithal for a young kid coaches, quite honestly, it really is. I mean, it's, it's, it makes all the sense in the world. You know, us here now at the points where we are in a career, you're like, Yeah, I think that's so obvious. But at 25 years old, I mean, you know, it maybe isn't as obvious. I mean, just some amazing mentors around you. Like, where did this come from?

Casey LeBlanc: 48:07

Probably luck, to some degree, I ended up getting into to lending and I owned a bank. And we were selling on the secondary market. And it was, you know, small fish in a big pond. And there was this little ancillary business of escrow, I ended up buying a company in trying to figure out what the hell I was buying it for. And really, it was just an ancillary business where I knew I could make money off of it. And the more that I kind of looked at the entire portfolio of businesses that I had, I said, this is where I can make the most and it was at a young age. So I think some of it was luck. I ended up understanding at a younger age, I needed coaching, and I needed mentorship, I was way over my skis in the opportunity and what my skill set had. And so I wanted to talk to you and surround myself with way smarter people than than me understanding that it was a it was an opportunity that was large if execution could be done, but But still, it's there is this grit in this grind when you're at that stage, but then as you scale and you grow, right, there's different levels that you get to and there's better decisions, and there's I had to get better, right. And so if I wasn't doing anything to make myself better at those different levels, we if we stagnate, we die, right. If you lose people, you lose confidence, you just and so there's that bell curve, and I didn't want to get to the other side of that bell curve with at least not making sure I was surrounding myself with people, people in mentorship. So when I was younger, you get there's a level of of, you know, luck, and everybody that kind of rolled their eyes at the 10 year overnight success story that everybody makes fun of, but there is some level of you know, kind of right place at the right time. And then having the wherewithal to say I'm going to get rid of the things that are taking up my time where I can't make the biggest impact. And so that's how I kind of found that if I did find it at a young age, younger than most I think some of it is being self aware actually thinking through and not looking at, you know, kind of what's right in front of you. But maybe looking over the wall to see what's on the other side of it, see what's around you kind of taking the 363 60 view, instead of just, you know, a pen that 90 degree or that whatever, right in front of you type type of mentality. So, those are the things like, it's easy for me to sit here now. But as I look back, you know, doing some of that, I think at a young age was good. I think that gave me opportunities that I wouldn't have, would have otherwise not been afforded. But I think doing it more, you know, pay more attention, there's so much information that's out there listening to a lot of people that are at different stages in their careers, that can help and it really, and I think that there's the information that's out there today, you you can add on to whatever schooling or or whatever sphere of people that you're with, there's a lot that's out there that you can glean a lot from similar to what this shows is all about, right? It's like helping entrepreneurs helping athletes, how do they, you know, maybe speed up the development of themselves and or their business so they can, you know, recognize some of this stuff earlier than then maybe what what we had, you know, again, we saw the internet, but it wasn't as popular as the podcasting the YouTubes the video, all the stuff that's out there now.

Greg Spillane: 51:07

Yeah, no, it's, it's, there's so much information out there, which is, which is great. I mean, you can learn anything, it's mean business aside, it's just, it's like, so cool to be like, Man, I, you know, this thing broke in my house, or, you know, hey, I want to build a treehouse for my kids. And you just go on like YouTube and like, do a quick search. And there's just like, so many available resources for like, literally anything you want to do and accomplish. I

Casey LeBlanc: 51:31

know it's crazy. I love it. It's, it's awesome. There's, there's a lot out there and I consume a lot of it. I think one of the things that I need to do a better job is you know, some of those books that are the the fiction books, I just don't read any facts. Yeah, everything that for 20 years has been business, all my podcasts, I look through them and it's all business. So I maybe maybe now as I'm moving into another stage of my life, I need to open up some of the creativity side and some of the, you know, maybe the the less than real and the less than business stuff. That's, that's right in front of me. So I guess that's my big takeaway from this to this podcast. I need to do a better job of what what my life looks like, from my point of that,

Greg Spillane: 52:15

who So who are your, your big podcast your go to, you know, what you listen to? Or maybe some books that you know, like, guys, you know, books you've read that are just like super influential and in your life?

Casey LeBlanc: 52:27

You know, the one that I've been, I've been really all over is these Pompliano brothers have you seen these guys? It's the Better Business Show and I started to listen to this guy in I can't remember the exact name they've got the it's called the best better business something or other buddies pomp Leon, they call him pomp. And it's all of his three brothers. And they talk about crypto, they talk about business, they talk about sports, and each one of them have a different, you know, podcast and Twitter handle, which I think are fascinating. And then all three of them do a show together, which is super interesting. They're all three really smart guys. And they're all in their I think they're in their early 30s, maybe mid 30s super successful, and they all take a different aspect. And I'm interested in all three of them, right business crypto and sports. So when all three of them get together, it's it's a it's a pretty good show. And I like that one probably the most right now.

Greg Spillane: 53:18

Awesome, man. I'll have to check that out. So look, Casey, man, I appreciate you coming on the show. It was a it was a it was a fun conversation.

Casey LeBlanc: 53:26

Yeah, we have some additional business we're gonna connect with I'm excited about blockchain that in and how that could impact you know, our potential industry and how we could potentially work together. But aside from that, it's just always nice to see somebody doing stuff like this. I love the idea of taking an athlete and helping them at least explore the entrepreneurial side because if you do have an athletic background, some of the things that you learn if you're aware enough, can really translate into a leadership and business position. So I think what you're doing is great, so I appreciate the opportunity to come on.