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DeepPsy: Using Technology to Personalize Psychiatric Treatment

DeepPsy is a Swiss startup that was founded in 2021 with the goal of bringing technology developed by the psychiatric scientific community into the everyday routine of clinicians. Indeed, one of the main problems in psychiatric treatment is that, opposite to most other fields of medicine, treatment decisions are mainly based on information obtained at the symptomatic level, with little consideration for the biological mechanisms of individual patients. As a consequence, patients often go through a prolonged trial-and-error process in order to find an effective treatment.

DeepPsy wants to change that: By giving psychiatrists access to the newest technologies developed, tested, and validated by the scientific community, they can better identify the treatment with the highest likelihood of success in a specific patient. The organization’s flagship technologies are algorithms that analyze brain waves (EEG) and heart activity (ECG). Those are made available to clinics and hospitals through a user-friendly web interface. DeepPsy processes its patients’ electrophysiological data according to the latest evidence-based research findings in this field, resulting in the computation of different features derived from patients’ brainwaves and heart activity. These parameters can be interpreted on which treatment options might be best for a patient.

Further, DeepPsy collects the anonymized data from patients (with their permission) and trains its Deep Neural Networks to identify even better patterns for the prediction of treatment response. This guarantees that DeepPsy improves its service with every customer!

Steadfast Leaders

DeepPsy was co-founded by Mateo de Bardeci and PD. Dr. med. Sebastian Olbrich. Mateo studied physics and data science at the ETH Zurich. He started doing research in psychiatry back in 2019. As there are few data scientists working in psychiatry, he felt that his background and work would allow him to create a lot of value in the field. It was also in 2019 that Mateo met Sebastian at an entrepreneurship workshop. Sebastian is a trained psychiatrist and the Chief of the Center for Depression, Anxiety Disorders and Psychotherapy at the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich, Switzerland – one of the largest academic Psychiatry Hospitals in Europe. He has been conducting research on psychiatric biomarkers during the past 10 years, especially in the field of electrophysiology, with the goal of improving the treatment outcome in psychiatric disorders and thus decreasing the suffering of his patients. He told Mateo about his vision for the future of psychiatry, and both of them soon decided to work together to make it come true.

Founding Stone

During his research days, Mateo quickly realized that there is a huge need for innovation in psychiatric treatment. Indeed, while technology has changed our day-to-day life completely, these changes have not arrived to psychiatry yet. Furthermore, Sebastian understood that many academic research findings never made their way into everyday clinical decisions either. Usually, physicians choose treatments based on very subjective information, not considering objective markers that could guide and improve their decisions for a specific drug or other types of interventions, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or psychotherapy. Hence, both of them created the idea of DeepPsy to make the findings of biomarker research available for every psychiatrist and patient and to help to find the best individualized treatment. Now DeepPsy has a web-based framework that will help to improve treatment outcomes in major depression based on individual EEG and ECG data. This will shift the way in which psychiatric patients are treated and propulse psychiatry into the 21st century.

“Mental disorders are among the leading burden of disease worldwide. We, as a society, are building rockets to fly to mars and our cars will soon drive autonomously. Then why take psychiatric disorders such as depression as a predetermined fate? We have the knowledge to treat them based on objective information, and hence we should take this chance. DeepPsy is ready for the voyage.”

The firm’s goal for 2022 is to bring its first product to the Swiss and EU markets. In the coming years, the organization is planning to expand globally and increase its portfolio of solutions to include more mental illnesses and treatment options.

Data-Driven Solutions are Key

A major trend in the biotech industry is using data-driven solutions that have proven to be successful in other industries – especially the use of real-world data. These technologies have already proved to be a game-changer in oncology and imaging. DeepPsy is bringing it to psychiatry.

Tackling Challenges

DeepPsy believes that personalized treatment should be a global standard instead of only a research project. The firm’s mission is to bring psychiatry to the 21st century.

DeepPsy wants to help as many patients as possible. Therefore, it wants its solutions to be fast, accessible, and low cost. Simultaneously, the organization has very high standards of quality, data security, privacy, and scientific validity. However, creating solutions that fulfill both aspects was a challenge for the company.

Amaze Insurance Brokers: Solving Client’s Insurance Needs

Handling an insurance portfolio is not an easy job, it requires great professionalism, technical competencies, skills, and experience, which together are a rare combination. However, clients can now utilize these combinations through Amaze Insurance Brokers Private Limited, which in return provides amazing benefits in terms of coverage, savings in premium, timely renewals of policies, and expeditious & judicious settlement of claims.

Amaze Insurance Brokers Private Limited is an insurance broker licensed by the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India. As an insurance broker, Amaze employs professionals with proven professional skills and technical competencies from the field of insurance and insurance broking with years of experience in managing insurance portfolios of clients starting from SMEs to big organizations.

