The Germany Expat Business Show
A podcast that shares knowledge, stories and inspiration for anyone starting, running or growing a business as a non-German in Germany.
The Germany Expat Business Show
DanRam's Global journey to Emceeing Excellence in Germany
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I've been wowed by DanRam's LinkedIn profile for awhile, so I was delighted when he agreed to be a guest on the podcast last summer.
DanRam travels the globe as an Event MC & Speaker at over 100 events a year. Hosting changemakers like President Barack Obama, billionaire founders Sir Richard Branson and Reid Hoffman, F1 champion Nico Rosberg, Grammy-winning artists and celebrities, he works on 4 continents from college campuses to parliaments to in-house corporate innovation days for Fortune 500 companies to the biggest tech conferences in the world. His passion is to inspire people with his motto 'Start Now Start Simple' in building a future we all want to live in.
In this episode we talked about:
- A true 4th culture person, DanRam was born in India, grew up all over the world and landed (for now!) in Aachen Germany
- He's an event MC, speaker, start-up coach and entrepreneur. Which two of these describe what he does the most
- How he created such an unconventional type of career for himself
- How he built his massive network and your audience
- How DanRam created such a distinctive personal brand and whether it evolved organically and what he does to maintain it
- The pros of working internationally but being based in Germany
- His experience of starting and growing his team
- Where he gets all his energy! And how he manages it.
Tune in to hear about all of this and more!
You can find this episode and all episodes as well as show notes for each at https://thegermanylist.de/the-germany-expat-business-show-podcast/
Starting or running a business in Germany as a foreigner? Already running an online business in Germany as an expat? Wanting to grow your German-based business? Working as a freelancer in Germany? You'll love my guide with over 30 resources for expat business owners in Germany.
Hi, I'm Eleanor Meyerhofer, a native Californian designer and digital strategist. In October of 1999, a few years after graduating from design school, I flew from San Francisco to Munich with a fistful of Deutschmarks, a dial-up connection and an extremely vague plan. Twenty-plus years later, after a 10-year stint at a global agency freelancing and launching two online businesses, I'm still here. Now I'm talking to other expat business owners to share knowledge, stories and inspiration for other non-Germans running businesses in Germany. But I'm going to just kick it off by asking you the question I ask everybody, which is what is the two-minute story of how you ended up in Germany? And I should also say I'm speaking here with Dan Ram, so I'll let you take it from there.
Speaker 2:The one word that sums up my life is favor. I feel like I live in God's favor. None of my life really makes sense, including moving to Germany. So here's the two-minute backstory. It's a pandemic. Everybody's lost, the world's lost, I'm lost. I don't get to travel the world as a global emcee and speaker and I find myself at home in my parents' home in India. And by some miracle I end up coming to Germany for one high profile event. And while I'm there, a unknown university to me writes and says hey, can you come emcee our event? And I thought you know what? I made it across the middle of a pandemic. Anyway, let me just say yes, never undermine the power of a yes. Because I came, I did that event.
Speaker 2:I fell in love with the students. It was right here on this campus called Erwitte Ha in Aachen, germany. Fell in love with the students, fell in love with the community. The professor noticed that, came to me and said would you ever consider a PhD? And I said not, really, not useful for my career. He said no, but to be intellectually stimulated, to grow, to learn, to research. It's an opportunity of a lifetime. And I took him up on that.
Speaker 2:And again, despite the pandemic, despite the fact that I was not in an academic route at that point in my life and I was not in Germany. He moved mountains. I owe so much thanks to Professor Malte Bretel for doing that. That's why I said favor. I'm a global event emcee, no connection to University of Berkham, but he had the vision and the foresight to go. Someone like Dan. Being a brand director of the university is a win for the university. Doing a PhD is a win for him. Being in this community is a win for the community of PhD researchers. He saw that, put it all together, and that's when I moved to Germany three years ago.
Speaker 1:Okay, and where did you grow up?
Speaker 2:Oh, I grew up all over the world. My dad is a retired Indian diplomat, so that's why I have an American accent, but I'm an Indian citizen so.
Speaker 2:I was born in Abu Dhabi, united Arab Emirates, and then we moved. Six weeks later I took my first flight and we were in Yemen, and then in France, where I started school, algeria, uae, india, zimbabwe, where I finished middle school, started high school. Morocco, where I finished high school, then to Yale University in the US for college I did that one on my own. And then I went to Indonesia for my first job with the United Nations. And then I went to India on a bit of a soul-searching mission in my 20s trying to see is this my home? Didn't find my home. Well, I felt really sad, went to Ireland. Thought I'd be there for a year to do an MBA. Instead, I found my home in Ireland. Makes no sense. Ended up being there for eight years, which is the longest I've ever spent anywhere in my life, and then pandemic and in Germany.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, so you are truly a global citizen, I mean with an. Irish heart.
Speaker 2:Yes, with an American accent and a love for gospel music. With my values coming out of Africa, it's just a hot mess.
