Meet The Founders Building Zoner From the Ground Up

Today, we’re learning about a new business called Zoner.

We’re joined by two of Zoner’s three co-founders, Ashlee Okunonke and David Kema. Their fellow co-founder, Bryce Knight, wasn’t able to join us for this conversation. 

Ashlee Okunonke is a senior at Manhattan University studying Computer Science and a former software engineer at ADP. She’s planning to pursue graduate school in California while continuing to build products at the intersection of data and real-world impact.

David Kema is a senior at Rutgers University (Newark), double majoring in Management Information Systems and Supply Chain Management. He describes himself as a renaissance man; curious, multifaceted, and intentional about growth while also creating spaces where people feel comfortable and truly heard.

Together, they are building Zoner from the ground up; a platform focused on helping people make clearer decisions about where to live and develop.

In this episode, we talked about:

•  The memories, experiences, and entrepreneurs who inspired them along their journey 
•  How childhood friends became co-founders and decided to build together 
•  Why they chose the entrepreneurship path and how entrepreneurship was nurtured early on 
•  The role internships, organizations, and university experiences played in shaping their vision and partnerships 
•  The importance of being in the right environments and around people who challenge and support growth 
•  What market and product validation has looked like while building Zoner 
• What it looks like bringing a startup to life from the ground up 
•  Whether founders should wait for the “perfect” product before putting themselves out into the public 
•  Representation, impact, and the importance of pouring back into the community 

Conect with Zoner:

Website: https://zoner.pro

Social Media: @whatsyourzone

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

All ideas started as as a concept and then they made it into something tangible. And that's why I always tell myself when I'm having those moments of like doubt is that everything, Tesla, Apple, everything started at at the ground up and it was and then it was built up by somebody. So why can't that be you?

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Maybe somebody's having a bad day, they don't want to speak to you, or they don't like your idea, you can't get hung up on it, you can't take anything personal. Um, that's kind of how you have to move through life in general, honestly, and it applies to this business process. Taught me how to reach out to people comfortably and be comfortable being outside of my comfort zone.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Welcome to Begin Build Blossom, your business journey, the podcast where we share valuable insights, resources, and motivation to fuel your entrepreneurial spirit. Let's build a supportive community together. Don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you listen to podcasts and be part of this journey. Let's pause for a moment to hear from our sponsors. You've built a name for yourself through hard work and dedication. But does managing the business side feel like a distraction from your true passion? Are you dealing with unmanaged finances? CME Accounting LLC is here to help. We specialize in organizing your financial records, allowing you to focus on what you do best. With organized books, you'll have more time for what inspires you, whether that's expanding your influence, building relationships, or simply enjoying life. Don't let unmanaged finances hold you back. Reach out to CME Accounting LLC today and let us help you thrive. Visit our website www.cmeaccountinglc.com or email us at admin at cmeaccountinglc.com. Alright, let's jump back into our conversation. Good day and welcome to another episode of our podcast, Begin Bill Blossom. We're very happy to have you here today. Today we're learning about a new business called Zona. We're joined by two of the three co-founders. Co-founder Bryce Knight wasn't able to join us today. But with us, we have Ashley Okunonke and David Kema. David is a senior at Ruggers University, Newark, double majoring in management information systems and supply chain management. He describes himself as a renaissance man, curious and intentional about growth, while also creating spaces where people feel comfortable and truly heard. Ashley is a senior at Manhattan University, studying computer science and a former software engineer at ADP. She's planning to pursue graduate school in California while continuing to build products at the intersection of data and real-world impact. Together, they are building Zona from the ground up, a platform focused on helping people make clearer decisions about where they live and develop. Welcome, Ashley and David. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00 3:12

I'm good. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

I'm good as well. And also thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

You're most welcome. I had the opportunity to meet you at um the Innovation Challenge at Manhattan University, and I was very impressed by your presentation. And um, congratulations on winning that challenge. How does it feel?

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Thanks, seeing all the hard work you put in actually, you know, come to fruition. Feels good.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

That's good. And I noticed also that it was not your first challenge. You've had other challenges at um other universities, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yes, yes, we have a collective.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

Yes, and not your first win as well. I'm just going to say that I went, I went on LinkedIn and I saw, you know, a lot of the activities on there, the post. So I was able to see all the great stuff that you are doing. Yeah. So, okay, just wanted to add that to say congrats, and I'm really happy to see what you're doing, and I will continue to follow your journey. So, as we get started, we'd like to ask our guests one word to describe yourself now, and one word you would have used to describe yourself as a child.

SPEAKER_03 4:19

Um, I'll go first. Um, right now I think that now I'm ambitious, and as a child, I was curious. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

For myself, I would say right now I'm a bit insatiable. And I guess as a child, honestly, I'll I'll also say curious. I was a very curious child. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:39

Okay, thanks for sharing that. And um, since we're on childhood, can you share one memory from your childhood that makes you smile?