The firm designs the most suitable insurance program (MSIP) for the clients duly meeting all their insurance requirements. It also makes a thorough analysis and evaluation of existing insurance covers and recommends definite solutions to fill up the lacunae, if any, in coverage. Additionally, Amaze Insurance Brokers sends recommendations to clients on ensuring proper and adequate coverage of assets, operations and liability areas.

The Skilful Leader

K. Muralidhara Reddy is the Managing Director and Principal Officer of Amaze Insurance Brokers Private Limited. k.Reddy is a professional with more than 3 decades of experience in managing various insurance portfolios starting from SMEs to big companies bringing in customer satisfaction. K. Reddy has a rich experience working in the insurance field as an MD and principal officer since January 2003. He is a team builder in multiple areas of operations including underwritings, claims, marketing, IT, client retentions, and finance.

Skilful in maintaining a cordial relationship with insurers, other organizations, and clients, K. Reddy is well known for a very high-level competency in underwritings and claims of all departments. Additionally, he possesses special skills in designing and implementing various rural insurance schemes by devising suitable procedures and involving software platforms.

The Differentiator

Amaze Insurance Brokers offers its Insurance Portfolio Management Services to various corporate, small, and medium-sized organizations for their entire portfolio. Until there’s a reasonable ground to consider, the firm stays away from where clients appoint multiple insurance brokers. The insurance broker firm handles all insurance requirements of its clients and delivers the best for them. The firm is very experienced in handling the insurance portfolio of clients from every sector and insurance covers of all types.

  • Project Insurances: EAR/CAR//CPM/Marine Cum EAR (MCE)/Global WC etc. Operational Covers -IAR/ Fire &Special Perils Policy/Marine/MBD/ BPP/EEI/Money Insurance – Cash in Transit & safe/ Employee Crime (Fidelity Guarantee), Jewellers all risks insurance.
  • Business Interruption Covers: Advance Loss of Profits (ALOP), Marine Delay in Start-Up (Marine DSU), Weather Insurance, Fire Loss of Profits (FLOP), Machinery Loss of Profits (MLOP).
  • Liability Insurances: CGL/ Public Liability (Act)/E&O/D&O/Professional Indemnity/Product Liability/Clinical Trials/WC/ Cyber Liability Insurance etc.
  • Employee Benefits: Group Health (GMC) /Group PA (GPA) /Group Term (GTLI) /Group Gratuity/ Superannuation/ Leave Encashment/Group Overseas Travel (GTI) etc.
  • Other Insurances: Vehicle Insurance for company’s and employees’ vehicles/top-up health/unnamed PA/Special Contingency/Export and Domestic Credit Insurance/Rural Insurance and other insurances.

Currently, Amaze Insurance Brokers handles sectors like; IT &ITES, Pharma, Hospitality, Power Sector (windmills, solar, biomass, gas, thermal, hydro), Bio-Tech and Clinical Research Organizations, Manufacturing, Service, Various Government Departments, SMEs, Rural Insurance covers, etc.

The firm is also one of the first insurance brokers in the industry, which successfully designed, developed, and implemented a unique software platform in 2016 for implementation of sheep insurance. Amaze Insurance Brokers prefers to subscribe to various national and international journals. With well-trained employees, who have completed their Brokers’ Training and passed various examinations as stipulated by IRDA, the firm is solving its clients’ insurance-related problems since its inception.

An Industry on the Rise

Introduced in 2002, with the first batch of licenses issued in 2003, two decades are nearly completed for the concept of insurance broking in India. ‘Broking’ is still considered taboo in India, creating many hurdles for the companies. During the first few years, even the government bodies and big corporate houses were not inclined to avail the service of an insurance broker. However, since then, the industry has come a long way, and many of the clients have started to engage, the services of insurance brokers.

Though Mr. Reddy believes, still a majority of clients have not been able to realize the full potential of professional services from an insurance broker, and they still consider insurance brokers as a quote getters. Insurance brokers are also expected to educate clients and deliver value in their services. Internationally, clients chose one insurance broker for the entire portfolio or policy-wise. Eventually, the selected insurance broker will manage the portfolio by extending his/her risk management services and dealing with various insurers to arrange the proper cover and expeditious settlement of claims.

Interestingly, many Indian clients appoint multiple insurance brokers to get a quote from the insurance companies. However, this process does no good for the clients, as they often miss out on the loyalty from the insurance broker, who might limit his/her services only to obtain the quotes. Here IRDA has given orders to the insurers, that they have to provide the same quote when multiple insurance brokers approach them for a quote under the same risk/policy. This step was taken to enable the client to select the right insurance broker and avail of his/her services. A client should understand the benefits of the services of an insurance broker and should appoint them only after the due selection process.

