N America News June 2017

NORTHAMERICANEWS / JUNE 2017 11 Leading People to Success g because I want my customers to make more profit, which will enable them to expand and this will help to generate more revenue, hire more staff and ultimately build a better economy. What role does innovation play in your work as a CEO? Innovation plays a massive role in my work as a CEO, because it represents 70% of my company. Everything at Allied Wallet is based on technology and coding, indeed we have Microsoft certified coders working in house on cyber security, e-commerce, fraud prevention and data encryption. I much of my time with developers, because I need to understand the infrastructure, and along with my project managers I ensure that the product we are building is tested before it goes live. I do spend time in Asia to understand what is happening and what the future looks like. I gather information from Europe, Asia and Japan and I put it all in the pot and come up with a better solution. I try and gather what these guys are cooking together and the recipe comes. That is what Allied Wallet will be doing for the next six months. How does it feel to have such a tremendous impact on your employees, their families and all the merchants you serve? It feels wonderful. I was in London one day, and I heard my name being called out. I saw this young entrepreneur who was around 25 years old, and he could not believe it was me. He said he had read a lot about me and that I was his mentor in life, as well as his idol. He asked to talk with me and I said yes you can. I spent 10 minutes explaining to him which areas he needs to focus on, including how he can move beyond money collecting to service provision and then consider membership options. He had a tear in his eye and said I had saved him a lot of work, indeed it helped him to build up his company. I provided the missing part in the puzzle for him. He also asked for a photo with me, and I gave him hope and many individuals such as this are following in my footsteps without a bank loan in place. I give these young entrepreneurs hope to grow and build an empire, and the chance for them to be something in this world. I always want to be the one walking in that dark tunnel with the torch in my hand and say, “follow me to success, and I will lead you.” Is there anything else that you would like to add? Fight your way and I promise you I will meet you at the top. In life, there are ups and downs. Sometimes, there will be turbulence in our career, but despite this I would say do not give up because it’s just a smooth ride down the road.