SPEAKER_00 4:47

When I was a child, I went to Hannah Calva elementary school and I got a lot of academic achievements, and that always put a smile on my face because my parents, you know, I have African parents, so typically they're not really moved by getting straight A's or A's and B's or anything like that. That's kind of just a standard, but any type of further recognition. So, like for example, I got like a perfect score on the NJ Ask when I was in third grade, and my mom made a whole dinner for me. I got a bouquet, and you know, they have my little poster up on the classroom in the hallway. So I don't know, that that made me smile, just made me feel validated in the things that I was doing that I wasn't really used to receiving recognition for. So um, I still think about that every now and then.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

So Oh, I love that. Thanks for sharing. What about you, Ashley?

SPEAKER_03 5:31

Yeah, I wasn't as brilliant as David when I was in elementary school, but my my favorite memory or like something that makes me happy is when I went with my dad, honestly, to bring a child to work day. Because I don't even know if they do that anymore. But I just remember, like, yeah, his whole job is like pr um praising me and his other kids, and they gave us like our own, like it was like a street name, but it was like that thing that you put on like your your fridge. It's like a magnet, like a magnet. Yeah, we put it on your fridge and it said Ashley Way. And um, I just remember like always being excited for him to take me to bring you to work day because he worked in the government, so yeah. That was funny, like you have a resumes. That makes me smile a lot. I always look forward to it to you.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Oh wow, I love that. And Ashley Wee. Of course, why not? Okay, and um, is there one book, podcast, or person that has influenced how you think about business and you'd like to share that with us?

SPEAKER_03 6:22

I think for me, a person that's influenced me about business is Bridget Medler. She's like the former person on Gul Up Charlie, and then I think she ended up like, yeah, she's a former actress, and then she left like the childhood like industry when it came to media, and then she got to go pursue her um, I think astro or astrophysics or aerial physics at Stanford University, and now she has her own space company. So to be able for her to like make that like drastic change and become such an influential person in that space, I found it like extremely crazy, and like it just shows you that like at any point in your life you can honestly chase exactly what you want to do.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Uh, this might sound cliche, but I'm gonna say Steve Jobs. I know he has uh some sort of documentary or movie that I watched, I think, in high school, and just seeing how he he kind of went his own path with his uh business, obviously obviously starting Apple. Um he had believed in himself, nobody else was really on board with him until he started keeping traction. And the fact that he brought his community with him, like he was working in the basement with his friends trying to you know build this product. And even my dad talks about him to this day. He speaks very highly of Steve Jobs too. Um, that's kind of somebody that inspired me and inspired how I think about business, just being able to, you know, grind things out, um, believe in yourself and have your community behind you, um, really just supporting what you do, even if nobody else really sees the value in what you're trying to build. So that's something that I uh I take from him.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Thank you so much for sharing that. And talking about business and those entrepreneurs that you admire so much, um, do you remember the first time that you thought of yourself as an entrepreneur? Or maybe you thought of becoming one?

SPEAKER_03 7:57

I honestly think for me, the first time was when I started thinking about zoner. Like, I didn't really feel like I had much of business thoughts prior to then. I was just always focused on becoming like a software engineer, becoming like a systems engineer. And then when Zoner came personally into like my mind, and then I talked about it over with David, then like okay, I was like, okay, we can really do this thing. And yeah, laying the groundwork, that's when I started seeing that okay, I do honestly like building a product from the ground up. I do like um almost like being a project manager amongst people. And then now I can also now I can see myself having like two to three more ventures in the future as well.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

I would say it started towards the end of my sophomore year when I had first pitched a venture called Synergy with the Resolution Project. Um that's when I started thinking about you know the possibilities of being an entrepreneur. Um, because I really just thought it was like a school presentation, and then I'm getting all these resources, all these emails, like, hey, make sure you, you know, send your annual report, make sure you do this, and the third. And I'm just like, okay. And then I started learning about different business um operations. I took a lot of project management classes and um business policy classes um throughout my junior year, and I just started piecing together how an operation runs, how a business runs, and yeah, just trying to gain as much knowledge as I can about entrepreneurship. I even did an internship with a program at my school called the Urban Solutions Lab, um, essentially just where we had a mentor and he was kind of guiding us through what we can do to kind of grow this uh venture, um, and also just you know, get your business out there, um, the resources that you have available to you through Rutgers University. And I really appreciate my school for all the resources that they push out to us as students. So that's kind of where I started thinking about it at the end of my sophomore year and throughout my entire junior year, through my coursework, and through my um internships that I've held. So, and then up until now, um, it's kind of you know been me putting it all together and trying to work on that mindset through zoner and you know, trying to push it out as far as I can. So that's when I started um thinking about entrepreneurship and how I've been nurturing it throughout college.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Okay. So it sounds like the environment that you're in and the programs that you're able to participate in really had a big impact on that decision. You mentioned Zonar, Ashley, and David, you mentioned that you had started a you were working on another venture at the time. How did you both decide to now zone in on Zona and to actually be and now that to actually be the business that you're working on together? And maybe there you can always also touch on how you became partners and just tell us a little bit more about that process.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Um, well, this really starts when I met David in the at the library in fifth grade.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

I think we were playing basketball or something. I think it was outside. We were hooping fifth grade before school.