As the MD of Amaze Insurance Brokers, Mr. Reddy says, “Insurance Brokers have garnered as high as 55% of total business underwritten by insurers in India, which is a great achievement for this concept introduced by IRDA. This growth would continue and may touch 70-75% over next five years.”

The services of an insurance broker to a retail client are the need of the hour. K. Reddy feels the areas of claims need to be the focal point for all the insurance brokers and IRDA to create and build the much necessary trust factor among the policyholders and common man.

Mission and Vision

Amaze Insurance Brokers aspires to;

  • Being an ethical, principled, and value base organization set a new benchmark in the industry
  • Cater to the needs of all sections of the society
  • Bring in customer delight by adhering to the TATs in underwriting and claims settlement
  • Deploy appropriate Risk Management practices across the clients’ portfolios

As an insurance broker, Amaze’s vision is to establish and emerge as one of the most preferred insurance brokers in the country. The firm provides innovative solutions and ensures complete client satisfaction. It also aspires to combine excellence, quality, and timely service delivery with the utmost professionalism in risk management, premium management, risk coverage, and insurance portfolio management services to all its customers. K. Reddy believes sustainability will be a key factor when it comes to earning a great reputation for great ethics and trusted services to all of the clients.

Picture of the Future

In order to keep up with the competition, Amaze Insurance Brokers have entered into the world of online sales of insurance products. The website offering online sales, is in its final stages and will be launched commercially in May 2022. The online portal has been named Bimastreet, and it has its uniqueness when it comes to claims service to the customers, which is a big differentiator in the crowded market.

Bimastreet meets the unique need of retail clients. The firm would also love to have its digital solutions for SMEs and Corporates with all the required features, which will be its next big project.

Additionally, the firm is also coming up with an onsite insurance audit for its clients. Thus enabling them to evaluate the portfolio being handled by Amaze Brokers to make improvements.

Tiffany Kinslow: Meeting Client’s Real Estate Needs Successfully.

Meet Tiffany Kinslow, Realtor at Main Street Realty, which serves to meet its clients’ needs in Smith, Simpson, and Rankin county areas. She graduated from Copiah Lincoln College in 2000 and attended the University of Southern MS and Ashford University, where she completed her studies in 2004. Before getting into the real estate profession, Tiffany was a school teacher for many years. However, she always loved real estate and knew beforehand that she would eventually pursue her career in real estate.

The area where Tiffany operates is very rural and has many unique challenges compared to larger cities. She says, “I was teased when I decided to niche down and serve my small community. Many thought I was making a bad decision for being a small town realtor, but I love my community.” Tiffany believes her love for the community keeps her going in the industry.

Last year, she was also recognized as a top agent by the Top Agent Magazine. For the past 8 years, she has maintained between 30-45 listings throughout the year and closed between 65-80 transactions. Currently, she has 48 listings.

Tiffany also serves as the VP of the Magee Chamber of Commerce, Board member of the Mendenhall Chamber of Commerce, Director of the Simpson County Developmental Foundation, and serves on Keep Magee Beautiful.

About the Realty Company

Main Street Realty represents over 3 decades of combined experience in meeting its client’s real estate needs. The firm’s established presence in its community enables it to provide clients with the needed knowledge of its market area, trends, and finance solutions. MSR serves all its clients with honesty, integrity, and dedicated professional representation as a realty company. The realty firm feels privileged to assist its clients in one of the most important decisions of their life. It brings the needed experience, integrity, hard work, and relationships with several buyers and sellers. MSR uses the latest technologies to dominate the market and make the necessary connections for its success.

As a real estate leader, Main Street Realty takes an active interest in supporting the local community’s children. Each year, it sponsors a local baseball field and teams.

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

The entire team of Main Street Realty is very actively involved in their community with their families. Family time is crucial for the realty company members, and they work very hard to enjoy their time off with their families. Every member of the realty company is associated with the National Association of Realtors, the Mississippi Association of Realtors, and others.

Tackling Challenges

Tiffany Kinslow feels that the lack of inventory is a big challenge nowadays. She is trying to overcome that by reaching out to her older clients and informing them about the current value of their homes, and she can help them sell those for the best market value.

She believes another challenge is realtors holding themselves to a professional standard, having the needed industry knowledge to represent their clients adequately, and operating with integrity throughout the transaction.

