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Announcer 0:01

The following programming is sponsored by Marc J. Bernstein. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of this station, its management, or Beasly Media Group. Entrepreneur, founder, author, and financial advisor Marc Bernstein helps high-performing business owners turn their visions into reality. Through his innovative work and the forward-focused form, Marc connects entrepreneurs to resources that fuel their success. Founders Forum is a radio show and podcast where entrepreneurs share their journeys, revealing the lessons they've learned and the stories behind their success. Join Marc and his guests for a mix of inspiration, valuable insights, and a little fun. Now, let's dive in.

Marc Bernstein 0:42

Good morning, America. How are you? Uh we very rarely have a false start on the show, but we we had one this morning, a little technical issue. So I'm saying good morning again and even happier to do it the second time. It's a weird day today. We have a government shutdown in the country, and there's probably a lot of implications on that. And we don't do politics, so we're not going to talk about that. But it's very sunny today in Philadelphia, as supposedly it always is, but it's not really true. But it's a beautiful day, and I have a guest that I'm excited to talk to today, so it's a great day. So, Vera, welcome.

Vera Hempel 1:20

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Commitment Means Goal Over Process

Marc Bernstein 1:22

My pleasure. And I'll introduce Vera formally in a minute, but on our last show we were talking about commitment. And if you you can listen to the last show, I won't go through the whole story, but it had to do with committing to a nutritional plan and calorie tracking, and that if you exclude one of the parts of the plan according to a particular coach, you wouldn't be fully committed. There are different ways to look at that, but my case, I looked at it and said, I'm going to need to do that if I'm going to hire this particular coach. And commitment is a core principle in our business. We want clients who are committed and we promise 100% commitment to them. And so it's a it's a word that we use a lot. And I was just wondering, Vera, your impressions of commitment and what that means to you.

Vera Hempel 2:10

So when I when I think about committing to something, it's having a goal in mind and then adjusting the process to get there and just sticking with it. Even if you don't like it sometimes, it's just just just doing it and not thinking about it.

Marc Bernstein 2:29

So we talked about this a little offline. So in a way, what you're saying is you're committed to the goal, but the process can change.

Vera Hempel 2:36

The process can change and has to change oftentimes.

Marc Bernstein 2:40

You have to be able to pivot without a question.

Vera Hempel 2:42

And if something doesn't work, you have to look at what you're doing and have to really think about if that really gets you to the outcome that you want.

Marc Bernstein 2:51

So specifically to the nutrition or diet thing, it could be hey, I'm not going to count calories, but I'm going to look at portion size, or I'm going to exercise more, or I'm going to do it a different way, is an example.

Vera Hempel 3:03

Yep, exactly.

Meet Vera And Her Companies

Marc Bernstein 3:04

Got it. Okay, great. Well, I appreciate that. So that's a different outlook on commitment, and that's why I wanted to ask it again, which is great. So Vera Hempel is CEO and co-founder of KissUX and Cactus Club Creative. Vera was born in Munich, Germany, and has been an entrepreneur since she was 18, helping businesses with their marketing and translating books before moving to the U.S. in 2017. Did you speak English your whole life, by the way?

Vera Hempel 3:34

Um I had to learn it in school.

Marc Bernstein 3:37

Okay.

Vera Hempel 3:38

But I think my I know you're I know where you're gonna go.

Marc Bernstein 3:43

Well your English is like is like perfect.

Vera Hempel 3:45

My accent.

Marc Bernstein 3:46

Well, no, I was no, I was gonna say I almost don't hear it. I think it's I think you're remarkable. Well, things you've only been speaking English as a as your as a primary language for not very long.

Vera Hempel 4:00

Well, so okay, this is a little side story.

Marc Bernstein 4:03

So I And then I'll finish your introduction.

Vera Hempel 4:09

And I went to theater school.

Marc Bernstein 4:11

Ah, we wanted to bring this out anyway, so this is good.

Vera Hempel 4:13

Yeah, this is this is part of the story. But when I moved to the U.S., I took a class in LA, which is where I lived, um, when I moved to the U.S. And it was a class in accent reduction, and they taught you how to speak with an American accent. And I can tell you if you want to know.

Marc Bernstein 4:34

How to?

Vera Hempel 4:34

Yeah, how to speak like an American.

Marc Bernstein 4:36

Oh wow. Um I need to learn to speak American.