SPEAKER_03 10:47

Basketball is right behind the is it right now, not next to the library? I don't know, anyways. Okay. Exactly. But um, yeah, I've known David um for the majority of my life. Um, he is my best friend. Um, love him down. And honestly, uh I zoner was um so I initially had the the product vision for Zoner. I was honestly like in my room one day, and I it was coming from a point of me thinking about honestly how to pay for my cousin's master's program because she's coming from Nigeria, and um my son doesn't have a sufficient amount of money to be able to put through another person like through college. And I wanted to be kind of like create like an innovative idea and then create a solution to an already existing problem, and then I was like literally just brainstorming in my bed like one day, and I feel like housing, always constantly hearing like my family, friends, uh my loved ones complaining about the housing market and just honestly just seeing it over the past couple years, 2008, housing crisis as well. And um, that's when housing came into play. And I came yeah, yeah, I just came up with Wizona because I feel like people don't I feel like yeah, there's a bunch of policing platforms that don't prioritize people's needs, people's priorities, and it's honestly just based on the amount of money that you have, not about the community that you're actually trying to build around you. And then I came to that idea with David on the phone one day, and he honestly stood behind me because he's always saying that like he thinks I always have like a lot of great ideas. I just have to honestly just take initiative in a way. So I brought it to him and I was like, let's actually do this thing. And he was full-fledged with me on it. And then it's been like that ever since. And this was like sometime last year as well. But then we can speak more into it as well.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

No, honestly, you took all the words out of my mouth. Um, you explained it perfectly. So yeah, that's kind of how we met. That's kind of how Zoner came about. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

Okay. And once you decided that that was the business, what were the next steps that you took?

SPEAKER_00 12:39

I think initially, like last year, we were it was kind of a slow period because me and Ashley were working a lot, and then fall semester I was personally um doing a lot. Like I was helping run a club, I was taking 22 credits, I was maxed out, and I was applying for uh graduate schools and jobs, so I wasn't really as locked in with it. But I think we started out with um just like trying to find, I guess, like uh like find trying to find a product, what would be the basis of the product, so you know, kind of the features that it would have. Um, and then Ashley did some some grunt work trying to find data from different zip codes, different crime data, and you know, just trying to put together uh, you know, actual tangible product for us to, you know, then further out build and coding behind it and put marketing behind it. So yeah, and we came up with a mock-up. We started, um, I was the one I was trying to push for, you know, just getting the word out there to doing a lot of pitch competitions because you don't have to have something that's perfect. That's something that I believe in. Because obviously, you know, when we push it out to people, it's gonna be um edited, we're gonna hear feedback and you know, we're gonna change it a little bit to fit the consumer because at the end of the day, they're the most important people what they're using the application for. So that's kind of how we um prioritized um zoner, the building of it. Um and we got funding because we were able to put together presentations, actually work on building it and tailoring it to our users. So that's kind of what we've been doing. Um, and that was just the past semester. Um, so that's what we've been trying to do, and that's been our priority.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

Okay is there anything you'd like to add, Ashley? Um, I will say, like, in terms of like the grunt work, I remember like over the summer, because like yeah, zoner has been something that like we have um been thinking of for the past year, and over the summer I remember because I am like a coder, I coded like the first early product or um prototype of zoner. And yeah, it was like honestly just like this cool interactive mapping experience, people like be able to like rate primes, safety, affordability across like different boroughs, like in New York and going into like yeah, like yeah, more concentrated areas as well. So I was able to like yeah, come up with that prototype. And I remember fall semester of school, I came in and I was in a tenth of like I saw just a bunch of different people and I sort of started showing them honestly like that prototype in itself, and then everyone was just like, Oh my god, this is so cool. You should actually, yeah, you should really like go serious with this, etc. And then I also made like a small, I don't know if you remember David, but that small animated like commercial with like the stick figures as well. So I was like showing that trying to think of also like uh yeah, yeah, showing that also to try to think of like advertisement for zoner as well. And then I started working for this company called Caltech, and then that's where we that's where I met Bryce because he hired me to like build this mobile application for him because he also has his own, he also is like involved in like two other startups as well. And then one day he was like, Oh, push to me zoner, tell me about zoner, and then I did. And he was like, Oh, he's very interested on like honestly, like helping us like release it, work on it, etc. And then yeah, then we made him a partner, and yeah, it's been up ever since then, to be honest. But yeah, it was a lot of I there was a lot of groundwork for me, like in terms of in the summer and trying to like get my vision into something tangible.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

Thank you. So I hear a lot about you know having that first vision and then having other people to come on board with you. And I also heard, I think it was David who said, not necessarily waiting until it is ready. So you basically you're working on it, and as you learn, you're changing it, but you're not waiting to push it out there. You're doing all those pitches, all those challenges, getting funding. So I really love that you're sharing that with us. And I noticed too that you did a lot of market research in real life. I saw that you have videos where you're actually in the streets of New York asking people for their opinion. So can you tell us a little bit more about that?