The Pandemic

Before the pandemic, Tiffany Kinslow had a robust social media presence. She is an avid lister and constantly listens to real-estate training courses. These courses pushed her to opt for video marketing from the very beginning. So, Tiffany started marketing her homes through videos over the internet even before the pandemic. As a result, the pandemic’s effect on her business was milder than it was on other companies. However, some of her deals did fall through as the banks were closed and halted their lending processes. She says, “It was a scary time. I approached it like I have every other challenge I have faced in my business. I knew I needed to pivot my business to accommodate my clients through Covid, and that’s what I did.”

Tiffany soon started encouraging her clients and reminded them how she could virtually market their homes and follow CDC guidelines in case of any physical meeting. She considers her clients an important part of her life, and they know it. If her clients were uncomfortable marketing their homes at the height of the pandemic, she refrained. However, she marketed like crazy when they were comfortable with the process. Tiffany closed 75 and 78 transactions during the two years of the pandemic.

Patrice Boenzi: Helping Clients to Reach their Real Estate Goals.

Meet Patrice Boenzi a Realtor at Fathom Realty, who is also a credentialed minister. Fathom Realty, provides her with all the tools she needs to be successful while keeping her splits almost non-existent. It was Patrice’s first business decision and one of the best ones she has made. Patrice pastored for 15 years and left the full-time ministry to pursue the ministry idea that she needed to fund.

After leaving pastoring, Patrice got her real estate license and started her career by flipping homes, purchasing rentals, and building her client base. Patrice has her Senior Real Estate Specialist designated and she loves to help her clients downsize.

The Problem Solver

As a business leader, Patrice loves solving problems, thinking out of the box, educating the consumer, and helping her clients reach their real estate goals. This “rush” keeps Patrice going. As an active real estate investor, she brings a different set of skills that help her clients prepare their homes for the market (to get top dollar); as well as, creative, out-of-the-box negotiation skills in this tough market.

When A Pandemic Shook the World

As opposed to other businesses, Patrice’s business thrived during the pandemic. She always leads with value and keeps in contact with her past clients and the pandemic allowed Patrice to check in and make sure everyone was okay. During the pandemic, Patrice learned to do things differently. She utilized Zoom for listing appointments and to meet new buyers. She witnessed people moving out of state, upsizing, and selling to take advantage of the low-interest rates. The pandemic affected the real estate industry as a whole in many ways. Patrice observed people having the freedom to work from anywhere which catapulted people to sell their properties for different options. Additionally, Patrice witnessed, second home prices soar as people had the opportunity to work from home. Historically low-interest rates encouraged people to make a housing change if they were on the fence.

Tackling Challenges

The main challenge for Patrice is low inventory and rising home prices. This combination is making it hard for some of Patrice’s first-time buyers to secure a home. In addition, in her experience, she is seeing buyers with FHA or VA loans having a harder time securing a property.

Patrice also tackles these problems by sending out postcards to potential sellers, networking with other agents, and making sure their lending options are solid. For her FHA and VA buyers, Patrice advocates for them with the listing agent and writes an offer that is solid and creative!

“In sales, no matter what industry, people buy from someone they know, love and trust; work your sphere!”

Patrice feels blessed with many accomplishments and achievements in her short time as a Realtor. She started her real estate journey full-time in January 2017. During her first year in real estate, she was Broker’s MVP and has been a top producer since she started. Patrice was on the cover of Top Agent Magazine, and in 2021 received two awards from her MLS board – Gold for top 3% Sales Volume and Diamond for Top 2% Transactions. In 2021, she was the top producing agent in her brokerage for the State of Illinois.

Suggestions for Younger Self

Patrice is a mentor for Fathom Realty and loves to train new agents to be successful. She feels, that entrepreneurs need to understand that no one is going to wake them up in the morning or hound them to do what they need to do; that must come from within. There are no shortcuts! The Millions are in the Follow-up. No Excuses! She says, “As entrepreneurs, we are responsible for running every aspect of our business and figure out what needs to be delegated.” Patrice feels many entre – preneurs want to be in control of every aspect of their business, but this mindset eventually slows them down. Entrepreneurs need to understand their value and how much their time costs. Shortly after Patrice launched her real estate career she hired a transaction coordinator, who took so much off Patrice’s plate that she was able to be in front of clients more which turned into more happy clients and more revenue.

Future Roadmap

In the next five years, Patrice Boenzi sees herself with several other types of income-producing proper – ties. She is making a shift to duplicate herself more, especially in this market. Patrice Boenzi is working on building a team of buyer’s agents, listing agents, and showing agents so she and her team, can service more clients and together.

Danielle Addante: Solving Client’s Real Estate Needs.

Andrew Carnegie once said, “The wise young man or wage earner of today invests his money in real estate.”

Meet Danielle Addante, Realtor at d’aprile properties, who is known as a well-respected, and innovative real-estate service provider throughout the Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect areas. She is deeply rooted in where she operates.

