Transforming B2B Engagement: Instant Messaging and Web3 Insights with Yaniv Azar

This dynamic episode dives deep into the evolution of Web3 B2B engagement with Yaniv Azar, CEO of nReach.io. This episode explores how AI-driven instant messaging is revolutionizing customer engagement, sales, and business development in Web3. Yaniv shares insights on how platforms like Telegram are outperforming traditional outreach methods, achieving response rates up to five times higher than email. The conversation also covers the role of AI in automating customer interactions, reducing friction in sales processes, and enhancing engagement strategies for Web3 enterprises. Whether you're an entrepreneur, developer, or investor, this episode provides valuable insights into how cutting-edge technology is reshaping business communication in the decentralized world.

Key Topics Covered:

• AI-Powered B2B Engagement in Web3 – How AI is revolutionizing sales and customer interactions in the blockchain space.
• The Power of Instant Messaging for Sales – Why Telegram and other instant messaging platforms outperform traditional email and LinkedIn outreach.
• How Web3 Businesses Leverage Automation – Insights into AI-driven automation for customer support and sales engagement.
• Balancing AI with Authenticity in Sales – How to use AI for engagement while maintaining genuine customer relationships.
• The Future of AI and Business Development – Predictions for AI’s role in transforming go-to-market strategies for Web3 enterprises.

Episode Highlights:

• “AI-powered instant messaging platforms are revolutionizing Web3 sales and customer engagement.” – Yaniv Azar
• “B2B engagement on Telegram is achieving response rates up to five times higher than email.” – Yaniv Azar
• “Web3 skipped email and moved straight to instant messaging for customer outreach.” – Yaniv Azar
• “The key to non-spammy outreach is providing value first before asking for a sale.” – Yaniv Azar
• “Automation doesn’t replace authenticity—it enhances engagement by enabling real-time, personalized responses.” – Yaniv Azar

People and Resources Mentioned:

• Bitcoin Ordinals
• Zuber Lawler
• Myco

About our Guest: 

‍Yaniv Azar is the CEO and co-founder of nReach.io, a cutting-edge platform optimizing B2B customer engagement through AI-driven instant messaging. With a background in Israel's elite intelligence unit 8200, Yaniv has leveraged his expertise in AI and data-driven strategies to redefine how Web3 companies approach sales and marketing. Under his leadership, nReach.io has become a leading solution for businesses looking to enhance outreach, improve response rates, and streamline customer interactions in the Web3 space.

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‍Transcription:

‍Yaniv Azar: Hi, this is Yaniv Azar, CEO of nReach.io. We're evolving B2B with instant messaging and data-driven Web3 strategies, so you can reach the right folks at the right time. You're tuned into the Edge Off Show, where Web3 AI and innovation are always evolving, and you get the latest insights at the right time. Stay tuned.Josh Kriger: Hey, Web3 curious listeners, get ready for today's episode to uncover how B2B customer engagement is transforming with instant messaging platforms like Telegram leading the way in the Web3 era, as well as expert insights from Yaniv Azar, CEO of nReach.io on leveraging messaging platforms to drive business growth and forge meaningful connections. Lastly, where does our guest today want to travel if cost is no object? All this and more at the edge of nReach. Cue the intro.Intro/Outro/ Disclaimer: Welcome to The Edge of Show, your gateway to the Web3 revolution. We explore the cutting edge of blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, ordinals, DeFi, gaming and entertainment, plus how AI is reshaping our digital future. Join us as we bring you visionaries and disruptors pushing boundaries in this digital renaissance. This show is for the dreamers, disruptors, and doers that are pumped about where innovation meets culture. This is where the future begins.Josh Kriger: Hello and welcome to The Edge Of show featuring a variety of top-notch guests and other hosts. I'm Josh Krieger and it's another production of The Edge Of Company, a quickly growing media ecosystem empowering the pioneers of Web3 tech and culture in response for other groundbreaking endeavors like the Outer Edge Innovation Festival in LA and Riyadh. Today's sponsor show as part of a media partnership features Yaniv Azar, the co-founder and CEO of nReach.io, a platform designed to enhance outbound sales for B2B companies in the Web3 sector. His background and leadership positions in Israel's elite intelligence unit 8200, where he developed expertise in AI and data-driven solutions. At nReach, he focuses on improving go-to-market strategies by utilizing innovative approaches that move beyond traditional methods, relying on personal data and email outreach. nReach is designed specifically for B2B Web3 companies, The platform utilizes instant messaging channels like Telegram for outreach, achieving response rates that can be up to five times higher than conventional approaches. With features such as automated campaigns and data-driven insights, inReach aims to optimize sales strategies and improve engagement with potential clients. Yaniv, it's great to have you on the show.Yaniv Azar: Thank you for having me.Josh Kriger: And you're joining us from Tel Aviv today, right?Yaniv Azar: So I guess is it late or early for you? It is 10.45 p.m. right now in Israel. I'm