Speaker 1:That's fantastic. Wait, okay, so I have some questions there. Obviously so. Were you already an MC? You mentioned you went to university in Yale. Tell me about what you studied and how you became an MC.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that one's a longer story, but I'll try to keep that one short. I grew up blessed. My dad, like I said, is a diplomat and mom is, honestly, the smartest person I know in the entire world and she's a software developer. And so I had two iconic role model parents who sacrificed everything for my sister and I. So I knew, and I carried on my shoulders a great desire to make something of my life, to be intentional about it. I didn't have to fight a war, I didn't have to fight for survival, but I was given much, and so I felt, with that, I have to do something profound. The only thing I knew at that point was academics. Felt, with that, I have to do something profound. The only thing I knew at that point was academics. So that's why I went to Yale, one of the top universities in the world, and I studied economics. But when I was there, I realized that intellect without impact is meaningless. So that's why I decided to work for the United Nations. I thought, okay, this is the largest organization in the world focused on impact and that's where I need to be. But it's only when I started working for the UN that I realized impact in concept to me does not excite me as much as impact in execution, which is why I moved to India and I worked for World Vision, which is also a nonprofit, non-governmental organization, but it's more hands-on, it's grassroots work. And that's when I realized impact with execution. That does not innovate, does not excite me, because they were just taking old models and trying to put them in the present tense. That didn't work for me. And that's when I decided to do an MBA, because one thing I know about businesses is they're good at innovation and inventing. And that's when I went to Ireland.
Speaker 2:I graduated in a recession, so, despite my desire to work in a consulting company or a large business, no one was going to hire anyone, let alone an immigrant, and so, out of necessity, I became a founder. I had to create my own job. No one gave me a job, so I had to create my own job. No one gave me a job, so I had to create my own job. And that's when I realized that's the magic right there, because in entrepreneurship, founding your own company is that combination of intellect, impact, execution and innovating, doing things differently, doing things new and I did that for about eight, nine years. I was significantly successful and tremendously catastrophically a failure at the same time. And that is the journey of being an entrepreneur. I loved it. It was the ultimate school of life. Needless to say, when you do that for that amount of time, with those epic highs and lows, you're given speaking opportunities. People want to know from your failures and they want to know also from your successes. And entrepreneurship started getting this cool feeling around the world, like that whole you know, this is a wild tribe that does not conform started changing and everyone wanted to be an entrepreneur, and so there were opportunities to speak, and that's how I got into the event industry At the age of 31,.
Speaker 2:When I exited some of my businesses, I thought what do I do now? It made sense to give back to the same community that had given me so much, and events is the meeting spot of investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, educators in the space. So initially I went as a speaker and I realized very quickly the world is full of great speakers. The problem is attention. People struggle to pay attention at events. There's endless distractions and they're overwhelmed with the amount of content, and the one person at events that should and can keep people's attention is an MC.
Speaker 2:So, even though I was getting booked to be a speaker. I asked to be an MC because ultimately I just want to do what adds value and I fell immediately head over heel in love with this role of an emcee. I'd never heard of it before, I didn't know it was a profession, I never knew I could get some money out of it. But again, in that also I have to thank Germany for, for because Germany and an opportunity in this country is what took me from amateur volunteer I'm doing this as a side hustle, hobby to help my friends to boom. You're professional and this is the country that made that happen.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you started the emceeing while you were still in Ireland. Mm-hmm, okay and yeah. So that's interesting about becoming an MC. Like there's no MC school, like you said, how did you develop your skills? How did you say, okay, this is a profession, what was it?
Speaker 2:So, when it comes to work, I have a maybe oversimplistic formula, which is what do people want and can you give it? And when those two meet, that's a career. There's a better proverb which I like. It's a Japanese one ikigai. Have you heard of this one?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So, for those who may not know, could you quickly give the ikigai a name. It's like a.
Speaker 1:Venn diagram. That's not a nice way to put it, but, if I remember correctly, it's what you love to do. Yes, what people? What the world needs? Yes, and wait, what's the third one?
Speaker 2:what you can get paid for what you can get paid for and what you're good at.
Speaker 2:So there's more pieces, okay, um, and the intersection of it is where ikigai is. That's like your ultimate purpose or calling in life. But even if you remove, like love and being good at it is the oversimplistic one is what do people need? Can you provide it? And then you get paid for it, and so how I got an mc is very simple. Events were boring. They needed it to be more interesting. I don't like to be bored. It it's that simple.
Speaker 2:I combine the two together and so, essentially, with emceeing, there is no school for it, but I am a nerd and I'm always paying attention, always observing. As the socially awkward kid in school, I would pay attention to the cool ones and see what do they do, how do they get people's attention? How do they make people laugh? As a nerdy kid in school, I kept thinking how do I keep learning about these different industries? How do I stay on top of things? As the introvert, I always care about the one on the outside.
Speaker 2:I would say my personality and character is what drove me to learn first, and I always can tell people whose career are based on their personality, like for you, when I look at your face. I can see how entirely present you are in this conversation and I know it's not just with the podcast. I bet if I met you in real life you would give that same kind of attention over a cup of coffee. It's one thing to do it as a job because there's a microphone. It's another thing to do it because that's your heart to be curious, to be caring. I also see the care in the way that you comment on my LinkedIn posts and stuff. You know the care is genuine and that's a beautiful thing and so for me, I'd say my personality drove that emceeing element of it. Second, I had good training ground, but I didn't know it was training ground. I grew up in the church and the church is always very good at giving space for people because they need it.