SPEAKER_03 16:23

We got into this program called Code Launch for like is almost like another pitch, or like it's like a startup like incubator or like accelerator program, actually, um, to possibly get funding and then get more exposure for zoner. So we were part of like their early cohort. And like, yeah, then we made it to like their quarterfinals, and part of um the way to make it to the semifinals was try to build up traction like with your product. So it was like doing a bunch of like market and product validation, and yeah, we thought like the best way to do that is just going talking directly to people and building the product that the people want. So then, yeah, we were like Bryce, Bryce came here as well um to New York, and yeah, we were just like, Okay, let's go hit the streets of New York and really just go tell people about Zoner, go talk to people that are buying home, people that are renting, people that do like the community itself, because I think that you can't build a product without knowing what people actually need and want for the product to actually be sustainable. So that's why we're like, Yeah, we're just gonna go to the street. And yeah, we were on 181st. It was it was honestly kind of difficult at first because some people didn't want to talk, but but they found we did find those that um did, and yeah, I think word of a word of mouth is is important because you know at least we're putting zoner on people's mind and it was just like finding out on exactly what people want and creating our product towards that.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Yeah, um, it was difficult at first. A lot of people, you know, wasn't they weren't trying to hear us talk about you know this random uh real estate, you know, development. Um, a real estate insight application. Um, so a lot of people, you know, just kind of dubbing us and we just kept persevering. We just kept asking people what they really want because like I said before, I think cut customers, consumers, they're the most important people in situations like this. You know, they're the people we're trying to serve us. So we're all being persistent, we're all individually asking people, recording interviews if you know they allowed, and um just trying to engage their mind as to what they would like to see and what their experiences were like also when they were buying a house if they have before and what they would like to know. So that was kind of I guess the main purpose of us going out in the streets, literally in the Bronx, Dykeman, Dykeman Street, wherever else were we, 181st, around those those areas in New York. So yeah, that was our main purpose. Um I think it's important to reach out to community, like Ashley said, just to really make people feel heard and understood, understood.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Yes, for sure. And can you just briefly tell us where you're at with Zona right now?

SPEAKER_03 18:48

So we have um launched like our like our website that has like a mission like statement. You can find it at um zoner.pro, just talk honestly about like the overview of zona itself and like for people to like push people to join the wait list. But right now, we are we have like a team of developers and we're just like in like building the development for our beta version. Um and yeah, we should have the beta version out in a couple weeks. So that's like honestly, that's where we we are. It's very it's a very honestly exciting time because actively every single day there's a there's there's been an update.

SPEAKER_02 19:19

Yes, I love that. Literally building from the ground up. I'm so glad that we're able to hear that part of this journey now, and we hope to speak with you later as you continue to grow. And um, talking about growth, I know that you've been involved in internships, competitions, organizations on campus. I was speaking to David earlier about NABA because I was also a member of Um NABA when I went to university. Those experiences, how did they prepare you for um this part of your journey?

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Being involved in those organizations, it definitely taught me how to work with people and just how to kind of extend grace to people as well. Maybe somebody's having a bad day, they don't want to speak to you, or they don't like your idea, you can't get hung up on it, you can't take anything personal. Um, that's kind of how you have to move through life in general, honestly, and it applies to this business process. Taught me how to reach out to people comfortably and be comfortable being outside of my comfort zone. So that's kind of something that I had to do in Anaba, you know, giving presentations here and there, attending events, being social, and also in the Black Professionals Network. That's something that I had to do, do a lot of doing a lot of outreach, putting together events, asking people on campus to come. So just you know, be doing that outreach and being that um, I guess, sociable. I'm trying to put myself out there to the community. Those are things that I think were transferable from these organizations and through my you know my life as a student um at Rutgers.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

I think for me, honestly, I'll like really shed light on the internships I've had. I've been blessed to have three internships over the past like uh four years at yeah, in university. And I think honestly just made me like innovative, like and made me innovative and also made me like gain skills of like perseverance because I did feel like at times like during my internships, I was faced with like adversity or not knowing as much as like other people do, or honestly, just like having to gain like a lot of knowledge because I was just really like dream tech places. Like when I got this my internship as a guide project manager, that was like not even a position that was even initially supposed to be open to me. But I applied anyways because I was like, the worst you can say is no, of course, like I'm a sophomore and you say that you want a graduate student, but like who's to say you're not gonna hire me. So it's just like being um and honestly, I didn't even have the skills at the time I studied for that job, but I learned it like on the way, and I was able to honestly create a meaning meaningful impact throughout the summer. And then the same thing with like cyber skills because I wanted to like get into that field, and the same thing with software engineering was um I wanted to break into that field and just and then to be able to like build multiple products across. Those three internships, especially like at ADP, because I made like a client metrics dashboard for like their database systems team that they still actively use, really to be able to like spearhead like the front-end developer of that. Honestly, it was an amazing experience and a very rewarding experience. And it just sho showed me that like I can build, like legitimately, like I can code, I can build, like I do have the brain and the mind and the thinking for that, and even how to come up with different ideas and be able to incorporate them. Something that's gonna make a platform unique. I was able to produce that. So I think and even like in this for zona, like it's a whole point of it is to be innovative. The whole point is to be different, the whole point is to be unique. And I think that like throughout my internships, I was able to learn that very thing.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