Vera Hempel 4:39

They make you hold your upper lip, and you also, this is another way of doing it, but you also pretend like you have some hot potato or some hot thing in your mouth.

Marc Bernstein 4:53

Really?

Vera Hempel 4:53

Yeah. And you just don't move your mouth as much as you would, for example, in the I'm watching, you're conscious of how your mouth is moving as you're talking. Not anymore, but yeah, that's how they that's how they teach you.

Marc Bernstein 5:03

Interesting. So the stiff upper lip thing is an American thing. It is, yes. Maybe that's where it came from. That's really interesting. Well, we diverted, but it was a good diversion. So in 2021, Vera teamed up with UI UX designer Kuba Kerner to launch Cactus Club Creative, helping startups turn ideas into products and brands. Their work soon revealed a bigger challenge. Businesses struggling to prioritize accessibility, which led them to found KISSUX in 2023 to help bridge the digital divide with agentic AI so everyone can be part of the digital world, which is I I understand that because we've had the opportunity to talk about this a few times. Pretty cool. So welcome again.

First Businesses Through Language Skills

Vera Hempel 5:52

Thank you.

Marc Bernstein 5:53

And um, I mentioned that your entrepreneurialism started early. Uh tell us about that and how you think that's impacting what you're doing today.

Vera Hempel 6:02

So I think when I was younger, 18, 19, I was fresh out of high school, and I was, you know, I was trying to figure out life. Was I gonna go to college right away or travel? I thought, well, I have to make money somehow. So I looked at all the skills that I had, which was language was one of them, being able to speak English, um, being able to teach people, and um being able to to to dive into, you know, what it really takes to get someone to um to understand and speak a language. And so I started teaching people English, and I was they call it a tandem partner where you sit down with people and you talk to them and you talk about the grammar, but it's more a conversational way of teaching people how to speak a language. And then um I found out that I was also really good at translating um because of that. And I started translating books, and I then got to writing blog articles um for those for those authors, and I started working on websites and on content. And so it became, I wouldn't have called it entrepreneurship back then, but it definitely was my own small business that I ran and it was word of mouth, um, and it got me through through college.

Marc Bernstein 7:27

Well, I you know, I talked to that's all I do is talk with entrepreneurs all day long, most days. And you know, I think entrepreneurialism often starts when people don't realize it. You know, it's just doing what you have to do to do get wherever you want to go. Exactly. I was doing entrepreneurial things as a kid, and I didn't call it that or think of that, but you know, wanted to make some money, go out and wash some cars or mow some lawns, or or deliver newspapers or whatever it was, you know. So so yeah, so and I'm sure that experience though has is helping you in what you're doing today.

Vera Hempel 8:01

It it is. Um and thinking back when I was when I was younger, I think entrepreneurship wasn't that big of a thing. It was it was hard to be an entrepreneur. It it's not to say that it's not hard now, but I think when you're older and you have to pay your bills and you're not just doing it to to buy nice clothes or go on a nice vacation, you're actually doing it to to survive and to to pay your bills and your water bill and your phone bill, then there's more pressure in succeeding.

Why She Moved To America

Marc Bernstein 8:33

Aaron Powell I do think the trend is towards entrepreneurialism these days, with younger people in particular, but also people that are older leaving the corporate world because big business is dominating in a lot of ways, yet there is a very, very large number in this country, at least, of entrepreneurs. It's a much larger number than those that even work for uh large companies, if I'm not mistaken, at this point. So it's so it's you know, it's definitely growing. Uh what had you move to the United States?

Vera Hempel 9:06

Aaron Powell So when I was I was in theater school and I thought, well, you know, I'm I'm only playing theater. I'm gonna try to Go into Hollywood. Go to Hollywood, exactly. So I did not plan to stay there, but I did. And um yeah, and then moved to that was in 20 2016, 2017, and then moved to Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia in in 2019.

Marc Bernstein 9:33

How did acting go? Did you get any gigs?

Vera Hempel 9:36

Well, when I was in Germany, I was playing a lot of theater. Um, and I did commercial acting. So great. Um in the US, not so much, just because when I got here, I wasn't able to work. I wasn't allowed to work. I was more here for educational purposes.

Marc Bernstein 9:53

Gotcha. Oh, so you might not have stayed if you wanted to go back to acting. Right, gotcha. Interesting. But you stayed.