Speaker 2:So whether it was organizing games during youth group or putting together a program for a summer camp, or leading music in the worship time or even giving a talk. Wow, I got opportunities that the world could not give me. And the church is a safe space, especially when you're up and coming to just say go for it, do it. And so I was emceeing in church, but nobody calls that role an emcee in the church. I had no idea it was emcee. I just thought I'm just organizing the game or I'm just introducing the song. But that's what emcees do. And so this was also part of the training and my parents put me in piano classes and guitar classes. There's a lot of performance and production. That's also part of my training. I'd say those things combined laid a pretty good foundation for emceeing. When I went on stage I wasn't for the first time thinking about building a bridge between two pieces of content. I'd done that in church. Or making a speaker feel good, because I'd done that in church. Or making a speaker feel good because I'd done that in church. Or knowing what to do with an audience, because I'd done that in church. And so I'd say that was actually my biggest training ground.
Speaker 2:Since then I pay attention to four groups of people to get inspiration. One, magicians. Magicians are consummate storytellers. Once you know the tricks, they're all the same, but it's the story they wrap it in. That's very interesting. Second, musicians and artists, especially around keeping people's attention for 90 minutes or 120 minutes of a concert, the peaks and flows and ebbs and highs and lows and mountains and valleys of emotion and experience that they create a connection, that when people go to a concert it's almost like they have a spiritual awakening or connection. It's more than just sound and so I pay attention to that. Third, I pay attention to late night show TV hosts because they're funny, they're interactive. Late night show TV hosts because they're funny, they're interactive, they have little segments and they also interact both with audience and with the guest. And finally, preachers, because preachers have a hard job of going to the same crowd taking the same book and spinning new knowledge.
Speaker 2:So, these are the four categories I watch almost daily and just learn, learn, learn.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so then, just from a practical consideration, sorry, everybody, I understood that you kind of watched and put all these things together. But now are there like booking agencies, like speaking agencies, like Is that like an official job in an industry? Like how do you do you have an agent? How does that work?
Speaker 2:So the traditional route is that you have some amount of talent or looks or connections or something. Then you go to a bureau or an agency. You show them what you can do and then they say, yep, we'll take a bet on that. And then they have the connections with the clients and then they offer an opportunity and connect the dots. That's a traditional route. Nothing in my life is traditional. I live on favor, not on tradition.
Speaker 2:And so what ended up happening was I was hosting a friend's event in Ireland. I was giving it my everything because I love what I do, and then a German lady walked past, gave me a business card and said hey, I have an event in Munich, I'll give you a call this evening. And because she's German, she gave a call that evening. And then she said I've got the event three months from now. Would you come and host it? And I immediately said yes, because she told me who was on the agenda. And I was like this is incredible.
Speaker 2:A week later she followed up saying I didn't get your offer yet and I wrote back very quickly, said oh, my offer is yes, thank you, I'll do it. I just know your offer, your offer letter, and I said I'm so sorry, I don't know what that is. She said you know, to do this job of being the Germany's called a model. So to be a moderator, to be an MC, you know you have to give your fee. I was so surprised A fee, a fee to do something I would love doing? And I just said oh, don't worry about a fee, if you can cover my flights and hotel, I'll be delighted. And she said oh, that's all recovered, but we need to have a fee. And again, because it's German, you know, one thing I really love about this country is there are systems and processes. I love and hate. I love and hate. But the thing is she sort of taken advantage of my naivete and she didn't, and it's not even that. There's just too much pride to do that. You know, when you hire a professional, you appreciate what a professional brings, and she saw me as a professional. I saw myself as a volunteer and so that was. I mean, it was honestly her, tina, seeing that in me and saying no, you need to give an offer letter, like, how much are you quoting? And so it was completely. It was not a bureau, it was not an agency, it was a kind, honest professional who elevated my level and said no, you're going to put an offer. And I put an offer letter, got that pass, and that's when I became professional, because I got paid to do that. Okay, I obviously give my best to it. And so there were people at the event who are also event organizers of other events, and so they immediately gave me business cards and said never seen someone like you here. They didn't say it that I'm Brown, but it does make a difference in a sea of all whites at tech conferences to have someone who is different.
Speaker 2:I was also very international, you know. Flying in from another part of the country, another part of the world, really helped, and I have tons of energy. And I think the biggest thing is I just love what I do, and I keep saying that over and over again. But it's amazing how many people don't love their jobs, and I think you can tell those who love it and those who don't. And I love what I do. I am so honored to do what I do and I feel I think that's tangible, and so my way of doing it has been word of mouth.
Speaker 2:Every time I show up on stage, there are always people in the audience that go here's a business card, we've got an event, you got to work with us and I found the world of social media. It's a world that you were also involved in, given that you've got a podcast and so this world of inbound. So I put out what I want to work with, who I want to work with, and then people like it and write to me is the direction that I have gone, but other people go down the road of outbound, like reaching out to events, sending them emails saying hey, I'm an emcee, would you like to work with me? Or, more traditionally, working with a bureau or an agent that has those connections. But I skip all those middle people and it's just me and clients.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think in that role, and if you're good, it's kind of every job is exposure. Well, and I think in that role and if you're good.
