Aug. 24, 2026

Pivoting in a Crisis: Vari’s Journey from Dallas to Global Success

Pivoting in a Crisis: Vari’s Journey from Dallas to Global Success
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Dave sits down with Jason McCann, co-founder and CEO of Vari, for an in-depth look at how a simple idea of solving workplace back pain became a catalyst for workspace innovation on a global scale. They discuss the origins of Vari (formerly Varidesk), detailing the company’s pivot moments, including its major rebranding and its rapid adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed the business not only to survive but thrive. The conversation also explores the advantages of building a business in Texas, the significance of company culture, and the human element behind business decisions and growth.

They also talk about the entrepreneurial mindset that fueled Vari’s explosive growth, the flexibility and community spirit found in Texas, and the continuously evolving vision for the workspace of the future. Jason offers advice on navigating local market challenges, leveraging economic development resources, and designing agile work environments, also sharing anecdotes about product innovation and the role of feedback in shaping their ever-expanding portfolio.


Get your free Texas business expansion or relocation resources today by visiting www.TexasEDConnection.com

If you would like to learn more about which region in Texas is right for you to expand or relocate your business, click here to take our complimentary assessment or connect with us today for more information.

WEBVTT

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We do workspace design, free installation like. It was amazing

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if you hear it, cert like that was our TV

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campaign and in a forty eight hour period, everybody's working

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remote and the world's coming to an end. And thank

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god we were based here in Texas so that we

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were able to continue to operate and keep our doors

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open and we're able to ship. So in a forty

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eight hour period, we pivoted our ads from hey, where

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your office of the future partner to where your work

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from Home partner. We recut all the ads and everybody's

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like standing at their desk at home in the TV commercials,

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and we did our first ever discount on the website,

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and so that became the thing that saved the business.

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Welcome to Gone to Texas, the official podcast of the

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Texas Economic Development Connection. On every episode, we shared the

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stories of business owners and CEOs we have relocated or

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expanded their business into Texas. Our goal is to use

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these stories as a guide to help others who are

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ready to hang a sign on the door that says

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gone to Texas and now please welcome your host. The

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managing partner and Chief inspiration Officer for Day One Experts,

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Super Dave Quinn.

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Welcome back to Gone to Texas podcast, Power to Day

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one Experts, where we share real stories of business growth, relocation,

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and entrepreneurship here in the lone star stay, I'm your host,

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Super Dave Quinn.

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In today's episode is sponsored by our friends at the

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Fairview Economic Development Corporation. The team focused on helping growing

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companies find the space, support, and partnerships they need to

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succeed right here in the Metroplex. It's where community meets opportunity.

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Our guest today is Jason McCann, co founder and CEO

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of Variant, a global work space innovation company headquartered right

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here in North Texas, serving organizations across ninety eight percent

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of the Fortune five hundred. But this isn't a story

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about office furniture. It's a story about how one entrepreneur

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saw the way people were working and decided it didn't

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have to stay that way, all right, Jason, Welcome to

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the show.

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Hey, so glad to be here, Super Day.

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I can't tell you how excited I'm trying not to

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fend way out on being having this interview. There's somebody,

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I mean, I love to travel the state and talk

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to people. I've followed your journey for a while now.

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I guess I played golf with Adam your sales go

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a long time ago before COVID and kind of got

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to know very through that and then have just watched

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what you do. And I love your reader avid reader,

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and I see that a lot. I'm also an avid reader,

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so I appreciate you pushing that out there. So I'm

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super excited to be Here's what I'm trying to say

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and trying to get through this interview and not totally

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like geek out on.

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So glad you're here today. It's a beautiful day. You're

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in Texas, so we love it. Yeah, and your space.

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One of the things we talked about is Pam let

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me up here, was how welcome it was from the

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second you walk in, and that's obviously done by a

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design and it was a nice.

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Feeling walking in here. So yeah, we take all those

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little hospitality of amenity details, you know from my background

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in the nightclub industry and going to school in Houston.

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But you put music outside, you put music in the

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lobby and music in the restrooms. But that creates energy

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and then you get the people part right, and then

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you get the design right, But all those elements just

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build and that creates the energy of space along with

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the people and it works. Well, that's we'll talk a

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little bit about that, because we're not just talking about

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furniture and get into that.

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So for folks who don't know or may not know

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the name Arry, I can't imagine they wouldn't. But what

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let's start at the beginning sort of how do we

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get here today? What's that little journey?

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Like a very yeah. I was president of another company

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based here in the Capel area called Jemmy. So we

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make those inflatables that you see on people's yards for

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Halloween and Christmas. And for those that saw the jeep

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commercial at the Super Bowl, it's that singing fish, big

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mouth billy bass fish. So I had the pleasure of

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being president there and my business partner's chairman of both companies,

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and he was having back pain right and standing at

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a cardboard box. And I'd walk into his office and

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Dan's about ten years older than me and healthier than me,

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but older, and he said, oh, I'm just having back pain.