assuming it's afternoon for you guys.Josh Kriger: You're in Tel Aviv, you know, Tel Aviv is like kind of one of the nightlife capital.Yaniv Azar: Two things, when you're married and when you're a founder of a startup, you don't have that much nightlife other than clients. But yeah, overall, we have probably one of the best nightlifes in the world.Josh Kriger: Oh, definitely. Probably more night owls in Tel Aviv than than most places in the world, I would say. Same in L.A. But I just got back from Tokyo and and so I'm still adjusting being back here. It's great to have you on the show. And, you know, it's been great to be a partner of and reach for about six months now. You know, we mentioned that in the opening that we actually do use your your product and have been quite impressed with what it brings to the table. And while it's not typically the type of thing that we would have a show about, I think it really is important because every organization globally is at the end of the day selling something. And with that sort of reality, you need to have the right tools, the right approach of balancing technology and humans to sort of make those sales conversations comfortable and authentic. Right. And that's what it's all about. Exactly. I completely agree. So we'll get into what what you're doing and reach and, you know, how it's different than what else is on the market. But I want to start just by delving into your background in the eighty two hundred unit. That sounds pretty cool. How did you go from military intelligence to Web3?Yaniv Azar: Well, actually, everybody asks me that whenever they see me and whenever they hear about my background. So it's actually a funny story. When my co-founder and I started, we were looking for areas where if we start a company and where we bring our data expertise and our real-time engagement expertise that we're used to doing from the military, into that space, we can build a large company. And we, back in 2020, 2021, we were looking for, you know, specific worlds. We just saw the web tissue. We're like, okay, there's something going on here. There's a movement starting. And if we're hitting it at the right point, we can actually build something huge here. And from there, you know, it was just searching for the right product market fit and where our capabilities can meet a very crucial market need. At the end of the day, I'm just happy that we were able to find it and provide good services for most of our clients. But that's basically how it started. It was just, you know, basic searching, trying to find the right space you want to build in and build a large company in.Josh Kriger: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And one thing I've learned from being in this industry since 2017 is we are early adopters of new technology, right? So, and obviously Telegram and Web3 go hand in hand and you've you know, managed to do some really cool things within the telegram ecosystem that hasn't been done before. But I think, yeah, what strikes me the most about what you just said is we love data and we're early adopters, you know, as an industry relative to other industries in the space. 100%. So with that said, I'm curious, you know, what your perspective is on how Web3 businesses are transitioning B2B customer engagement to Instant Messenger platforms. I know a lot of companies in our space don't even use, you know, email that often or LinkedIn. Some do, but there might be more comfortable with Twitter or Telegram. So what do you think about the shift that's happening there that's making instant messaging so popular and why is it a great sort of platform for sales?Yaniv Azar: So, you know, it's, I think it's actually becoming, for where I like to describe it is Web3 is actually living in the future. So if you think about it this way, Web3 kind of skipped a step. Because we skipped completely about all the usage of emails. I barely use my email as a founder today. And we basically just jumped towards the instant messaging space. A lot of it, I think, has two reasons. One is privacy. Two is a lot of Gen Zs that are part of the space are used to using in their day-to-day instant messaging throughout their daily life. And it was just trivial for them to use instant messaging as part of their job. Now, the funny thing is, by the way, is we're starting to see non-Web3 companies that are coming to us and they're like, yeah, we're also using instant messaging, you know, from Slack to Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp and so on as part of their day-to-day life. So I think actually, even at that, at how companies engage with one another and how business people engage with one another, Web3 is at a certain point that it's one step forward from where all the rest of the space is going at. So I think that's like an exciting point right now in the Web2 space that's basically teaching the rest of the world on how that engagement is the right way to go. Because we've been selling and managing customers in those platforms for, well, years now.Josh Kriger: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. What do you think Obviously there's some bias here, but what are your thoughts on traditional Web2CRM platforms and the gaps that your customers tell you exist? I know I've had my experiences with many of them, both in the Web3 space and also having previously been a founder of an e-commerce food delivery company. I'm curious what your thoughts are.Yaniv Azar: I always say about both HubSpot Salesforce and incumbents, they are really good platforms. I