Speaker 1:it's kind of every job is exposure, so if a person like this woman is in the audience, it can lead to more opportunities. I want to turn so okay, so you get this kind of break for your talk in Munich. Tell me about how you got to Aachen, and then I want to hear about what you studied there. Like after this, did you go back to Ireland, Like what happened?
Speaker 2:What's the yeah? So I do this event in February in Munich, first ever paid professional event, and there is a gentleman in the audience who tells me I've got an event and we've got Sir Richard Branson coming, oh wow.
Speaker 2:And we need someone like you. And I just thought there's just no way that the second event invitation would be this. And so I smiled, I shook hands, I said I'd love to stay in touch, and I didn't take a business card because I'm an idiot. And then, a few weeks later, in the spam section of Facebook, I got a message. I don't even check Facebook, I don't even check spam message, but I see a post saying hey, we met about this event. Is Sir Richard Branson, if you're so interested, I want to talk to you. And I thought, well, is this spam or is this real? And I just thought let's go for it Again. Never undermine a yes, never undermine an invitation, because they did have Sir Richard Branson at the event, as well as a lot of other people. I had another moment of favor with Sir Richard Branson. That was unscripted, that was unexpected, but ended up being a photo that traveled the world, which is me and Sir Richard Branson hand in hand, wearing matching lederhosen, an American billionaire, an Indian, who even knows what his background is, hand in hand in the Bavarian matching red shirt. Red shirt, everything matching. It just did not click. And yet it was like the face of what the future of entrepreneurship and an international ecosystem should look like. And when that went out, well, there was just no stopping the ball at that point, and so I continued to do a lot of work in Germany. While not living in Germany, I would commute in and out for the bigger events, the bigger kind of the Messe München, the big conferences, conventions, you know, 2000, 3000, 3,000, up to 10,000 person events. And I did that for about five years while maintaining residence in Abu Dhabi, my birthplace, and in India, and at some point in that I'd also left Ireland and I was fully nomadic, just kind of traveling the world, going from event to event. And I do about 100 events a year. So some simple math says that I'm doing about two a week, and so I'm on the road a lot.
Speaker 2:And then again the pandemic kicked in. And when the pandemic kicked in I was grounded and I chose India of all the places to be in. And then this opportunity to do this high profile event in Munich that allowed me to cross all the pandemic issued barriers and prevented people from traveling. And then this off opportunity. I was already in Germany and they said will you come to Aachen? I don't know geography, so I was like I'm in Munich, I can just come to Aachen, did not realize how difficult that journey was. Did it anyway realize how difficult that journey was? Did it anyway? And and then, literally from that event, the professor kept saying how do we get you? How do we get you? And then, months into that is when we file paperwork and then I was here. Again, it happened during the pandemic, so my actual arrival date was a couple months after the contract had begun, simply because travel was not allowed during that time.
Speaker 2:So that's how, again, non-traditional doesn't make sense. And yet, for those who are kind of see life through, you can call it mystery magic, I call it God, you put whatever word you want on it. But when you look back it all connects. You know, like, give your best at this Irish event and a German lady walks by, and of course she's going to be enamored. And of course, if give your best at this Irish event and a German lady walks by, and of course she's going to be enamored, and of course, if you give your best, you deserve opportunities or whatever. But again, it's all so crazy, like why was she walking in front of that stage at that moment and how did. She have the business card and sort of the audacity. I would say that's quite not German culture to approach someone who's on stage and give a card and say I got to run, but I'll call you this evening and walk off. And for her to persevere and follow through.
Speaker 2:And also for this professor to think outside the box. He had done a successful event. He didn't need the international MC to be a PhD student, but to have that visionary mindset to go. There's probably potential and opportunity for even more if we bring Dan in. And over the last three years we've transformed Aachen into this deep tech capital of innovation and we have accelerated so many startups, built so many workshops. I have co-created two significant events here. All of this just because he had the vision. So when I look backwards, all I say it's favor, right people, right place, right time, right mindset, right aligning, and I see God in all of that connecting the dots. But you can also just call it magic, but don't call it luck. That's the only thing you cannot call it. There's too many cold cases in there.
Speaker 1:I just so you, as we're talking, and you've been lived, traveled all over the world your entire life. Yes, had many opportunities. I'm just curious, and you said something about the German systems which I can totally relate to love, hate. There's wonderful, and that they can be frustrating. What is your feeling about Germany? Because a lot of people wouldn't necessarily say Aachen, sure I'll, I'll park there for a while.
Speaker 2:Yeah, love that question. It was a learning curve that I did not choose, aka. I'd already signed the contract, got the visa, moved here and I thought, oh my gosh, I now live here. It wasn't like a life goal to be here. It was not something intentional. For years I've been working towards it and biggest proof of that is I didn't know the language.
Speaker 2:So I will say things that I love about Germany. I love that it's predictable and organized, unless it's the Deutsche Bahn, so I know what to expect culturally, how neighborhoods work, how systems work, and that's nice. In developing countries like India, you never know what to expect, and that's also part of the magic of those places and challenge, and here I like that it's predictable. Second, I do like not like. I love people's attitude to work in Germany. To me, of all the countries I've lived in, this is a country I feel is perfect to the way I want to work, meaning whatever the person's job, whether they're at front desk, whether they are the sound engineer, whether the producer, whether they're on stage, whatever role they're in everybody takes a lot of pride in what they do and they want to do it well and I really, really like that and people I can depend on them when I say, will you do this? And they say yes, I know they will do it. I don't need to follow up, I don't have to micromanage.