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And my doctor told me to stand up more and

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I'd feel better. And so he was standing up more

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and that turned into an idea and a discussion, he said,

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I need to buy a standing desk, and Rosemary, our assistant,

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was trying to find one and couldn't. And so all

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of a sudden, Dan's pretty good at product ideas, and

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he's like, hey, I got an idea for a product.

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So he grabbed our industrial designer and sat around his

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desk and then we stood up and he's like, I've

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got an idea, but could slide out of the box

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and go on top of my desk. We could have

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an item here, And so we built the prototype and

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started really building a business here right here in Dallas,

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right yeah, And so it was fun just to you know,

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connect the dots and say okay. So as the joke was,

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we were flying around trying it. We're getting our prototype made,

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and Dan and I were passing a Wall Street journal

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back and forth, and doctor Levi from the Mail Clinic

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it said sitting is the new smoking, and we're like,

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it's a sign from God. We're onto something really big.

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Here gets good signs. And we got the prototype in

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and we tested it well. Dan felt better standing and

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I liked it, and then we showed it to our

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employees inside the building and they liked it. And there's

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something about everybody liking it around you, especially your employees.

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So we said, we got to show it outside these

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four walls and show it to a real company. And

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because we're right here in the heart of DFW, it

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was a great opportunity for us to go around and

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literally I'd put the prototype in my tahoe and drive

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and meet other executives. And we happened to know somebody

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that got us in the door at Verizon and they're

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a huge call center there, and we drove in Pedro

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the president was kind enough to meet with us, and

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we walked in have our Wall Street Journal and sitting

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is a new smoking and showed the standing desk and

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because I have no idea what the hell you guys

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are talking about, like sitting is a new smoking standing,

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But let me get my ergonomists and my head of

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people into the meeting this yeah, And I was like,

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I don't even know what agonomist is the time, but

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that's the carpal tunnel person and the back pain person,

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and you know, it tells you how to sit right

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at your desk and sand and the number one reason

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people missed work at BRISE and was actually back pain.

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And those dots started to connect and they asked the

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magical words of how much are they? And that sort

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of got us into the world of VERI desk at

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the time and started our journey into health and wellness

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in the workspace.

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Let's talk a little bit of that, because it is

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not just a desk. A lot of people like, I'm

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an old school I remember very desk and kind of shit,

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but you're so much beyond that. Now, talk a little

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bit about the what it is exactly. It's a workplace environment.

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It's a holistic thing that you all bring into the market. Yeah,

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you know, you sit here and you listen to your

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fan base and they start to guide you along the journey.

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And we happen to be very blessed back then and

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became the fastest growing company in DFW and we're selling

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lots and lots of veradesks out there. And what people

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start to do is by listening to it, Oh, do

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you have an anti fatigue met do you have monitor

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arms that attached? Do you have a full desk that

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can do it? And at the time you're like, not yet,

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right those words of the every entrepreneur starts to say,

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and so we started to create these products. I didn't

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know anything about the anti fatigue mat industry. But the

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same company Jemmy makes the pumpkins that you buy to

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Michael's craft store, those are the same factories that make

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the soles of running shoes. That's how anti fatigue mats

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are made. So we started designing our own mats. We

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started thinking about monitor arms and how could you attach

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them to the desk from the top versus crawling on

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your knees. There's terrible experience. And then we did what

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Steve Jobs did to the MP three player by it

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when he created the iPod. We took other people's electric

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desks and realized they took forty five minutes to an

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hour or two hours to assemble. It's like going to Ikea.

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It's like the worst Saturday of your life trying to

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build that furniture. And we said, could we build an

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electric desk that you and I could build in five minutes?

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And we got patents on that and we reimagined the

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electric desk. So suddenly, by monetizing these pain points that

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we identified in the marketplace, created an incredible business. And

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as our journey grew and our product line expanded into

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really thinking about workspaces that elevate people and cultures. What

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we recognize is the brand vera desk was limiting, right,

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and so we worked with a company called Landor and

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they helped take Federal Express for those of you that

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remember that, to FedEx, and they went through a process

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with us and said, if you think about it, your

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brand is much bigger. And when we tested that word very,

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it could mean flexibility, change, could be a tech firm.

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It gave us permission and runway for the brand to

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grow even bigger. And that's we decided to go for

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it and drop the word desk and become very. So

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that's that's kind of how the dots dot.

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That's kind of very.

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I mean you very desk. You put a lot of

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money in investment in that name and that brand. I mean,

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I know it seems like, oh, you just dropped the desk,

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but that can be like it's not that easier. Right now,

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we had driven over a billion dollars in sales in

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our business, and I had over one hundred and fifty

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families employees, but really families, as I think about it,

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that were counting on us to make those right decisions,

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and we hadn't taken outside money. This is all us

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self funding, bootstrap the whole thing, reinvesting into the business.

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And this is all during twenty eighteen twenty nineteen in

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the build up, and what we recognized is that office

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furniture is sold through a dealer model, and we said,

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we're more like Tesla. We selled direct to all these businesses,

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and we now had over four million users of our

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products all over the globe, and we said, let's go

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for it, like, could we build a brand that could

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live beyond my lifetime?