mean, you may like them, you may really dislike them, but they get the job done when you're in the right messaging platforms and the right support. Their main issue is because they're older companies and their infrastructure is not necessarily built to the way we communicate today. They continuously have this gap that when the communication channels change, it does take them a lot of time to adopt. And that's where it creates for me an opportunity as a startup, right? Creates for me an opportunity to build a great company that can and does compete with them on specific deals. So I think at the end of the day, you know, my view is they're great companies. It's just they're less of a fit when there is such a big technological shift and it takes them a lot of time to adapt because it has to do with the main areas of their infrastructure on how do you even structure communication? How do you turn instant messaging into business impact? Those are a lot of things that they're currently in a gap in and that's where basically nReach wins a lot of those deals. Makes sense.Josh Kriger: So I'm curious if you can think about and reference one or two examples of companies that you've worked with or you're familiar with where instant messaging has radically shifted their business.Yaniv Azar: Well, let's be honest, but let's make it concise. So a certain company that was acquired not too long ago, without putting names out there, I know for a fact that Their use of instant messaging was the one that transitioned completely their success. So when they started off before they even started using Android, there were, you know, five to 10 client stops. Once they started using instant messaging in scale for their go-to market, that's when they got to like the 40, 50, 60, 70 paying customers, which at the end of the day led them to a really, really good acquisition. Now, the second, so that's from, you know, the sales and the outbound and the hour positive hour IM. If we think about it from the satisfaction end, there is something very unique in instant messaging that one of our larger clients, a lot of them manage thousands of different telegram channels, telegram partners, telegram businesses or clients. And basically it's very, the basic things of how do I run workflows? How do I even know when did I last talk to a customer and what did we talk about? How can I even have all the information stored in one place so I can have a source of record internally? We've solved multiple of the biggest players in the space. Now, without mentioning name, you can probably imagine who those companies are, but those are the types of things that instant messaging from the one is a very big advantage in terms of how do you get more business done, On the other end, you really need those tools in order to succeed.Josh Kriger: Very cool. Well, let's give our audience some alpha because we have plenty of business owners and folks in business development listening to our show, both within Web 3 and Web 2. What are some tips and ways to take advantage of instant messaging platforms like Telegram to cultivate new business?Yaniv Azar: So when we start off with a client, we already know that, but we have multiple onboarding sessions. And one thing that we always tell them is, we already have written a playbook of things that you can do within Instant Messaging. So let's just draw some of them out. So let's put data in here. Companies that use Instant Messaging have around 50 to 60% more reply rates, at least, than companies that don't use instant messaging, specifically for outreach. We're seeing at our top clients a 70% reply rate. At our 50th percentile, we see around 35 to 40% reply rate. Those are non-traditional numbers. If you go to email marketing or anything of that sort, you'll barely get a 2% reply rate and I'm, you know, I'm being kind. And I think that's what's so unique because you have such an untapped potential here. So that's like one alpha, it's like how much, you know, reply rate you can get. Second thing, and most people know this, but if you are concise to the point and you're able to hit the person right when they're online, and that's one thing that I love about Telegram, I know when a person is online and I can basically just hit them when they're online. My probability of response just goes up and when I can automate that in scale, that's what basically creates a difference for me.Josh Kriger: We all know the difference between a spammy sales pitch and authentic sales pitch and you feel it in your bones, right? And, you know, it's a difference between hitting, um, you know, the spam button and email or blocking someone and having a conversation with them. How do you sort of do large volumes of business development in balance that authenticity that's so critical?Yaniv Azar: So that's a really interesting point. As you probably know, as a partner, and a lot of our other partners and clients know this, is that when we start the onboarding session, we immediately tell them, listen, the first thing you want to do is make sure that you give value to the client that nobody else is giving them. Start by giving something for free. Make them feel like you're not selling to them. Even when we do our own outreach, we start off by giving either freely a free outreach campaign that we know would be good for them. Some, you know, the right tools to be using when you do telegram outreach or telegram management and just does the magic because the person on the other side actually feels you can, we're trying to help them and not just sell