Speaker 2:I love the professional mindset and I also like that it's balanced, because when people put in their emails I am gone till the end of the month on holiday, that means they're gone and I kind of like that. I find it sometimes a bit frustrating, but I also like it. It's like no, they take their weekends, the evenings, their holidays seriously and I think people here are actually quite balanced. When I see even the hardest working people, the relationships they have at home with their family, I actually think it's quite admirable. So that's another thing that I really like is the professional culture and mindset. And third, you know Germany is a big country with so many different flavors. You mentioned Aachen. Aachen has a flavor that I wasn't expecting. I didn't know how historically relevant this city is, but you go to Berlin, it's a whole different vibe.
Speaker 1:You go to Hamburg a whole different vibe, you go to Munich a whole different.
Speaker 2:Stuttgart, cologne, it's just so exciting there's so much to experience here.
Speaker 2:Those are things I like, Things that I have really struggled with language. What's irritating for me is that actually I think a lot of Germans know English, but me is that actually I think a lot of Germans know English, but it is their fear of failure or fear of looking stupid, or fear of just discomfort that prevents them. So I am actually quite sick at the moment and I have a throat issue and I have called no less than 20 doctors in the last three days. None of them even spoke to me, only because I didn't speak in German.
Speaker 2:So, I'm calling a doctor, so they know it is important and it is urgent, but they literally tell me on the phone I don't speak English in German. They say this call back with a German speaker. That's irritating when people in the service industry can't speak a language. What's, for me, infuriating is when I used to go get my visa work done. These are government officials whose exclusive job is to work with foreigners exclusively.
Speaker 2:They're not providing visas to Germans, they're providing visas to foreigners and they do not speak English and also they have a sort of attitude about it and they'll say well, you have to cancel your appointment. Come back with a translator. So I find the actually it's not that people don't know the language, it's their unwillingness to, because if I go to Spain I bet they don't know a lot of English too. But at least they'll try, they'll be friendly about it, they will laugh about it. But the question I get asked the most in Germany, after where are you from, the question I get asked the most is how long you've been here, and I say a couple of years. And the next one immediately is why don't you speak German? Ironically, when I'm in India, people don't ask me why don't you speak our local language? Or when I'm in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, they don't say Arabic. You know that attitude is not there, but it is here in Germany. It's like if you're going to be in Germany, learn the language.
Speaker 2:I'd say that's been very, very challenging and it disqualifies me from a lot. Whether it's looking for a place to rent and a landlord comfortable, whether it is making friends, it has been very challenging on the language side of things. The other stuff that I find very difficult, is very bureaucratic. Everybody knows this. You live here that you realize how much it withholds the country from moving forward. Is it me? I'm a small, but this country has so much to offer. It could absolutely be a global superpower and yet it's its bureaucracy that holds it back. The number of big companies I consult in and they're so happy for paperwork and presentations and PowerPoints, but tell them to actually go out there and do it? No, we have a system. We got to follow the process.
Speaker 1:So I would say the bureaucracy is very, very challenging and the last thing because I kind of gave three of each is the fear of failure. I live in a country that is so focused on being safe, average, comfortable, do what is known, and has absolute aversion to be yourself, be unique, step out of the comfort zone, try things. Yeah, that hit me when I moved here and I never understood that there were like so many different types of insurance one could buy and that, like, gave me a lot of insight into the. So interesting because I think, like what you say with the language, I think there's a recognition that they kind of not necessarily a change, but a recognition that the bureaucracy is a problem. I remember during COVID there was one politician that said something like let's not try and win the bureaucracy Olympics on this and I was like that guy for a chancellor and the language is an interesting one. Like I hate, I think you know, when I first got here, after a while I got up to like I think b1 or b2 and I get I can live a life here in German. It's bad now because I speak English all the time, but I'm fine with German. But I do think this country needs a lot of immigration just because of their worker shortage and I understand the mindset of well, this is Germany and this is the language we speak here. But, like your example with the visa office, I think they kind of have to make. I think what I'm noticing is there's one message coming out of like top level government, you know, with like make it in Germany and all these new visas, but like that's, the people that are running things in the civil service are not getting the memo and the cultural. I think in Europe it's perfectly fine to say English is a global language and at certain roles you have to be able to speak English. I think that's okay Because it's Europe. It's Europe. Everybody has to like operate in a common language when they're traveling and anyway.
Speaker 1:But I want to get back to some other things. So you talked about you were a founder. Sorry, you want to say something? No, oh, okay, I saw you. So you are a founder. I see that you're also a coach. You are a speaker as well and obviously an emcee. Are there like two of these roles? Like what do you like? The first two? What do you think you? What would you describe yourself as the most?
Speaker 2:So I would say, predominantly, the greatest value I can add is as an MC. That is where my heart is, that's where I stand out, that is where I spend a lot of time obsessively trying to improve and grow and improve the industry of events. So that, I'd say, would be as a coach. The overlap between all these titles and others because there's other things that I don't advertise online but I still do is I just solve problems, right? So just wild examples to tell you how far fetched and that's also why, to not confuse people I don't post online.