Let's pause for a moment to hear from our sponsors. You've built a name for yourself through hard work and dedication. But does managing the business side feel like a distraction from your true passion? Are you dealing with unmanaged finances? CME Accounting LLC is here to help. We specialize in organizing your financial records, allowing you to focus on what you do best. With organized books, you'll have more time for what inspires you. Whether that's expanding your influence, building relationships, or simply enjoying life. Don't let unmanaged finances hold you back. Reach out to CME Accounting LLC today and let us help you thrive. Visit our website www.cmeaccountinglc.com or email us at admin at cmeaccountinglc.com. Alright, let's jump back into our conversation. Hey, thanks. Talk to us a little bit about challenges like um I think I saw here Shacks of Tech and Innovation Challenge. Um, at the beginning we talked about um those big challenges that you actually won. So can you maybe, for instance, if there's somebody listening right now who probably don't know that this exists and they're a student and they're trying to get into this, can you just share with them, you know, how they can get access to those programs, um, what it is that like being part of those programs and the money that you win is like how does that um go into actually uh helping you move forward with what you're building?

SPEAKER_00 24:15

So, I mean, I'll talk about sharks of tech. That was that was quite literally a club event at my school. Uh, I got sent an email flyer through one of my scholar programs. Um, I'm a FISERF Scholars scholar at Rutgers University Newark. So they they send me events and opportunities all the time. So I just saw that. But if you're you know a student coming to Records or a new student transfer, whatever the case is, or even if you've been going to Rutgers, honestly, clubs have events all the time. Um, it's in people's emails. It's they also have a lot of Instagram pages because I know a lot of people are active on social media. They post it on bulletin boards all the time. And you know, I've just been fortunate enough to get opportunities directly sent to me, but I also do a lot of outreach. I also do a lot of looking myself, so that's how I would say other people could get um access to those quote-unquote opportunities. So this was and this was something that you didn't have to have any qualifications for sharks of tech. You just needed to have an idea and a slideshow ready. And I was thinking in my head, okay, I have a zoner um in my head already, and I have the slideshow, so why not just go and present? Just going up there with confidence, uh touching on everything that you know the judges you think that the judges might ask, and answering questions confidently. And there's a way you can answer questions even if you really don't fully know the answer. Um, you can just be honest, you can say you're working towards that, or you can say that you know this this might offset that question. You can really just be honest, it's not always an attack when you're getting asked a question. So I think that's part of having that confidence, knowing your product and knowing that you know it can work despite what other people think. Going back to what I was saying before, just knowing how to work with people, that's the it translates into knowing how to talk to people and present as well. So those are all little characteristics that I took with me when presenting at Sharks of Tech, ended up getting first place, winning some money. And um, you know, that just further reinforced my philosophy of speaking with confidence and relating to people when I answer these questions, when I have these interactions, and when I'm trying to show somebody something that might help them in the future or help somebody that they may know, which is another big thing because sometimes sometimes people don't always take into consideration the fact that this product is not for them, but you know, somebody that they know, somebody that friend of a friend of a friend, it just goes on and on and on. So um, just being able to relay that message and keep it in people's minds, um, that's a part of building your community. That's a part of being able to reach out and put yourself out there and um maintaining those relationships in a way that you can, you know, continuously have this impact with zoner or you know, with talking, just everything. So that's kind of how that's what I took away from the Sharks of Tech Challenge. That's kind of what it taught me. Reinforced.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Um, and to give like I guess is advice to other people that could be watching about like certain challenges. I think it's that's like I feel like throughout this process there was times where like I like experienced like self-doubt, or I was thinking like, oh, I don't know that people are gonna like this, I don't know if this is a good product. And um I think that honestly, any idea or innovative deal that anyone could have, it's just about like how much you wanna put it out, the amount of work you do. There's so many things that like businesses that come up, and I'm like, oh, that seems like such a simple idea, but then like, yeah, but this person pushed it so intensely, you know what I mean? Like this person worked towards it. So it's like I think that with your your work ethic with which you contribute towards that space, like just go hard. If you're gonna do something, like I think like if you're gonna do it, just like if you're gonna do something, do it and and do it and do it hard, like legitimately. And self-doubt would will happen, like to be to be completely honest. And you I feel like you just have to be confident in yourself to know that you're going to overcome it, and if you believe in the product, you can make other people believe it as well. There's a reason why I would say God like placed it into your head to begin with. There's a reason why there's a voice in your head telling you to chase it because it could become something. All ideas started as as a concept, and then they made it into something tangible, and that's why I always tell myself when I'm having those moments of like doubt, is that everything, Tesla, Apple, everything started at at the ground up and it was and then it was built up by somebody. So why can't that be you?