Vera Hempel 10:01

I did.

Marc Bernstein 10:02

Okay. So tell me how so tell how you how you how you got to the idea of teaming up with Cuba and launching the first company of Cactus Club Creative.

Vera Hempel 10:13

Yeah. So Cuba and I met in 2020, right at the height of the pandemic. Well, before that, but we we figured out that or we found out that we were really good at working together. And Cuba had a couple of projects that um he needed my help with. He's a designer, as you said, and I was good at content writing. And so we we built a couple websites together, wrote the content. And then in 2021, we founded a company. And the story behind the name Cactus Club is actually because I thought that I needed to found my own company for copywriting and content writing, and it was supposed to be called Copy Cactus.

Marc Bernstein 11:03

Ah, okay.

Vera Hempel 11:04

But then we got a larger project and we started working together again. And that's how we founded Cactus Club, kind of out of out of necessity. We didn't we didn't uh plan to found a to found a company. It wasn't wasn't something that we had, you know, talked about a lot. It was just something that kind of came out of the necessity of of um having an entity to start working on bigger projects together.

Marc Bernstein 11:33

And um I I understand Cactus Club is up and running and plugging along, right? And then you came up with Kiss UX. And maybe just describe the differences and and and and why you felt you needed to start that company.

Vera Hempel 11:49

So Kiss UX started as an idea in 2023. Um and okay, I'm gonna tell you a little secret.

Marc Bernstein 11:59

Okay. I love secrets.

Vera Hempel 12:00

We've actually never told anyone this. So um in the summer of 2023.

Marc Bernstein 12:04

You're only telling this to me, nobody else is gonna hear it. Nobody else is gonna hear it. Okay, good. Exactly.

Funding Challenges And Early Support

Vera Hempel 12:08

Okay, got that. Um in the summer of 2023, we were thinking about some business development opportunities and how we could creatively get more traction. We were up and running and we were making, you know, we were making revenue, generating revenue, but we wanted to grow. And so we were thinking, okay, well, our target audience usually is startups. Um, but what if we started collaborating or um cooperating with incubators and accelerators? Um, you know, institutions that have access to startups and may want to help these startups grow. And the best way to get into an incubator is with a startup idea. So now Kuba and I had been talking about this accessible UI builder for some time because we had seen problems with accessibility and usability in a lot of the applications and the websites that we had created that we had to mull over and do again because that wasn't built into the process the first time. So we took on a lot of the work that was done before and we had to redo it. So what we what we wanted to do was we wanted to create that company, but we also wanted to find a way of growing Cactus Club. So we thought about both aspects. How can we create KISSUX inside an incubator and also as Cactus Club help the other startups that are within that ecosystem with our expertise and usability, accessibility, design, and content to grow and to get to a place where they're able to raise funding and um and then go, you know, go on, go on with the with the journey.

Marc Bernstein 14:00

So I always like to ask about challenges you've had, and we do need to take a break in like a minute, but tell me what kind of challenges you had, uh probably more once Kiss UX was started, I would think. Um tell us about that, and then after the break, we'll talk about how you met those challenges and the strengths you've you've acquired from that.

Vera Hempel 14:21

So for KISSUX, because we are a technol technology startup, um we are not a services company, but we are building it from the ground up. We do have experience in running a business, but running a startup, a technology startup, is way different than running a services company. Um and the biggest challenge has been getting funding so far. Um and we've bootstrapped it most of it. Um we have raised some funds from Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and we've gotten some grants.

Marc Bernstein 14:58

Um Angelo Valletta then, right? Yeah. Yeah, we're in his portfolio. So that was a help to you.

Vera Hempel 15:08

That was a huge help getting into the Ben Franklin Technology Partners portfolio and then also being part of the Penn State Launchbox in Berks County. Um that was huge help and uh they're still helping us. So we we we've gotten not only monetary support from them, but also um, you know, reviewing pitch decks and and and doing all of that.

Marc Bernstein 15:36

We're going to take a quick commercial break and we'll come right back and talk about what you learned and the strengths that you acquired through that.

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Marc Bernstein 16:21

We're back on Founders Forum with our guest today, Vera Hempel of KissUX and Cactus Club Creative. And so we were talking about getting funding being your biggest obstacle. Um what what um what strengths have you guys acquired? And by the way, I think your presentation skills, being an actor, may have contributed in your help in getting funding, if I'm not mistaken.