Danielle is involved in the local school systems, supporting local businesses, and she has spent years forging personal and professional relationships with the residents and vendors. She brings an unmatched level of expertise and enthusiasm to the industry, which needs both.

Danielle entered the business of real estate with a unique background. Before she started working as a realtor, Danielle was a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, working in the therapy department of rehabilitation centers. Danielle pursued a Bachelor of Sciences degree from the University of Illinois in Communication Disorders. She later completed her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Coming from a background known for breaking down communication barriers, Danielle’s strong sense of ethics and heartfelt desire to help people helped her advocate and guide clients through their most significant transaction of life.

Understanding the importance of an interdisciplinary team approach, she took the opportunity and started working with lenders and attorneys to achieve clients’ real estate goals.

Providing Unparalleled Service

Danielle is a full-service realtor, a consistent top producing agent, and she is a Certified Staging Consultant and Pricing Strategy Advisor. She supports her clients at every point of the buying and selling process. Danielle’s support team includes; brand managers, a full-time marketing team, a design team, a list of exclusive vendors, and a transaction coordinator.

“The meaning of life is to find your gift; the purpose of life is to give it away.”

With her constant market study, Danielle provides a very high level of information to prepare her clients for entering the market. With her strong communication skills and loyalty, Danielle delivers unparalleled service to assist her clients in their real estate buying or selling process. Her mastery of client/agent relationships has been a great asset for her firm. She has implemented a new multi-tier platform of various marketing tools and techniques, which have set a certain standard in her local market and beyond.

When Pandemic Bought Uncertainties

During the initial days of the coronavirus pandemic, many felt some uncertainties about the real estate industry. However, the pandemic opened up new opportunities to meet clients face to face. Apps like Zoom and Meet enabled clients to participate in consultation meetings or video tours of properties when physical visits were not permitted. Following the pandemic, Danielle has witnessed year over year growth, as it has solidified her goals in taking an individualized approach to how her clients wanted to be served and the ways d’aprile properties could make properties and information available to them.

Tackling the Challenges

Danielle feels the nationwide shortage of real estate became the biggest challenge of the last year. Additionally, the rising interest rates are also a cause of concern for the buyer. Danielle explains that tackling these issues will need another pivot.

She says, “Focusing on different ways to source properties for buyer clients and getting creative to help your sellers develop a plan, to sell their home to set them up for another purchase requires creativity, education on options, and a solid negotiator to help execute the best possible outcomes for the clients.

Awards and Accolades

Since she transitioned to brokerage in 2019, Danielle is recognized as a Top Producer in her firm year after year. She has also been recognized by providing her the Platinum and Black Key Awards from d’aprile properties, recognizing her high sales volume and the number of yearly transactions. Danielle earned the Daily Herald Readers’ Choice Best Realtor award in 2019 and 2020. Chicago Agent’s Magazine has featured her in Who’s Who in Residential Real Estate 2020 and 2021. Additionally, she has also been in the cover story of Top Agent Magazine 2021.

Preparing for the Future

In the future, Danielle Addante wants to see herself as a reputable industry leader and top choice for the suburban real estate market. She also plans to be a mentor and resource for the newer agents in the industry. Danielle Addante intends to become the person who can lift newer agents and help them grow their business to live a life worth living and careers they are proud of having.

Kul Nijjar: Helping to Discover a Place You can Call Home

It is a great feeling to help people move forward in their lives, which is the best part of being in the real estate industry. Buying or selling a home can be emotional, but often they are a part of a larger process, that is finding a home, where the next stage of life begins.

Meet, Kul Nijjar, founder of Kootenay BC Property Matchmakers. Kul’s beginnings in real estate came from needing employment, something where she could stay at home and raise her family in Kaslo. Her story started in Domeli, Punjab, India. Kul was only 5 years old when her family moved to Toronto. From there, Kul’s journey through life has brought her to Argenta, and later to Kaslo, BC. Community is something Kul values, and she always feels, her relationships with people have to be honest and caring.

When Kul became a real estate agent, becoming a real estate agent was primarily a means for her to make a living and remain in Kaslo, her home base and community. Then real estate business meant making hundreds of calls in the pursuit of making money, which Kul never felt right. Over time, Kul figured out how to do real estate differently, challenging the status quo simply by being herself and genuinely caring about people and her community. She focused on improving the quality of life for her clients through finding them the best possible homes, bringing her natural kindness along through every step of the process, from looking through listings to signing the final documents. During the past 12 years of working in the Kootenays, success for Kul has meant empowering people to live fulfilled and engaged lives in the communities where they belong. And doing things right, always.