SPEAKER_02 28:24

Why can't that be you? I love that. And I remember listening to you as um, you know, the team, as you all presented at the Manhattan University Innovation Challenge. And I remember the judges, they asked some questions that I thought were so difficult. Um, but you all just dealt with it like chumps, the chumps that you are. I mean, you did win. And I remember coming to you at the end and saying, you you really handle those questions well. Because I was sitting there thinking, man, why do they have to be so hard? But I was really proud to just realize that you really knew what you were talking about and you were able to really handle that well. So I just wanted to add that there. And um, you know, the confidence and the the knowledge that you have about your product, how does that translate when speaking with investors? Because I I I imagine that you're speaking with developers, you're speaking to agents. So can you just tell us a little bit about what that looks like?

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Honestly, that's like meetings. Um, we went to this real estate um networking event a couple weeks ago as well, and that's where we were able to meet like real estate, like like different types of agents and developers as well. I met like one of the regional people for like honestly, like zoners competitors, CoStar, and she loved like the idea as well. And um, yeah, I think that just that just looks like yeah, honestly, just going back to confidence and just knowing your product. Like, I don't think anyone knows our product better than like better than us. So it's honestly just about how we articulate it to developers, how we articulate it to investors, like forcing them to see the vision and like literally like seeing the vision that we have ourselves. So I think that's like no one, yeah, no one knows your product better than you at the end of the day. But Dibby can add more.

SPEAKER_00 30:11

I think it's pretty at least straightforward for me speaking to investors or developers or anybody that might be interested. Like, um, for example, we have uh a developer that I was talking to that I met at an event at NJIT, a school right across the street from Markets, Newark. And I was just telling him about Zoner, just the same aspect of speaking confidently, just talking about something that you know about. Um, and he ended up being on board with everything. You know, now he's one of our developers, um, helping us code um zoner in these next few phases. So I think that's just um something that that comes with you know, trying to build a product, like you're gonna know what direction you're gonna go, you're gonna know what to say to certain people, you're gonna know what certain people might want to hear, and just you know, being able to wear multiple hats in that aspect and talk to investors or different types of people. I think that's um something that comes naturally, at least for us, because we know our product better than anybody else, like Ashley said. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

Okay, great. And you're both students, you're seniors. Uh it's sounds like you're both in your final semester at university. How are you able to manage building a business and also being a student? And uh, it sounds like you've had internships, you have a you have a very full life. So I'm just curious how you've been able to manage all of that.

SPEAKER_03 31:31

Honestly, I sleep very late at times. David sleeps earlier than me. I I feel like you do sometimes. I I think David may be better at like managing um rather than I because I do feel like um I I sleep like like very late. That's also because my mind is always is is is always running. But by the grace of God, I think that you make time for the things that you care about in your life. And um and I take that like very like heavily. Like if something matters to you, you're gonna make time for it at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Yeah, and the way I am, uh I try to I'm very much on the go type of person. So even if I'm like, for example, this past weekend, I was at a conference at Yale University, but I brought my laptop with me. I was still doing my schoolwork there when I got back from the conference because my lifestyle, it cannot stop because I'm doing something else. Um, and of course, things that I require my full attention, I give it that attention in the time period. You know, there's a block of time, there's a season for everything. And that could be a few minutes or that can be a few days, that could be a few months. And I feel as though if you're giving your best effort during that season, then you're gonna see results. So that's kind of what I like to do with my lifestyle. That's how I balance everything. When there's time for club events that I have to attend as a vice president, I go there, I black out time. I'm not on my phone, and I'm there, I'm present in the moment. Like Ashley said, making time for things that you care about. When it's time to work on zoner, you know, when we have meetings Monday night, I'm on my laptop sitting right here in this same chair, have the documents pulled up, I have my thoughts going in my head, I'm in a flow state, I'm I'm ready to talk about whatever we need to do, whatever we need to um push out to get the next phases, you know, go and get the ball rolling with zoner. That's kind of how and sometimes things can be intertwined. Like for example, I use zoner as an independent study class for Rutgers University. So now I'm it's one part of my assignments now, so I have to work on zoner. Um that's kind of how I hold myself. That's another way I hold myself accountable with zoner. So now I'm getting class credit for it, and I'm also building this outside of school. So any opportunity that I see that I can combine things or aggregate any of my processes, anything like that, um, I'm gonna take it, I'm gonna jump at it. So um, those are the little things that I try to do, and it adds up in the long term, things that I do to you know take control of my life during these seasons that I have where I'm doing a lot.