Vera Hempel 16:50

Yeah. I think the the strengths are perseverance. You just you know that's the commitment. You have you have to stick to the goal. Yeah. You commit to the goal, which is the goal is not to get funding. The goal is to help aging adults and people of underserved um and underserved communities access technology the way that everyone else is.

Marc Bernstein 17:15

I'm glad you mentioned that because I'm not sure that was clear from what we talked about before. So that's great. Right. So it's your your your purpose is your mission, which is where your commitment comes from.

Vera Hempel 17:25

Yeah.

Three-Year Vision And Clarity

Marc Bernstein 17:25

Got it. So uh so let's talk about I'm gonna jump to this. I usually wait a little bit, but let's talk about um your three-year vision. Because that's gonna let's let's talk about the future and where you're going with that and what kind of challenges you have to meet there. So, Vera, if we're talking if it's October, which it now is of 2025, and it's three years from now, October 2028, we're looking back on the last three years, what would have to happen for you to feel that that was a successful three-year period in your businesses andor your life, if you if you'd like to address that as well?

Vera Hempel 18:02

Three years. I think the goal, the goal is that we're committed to is to impact the lives of millions of people with our digital literacy technology and help people access technology better and more secure. Um and then marry the two companies in a way that makes sense. I think back to the challenges that you you were asking me about, um finding a way to to do both businesses under one umbrella in a way that makes sense, that doesn't have two separate entities, um not in the legal sense, but in the sense of like how do you talk about what you do? Um that's oftentimes a challenge to explain to people hey, we don't only develop websites and applications, but we're also in the business of creating more usable and more secure user interfaces through AI, through technology.

Marc Bernstein 19:07

You just did that very well.

Vera Hempel 19:08

I know, right? Just attained my three-year fast forward.

Marc Bernstein 19:14

Well, you'll be able to listen back to this and take it down.

Vera Hempel 19:18

Yeah.

Marc Bernstein 19:19

And now, but so now it's a brand that sounds to me like branding. Like how do you how do you make that your brand?

Vera Hempel 19:25

Yep.

Marc Bernstein 19:25

Get that out there and rethink about what the name of the company should be, the collective company would be, right?

Vera Hempel 19:32

Yeah.

Marc Bernstein 19:32

And do you have employees or how do you have outsourced people or both?

Vera Hempel 19:37

So on the cactus club side, we have um Kuba and I, and we have a team of developers, and um, we're lucky to have them. Um we're we're small and lean and efficient. And on the KISSUX side, we are a team of six people, um, co-founders, who are all experienced, very experienced, um, and men, and and some of them have over 25, 30 years of experience in the AI in the AI space. Um so we're very lucky to have partnered up with brilliant people that help us really see that that mission and vision through.

Culture Built On Transparency And Trust

Marc Bernstein 20:15

Gotcha. So so uh that's important. So we've talked about um, you know, obviously you two didn't weren't able to do this just on your own. Neither is almost anybody else or almost anyone else. Um believe it or not, we only have a little more than five minutes left. But tell me a little bit, are you developing a culture for those companies? Is there some and what would how would you describe the culture that you're developing?

Vera Hempel 20:39

So I I think it all comes down to the experience that people have working with you, but also it it trickles down to how people are experiencing your technology, how people are experiencing working with you as a client. Um, and I think all in all, we want everything to be transparent and we want to foster trust because the product we're developing requires people to trust to trust us. And that's the most important thing about working with people in you know the work environment as employees, as as as um co-founders, but also when you're working with with your clients.

Marc Bernstein 21:22

And I assume this is something you talk about with your co-developers and co-founders and everybody, right? Something that you you put emphasis on.

Vera Hempel 21:31

Yeah, and and we're lucky to have a customer experience um professional. Um she's a specialist in customer experience on our team. And so we talk about this a lot.

Marc Bernstein 21:43

This is on in KissUX, I would mention, right?

Vera Hempel 21:45

Yeah. Um her name is Ellie Domini, and she's in the Netherlands.

Marc Bernstein 21:49

Oh, nice.

Vera Hempel 21:49

Yeah. So we we talk about this, we talk about this quite a bit, that the the the feeling that you have around building your product and building your team. is the feeling that you wanna convey to people using your product and and engaging with your company.