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Are we ready? And so we went for it and

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invested tens of millions of dollars TV campaigns. We're going

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to be on Bloomberg and CNBC and Fox and CNN

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and all of it, and say we're going to go

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for it in a big way. And we went for it,

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and we went all in. I opened up showrooms all

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across the country, hired over one hundred people, and we

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went for it. And this is all up until January

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of twenty twenty and so we literally leaned into it,

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went for it, and COVID hit and God had another

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plan and it was like the biggest test again for

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our business to go through, and I kind of took

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like a beautiful sailboat and selled it right into a

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hurricane and it was very, very challenging to navigate that.

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I can't So on one hand, was it I mean,

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all of a sudden people are having to work from

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home and needing that at home.

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But at the same.

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Your people can't do what you do because they're at home.

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T Yeah, And we're in the workspace business and where

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our TV ads are saying, hey, we can design an

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office and deliver it to you in less than two weeks.

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We're in stock we do workspace design, free installation like

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it was amazing if you hear it like that was

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our TV campaign And in a forty eight hour period,

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everybody's working remote and the world's coming to an end.

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And thank god we were based here in Texas so

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that we were able to continue to operate and keep

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our doors open and we're able to ship. So in

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a forty eight hour period, we pivoted our ads from hey,

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wh're your office of the future partner to where your

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work from home partner. We recut all the ads and

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everybody's like standing at their desk at home in the

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in the TV commercials, and we did our first ever

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discount on the website, and so that became the thing

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that saved the business is our e commerce and web

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orders shot up because everybody was at home and now

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they're working home on they crunched over on the kitchen

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table or whatever and they realized, oh, I need something.

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So that became a catalyst that allowed us to survive

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and navigate. You know, while we were ultimately able to thrive,

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the other thing we did was because we were here,

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we were able to reopen our offices. Our furniture was

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designed to move. We always thought of workspaces that kind

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of EBB and flow like businesses, and your workspace should

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be like a canvas, and so it should change over time.

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And so we reached out to our teams in Asia

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who were about twelve weeks ahead of us on the

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COVID curve and said, what are y'all doing? And they

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said two meters distance banks, designs, face mass thermal scanners,

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and literally we changed our offices. Shared those stories, and

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that's how we helped other businesses, primarily in Texas and

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then across the globe reopen with our workspace products.

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That's one of the things I love about your products,

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your you know, I don't know if you call them cubicles,

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but it is all meant to be very versatile. It's

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not the same old This is the you design it once,

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and that's the way it is forever. Your space seems

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to always be sort of easy to morph and change

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and adapt.

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Yeah. I always grew up building and operating and running

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small and medium businesses, you know, And so you always

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think about a business never has this perfect you know,

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ten percent compounded annual growth rate keger is what they

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call it, you know, oh my goodness, year over year,

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where like it is literally highs and lows, and the

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highs are amazing and the lows are like, oh my god,

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are we ever going to make it? Yeah? And so

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you have these moments of this is this ebbs and flows?

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Well that's how workspace is it kind of ebbs and

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flows and the space changes. And so could we have

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walls that move and the marker boards are on casters?

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Could we have power that drops down from the ceiling.

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If we hire ten people, where would they sit? And

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then I just always put myself in the customer's shoes

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and say, well, if I'm running a company. I'm recruiting

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and retaining talent. I want a cool space. I want

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it affordable, I want it easy. I also want to

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flex and then if my team members need to work

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from home, I need the same stuff that they have there.

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So they take their laptop home and they've got the

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monitors set up for the days at they're home. So

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I kind of look at it like we're just solving

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a pain point out there that we see. But yeah,

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the whole thing is designed. We think the future of

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work is all on flexibility and change.

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Let's take a step back.

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We talked.

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You said something I thought was pretty important. What we're

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obviously designed to do here on the Goune to Texas

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show is talk about being in Texas and what that's

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allowed you to do. Talk a little bit about that

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here at the Metroplex. How important is it to be

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in in this type of environment when you're a growing company. Yeah,

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you think about the access to capital of it for

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those companies that are out there trying to raise money.

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You know, Texas is a great place and tim bankers right,

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and they're all coming here. You can feel it in

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from a from a real estate perspective, there's plenty of

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very affordable office space or meeting space or co working space,

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depending on what phase of the business that it's in.

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The other thing, you think about the networks that you

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can be involved in every single vertical but a very entrepreneurial,

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you know, bootstrap type mindset and that culture of innovation

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and get it done. That GSD get stuff done mindset

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of Texans is great. So for me as I think

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about it, we were able to take an idea and

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we had to call it a side hustle. You know, Dan,

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I run another company, but we're just like, let's just

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see does this thing have legs? Literally figuratively like what

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is this thing? And to show it to other great

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companies like the Container Store was one of our first customers.

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Great place to work, cool, they make cool product, like

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to literally be able to walk in, talk to them,

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show them our product, show them o get feedback. But

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that's how we did it, one business at a time.

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But it all started right here inside of DFW. Then

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what we realized is we were doing ads back in

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the day and twenty three in Skymall magazine on American airlines,

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on you know, Southwest Airlines. Because there again these are

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the top airports in the country, all these business travelers.