In 2020, Kul founded her organization, KootenayBC as a bridge between the old way of doing real estate and what’s next. It’s a kinder, simpler, and more engaging experience that goes beyond a business transaction. The kind of service where clients feel supported, heard, and empowered to find their dream home and community.

The Steadfast Leader

Kul enjoys working and challenging herself. She feels, with every new listing or new client there’s a new journey. Not every property is the same and not every client is the same. Dreams and Resolutions – people buy or sell real estate usually for two reasons; because they have a dream to create and a goal to meet. Or it’s because an event has happened in their life and they have to make a tough decision, that usually has an impact on their life choices. So, to be able to assist someone in their exciting or challenging times is satisfying to me. Kul also likes to see how much she can grow and succeed. She says, “In this business, you have to not only keep up with all the changing industry regulations but also the available new technology. It’s not a mundane job that’s for sure.”

When Values are the Driving Forces

Under Kul’s leadership, KootenayBC provides service to its clients, community, team, and the belief that real estate done with heart can help change lives and neighborhoods everyone calls home.

Kul believes, the key to quality and efficiency is professionalism. Her firm offers proactive, engaged, and expert matchmaking services that put the client’s s best interests at the center of everything it does. Kootenay BC is adaptable to shifting circumstances while always being grounded in its values and principles. As a purpose-driven organization, Kootenay BC’s priority is making a positive difference in the lives of people. The firm fosters honest, consistent, and uncompromising principles that guide, its actions and relationships. It is entirely committed to building trusting relationships, being accountable, and staying open to improving at every level.

“Set your life on Fire, Seek those who fan the Flame”

Kul and her colleagues feel energized and inspired by the firm’s purpose and mission. Kootenay BC does not come from a place of lack but rather sees the world as a place full of opportunities that inspire Kul and others to think big. The firm is excited by the challenges ahead and is positive, grateful, and empowered partners for its clients and communities. Kul believes, her organization will choose joy over competition and it’ll readily share its knowledge with others while maintaining a beginner’s mind.

Tackling Primary Challenges

Kul Nijjar feels the biggest challenge is probably getting clients to realize, that although the area is very beautiful, people still have to live there. So, clients need to know how they are going to make money, as jobs are scarce. People also don’t always realize the size of the region and that each community is unique and diverse in its way. So, clients may think about moving to the Kootenays, but they do have to learn about the region and all the different communities within. The other challenge is not enough appraisers, home inspectors, lawyers, when it’s busy, everyone is very busy so clients need to accommodate for longer timelines to make sure that everything can be done, on time.

The Pandemic’s Affect

According to Kul Nijjar, the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly provided for a very busy marketplace, especially in the area where Kootenays BC provides its services. The firm is located in the SE interior of BC.

Kootenays has always been considered as a small, hippy, pot-growing, back to the land type of area. It has a ton of outdoor recreation, and as those sports have become more popular it has drawn more attraction from people outside of the area. When Covid hit, all the things that folks may have seen as negatives – ruralness, less populated, fewer amenities, all those things became very popular. All of a sudden folks wanted to be in areas that had less population. Where it’s easier to get to nature.

Advice for Upcoming Entrepreneurs

When we asked Kul Nijjar to provide some suggestions for new entrepreneurs, she says, “Consistency and sticking with it. Nothing happens overnight. There are so many things that are going to challenge your inspiration and your motivation. To just kind of put your head down and keep at it. Don’t pay too close attention to your competitors – know who they are but don’t get stuck paying more attention to their business than your own.”

She also adds, “Knowing your limits – once you know them you can decide to challenge them or to stay within them. Both are good and are dependent on what situations you are in.”

She also advises not to lie, tell the truth no matter how hard it is. “If you screw up don’t make excuses, own and figure out a solution. Ask for help when you need it. Don’t be loud about your accomplishments and how great your ideas are. Let your customers show that to you. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Take the risk and stay cautious at the same time.”-she says.

Picture of the Future

Kul Nijjar feels times are super interesting right now. She can see folks becoming more concerned with their pocketbooks, and the cost of everything. Her goal would be to grow, her business and her brand. Create working relationships with like-minded realtors – provide good honest services – and have more KootenayBC Property Matchmaker visibility in other areas. But if needed she is prepared to see what are the challenges, economy, and housing markets bring and change how she needs to.

Naveen Puttagunta: Helping Organizations with User Experience and Interface Designing

Meet Naveen Puttagunta, CEO of Divami Design Labs, started his career working with QA and product development teams. Later he served as a product manager in multiple large enterprise software firms, where he has been a vital part of the entire product lifecycle of software development. Thanks to his years of experience, Naveen has observed the evolution of UI and UX and quickly realized its incredible potential to transform digital products and experiences, which eventually led to the foundation of Divami.