to them. And, you know, after the first time, the second time where they get that value by the third time, they already remember you. And even if it's not relevant right now, they'll just get back to you. So I think that's where a lot of companies are failing in the Web2 space, where they're just going all in on like SDR, sale, sale, sale, sale. Whereas in the Web3 space, or in general, even in instant messaging, if you'll try to be too salesy, people will just block you. It's the easiest thing to do. You have no reason to even answer the question or worry about it. They'll block you and that's it. So I think that's where a lot of the things that we're seeing how to not become spammy is actually by providing that value to clients and only then reaching out for the sale.Josh Kriger: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I mean, I think our success in this space has been all relationship driven. You know, there's only so much time in the day you'd like to help everyone. But I think coming up with little things you can do to add value at least really makes a big difference. And then, you know, people I think can feel your energy through how you communicate, whether it's messaging or through email, little nuances and sort of making your personality come out, I think is really important. So really appreciate your tips and, you know, your help sort of onboarding with your platform. Agree that you guys have, a lot of the critical playbook elements down to make it a lot easier for companies to come in and start to take advantage of this advanced technology that you guys offer. I'm curious, you know, looking sort of ahead, what excites you the most about the future of these types of go-to-market platforms like nReach and how do you imagine the strategies that we've started to talk about will evolve over the next three to five years with AI and the sort of defense mechanisms that come up with individuals. Hey, did you write this or did AI send me this note? Exactly.Yaniv Azar: So, you know, Josh, you got to know that was one of the questions I was waiting for because there is a very, very fine line in AI where I think that in the next quarter or so, you guys are going to be shocked with the new components that we're bringing out. So one thing, and I'll give you a spoiler here directly on the show, is a lot of clients came to us and said, listen, we get tons of questions that repeat themselves from the customer success perspective on, oh yeah, how do you do this? Or what's the price on this? Or how can I do X, Y, Z on a platform or in a show or in a communication channel? And basically, because we're enabled and are sitting on all the communication that happens with your clients, we can actually generate a personalized agent that just would respond for you. Now, imagine how amazing that would be as a support agent, as a CSM, or as a founder, where one of your clients has a question, you're sleeping, and you know that in the background, there's already an answer to the question, and you have five minutes at most on Telegram to grab the attention. and have that answer immediately. Now, what I'm just describing, it's not imaginary. It's already within the next couple of months going to be out. The same thing can just happen even in sales. You just need to think of these repetitive tasks that we, and when we use those instant messaging channels, just need that advanced capabilities. Going back to your question, what I'm really excited about in three to five years is how do I enable people that use instant messaging as their core communication channels do actual work. If it's sales, do sales. If it's customer success, focus on the customer and give the customer the best experience you can, where we're in the background and we enable you or in the front lines, if it's with agents and enable you to basically know that there's something happening and takes care of everything and you just need to do what you're good at. So that's what I'm really excited about.Josh Kriger: I love that. That gets me excited. Yeah, I mean, we've refined our sales process over the years for what we do. Obviously, people sponsor our show, they do ad roll, they sponsor our newsletter, they sponsor events. Sometimes we host events with folks. there's definitely the same 10 to 15 questions that people ask. And of course, we have the materials, but people are busy. They don't always want to sort through a deck. They just want the answers to their precise questions in that moment. And so if you can give that to them in a way that resonates, that's great. Of course, The natural next question is, how do you prevent like hallucinations and, you know, when maybe you update, you know, your policies or procedures in a DAC, but you haven't had a conversation with someone about that, how do you make sure your AI agent isn't quoting outdated policies?Yaniv Azar: So two of my, two of my developers, or two or three of them, are been working with me for over a decade now. And they're probably the best data engineers and data scientists I've ever had a chance to work with. They basically speed out agent or agentic AI even before most people have done that, and they've been running production AI for years. There are a lot of things you can do to eliminate hallucinations that way on how you approve. It's a much granular topic then, how do you involve machinery or agents and humans in the same processes? Just giving you an example, instead of me answering everything, how about I set a set of 10 or 15 criteria of things you need to improve, first