Hey guys, I am back here with Sean Smith from Dedicated Financial,
the CEO of Dedicated. So Sean,
tell me what is it like being back in New York from Minnesota? I know you had a,
a little bit of a travel, um, for Broker Fair this year.
Well, first it was great getting off the plane and it was actually warm here,
so I started thawing out as soon as I landed. But, uh, you know,
I'll tell you what, we've been coming to everyday Bank show since inception,
never missed an event, and it has been a, a critical event for us every year.
And, uh, it's just led to so much growth and connections and relationships.
So it's just exciting to be back. We love the big Apple. I mean,
nothing beats it, right? So it's excited to be back.
So tell me, we have a long day ahead of us.
What are you looking forward to most throughout the event today?
I feel like I'm gonna not give the best example, just feeling like, uh,
better on the block for a while, but just connecting with my friends,
to be honest with you at this point, uh, you know,
being around this industry for the last 13 years, um,
it's just seeing people that, you know, connecting,
asking how people are doing right now, we're really relevant, unfortunately,
or fortunately, depending on, on who you are. So I just, I,
I love the connections that some of my best friends are here in New York.
I know if I come into the city, my schedule's always gonna be busy, uh,
just like here. So it's just fun to connect with my friends and,
and say hi and see how we're doing and how the business is.
So being a veteran in the game,
how has the industry kind of changed from when you first started to today?
Yeah, I mean, there's just more businesses in the space, both in MySpace,
in the funding space, in the broker space. It, it's, it's really packed in, um,
it regulation oversight has come in and is trying to come in more, which,
uh, I think is a good thing. Mm-hmm. Uh,
as long as we can work with the legislators to do it responsibly. Right. Um,
and I think that with these kind of shaky times that we're going through right
now, it may thin the hurt a little bit, uh, which can kind of be painful,
but in that can be great opportunity, uh, for those who, uh,
are nimble enough to pivot and, and to stay, uh, relevant. And honestly,
I think the next biggest thing to be looking forward to is what's going on with
ai. I think that is gonna change the game. It already is.
And if you don't realize that you're, you're already missing the boat, really.
It definitely is changing the game.
And are there any hurdles that dedicated may have had to come over or
overcome, I should say? Um, going into 2023,
Our biggest one is growth. Mm-hmm. And so I'm really in the process of, uh,
growing the office to over 160 person office when most
people are setting people home, working remote, downsizing their office,
things like that. But just due to economic times,
our volume has dramatically increased. Mm-hmm.
And so the hurdle has been being here,
but still working with someone as I get my old space subleased as I build out my
new space, you know what I mean?
It's just like fast growth time for us and doing that responsibly and doing it
well for our clients.
Well, you put on a pretty good game phase. So I,
I hope the event goes well for you today, Sean,
and you make a ton of connections and I will see you throughout the event.
Thanks Anaya. Appreciate it. Of course. Thank you.