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So suddenly we were getting voicemails from Australia. I might

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look at her a Barry Dusk and I had never

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even been to Australia the time.

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Yeah, what's going on? But you don't realize the global

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influence that you have being here in DFW, and so

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that got us. We connected with our lawyers here in

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town and then they were like, hey, we can set

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up an entity there. We worked with online to find

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third party logistics partners that had a global presence, and

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suddenly we were shipping goods to Australia. We turned on

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the Google ads and then our employees. One of them

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volunteered at night to take phone calls from Australia, and

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the joke was she would say, yeah, how do y'all

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what's going like? It was almost kind of funny. Yeah,

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they were like, yeah, we're talking to Texans. It was

338
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just this crazy moment at first, but it worked, and

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all of a sudden we were doing millions and millions

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of dollars in Australia and I got invited to speak

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at Parliament and some other stuff down there. But you

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don't realize It starts with one fan at a time,

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and there's millions of people here, but great businesses. They

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want to support you and get you. Allows you to

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test learn and then you can go global, you can

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go countrywide, statewide, whatever. But it doesn't have to just

347
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be all local. But you can incubate here. It's incredible, so.

348
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Each you know, that's one of the hardest things I have.

349
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My hardest thing in my job is convincing people who

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are not from here.

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That that exists. They're just that they're at the city level.

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There's people that want to, you know, economic veompers that

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want to help you exceed, but even just people like

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when you come and they're seeing your work and you're

355
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trying to build something, it's like they want to help

356
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you succeed too, and but they they're not used to

357
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that type of environment where it's a much more you know,

358
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I don't know, cutthroat environment or something, or they're having

359
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to do it on their own. It's that community that

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they feel once they arrive that they have a hard

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time believing at first, but then once they're here, they're like,

362
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now we get it.

363
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Yeah, we we own we own two office buildings here

364
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in toil. We used to have three. We just sold

365
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one because Caterpillar moved their headquarters here to town and

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bought one of our buildings. But we and we basically

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have great companies and a lot of them are from

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out of state that are looking to lease. And what

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they're talking about is we want to recruit great talent.

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So they're building teams. They want to find customers that

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they can test new products with. They love the affordable

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housing and they're talking about, Hey, our team members are

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coming from these other state and they're like, oh my god,

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this is The schools are fantastic and the universities are

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great because not you know, my kids are all in

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that in the university age, but whether it's elementary schools,

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middle schools, high schools, colleges, like all of it is.

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You've got so much access to talent here for families

379
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and all those things. So I think it checks a

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lot of boxes when they're talking about building the companies

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and cultures of their dreams.

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Hotti Friends. This episode of Gone to Texas podcast is

383
00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.000
brought to you by the Fairview Economic Development Corporation. We're

384
00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:51.480
business owners find more than just a location, They find

385
00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:54.920
a community tucked into the heart of Collin County. Fairview

386
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.839
is the North Texas community offering small and mid sized

387
00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:01.279
businesses the space to grow, access to thrive, and the

388
00:18:01.400 --> 00:18:06.319
quality of life to keep your team inspired. Whether you're expanding, relocating,

389
00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:09.559
or starting fresh, Fairview has what you need. Shovel ready, site,

390
00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:12.519
smart incentives, and a forward thinking town that still feels

391
00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.640
like home. Want to hear more from the folks already

392
00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.960
making it work here. Tune into getting neighborly our local

393
00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.920
podcasts celebrating the people, places, and purpose driven businesses that

394
00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:26.359
make Fairview special. Because here in Fairview, Texas, you're not

395
00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:29.799
just a business, You're a neighbor. Learn more at Fairview

396
00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:35.519
Texas adc dot com Fairview Texas where community meets opportunity. Yeah,

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I think that's the people that we're talking to, that

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small and medium sized entrepreneur. You know, it's not just

399
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a business decision to them, right, They're leaving their home

400
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and oftentimes their spouse's home, which is even harder, and

401
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they're picking up and moving their lives and it's you know,

402
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sometimes I think we get trapped in the thought of

403
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it's just a business problem. Now, man, it's a family,

404
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it's a it's a human problem.

405
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And I think.

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That's something that is the challenge of us to remember

407
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is that you know, people are looking for a human experience,

408
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not just where can I grow a business for business sake,

409
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but because they have family associated with that. And I

410
00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:17.119
love what you talked about your employees. It's not your

411
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head count, it's it's families, the number of families, because

412
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it's not just one person, right, it's that person and

413
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everybody that depends on that person. I love that about that. Yeah, well,

414
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you get so excited. I think when you see you

415
00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:30.519
hear about them investing in a five twenty nine, or

416
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you know, you see them buy their first home or

417
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have their first kids, and you're a piece of that

418
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with these team members that you're the talent that you

419
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get to work with every day. And I think that's

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a very as a CEO, that's very rewarding. But you're right,

421
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it's a family decision, you know, And so I think

422
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when people get in here and they feel it and

423
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if it feels right, then this is a great fertile

424
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area to grow. That's what I also love about Texas

425
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is there's a place for everyone here. If you don't

426
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like this particular area that's okay, move thirty minutes and

427
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it will be something that you do.