of all, before I start answering them. For example, 10 suggestions. I've seen these answers repeatedly in your conversations. Would you be OK if we answer automatically on these types of questions if we see that similar? If you give me a thumbs up, I'll do that. Now, that's how you build a better interaction between an agent and a human. where you're making it very easy for the human to approve what it's about to say, so you can feel comfortable on the one hand, but at the same time, you know precisely that the agent would not hallucinate because you've just limited the scenario to a very, very specific scenario that they need to answer on. I think those types of interactions and when you find those fine lines where machines and humans can work hand in hand, that's where a lot of those hallucinations, issues, problems, just eliminate.Josh Kriger: That makes a lot of sense. So a natural follow-up question for me. is around the ethical side of using AI for customer engagement. What's your sort of response if folks that are hesitant from an ethics perspective or are curious, when do I disclose that I'm using AI versus when can I kind of keep it under wraps?Yaniv Azar: So I think we're still learning that in the most sincere sense. I think that at the end of the day, if you want to give a customer the best experience you can, you have to use agents and AI today. You cannot just not do it. It's impossible. Now, If you understand that level that you can actually give the client and explain to them that they're getting a better level of service, I think that a lot of people will feel more comfortable with that. I think that it goes back to the point I brought before is the question is what things you enable AI to do. There are certain things that I just don't think we're ready to let AI do complete customer engagement or complete end-to-end support. I think there are stages there that we need to go through just like we just discussed about the approval, or maybe, you know, starting with specific things, just like when you go on a support app and you start talking with a chat bot, and then if you continuously want an agent to go to an agent, or after multiple times that the client has tried and you feel they're getting a little bit frustrated, you'll immediately bring up the human into the conversation to make it feel more natural. I think it all has to do with how do you do that mix between the human and the machine in the right way. And I'm not the one person that will tell you, let's go directly to everything AI. I think we could get there. I think there are certain steps that we have learned in our experience in 8200 that you need to get through before you can automate everything. Automating everything is a very good vision, very good goal. It works great with VCs. But there are steps that you need to take in terms of product. in order to reach that vision. And that's where we're working. We're like in first grade on what steps we need to take in terms of agents.Josh Kriger: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I think we're still figuring it out. I watch a lot of Lex Friedman and listen to his show, and he has a lot of the leaders in the AI movement there, and they sort of acknowledge the nascency. And I think it's about setting up the right infrastructure and the right stop gaps to make sure that you are sort of, AI is working for you and you're not working for it, right? So I think Some good thoughts there from you as we kind of navigate these uncharted waters together. One other question that came to mind, because I think a lot of people ask me, should I go to this conference or that conference, or is it worth it to do in-person networking in a digital nomad sort of Web3 culture? I know I've seen you all around different events. We partnered on an event in Bangkok together, but you also have business development folks working remotely throughout the year, right? So I'm curious what your perspective is and what's resonated best for you in terms of that in-person business development at trade shows and conferences versus just picking up the phone or shooting a message to someone, you know, virtually?Yaniv Azar: So, you know, I, in Web3, I usually split the year. So there are two quarters that are structured to be a digital nomad and do the sales from, you know, out there somewhere in the world. And there are two quarters that you must, or like specific months that you must be in conferences. That's where everybody's at. So you have this year, roughly mid-February to roughly mid-May, there are three months there, that all the tough conferences are there that you gotta be at every single one of them. You can get so much business done, so much more pipeline generated, so much more interaction with your clients. And then on, you know, for example, from January to mid-February and from around mid-May until September and then end of year, that's where you need to be on the digital nomad world. You know, gather, reach out to all those leads that you've already collected and talk and get new leads to work on. And I think that's what really gets me excited on the Web3 space is that we have very specific timeframes that are, we sometimes, you know, put them too close together, but at the same time, those specific timeframes where you are in an event and you can meet everybody you need, around the world in some very very nice places I have to admit is what makes also this place unique is that the one end you're very digital on the other end the real-time face-to-face engagement on conferences