As a UX and UI design and development agency Divami aims to create user experiences that add outstanding value to various digital products and platforms, one design at a time. The organization solves complex problems across verticals like; Data integration, FinTech, HealthTech, EduTech, HRMS, Transportation, Supply Chain, Logistics, DevOps, IoT, AR/VR, AI/ML, etc. The design firm impresses its clients by pushing itself beyond the finishing line with its strategic solutions, unique UX and UI designs, and efficient design-led development.

Divami’s tech stack is filled with recent technologies like Javascript, React, HTML 5, CSS3, SASS, LESS, Android Studio, Bootstrap, MySQL, iOS, Swift, etc. As India’s one of the first UX agencies in 13 years, Divami has specialized in domains like Data Integration & Analytics, Real-Time Monitoring, Voice User Interface, Content led Commerce, Crypto, MEL education, and more. The firm’s primary strength lies in Enterprise software, SaaS and Cloud Platforms, Digital Transformation, and Consumer and E-Commerce applications.

Innovative Solutions

Since Divami’s inception, Naveen’s eyes were set on the global stage. The leadership team wanted to deliver exceptional digital product experiences and become an aspirational global brand. With 80 team members, Divami is currently providing a cutting-edge digital experience to its international clientele.

The firm’s core service offerings include UX Strategy, UX & UI design, Design-led-Development Services for B2B SaaS platforms, User Research, Technology Software products, Enterprise Digital Transformation Projects, eCommerce marketplaces, and Consumer Applications. Till date, the company has worked with some of the biggest names in the tech and SaaS industry, including HCL, Collins Aerospace, Google, RightData, Zenoti, DarwinBox, etc.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

Divami is the number 1 ranked UX and UI Design Agency in India on ‘Clutch.co.’ The firm has worked with more than 200 clients around the planet and touched over 50 million people. Recently, the firm was honored with the CII Design Excellence Award and Web Excellence Award for its platform designs.

Keeping it Going

The Divami team is continually motivated to achieve efficient excellence and perfection in every aspect of a project. Naveen says, “At the end of the day, we are only as successful as our work is. This is why most of our clients come back to us because our designs have made them and their products successful.”

With the leadership team providing a sense of ownership and belonging, the average employment period in Divami is somewhere between 3-5 years. Many of the team members have started their careers with the firm and have stayed with it for a long time.

With very high attrition rates, the entire leadership team is proud to treat employees as stakeholders rather than contributors. So, Naveen Puttagunta believes that as long as the employees are motivated to improve both professionally and personally, that allows them to face challenges, they will perform.

The Era of Uncertainty and Instability

The pandemic has brought many uncertainties and instabilities over the past two years. In order to combat those, Divami has adopted Adaptability and Risk-Taking as one of its core values. Although the firm’s core business model hasn’t changed during the pandemic, these core values helped it a lot. Since the team was already accustomed to remote work, there were very few changes in the execution model. However, it revamped the project management, design, and delivery process to run everything smoothly.

Tackling Challenges

Naveen Puttagunta feels that design firms primarily compete for promising talents instead of customers. However, that isn’t to suggest that there’s no competition; there is always competition.

There are instances of prospects comparing established design firms like Divami with freelancers and other small design companies; this is when the leadership team explains the upper hand clients will get after partnering with the company.

Picture of the Future

Divami is transforming with each passing day. Thanks to an influx of long-term clients and multiplying projects, the firm is looking to expand its team in the upcoming years. It has set aggressive targets to equip itself with the right resources, training, and team expansion, ensuring the delivery of efficient excellence to all of its clients.

In an attempt to stay future-proof, Divami has also started working on solutions in the emerging trends like; Metaverse, Web 3.0, AR/VR, IoT, and more to deliver on upcoming requirements.

Mr. Julio P. Gonzalez: One of the Most Innovative CEOs to Follow in 2022

Meet Mr. Julio P. Gonzalez, the Most Interesting Man in Tax, the founder and CEO of USA’s most prominent specialty tax engineering firm, Engineered Tax Services, Inc (ETS). The firm started its journey in 2001 with the hopes of bringing specialized tax credits and incentives to mainstream America, which were only available to the Fortune 500 and public companies through the Big 8 National Accounting firms. Recognizing Mr. Gonzalez’s selfless contribution to the American society, Tycoon Success magazine has awarded him as one of The 10 Most Innovative CEOs to follow in 2022.

Consistently named one of the Top 100 most influential people in Accounting by Accounting Today, Mr. Gonzalez acquired The Growth Partnership, The Rosenberg Survey and ABLE CRM to establish USA’s largest specialty tax and consultive firm to the accounting community.