428
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Right.

429
00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.880
So what are some of the biggest challenges I'm you know,

430
00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:10.319
when you talk about scelling a business and operating globally,

431
00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.799
what were some of those biggest challenges that you had

432
00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:16.720
early on that a person coming into Texas. You know

433
00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:19.680
you still have to do business stuff. It's a great environment,

434
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but what are some of the challenges you had to

435
00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:24.799
work on when you were growing very well?

436
00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:26.880
You think about it initially, it's your brand. You know,

437
00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:29.480
what are you promoting out there? And so to figure

438
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out whether through the local chambers you know that you

439
00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.240
can get business connected with because they suddenly can introduce

440
00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:38.000
you to so many doors. These econo, these cities are

441
00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:40.160
out there and have resources and tools to get your

442
00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.880
brand awareness up, because I think that's what we're all

443
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trying to do. We're trying to fight for that brand

444
00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:49.079
awareness piece of and attention. The online search engines also

445
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provide some of that, but that sort of in person

446
00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:54.039
thing is very well received here and all the events

447
00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:57.279
that people can network pro business that they're going out

448
00:20:57.319 --> 00:20:59.480
and promote. So I think for us, we're just one

449
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We're just trying to get awareness too as you start

450
00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:04.359
to work with cities to scale your business. So you know,

451
00:21:04.440 --> 00:21:06.640
for us, it was office space and I'm oh my god,

452
00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:08.359
we're we're going to lease and all that. The good

453
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.519
news is there is plenty of it. It's just figuring

454
00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:12.480
out what's the right market for you to be And

455
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I think for all of us, we start doing those

456
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heat maps, and the beauty of this state is everythings

457
00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:20.000
or the city areas got all these easy access points.

458
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:23.319
So recruiting talent is key that we're all in that

459
00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:25.680
sort of recruiting talent piece. And so I think just

460
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finding those areas at work for the talent pool that

461
00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:31.599
you're getting, we've got. You know, the fintech world is

462
00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:35.000
looking at certain zones of DFW, the scale ais of

463
00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:36.960
the world that are doing AI and that are looking

464
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at certain markets. You've got call centers in back office,

465
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but all the team members and the people are here,

466
00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:46.160
the technicians, the skilled Texians like, all of it is

467
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all over the metroplex and so it's just figure out

468
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where do you put your headquarters and do those things.

469
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And the beauty of whether it's coworking operators like there's

470
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plenty of options while you incubate your business and figure

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things out, and then you can start to put those

472
00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:01.200
roots down accelerate your growth.

473
00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:04.519
I know that's I just recently talked to a manufacturer

474
00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:07.319
and that was they're moving in and they were looking

475
00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:10.440
for a certain set of talent right like, and and

476
00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:13.200
you know, it was obvious that the talent they needed

477
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.480
really they were talking about Dallas at first. But based

478
00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:18.680
on their talent, I was like, Ah, these it seems

479
00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.920
like those folks were Fort Worth folks. And it's kind

480
00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:22.640
of funny. If you're from the Metroprooks, you kind of

481
00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:25.559
know the difference there, but coming from outside, they wouldn't

482
00:22:25.559 --> 00:22:27.720
have known that had they not connected or or talked

483
00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:30.359
to the local economic developers and and sort of understood that.

484
00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:33.400
So you've got so many great communities too out there,

485
00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:36.559
and they're they're whether they're building data centers or they're

486
00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:39.440
because that's a huge thing. You've got factories and production

487
00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:43.160
now building production. You've got all these different facets of

488
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:46.880
the economy that are all growing in office and so

489
00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:49.960
there's areas all throughout, you know, and you've got prosper

490
00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:52.599
and fair of you all these great cities all throughout

491
00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.839
in South and Red Oak and like everywhere that's got

492
00:22:56.359 --> 00:22:59.960
opportunities for great businesses to grow, and they're all invest

493
00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:01.839
sting a lot in growing those communities.

494
00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:03.920
That's what I also try to remind folks is that

495
00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:07.680
we have a lot of communities pouring money back into

496
00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:11.720
that infrastructure of helping a business group right there, They've

497
00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:16.920
got dedicated funds. What they're trying to do is solve

498
00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:19.720
a business problem. So once they know what your challenge is,

499
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.039
then they go about trying to figure that out and

500
00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:25.680
it changes for every community. Every community has a different

501
00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:29.440
sort of golblem they're good at solving and so that

502
00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:31.680
is something that I think the Metroplex offers is that

503
00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:37.079
sort of variety of economy development resources. So for communities working,

504
00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.599
let's talk a little bit about communities that are doing that,

505
00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:42.480
Like fair of you, they're working to attract retain companies

506
00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:49.000
in the professional services, technology, you know, corporate sectors. What

507
00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:52.839
should they understand about growing companies and what they actually need?

508
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:55.640
What what would a city need to know to really

509
00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:57.480
help you in that early stage if they have known

510
00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.599
or how could they have better helped you.