Speaker 2:There are these two wonderful teens in Liberia that three years ago, during the pandemic, I ran an online award and these guys applied and won it, and now, three years later, they're building a central leadership academy for the first time in Liberia. They were granted land from the government and they got this big dream to help bring amazing Liberians out of poverty to get educated, and I'm helping fund that. Meanwhile, we're also talking about building a school in India. The label would be philanthropist One I don't really care for labels, startup founder, this, and that they use labels to help people. But really, what is I solve problems, right? So the problem in Liberia is they've got this big dream, they don't know how to achieve it. That's why I step in. It's the same with the school. It's not that there aren't schools in India, but in this particular area there were these four founders that put money together their own money and built a school, and then they miscalculate a certain part. They have a problem. I solve problems. That's what I do. So even in MC, I'm just solving the problem. Events are boring. That's the part I solve. If an event is great, they don't need me. But if an event has a dream and they don't know how to achieve it, that's where I step in.
Speaker 2:And it's the same thing with coaches. I know there are people who specialize, like either they're a life coach or a pitch coach or a funding coach. I just generally call myself a coach because if I can help you, I'll be honest and I'll say in 10 weeks we will achieve this. You write down your goals, we will achieve it. Period, 100% guaranteed, because that's just the way I vibe, that's it. But if I can't help you, I'll also tell you that I'm like look, this is outside of my area of expertise. So, for example, if it's relationship coaching, I'm a single man, so can't help you with that. I'm so sorry. It's just something you got to work with on your own, but anything else I can I do.
Speaker 2:So I would say, if I had to sum up, everything I do, I'm a problem solver. Everything else is just labels that suit. And so at times I'm doing more workshops for companies, so then people call me a workshop facilitator. At times I'm doing more keynote speaking, and so then they call me a keynote speaker. At times I'm doing more charitable work, so they call me a philanthropist. These are just labels. Labels come and go. At the core of it, there's a problem I can solve. I'm the first one to raise my hand and say let's go, let's go, let's go, let's solve this.
Speaker 1:All right, two questions. When we were chatting before we started recording, you said you were an introvert.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And you said you do 100 events a year. So first question is how can you do all that and be an introvert, and how do you have the time to do all this?
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's bust that myth. You might be shocked to know that a lot of artists and speakers are introverts. I actually have made a couple blogs and videos about this that I actually think being an introvert gives you, or gives whoever the introvert is, an edge, a superpower in the world of performance. Too long to go through right now, but a couple of things like, for example, introverts know how to get their own energy. They get the energy from themselves. An extrovert needs the applause, needs the appreciation, needs the attention before they start elevating their own energy.
Speaker 2:Whereas you will see any video of me running on stage, I got my own energy, and it started with the book I read that morning, the gym workout I had by myself, the breakfast that I had by myself, the time I spent playing the piano by myself. So by the time I'm on stage, I'm the one passing the energy to the audience, not the other way around. And so that's just one example of many of why introverts make for very good speakers. And so to me yeah, it's not just me I'm surprised backstage, because that's where you really meet the personalities of people how many in the speaking industry and in the music industry are introverts, and it's pretty cool. So that's the first thing is I want to just bust that myth.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Introverts, can't be speakers or emcees, or that it wouldn't work. As far as the number, I honestly think that if you love what you do, you don't count things. I count number of events only because at some point we need to do an annual report or the team need to know for logistics and stuff. But every day I hustle and I work and it's not being tracked somewhere. I would say I work 365 days a year. It's probably just easier to say it's 100 events that I host, but the truth is I'm always working on events daily, because if I'm not on stage, I'm working with the event organizers in strategizing marketing, coming up with new concepts, or I'm training the speakers that are going to be on stage. So, yeah, and that goes up and down. A hundred events a year, loosely. But you know, last year I decided to focus a little bit more on my personal health and on my family, and so I pulled it back, because one of the beautiful things about being self-employed is I decided how much I want to work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, no. I ask because I also consider myself an introvert in that I need to get away from people. I mean, I have a different. You know I'm married with a school-age kid and a dog, so I don't get. Probably if I had more time to myself I could and would do more, but I just need a lot of downtime. That I don't get. But probably when you're a single guy on the on the loose, you can take, like you said, playing piano, having breakfast to yourself, like that sounds so great to me, like all this time in the morning, nobody bugging you and then you can like get in the zone.
Speaker 2:It's a gift. And also travel. I think the part that most people think is that travel will be exhausting. But I actually find travel energizing, because I'm an introvert, you know. It's that when I'm on the plane and there's no wifi, it's great to just have the headspace with no notifications, no messages, and just to sit and to re-energize. Or at the airport. I love it. I love that nobody knows me, I don't know anybody and I'm just sitting there sipping a cup of coffee, watching people reading a book, listening to a podcast. It's amazing. So actually I love the travel. In fact, I need the travel to be that reset between gigs.
Speaker 1:I need the travel to be that reset between gigs. Interesting. One question I want to ask you also is you have a very distinctive personal brand. I like the colors. I dig all the clothes you wear, the different kind of styles, your hair, and you mentioned that you were doing the phd in brand. Is that correct? Like tell me about your brand. How did it evolve? Did you like? Was it intentional?