SPEAKER_03 33:44

I like to also add to that as well, because um incorporating zoner into life, because that's honestly one of the reasons why I am moving to California and why I like I apply to graduate school in California. Because there's both schools that I'm that I'm like picking between are both known as like startup universities, and I just want to be able to put zoner like on like a national or global um stage and get it like that exposure, and I want to be part of those programs that can help me do that. So, like in terms of like a couple months ago when I was in these applications, those were like one of the things, one of the main like pillars that were really on my mind is this okay, is this university gonna be it? Like, am I gonna meet like other founders? Am I gonna meet other investors? Am I gonna have access to more funding, funding competitions that are more than like $5,000, for example? Like putting myself in those spaces and just like incorporated zoner, even like yeah, they're changing the the narrative of my life, like controlling the old narrative of my life. So it's like I didn't even give myself up like options on the East Coast because I'm like Silicon Valley, like those are known as like also called California has the largest concentrated um starter founders in the world. It's actually California, and um Berkeley, for example, has the most woman starter founders in the world as well. So being able to um see that and apply that and like yeah, heavily incorporate that as like that's how I like David said, you change the narrative of your life, or you control the narrative of your life, I should say.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

I love how you're so intentional about the environment. I love how you said you're going where the founders are, and uh I I I really love that. And I hear a lot of discipline and perseverance from you all. So I'm just so excited to just follow your journey someone just to see how all of this, I mean, it's already working out, but you know, as you continue to blossom, just to learn more about it. And I and talking about community, in terms of impact that you're trying to have, I saw, for instance, Ashley, that you were on a panel where you were speaking with younger, um, younger children. So to be able to be that person that you can see and look look up to, I feel like that that must be very meaningful to you. So can you both just give me a little insight about what impact looks like for each of you?

SPEAKER_03 35:58

Honestly, it's it's kind of like the idea of a Kamala Harris um running for president in that sense. It's like so people just see like representation. People know like young black girls or women know that like these things that they can do, like these things are possible at the end of the day. That's what honestly, impact looks like like to me in the in the fullest, like in the ultimate. It's like I encourage other women, I encourage other black women, I clear other like young children that they they can, they legitimately can do this. And that the more what you put like honestly your mind to like you can legitimately accomplish. I want to be an inspiring voice, like honestly. Like I don't know how much more to articulate that. I I do I feel like life is complete honestly when you inspire or you impact somebody. Because I mean people impacted me throughout my whole life, and I think that everyone is like in a body of everyone they have met as well. So I would like to also contribute to that every single day.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

I'm I'm the same way, the exact same way. I I think impact is just touching somebody's life in any way, shape, or form. Like even at the Innovation Challenge at Manhattan University, for example, Ashley had a whole row of just her friends pull up and they were all clapping and cheering for us, especially when we were answering those questions that the you know the judge was asking us at first. So that's a that's an impact to us. Like that's our community pouring back into us, you know, being supportive. That made us feel good. I was trying my my best to hold my smile, but I don't know, I might have let one loose. But um, yeah, that's that's an example of how community impacts me and and us even giving them hope, giving them like something to look forward to, giving them something to look look up to. Um and even you know, Ashley just bringing on one of her friends, uh Theo, uh he's part of our team now. He's a he's a developer for zoner. You know, that's something that that can impact him, even if it's on a minor scale. You know, now it's something he can put on his resume, now it's more experience that he has with coding, and now it's something that he's also contributing to um in the long run when we, you know, push this product out to people. Um, he's part of that process, and he can say, hey, you he indirectly helped all of these people that hopefully we you know we're going to help in the future. I don't also don't know how else to put that. Uh I just think you know, touching somebody's lives in the smallest way or a big way, or even you doing this for somebody else, you know, let's say somebody makes revenue from this product and now you're paying for somebody's graduate school, like Ashley mentioned before, that's how you can touch somebody's life. There's so many different ways that you can measure impact um with this process and with a lot of different things that people do in their life. So I think that's kind of what impact means to me, and that's how I uh that's kind of how I look at it from a very multifaceted angle.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

Great. And what about success? What does success mean to each of you?

SPEAKER_00 38:46

That's that's hard because I think I'm I'm insatiable. That was the word I used earlier, and that's how I feel right now. But honestly, I I started writing about it, a lot of my thoughts on what success means to me and how trying trying to not discredit myself for things that I've done or even the things that Ashley has done or my friends have done. Um I try to you know shed a spotlight on it every now and then. Um, but success to me is just saying that you're gonna accomplish something and actually doing it. Saying we're gonna start zoner and we're actually building it, saying we're gonna enter this challenge. We entered it, saying we might win, and we actually win, exceeding our own expectations, setting standards for ourselves and staying true to ourselves, respecting ourselves enough to discipline ourselves to the point where we're actually doing all these things. Um, those minor acts, you know, they all come together and they kind of build that definition of success, at least for me, and across all facets of my life. I say I'm gonna study for exam, I study, I do well on it, that's success to me. Um, I try my hardest when you know, making an effort to hang out with people or catch up with people, hang out with somebody, uh a group of friends, you know, just even a few days ago, I just had uh an outing with some of my eboard members from my club. We went out, I came back home safely, you know, I thank God, and that's success to me. Uh I try to find joy in minor things that kind of helps me, keeps me going and keeps me, I guess, grateful in life. That's like um that's success for me.