511
00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:02.640
I think we're all on this path the growth and revenue, right,

512
00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:04.480
so if we can if we can find ways to

513
00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.720
grow or like okay, so we're looking for sort of

514
00:24:06.799 --> 00:24:09.559
market support there and just any type of awareness for

515
00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:12.119
our brands and the services that we're bringing to market.

516
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:15.400
On the talent side, it's like, hey, does this market

517
00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.400
have access to talent? Because the data is out there,

518
00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:20.839
people typically don't want to commute more than twenty five

519
00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:24.119
minutes to work, and so that sort of zone and

520
00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.480
that heat map as cities are thinking about, Hey, this

521
00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.359
is the people that are here, what's the education base,

522
00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.640
what's the goals of this particular community, what are those

523
00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:34.839
things you're saying that particular market knows the types of

524
00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:38.480
talent that's in that market. These are the right businesses that,

525
00:24:38.519 --> 00:24:41.440
if they're attracted to and can be planted in this market,

526
00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:44.519
will be very, very successful. I think each city is

527
00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:47.160
trying to go through that process right now, all across Texas,

528
00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:51.160
and because they're all trying to recruit and retain great families,

529
00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:54.720
great entrepreneurs, great capital partners that are all coming in.

530
00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:57.119
All of it is right here in this area. It's

531
00:24:57.160 --> 00:25:00.160
just figuring out which one is right for your business.

532
00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:05.200
So let's talk a little bit about the workspace as

533
00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:07.720
we look into the future of what is something very

534
00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:11.160
sort of working on. What as you imagine the work

535
00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:13.960
environment in the next five years. You know, we talk

536
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:15.640
a lot about are people going to come back to

537
00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:16.960
work in the office? Are they not as going to

538
00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.960
be a hybrid? But what are you looking at from

539
00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:21.759
a workplace design and an environment standpoint? What are you

540
00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:24.119
guys looking at on sort of looking ahead?

541
00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:28.279
Yeah, I think every leader is figuring out a different way.

542
00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:30.200
You've got companies out there that have said, hey, we're

543
00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:32.240
building a firm and we're going to have a talent

544
00:25:32.279 --> 00:25:33.839
all over the world, and we're going to be based

545
00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:36.799
here and our talent is going to be located everywhere.

546
00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:40.599
That's one extreme model. Others like Jamie Diamond and JP Morgan,

547
00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:42.640
who's coming to doubt you know, they're in the office

548
00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:45.720
five days a week, and that's every company and culture

549
00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:48.480
is different. What we see most companies doing is three

550
00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:50.319
to four days a week in the office. What they

551
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:54.440
recognize is that in person human connection, there's something very

552
00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:58.000
magical that happens there. Also, whether it's the research that

553
00:25:58.079 --> 00:26:01.519
Jonathan Height and these others have done, the addictive nature

554
00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:03.759
of social media and all the negative things that have

555
00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:07.440
happened to children and to society, and the isolation that's

556
00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.400
happened from people being on a screen at home all day,

557
00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:14.079
the health that happens, and the benefits of people being together,

558
00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:17.599
the community involvement, the five k runs on Saturday, getting

559
00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:21.000
down to the Senior Center. All those human connections add

560
00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.000
to business and community. And so I think as we

561
00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:25.759
think about the office of the future is how do

562
00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:28.200
you provide areas to concentrate when you just need to

563
00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:32.160
focus on something, collaborate when it's at time, to communicate

564
00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:33.839
when you're just trying to get things out. How do

565
00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.920
you enhance culture? How do you also think about the

566
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:40.400
workspace almost like a school, because the areas where you're

567
00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.240
going to meet other people that might speak an other language,

568
00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:46.359
eat different food than you, make more money, make less money,

569
00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:48.640
like than you, that are different than you, is probably

570
00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:52.119
at school or at your workspace. If it's only if

571
00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:54.000
you only sit in your community, if you only know

572
00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:56.240
this one neighborhood, if you only know this one house,

573
00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:59.160
that's not the real world. And so to get out

574
00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:01.880
into the world to have areas like them. So we

575
00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:05.319
think the workspace providing that is very, very important the

576
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:07.240
workspace of the future and what you're seeing all these

577
00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:09.839
great developments around here. It's a lot of walkability, it's

578
00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:12.279
access to the We have beautiful weather most of the year,

579
00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:14.920
and so it's like you get all this great access,

580
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.759
you got great healthy restaurants. You got some audio ones too,

581
00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:21.920
But you've got all that because it provides collision points

582
00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:23.400
for you and I to bump into each other, to

583
00:27:23.440 --> 00:27:25.160
meet other people and to see other things. And so

584
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:27.240
I think that's what you're seeing is going to continue

585
00:27:27.240 --> 00:27:30.079
to happen, and office space will continue to ebb and flow.

586
00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:32.880
People may have the ability to afford Hey I've got

587
00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:35.319
a dedicated space at home, and then I've got a

588
00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:37.880
dedicated space at an office, and then those things are

589
00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:40.039
different function but I think it's just going to continue

590
00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:42.440
to change over time. So those are some of the

591
00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:43.799
things we're seeing nice.