Speaker 2:yeah, I'm gonna come back to how I started. Favor, I just got, I I just got, okay, you know, lucky with certain things, but I I see the divine in it. So what happened with the brand is I was speaking in church and a Brazilian gentleman who could hardly speak two sentences in English, approached me and he said I made you a logo. I thought oh hi, my name is Dan. What's your name? He said my name is Jer and I said what did you say? He said I made you a logo. And I didn't understand. So I asked his wife, who spoke a little bit better English, and I asked what does he mean? He made me a logo. I'm an individual, I don't have a product. And she said no, he just likes your energy and what you represent. And so he made a logo based on that.
Speaker 2:That was my very quick introduction into the world of what branding really is, because I foolishly thought a brand was just like logo, like a Nike sign, but not what it stands for. And what Jared took me on a journey of is actually a journey of self-discovery who am I, what are my values, what do I represent, what am I here on the planet to do? And that logo was just a starting point to be a representation for that, but out of that came things like the colors. So you know, black and white are the base colors, but red, which is often what I wear on stage, often signifies energy, igniting fire, bold, right. That's what the color represents, and he helped me realize that that's my color on stage, because if I wore green or blue, subconsciously it signals something different. Also, when it came to slogans, you know often and even if you listen back to the podcast, you'll see that a big part of even how I answer questions is to come back to that, that one step. So you know, like how do you achieve this? But I always come back to the origin story, and so my slogan is start now. Simple. I believe that anything you want to achieve, you just have to know that first step, that starting point, and he helped me discover that as well. So the brand that was developed happened from an sort of accidental or divine favor of a conversation with a gentleman who helped me realize that even individuals can have a brand and can represent something more. So accidental, but I put effort into it, like everything else, and along the journey, also notice what people say so.
Speaker 2:I remember once, by accident, I wore red shoes on stage. They were actually red sneakers that I wear while playing sports, but I'd forgotten to pack my black shoes, my normal traditional black shoes. I wore the red shoes and on Twitter, now known as X, people put hashtag red shoes. It was a Swiss event, a very stoic sort of event, and initially I disregarded the first couple hashtag red shoes, thinking maybe they're just having a little go at me, you know, because I didn't really wear what was right. But then people during the networking time said love the shoes, or nice shoes, and that's what I was like oh, okay, interesting, they don't want red as a subtle thing, they don't mind it being bold, and so, even within clothes, I started thinking I got to wear these colors, and then it slowly evolved into also a big part of my.
Speaker 2:Why I'm here is about diversity and uniqueness and being one of one, and the clothes was again going from the traditional suits or the button up shirts that people would wear to okay, what are people wearing in India? What are people wearing in different parts of Africa? What are people wearing in South America? What could I adopt? And, like everything, I try stuff.
Speaker 2:I remember wearing a poncho and I loved the feeling of it. I loved how, when I ran on stage, it would float in the air and that was cool. It was a good vibe. It wasn't a perfect fit for me. I love some of the clothes out of Nigeria or Ghana. They're so colorful and the patterns are amazing. But I also found that those patterns on a brown face is complicated. There's just a lot going on, too much impact. And then I found Indo-Western clothes, rather by accident, because Indian clothes are great, but a bit too Indian. And Indo-Western is this new genre where they're taking certain elements of Western clothing, mixing with Indian patterns, and that's when it really clicked as like oh, this is great, this really works for me. So yeah, it's been a journey of discovery, self-discovery and learning branding. I've now come to a point what, seven years later? Where people like you, they say there is a distinct brand. There was no moment where I sat down and said I need a brand. Let me build it.
Speaker 1:Okay, it just evolved. Yeah, it feels very organic and very you. I like it. Just kind of wrapping up, I want to ask you a couple of business questions. So when I reached out, ask you a couple of business questions, so when I reached out to you on LinkedIn, you were very lovely, responsive, and then you connected me with your people. So I'm really curious to understand how did you go from these gigs and opportunities coming up to building a team? What's that been like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, during the pandemic a lot of my friends lost their jobs and really out of a place of care and compassion and also because business was slow, I onboarded a couple of friends and I said what if I thought bigger than just myself? Because most MCs operate on their own, because you can, you don't really need a team. And that's where even people like Jer, who was just sort of helping me from the sidelines, saying oh, I made a logo for you or you know you should play with the color red, I said let's, you know we got time. Both of us have got time. Let's really think this through what's working on social media? How do we build that? Even with all the speakers that were on stage? You know I would.
Speaker 2:When I remember Adam on LinkedIn and I thought what if I hired someone? And I just said, let's be disciplined about it, that every speaker I work with I write them before the event, I write them after the event, we add them on a database. You know we make sure to connect the next time I'm in that city. So it was actually during the pandemic, quite recently, a couple years ago, that I decided to go from a solo man to a team and I must say it has its blessings and its curses. It is hard to train a team. I think we live in a. I think people over glamorize being a founder with a team and oh, it's so great because you total freedom and you can do whatever you want whenever you want. I find actually it's the opposite. I have I'm accountable to way more people, because when I was on my own and I took a holiday and I didn't earn, it's okay.