there's no way to no way to replace those so you're you must be a pro at this how do you handle sort of umJosh Kriger: triaging and following up with the hundreds of people you meet over two weeks when it's nonstop. You're waking up, you're going to a brunch, maybe you have a chance for a quick workout if you're lucky. Then you're running around to meetings and exhibition booths and choking down some coffee and a muffin here and there, some fruit if you're lucky. And then before you know it, it's late afternoon, maybe you make a couple calls with your team, you're off to the races again, and it's the nightlife. At least it's the early nightlife. I'm not a late night. But then I just have to sleep. And so before you know it, 10 days have gone by, you've made all these awesome connections, and now you're like, man, what do I do next, right? So how do you hack that sort of challenge?Yaniv Azar: Well, you know, as the founder, I had to say I use nReach. Well, and that's exactly why, you know, when one of the first components we released around mid-year was our conferencing component, because so many clients came to us and told us, listen, we're getting back with those hundreds of leads coming in, but we have no way, number one, knowing what was, and showing our bosses, what was the impact of that conference? Two, how do I even start following up and making sure that I follow up on everyone? Because for example, we have leads that I met back into the census in East Denver of last year, that we just retarget now. Because I met them back then, maybe they were not ready to buy, maybe things have changed in the company. And having that source of record, updated and easy to sync, that's what makes our business great. So whoever's watching, if you're going on a conference and you feel really related to what Josh just described, This is exactly what you need is to talk to me or talk to Josh that will bring you to me and we'll make your life so much easier.Josh Kriger: Yeah. It's a huge pain point. And, you know, I do try to tell. folks about nReach whenever I get the chance or I see that they have this problem. But in the case of this conversation, now it's on record. The whole world knows this is a life hack. And I will say that it's helped us tremendously. Frequently, it's me and a couple other members of the team. where we're all running around meeting a lot of people, we don't even have time to debrief. So NREACH has been a lifesaver in that regard. And I say that, you know, truly, authentically, really happy to that Audrey and you got you connected and that we got to know you and learn about this really cool tool that you keep evolving. Let's take a step back and just talk a little bit more about the web 3D space as a whole. Obviously, it's changed a lot. We've seen the influx of the AI economy, RWAs are a hot They've been talked about for a while, but they're picking up speed. We also have a dpen that's definitely hot. I just got a dpen phone delivered to my house. I'm really excited to check it out, see what it does. It connects to Telegram, so we'll see what happens there. What is one development or change that you hope to see in the next decade for the Web3 ecosystem that will support broader adoption?Yaniv Azar: Now, from the moment I got into the Work 3 space, that has been, you know, a continuous question that just kept on repeatedly. Every single time we're coming up with different answers. But I think, you know, the one thing that really makes, will make a lot of life easier is that it will just not be called Work 3. And it will be an infrastructure behind the scenes that runs and it will work. And I'll be able to use it. Just like you said, you have now a Deepin phone in your pocket, just like I have my phone right next to me. I wouldn't know the difference in the background. My mom doesn't care. My wife doesn't care. What they care about is the value that they're getting at the edge. And I think there's a lot of really good shifts that are happening in the last two, three years. also from the perspective of the project you mentioned of RWAs and the deep ends of the space and some AI projects are trying to bring actual value that makes sense that there's blockchain technology or web tokenization behind the scenes. I think that at the end of the day for in a decade from now for us to look back and be like all right this is actually taking over for the most simple person around the world. They don't even need to care about whether it's blockchain in the background or not. It just needs to work and do what they need in the best way possible. So, yeah.Josh Kriger: Yeah, I think that's the ultimate sort of vision here. I think we've seen that happen with certain aspects of the technology like NFTs and how wallets have evolved and become a little bit more seamless and easy to use. Obviously, we haven't seen the full impact of ZK rollups yet, a lot more to come there. So Maybe your aspiration there isn't that far off. This has been really fun getting to know more about nReach and your journey. We're going to get to know you a little bit more next. Let's take a pause to shout out one of our favorite partners. VR, AR, quantum computing, and more, Zuber Lawler offers expert guidance in capital raising, IP transactions, M&A, litigation, and compliance. Visit ZuberLawler.com, that's z-u-b-e-r-l-a-w-l-e-r.com for cutting-edge legal solutions. All right, Yanniv, you clearly are comfortable on the fly, so I'm not too worried about how you'll handle edge quick hitters. These are a fun and quick way to get to