592
00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:47.519
And any cool innovations that you kind of have come

593
00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:48.920
in or that you're working towards.

594
00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.000
That or we're pushing you know, we've probably got four

595
00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:53.720
hundred products that we're in the market today. We launched

596
00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:55.960
one hundred new products last year. We got another hundred

597
00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:59.039
products that will launch here in twenty twenty six. It's

598
00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:01.799
all based upon fet feedback. And so again as people

599
00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:03.720
are coming back and said, hey, we need to collaboration,

600
00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:05.440
but you and I are at a standing you know,

601
00:28:05.559 --> 00:28:09.519
we're meeting table right now, like you can sit, stand, perch, whatever.

602
00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:13.240
But all that's going to continue to happen. We jokingly said,

603
00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:15.000
we kind of we got all these requests when people

604
00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:16.799
come back to an office for a cube, and we

605
00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:19.720
didn't make cubes at the time, but we said okay,

606
00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:22.200
and so we've reinvented the office cube and said, okay,

607
00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:24.400
we can make products and you and I can assemble

608
00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:26.480
our cubes in minutes because it's like seven parts. You

609
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:29.680
just pop it together. Because it's going to change over time,

610
00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:32.400
and so work from homes not going away. So we

611
00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:34.480
got new products there that we're launching. But it's been

612
00:28:34.519 --> 00:28:37.720
fun for us to just listen to the fans, to

613
00:28:37.839 --> 00:28:41.359
lean into the pain points that they're experiencing, recognize that

614
00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:43.960
humans are designed to be together, and then how do

615
00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:46.279
we facilitate that? And so I think we're we're really

616
00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:48.799
close on the continue You never solve the riddle, but

617
00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:51.519
you keep innovating and keep trying. I love that.

618
00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.119
So when you think about the future of the metroplex

619
00:28:55.960 --> 00:29:00.960
and from a place of innovation, sat you a most

620
00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:03.240
about what you're seeing right now in the metropolis.

621
00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:06.279
Yeah, so I think you're You're seeing a lot of

622
00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:08.640
new brands continue to launch here, and so you've got

623
00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:11.920
great restaurant operators like front Burners continue to pump out

624
00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.680
concepts and try new things. You've got innovation happening in

625
00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.839
the real estate side, both on how people are living

626
00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:22.680
from a housing standpoint or the multi family components. But

627
00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:26.279
the live work play thing is happening all throughout DFW

628
00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:28.039
with these great design I mean, you've got some of

629
00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:30.119
the best real estate developers in the world here and

630
00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:31.880
I just try to draft them and learn from them.

631
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:35.039
They're so amazing, world class knowledge all right with Lucy

632
00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:38.519
Billingsley and call it all them are doing and John Goll,

633
00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:41.200
I mean, they're they're incredible what they're building out there.

634
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:45.079
And so those investments continue to happen. The entertainment, the sports,

635
00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:48.400
all those things continue. All of that elevates the universities.

636
00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:51.519
I'm very involved with the University of Houston and watching

637
00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:53.480
they're about to hit their centennial and see all the

638
00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:57.079
developments are going on there for the schools, but all

639
00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:01.039
the great universities across the state all are continuing to

640
00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:04.319
find ways. I think everybody is also leaning into AI

641
00:30:04.440 --> 00:30:07.160
and technology and not running from it, and so you're

642
00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:10.359
seeing great companies recognize that those disruptions are going to

643
00:30:10.440 --> 00:30:13.759
continue to happen, the way that drones are being tested

644
00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:16.759
and the driverless cars in Arlington and some of that stuff,

645
00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:19.839
but all the in the future of robotics, with with

646
00:30:19.880 --> 00:30:22.160
one of the with robot labs in one of our buildings,

647
00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:25.279
with the way Elot is doing it with It's incredible

648
00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:28.119
to see the future and it's all right here, right

649
00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:30.599
And so to know that that's we're kind of living

650
00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:32.680
in the middle of what the future is and we're

651
00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:35.440
a part of it, I think as entrepreneurs is very

652
00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:36.680
very exciting. Yeah.

653
00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:39.680
I love that answer, thank you, because it feels like this.

654
00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:42.960
I feel like we're a little spoiled and we forget

655
00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:46.000
how good it is until you travel. When I travel

656
00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:48.960
and see other places that don't have the energy that

657
00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:51.880
we have here, and you're reminded that, man, we really

658
00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:52.960
do have something special.

659
00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:55.319
Yeah, and we're about to touch off in this I mean,

660
00:30:55.319 --> 00:30:58.039
look at the space stuff that's happening down along right

661
00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:01.000
our border area between santat On in Austin with what

662
00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:04.839
SpaceX and Blue Origin or and it's so early still

663
00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:07.599
like we're in like phase one of what they're bringing

664
00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:09.839
to life, and so all of that is happening right

665
00:31:09.839 --> 00:31:11.319
here in Texas. It's incredible.

666
00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:14.480
All right, So this has been great, Thank you so much.

667
00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:17.799
Before we before I let you go, I want to

668
00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:20.720
you know, you spend all week doing this. What do

669
00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:23.480
you do to relax and have fun? What's something that

670
00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:25.400
you know at the end of the week you're like,

671
00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:27.039
I'm done, I need to go do something. How do

672
00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:28.839
you unwand what's your reach out I do?