Nation’s Forefather of Specialty Tax Services

As ETS CEO and Founder, Mr. Gonzalez’s main priority is to arm the accounting firms with needed resources, enabling them to provide tax credits and incentives to their clients, resulting in job growth.

He works closely with Congress on tax reform and is the go-to tax expert representing many national organizations and associations around the country as it relates to federal tax code and tax law. Additionally, he is a regular public speaker on the national level specializing in tax reform and tax sophistication for wealth preservation.

In 2021, Mr. Gonzalez founded Rockerbox to bring the accounting industry best in class resources in employment retention credits and work opportunity training credits. Also, at the end of 2021, he acquired Inside Public Accounting to strengthen his company’s ability to become a go-to resource for the accounting community.

Mr. Gonzalez is known as the nation’s forefather of specialty tax services. He and his companies have also been recognized multiple times for their assistance in preserving jobs in the United States. Presently Mr. Gonzalez and his company ETS are USA’s biggest licensed engineering tax resource to more than 1000 CPA and accounting firms.

Helping Organizations in R&D Credits

Engineered Tax Services focus entirely on federal, state, and local tax benefits as a licensed engineering firm. There are many federal tax incentives, for which the IRS requires professional engineers and scientists to determine the tax benefits in areas like real estate and manufacturing. The firm also uses its engineering, scientific, and tax teams to provide one of the most crucial federal and state tax credits available to businesses in the United States in the form of Research and Development tax credits. These tax credits are meant to incentivize manufacturing, innovation, technical design, and job creation in the country.

The R&D Tax Credit is a crucial federal incentive that helps U.S. companies remain globally competitive. In order to qualify for the R&D credit, companies may develop new techniques to improve their products.

Mr. Julio P Gonzalez’s vision was to first bring awareness to mainstream America by educating the accounting firms. Over the years, ETS has become an industry leader in these services, eventually increasing cash flow, job creation, and expansion.

Engineered Tax Services tax attorneys, engineers, and scientists are the experts who have performed millions of these tax services over the past decades. Through this service, Mr. Julio P Gonzalez and his team have generated billions of dollars in stimulus that has positively impacted millions of jobs across the country.

Picture of the Future

When it comes to the organization’s future, ETS will continue to influence excellent tax codes in the U.S. by working with the president’s administration and congress. Additionally, Mr. Julio P Gonzalez will continue to grow and support small businesses while educating them about the tax laws with their CPAs and accounting firms to assure their success.

4th Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network Awards: celebrating women of excellence around the globe

Winners to be announced at a special event during Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in RwandaNominations are now open for the 4th Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network Awards which will be announced at a special event during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) week in Kigali, Rwanda this June.In line with this year’s theme of Delivering a Common Future: Transforming for Gender Equality, the Awards recognises and celebrates the achievements and contributions of women in business who advance gender equality in their business across the Commonwealth.  More specifically, the Awards recognise women who, through their actions, have become role models especially for girls in school, women in higher education and in the early stage of their careers.  She is an extraordinary woman who leads by example and makes an impact in her community.“The Commonwealth’s billion plus women need to be celebrated and women’s economic empowerment and achievements prioritised, pushed and praised,” shares CBWN Chair, Freda Miriklis. “The awards are given solely on merit and are awarded to those most deserving for their hard work in spite of the many obstacles and challenges they have overcome to attain professional success and wider impact.”The Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network Awards covers a range of categories with the following now open for nominations:Commonwealth Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (powered by EQUALS Global Partnership and with the Global Entrepreneurship Network)Nominees should be over the age of 30 and have demonstrated outstanding leadership and vision; and made significant contributions in advancing women in their sector, in spite of challenges, to make significant positive change. Commonwealth Young Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (powered by EQUALS Global Partnership and in collaboration with the Commonwealth Youth Council)Nominees should be emerging female entrepreneurs 16 – 30 years of age who exemplify innovation and displays great potential for future growth.Commonwealth Young Girl Entrepreneur of the Year (powered by Technovation and in collaboration with the Commonwealth Youth Council)Nominees should be girls under the age of 16, bright stars that have created opportunities to start and operate a successful business or project and who have made a positive impact within their community. Nominations for the 2022 4th CBWN Awards close on 8th of June 2022.  Entries will be judged by an advisory panel made up of senior people from CBWN and partners.  Winners will be announced and celebrated at a special event during CHOGM in Kigali.Winning a CBWN Award will allow the entrant multi-channel access to building their brand across the CBWN network and raise their profile to attract investors and key industry stakeholders.  CBWN is a platform to upskill, empower and uplift women and to enable and encourage trade for women in business across the 54 countries of the Commonwealth and harness the potential and power of women in order to drive economic growth.

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