Marc Bernstein 22:06

I'm glad we're I'm glad you mentioned that and I'm glad I asked you the question because, you know, in this world of high tech and high touch, we in the past you and I have pretty much talked about the technology and the technical aspects and the and the um you know the this the structure of the company but not as much about what you're really trying to get across as a feeling ultimately is what you're selling.

Vera Hempel 22:30

Yeah.

Reading The Four Agreements

Marc Bernstein 22:31

Which is which is really interesting to know that. And I think that's I think that's important because some people just build technology companies to sell them but you have a mission and you have a vision as to how you want people to be able to use technology which is a lot more than just the technology itself which is not to say that we don't want to sell it. Of course but you're in business of it of course no that's wonderful. We are believe it or not almost out of time so a couple other questions. I know you're a reader what do you like to read Vera?

Vera Hempel 23:06

Right now I am reading the four agreements yeah it's my second time reading that book and I really dislike the message of it.

Marc Bernstein 23:20

I do too and I want I want to reread it now that you've said that because um to me almost everything you do in life involves agreements. Yep you know and there should be agreements people should be agreeing there shouldn't be arguments there shouldn't be um you know difficult conversations with employees an example as long as if there are agreements everybody knows what what the engagement's about and what the rules are about right the first agreements are that the ones that you have with yourself.

Vera Hempel 23:51

I mean the first agreement in the book is um don't take anything personally right which is the hardest one it is a hard it is a very difficult one.

Advice To Younger Founders

Marc Bernstein 24:00

I've I've always had trouble with that one myself but yeah that's so it's a it's another good reason for me to reread that so thanks for thanks for the reminder. And um besides that um I know in in your in your very mature self today if you were talking to your younger self what advice would you give yourself Eric?

Vera Hempel 24:22

I think it gets comes back to the commitment. I think just do it. Because I I mean I'm I'm I'm honest I do not like the word commitment. We talked about that we talked about those you struggle with it. I struggle with it but I think I would I would tell myself to just do something. Just do something and it's gonna be fine.

Marc Bernstein 24:41

Well that's an agreement with yourself and it's also a commitment right?

Vera Hempel 24:44

Yeah.

Marc Bernstein 24:45

So that's pretty cool.

Vera Hempel 24:47

And uh any other thoughts around that on the agreement part I think I think a lot of young people are struggling with not knowing which direction they want to go in and I've heard all the stories um and I think just you know just just doing something you can always change later. You don't have to do something and do it for the rest of your life.

Marc Bernstein 25:11

Right.

Vera Hempel 25:12

Because you're gonna change too get started. Yeah right just get started exactly just move and adjust the process if you're I always say move forward.

Children’s Music And A Happy Close

Marc Bernstein 25:19

Doesn't matter you could take a you could take a long you know you could move forward and take the wrong right turn and have to turn around or turn around but you but move forward. I'm gonna throw you a curveball question we hadn't talked about do you are you music listener?

Vera Hempel 25:36

I am but if you want to know my playlist it is mostly children's songs.

Marc Bernstein 25:42

Interesting because of my explain I'm glad I asked that question because of your daughter.

Vera Hempel 25:48

My daughter she's almost eight and um she likes to listen to a band called Puppy Songs that I think has around maybe 5,000 listeners on Spotify and they're always my number one artist at the end of the year and they're probably thinking why is this lady listening to us year over year 2000 times to this one song.

Marc Bernstein 26:11

Well um you're you're reminding me of when my kids were young and that's mainly what I listened to as well. And I remember Barney you know on TV and I remember Rafi a singer of songs and I remember um Trout fishing in America I don't know if you know that one but that was there's a kid show on the University of Pennsylvania station here in Philadelphia I think it's syndicated and one of their big artists was Trout fishing in America and um you know I'm a musician so that was hard but I actually learned to enjoy a lot of the music so I get it. So I'm glad I th I threw you that curveball and um got you smiling too which is great we can land on a happy note and I think that's about it today for Founders Forum. So thanks so much Vera for being here.

Announcer 26:57

Thanks for having me and um and thank you guys in the studio our engineers today TJ and Eric and thank you all for listening and we'll see you next week again on Founders Forum we hope you enjoyed your time with Founders Forum and that you found value to take with you throughout your day. Join us again next week for another episode of Founders Forum on WXKB 1039HD2