673
00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:31.400
I do kind of agree with Bezos when he said

674
00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:33.680
it's almost like work life harmony. You know, there's not

675
00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:36.599
really balanced the way entrepreneurs operate. And so you know,

676
00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:38.960
I think for for me person, I love to paint,

677
00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:41.119
and so I get in there and attack some canvases

678
00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:44.319
and then my kids called it splatter paint at the time,

679
00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.839
but kind of that Jackson Pollock and whatever style. But

680
00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:50.200
it's fun to bring canvases to life and then I

681
00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:52.839
hopefully can donate them or sell them to raise some

682
00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:56.119
money for nonprofit organizations. That's probably my side hustle that

683
00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:59.599
I enjoy from a creative outlet standpoint. And of course

684
00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:02.160
I'm trying to get my golf game bags. I'm pounding

685
00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:04.119
balls right now and at one of those screens, those

686
00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:07.279
digital screens at golf tracks, seeing if I can figure this.

687
00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:10.119
Got just a little thing, if you just twik get

688
00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:11.880
just do it, just a little bit of tweaky. I've

689
00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:13.880
got to figure it out. I'm going to solve that riddle.

690
00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:14.440
But those are my.

691
00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:16.960
Fun things, all right, Very good, Well, thank you so much.

692
00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:20.759
For the business owners leaders, Folks who want to buy

693
00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:23.119
are looking at that. Where should they go to connect

694
00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:26.119
and where can they find your Yeah, it's on the

695
00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:30.119
website at vari dot com. At vary dot com is

696
00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:32.599
the easiest way, and then you can drop on there.

697
00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:35.160
The nice thing is, since we're ten minutes from the airport,

698
00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:37.400
we host tours all the time. People fly in and

699
00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.799
they do an in person tour but also virtual tours.

700
00:32:39.839 --> 00:32:41.599
So the same way you and I are having a

701
00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:46.400
podcast today, we're literally doing live tours every day for clients.

702
00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:48.400
We'll do kind of free work space. As I'm we'll

703
00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:51.039
listen to their pain points and we'll show them. Because

704
00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:53.799
we've probably installed over six thousand offices in the last

705
00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:56.599
few years across the country, so we're learning really fast

706
00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:59.400
what the future of work is. So we host tours

707
00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:01.000
and let people. I mean, if people just want to

708
00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:02.000
come buy a desk, they.

709
00:33:01.960 --> 00:33:03.799
Can just go on the website. We ship out thousands

710
00:33:03.799 --> 00:33:06.160
of desks every day to people that are working, so

711
00:33:06.359 --> 00:33:06.880
no worries.

712
00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:09.640
Well, I do want to say back in twenty twenty,

713
00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:13.839
you' all ran a little thing. You were like asking

714
00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:17.440
people to show you their workspace, and I did that. Actually,

715
00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:19.680
I'm still working off the standing desk you guys sign

716
00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:22.119
that's awesome and literally it took five minutes to split

717
00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:24.559
it out of the box, put it up, and much

718
00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:26.319
of my life Instagram because I'm working out of our

719
00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:29.319
guest room and it's so nice. It sits right there.

720
00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:31.599
She doesn't love it because it's the guest room. She

721
00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:34.160
had decorated it perfect for guests, and then COVID hit

722
00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:36.079
and I had to have a place to work out

723
00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:38.599
at most people, but I still work off that desk

724
00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:41.920
and I will never forget. Thank you so much for that, Yo,

725
00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.000
that was a neat thing that you guys did, and

726
00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:46.119
it was a blessing to me at the time needed

727
00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:48.200
it early on, you know, with my company, and so

728
00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:49.759
I really appreciate that. So I want to say thank

729
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:52.680
you in Berson my pledge just as exciting. Well, friends,

730
00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:54.559
thanks again for joining us here on the Gone to

731
00:33:54.599 --> 00:33:57.680
Texas podcast and give me a favor. Please like, share

732
00:33:57.720 --> 00:33:59.880
and subscribe to more business owners so they can just

733
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:02.720
dis cover what's possible here in the Lone Star State.

734
00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:05.400
If you're tired of red tape, high cost and feeling

735
00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:07.960
stuck where you are, this is your invitation to come

736
00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:12.440
to Texas. The Texas Economic Development Connection exists to help

737
00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:15.159
you skip the run around and connect directly with the

738
00:34:15.239 --> 00:34:20.880
people and places ready to help your business grow. Visit

739
00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:25.280
texasedconnection dot com to schedule your free call. I'm host

740
00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:27.679
Super Dave Quinn. Buy for now and until next time,

741
00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:32.239
make it a great day.

742
00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:36.079
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Gone to Texas,

743
00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:40.360
the official podcast if The Texas Economic Development Connection, followed

744
00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:44.360
by Day One, experts a collection of the country's best

745
00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:49.159
known economic development professionals offering on demand services to communities

746
00:34:49.239 --> 00:34:50.239
across the nation.