Speaker 2:But now I can't do that because my team still need to get paid, even when I'm on holiday, and so I'm accountable to my team, I'm accountable to shareholders, I'm accountable to investors, I'm accountable to boards, accountable to so many people. So there are some challenges with building a team the amount of mentoring, training, coaching, aligning that is required, but there's also so much good. It is so nice to have people that will shoulder some of the responsibility, who are betting for you, wanting you to succeed, who are brainstorming and being creative, who come up with such great, great ideas. So, yeah, there's pros and cons to it, and it was only a couple of years ago, so I'm still in the process of not building the team, but locking in the team. I'd say that the personnel are there, the roles are there, but we got to work now as one unstoppable unit, and right now we're 12 people working alongside each other.
Speaker 1:Okay, and is it remote, like remote? Yeah, yeah, that's what I guess. Okay, cool. So then I guess I'll close with you know, just asking. You've shared a lot of good advice in this discussion, but if anybody said, you know, hey, what's your okay, start simple, start now. Or does it start now? Start simple.
Speaker 2:Start now, start simple.
Speaker 1:What other advice would you give to somebody, especially somebody starting or running a business in Germany as a Ausländer?
Speaker 2:First of all, proud of you, congratulations. It's a bold thing and a good thing to step out and do what is on your heart, things that have helped me in my journey that I pass on to you to decide if it'll help you in yours. One get a coach, not a mentor, not an advisor, not well-meaning people. You need all of those. You need all of those to get a coach, a coach, a good coach. Their responsibility is to provide the roadmap and to hold you accountable, to give you the inspiration and the resource to take you from here to here. Everyone else can give you advice and thoughts, but it's their job to bring you alongside. The Olympics just ended. None of those athletes ended up competing without a coach. They all had sponsors and well-meaning people and investors and all of that, but it's a coach that took them to that destination. So that's one thing I learned too late. I'd already built a couple of businesses before I got a coach and for me now, I just would never dare to build on an idea without a coach. That's the first thing is get a coach.
Speaker 2:Second, always be curious. You can never know too much. You can never be too old. You can never be too experienced to stop asking questions. It is the best way to learn, to grow, to develop is ask questions. Ask more questions than answering questions. Ironic, given that I did all the answering in this podcast, but typically if you meet me outside of a podcast, I'm asking questions and as an MC, that's what I do is ask questions. So I'd say that's. The second thing is be curious, ask questions. Number three people, people, people, people, people, people.
Speaker 2:I was not a people person. I was an introvert, still am. I was not a people person. I was an introvert, still am, and very socially awkward. I always preferred processes, systems. I always thought, hey, results do all the talking, or, as long as the system is in place, everything works out. Everything in life, whether it's politics, whether it's war, whether it's business, whether it's alliances, whether it's relationships, whether it's being a good neighbor, everything comes down to people. Whether it's alliances, whether it's relationships, whether it's being a good neighbor, everything comes down to people. The more time you can spend understanding yourself and understand the other person, I think the better life gets. If there was one change I would make in the education system, besides changing everything about education, but there's one thing that I would prioritize over everything else, especially in the world of AI, that's going to take over most of what we do. Everything else, especially in the world of AI, that's going to take over most of what we do. The one thing is learning to be human again.
Speaker 1:The skills of being human is so undermined, so underestimated.
Speaker 2:So I'd say, if there's one thing, of all the podcasts you listen to, all the YouTube videos you go, watch all things you could learn is learn who you are, learn how people work. So those are the things that come off the top of my head. Besides, I'd say watch my social media account, because every thought I have ends up on social media. I don't sell anything on social media. I don't have products or courses or workshops. There's nothing monetized. It is just a place to have a conversation, which is why when you text or other people text, I respond, because my purpose on social media is not a billboard to sell things or promote things, it's just to have conversation. So other quotes, ideas, all of that ends up on social media. So do follow.
Speaker 1:Okay, great, and so, on that note, where can people? Where's the best place for them to find you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, my name is Dan Ram, so you can just Google Dan Ram and you'll find everything there, or the account. The username is I am Danram, so you just type in I-A-M, dan, d-a-n-r-a-m or IamDanramcom and you'll find it on yeah mostly active on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Speaker 2:Every so often there's something on YouTube or TikTok. But yeah, those are my platforms and please do not be surprised if I respond because, like I said, I'm there to have a conversation and so I know a lot of people think, well, someone who's traveling so much, so busy, of your caliber, that has to be a bot or someone on your team. Nope, that's me. I love people and I love conversations.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was delightfully surprised at the response and the sweet so thanks so much for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and thank you. Since we are wrapping this up, I want to say thank you for doing this podcast, not just for me, but on behalf of your audience, because this is for the benefit of many who you do not get to see. You don't get to hear the applause when you're done with a recording and no one sees the amount of work you put in arranging these, the logistics, experimenting with different platforms and all the work you got to do now editing and uploading.
Speaker 2:It is a labor of love and often unappreciated. So, on behalf of myself and your audience, I want to say thank you for creating value for your audience and thank you for this amazing invitation to be on your podcast.
Speaker 1:You're very welcome. Be on your podcast. You're very welcome. Thanks for listening. You can find this and all other Germany Expat Business Show podcasts at thegermanylistde Bye.