SPEAKER_03 40:13

I will say I had to pull this up on my phone because m one of our close friends, Chitty T sent me a tweet on Twitter and it was like, maybe you don't realize how good you're doing because you keep raising the bar. And I think that this is so something that honestly, like something that I struggle with, because I kind of had to look back on my life and then honestly I had to realize that I'm living in answered prayers from God. And um, I would say that 10 times over. I'm in the exact position, like academically and professionally, that I wanted to be like in last year. Like, what exactly I envisioned myself in having graduating is honestly like the life that I'm living, and yeah, for me, that is also success. And I think that's such an interesting thing because yeah, you just you literally just keep raising the bar, and it's like, yeah, you become insatiable, you feel like um certain things you're not doing is enough. And also, I'll also tagline what David said. I went to Boston this weekend to go visit my friends that go to like Boston University and um and Northeastern, and honestly, that's success to me as well because I make time for the people that I care for like in my life, and I'm also like watering my relationships, and I'm also watering my own like mental mind by being able to rest, take a break, and have fun as well. Like that is honestly also success. But it's doing what I set out to honestly do and leave like an impact for me. The ultimate success is like, yeah, I pay for like my cousin's master's program, which I know like in the future I'm going to do. So, and like buying my mom and an F-150, like just like everything I'm setting out to do, I'm saying that I'm gonna do doing it. So, like a success. Honestly, if I tell my friend I'm gonna go get dinner with her tonight, I gotta go do it.

SPEAKER_02 41:53

Yes, yes. So, thanks so much for sharing that with us. I really love that. And as we come to a close, I would like if you can end by just giving us one piece of advice that you share with somebody else right now, and just also telling us the best way um that the audience can reach out to you.

SPEAKER_00 42:10

Okay, honestly, I would say it's easier said than done, but discipline does help a lot when you're whenever you're trying to accomplish something. But giving yourself blocks of time to do do certain things. This everything that we were talking about, doing things and seasons, um, saying that you're gonna do this and actually sitting down and do it, I think that's a piece of advice that I would give to somebody. Um, trying to build something, trying to go through school, um, you're struggling on exam, set out 30 minutes and just let that 30 minutes be for you know that studying period of time. You set out two hours to do something, do your finishing assignment, let that be for that time period. Don't be willing to sacrifice it for anybody else. Um, tell them you know, you can't do something, it's okay to say no and you know, let people know that you have other priorities at the moment. Um, it's okay to move your schedule around, you know, for something that you you think is more important at the time. Um that's kind of how I've been moving through my life. Being able to work with people, being able to talk to people. Let them know, hey, you know, this is something I can't do right now, this is something I can do, but I have to put me first, I have to take care of myself. So I think that's the the best advice that I can give at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 43:21

I think for me, it's gonna be from finding an email, and it's just gonna be just keep swimming. Literally, just keep swimming. Like everything that you're doing in your life, legitimately just keep going. Because like you will honestly bear the fruits of your labor, your what you want, it will come into fruition. You just have to really legitimately just keep swimming, just keep going, just keep running, and do everything that you do in your life, do it at 100%, like legitimately. I think it's honestly just about um how bad certain people want after their circumstances, but let's keep swimming and show how bad you want it and push your blood, sweat, and tears to something you Even when you feel something is crashing down, like just keep doing that.

SPEAKER_00 44:03

Alright, perseverance.

SPEAKER_03 44:05

Um, you will start living. Yeah, perseverance, because you will start like living in answer pairs, like honest to God. If I had not put as much dedication as I did into zona and other things in my life, I don't know, I don't know if we'll be where we are right now. And I will say that like we are where we are because like we did put our blood swing and tears, we did do the work, etc. We just kept going even in moments of doubt. And I think we'll like it just just just keep going and have and have confidence, have faith, have hope in what you you are doing. Because that's honestly what's gonna make you like distinguishable from other people as well. So just keep swimming, just keep going, and it'll come. Like, you know, there's always there's always light at the end of the tunnel. You just gotta get to the end of the tunnel first.

SPEAKER_02 44:52

Thank you so much. And what's the best way to learn more about zona or to get in touch with you?

SPEAKER_03 44:57

Um, so you can go to our website, zona.pro, find us on all social media platforms at what's your tone. What's your zone?

SPEAKER_02 45:07

Okay. All right. I'll be sure to add that in the episode notes as well. I just want to say thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us and for sharing so much with our audience. Look forward to following your journey. I've said that many times because I really do. And um, hopefully you'll be on here again. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 45:26

No, thank you for the invite. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

Thank you as well. It was great talking to you.

SPEAKER_01 45:31

A quick note before we wrap up: the insights and experiences shared by our guests are their own. We love creating space for real conversations about business and growth, and everyone's journey is unique. Therefore, this podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. It is not meant to replace legal, financial, or other professional advice. So, we encourage you to take what's useful, do your own due diligence, and build what works best for you.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Thanks for listening to Begin Build Blossom Your Business Journey. We hope today's conversation gave you the insights and inspiration you need to move forward on your own path. Don't forget to subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast so you never miss an episode. Do you have feedback? We'd love to hear from you at podcast at cmeaccountinglc.com. Join us again next week for a new episode.