improvisor <\/strong><\/p>\nwebster\u2019s dictionary tells us an \u201cimprovisor\u201d is someone who makes or fabricates out of what is conveniently on hand. \u201cimprov\u201d is a form of theater in which everything is created on the spot. it is like a magic trick when performers take a suggestion from the audience and turn it into a unique and hopefully funny scene. one of the things i love most about improv is the freedom to fail. in improv, there are no wrong answers. you can try anything, and you aren\u2019t judged.<\/p>\n
improv is a great way to learn to let go and to move onto the next scene or line without fearing failure. improv works by building on the ideas of your fellow performers and by accepting whatever is thrown at you. it is about creating characters who have a relationship with one another. one word can spark a world of possibilities, and it is our job as improvisors to bring those possibilities to life. we listen to each other, support each other and trust that whatever we create together will be entertaining and worthwhile. improv teaches us to take risks, embrace uncertainty and work together to create something truly special.<\/p>\n
improv is a valuable skill that can be applied to many different areas of life away from the stage. it can help us to be more creative, more flexible and more confident. it can also help us to build better relationships and to work more effectively with others. see, there\u2019s that word \u201crelationships\u201d again.<\/p>\n
blending my passion for technology, science and comedy<\/strong><\/p>\nthe movie \u201canchorman\u201d (starring will ferrell) was the hottest comedy in america when it debuted in 2004. at the time, i liked to hang out at a north hollywood restaurant. one day, lo and behold, i saw ferrell leaning up against the wall of the eatery. i was a huge fan of his comedy, but i didn’t like the fact that he was a university of southern california trojan (archrivals of the ucla bruins). i thought the best way to approach him would be the indirect approach: befriend all the people he was hanging out with first. so, i did just that, and after about 30 minutes of friendly banter with his entourage, i finally mustered up the courage to take a picture with ferrell.<\/p>\n
as i got close to ferrell, i saw another celebrity out of the corner of my eye; someone i considered to be an even bigger celeb than ferrell. it was none other than bill nye, a.k.a. \u201cthe science guy.\u201d without skipping a beat, i turned to nye and said, \u201cbill, can you take a picture with me?\u201d as i handed my snazzy new nokia camera phone to ferrell to take the picture. both men thought it was a great ploy and were good sports about the encounter. i got to tell bill nye that i loved his science videos in school, and then turned to will and said, \u201chey, your movies are pretty good too.\u201d<\/p>\n
after graduating from ucla with a degree in history i had short work stints in banking, mortgage finance and at a tax resolution firm shortly after the global financial crisis. you might be wondering how a history major got into financial services, but if you can sell you can sell, and they were happy to have a young go-getter who was willing to work on commission.<\/p>\n
i suppose i was pretty good at selling because i made a lot of money at it. but selling wasn\u2019t remotely fulfilling for me. instead, i was fascinated by technology and knew there had to be a better way to run a tax company more effectively.<\/p>\n
so, still in my late 20s, full of energy and self-confidence, i co-founded signature tax services, a tax-based tax resolution and tax prep firm. about that time, i also discovered improv theater. mainly improv was a way to meet interesting people and get outside my comfort zone. after being bought out by my partners at signature tax, i did some consulting for tax firms. improv training also gave me the courage to raise money for my next venture, tax tech portal, a tax management software play \u2013 similar to canopy tax.<\/p>\n
building a tax software company to disrupt the accounting profession<\/strong><\/p>\nit was clear to me that the tax world was far behind many other businesses when it came to technology in general, and client management software in particular. i couldn\u2019t fathom how accounting firms could operate without having a proper client relationship management (crm) system in place. didn\u2019t they want to have a deeper understanding of their clients \u2013 and have it right at their fingertips? but crm wasn\u2019t a priority for many, and i knew they would face possible extinction if they refused to adapt.<\/p>\n
so, around 2016, i took it upon myself to educate them while attempting to build a crm practice management software that would digitize and modernize an accounting practice. apparently great minds think alike, because two other significant players in that space, canopy tax, a utah-based software company, and karbon, a bay area practice management software company serving the overseas market, were working to solve the same problem.<\/p>\n
the folks at canopy got out to an early lead, raised $77 million and blew most of it on sales and marketing and a failed tax prep solution. unfortunately, that ended my journey with tax tech portal, because the venture community didn\u2019t want to put their money behind another similar software, especially being run by a smaller, younger startup like mine.<\/p>\n
however, i remember during my product research for tax tech that thomson reuters, a prominent player in the accounting reference information industry, was making some inroads into this area. their software was functional and effective, but not particularly flashy. what intrigued me about thomson reuters wasn\u2019t its software. it was its practice forward program, which coached accounting firms on making the transition from compliance to advisory services.<\/p>\n
but i kept asking myself: if you really want to be \u201cadvisory,\u201d wouldn\u2019t you need to be financial <\/strong>advisory as well? that led me to ponder the following:<\/p>\n