know you a little better. There are 10 questions. We're looking for just a short, single, or few-word response, but feel free to expand if you get the urge. Are you up for it?Yaniv Azar: Yeah, let's do it.Josh Kriger: All right, question one. What is the first thing you remember ever purchasing in your life?Yaniv Azar: basketball okay definitely a basketball so i'll share a short story about that if you don't mind so give me like 10 seconds for it so when i was in i still remember that till this day when i was in like you know first grade uh i i was playing at the gym uh you know in the school gym And after school, I just told my parents, listen, I really like this game that we're playing. I didn't even know the full name of it. It was a ball game. Let's go to the store, we'll buy that ball. So I remember I kept that ball for a while. It was one of those small balls that I was really excited about. But yeah, that's definitely the first purchase that I ever remember.Josh Kriger: I heard recently that as humans, there's some sort of biological conditioning around picking up and throwing balls that is like deep within us. So I can kind of see that. I feel like so many sports involve balls and, you know, we all sort of played one sport or another. For me, it was tennis and a little bit of basketball, a little bit of baseball. So right on, that makes a lot of sense. What is the first thing you remember ever selling in your life? Myself.Yaniv Azar: So it's funny because we sometimes don't say that, but myself definitely. So one thing people don't know is that when you're being interviewed for 8200, it's a hell of a hard process. You really need to sell yourself. And sometimes selling yourself, you know, when you have thousands of really, really talented people, really smart people, and making sure that you're selected out of a lot of really smart people, that's like that's a lot of art of selling so the first thing for me is myself when i was 20 and i started i wanted to go to the military that was the first thing cool what what do you think was the the the thing that you said that that got them hooked on you so one thing One thing I always tell, by the way, I'm giving you like a big, big hint here. If anybody is ever interviewed, being interviewed to inReach, I hope you listen to this podcast because I'm really getting now what I'm testing people on. So coachability. You want to show the person in front of you that you're coachable because everybody wants to make sure that the person in front of them is, you can, you know, train them in the way you want, especially in the military. But even today, when I'm looking at every single position at nReach, I want to know that the person in front of me understand they don't know everything and that they're coming to be coached and learn. And even if they're really good at what they're doing, they're still willing to come and learn and take what they know and put it just to it. So if anybody's interviewing to Andrew, that's exactly what I'm testing you when you're coming to an interview.Josh Kriger: Right on. Yeah. It's a lifelong journey of learning, right? Yes. What is the most recent thing you Oh, sorry. Yes, I already added that part out, Lucy. All right, next question. What is the most recent thing you purchased?Yaniv Azar: Actually, it's on my arm. So you see that bracelet there right here. So basically this bracelet, it has the Bible in it. So my wife was telling me that I need to wear something in addition to the watch that I have on my hand. So I figured I'll buy a bracelet. It's a little bit of a spiritual part of me that makes me feel like I'm kept in some way or another. So that was the latest thing. I just bought it not too long ago. Very cool. And what is the most recent thing you sold? literally two and a half hour ago, and which is platform. So I literally two and a half hours ago, I got off a call when I literally sold and reached two and a half hours ago.Josh Kriger: You haven't been busy. All right. What is your most prized possession?Yaniv Azar: Oh, what is my most prized possession? Oh, it's not really my position, but you know, it's the first thing that comes to mind. Uh, and I always, I always mentioned her whenever it is, I was gifted to find, uh, a great wife, uh, that's a partner in every single way. And it's better than any type of position or anything of that sort to give me. Um, so whatever it is to do with prize and something around me, she's, she's the immediate answer.Josh Kriger: All right, well, shout out to your hat. Next question, if you could buy anything in the world, digital, physical, service, experience, that's currently for sale, what would it be?Yaniv Azar: Ooh, travel to space. Get me one of those tickets to travel to space, 100%. One of those first SpaceX flights going out there, for sure, I'm dying to be on them.Josh Kriger: All right. So you're not the only one. I think we've done about 410 of these. And I would say that's the most popular answer. Not for me. I'm good here on Earth for now, though I do love to travel. But I definitely see where you're coming from. And I think it's getting safer. So you'll have to tell me about what it's like from up there. Next question. If you could pass on one of your personality traits to the next generation, what would it be?Yaniv Azar: I think that, you know, I have a lot of self-confidence and my ability to speak and improvise. So my self-confidence, definitely. That's one thing that I'd love my children to have.Josh Kriger: Yeah, it's pretty critical if you're going to do bold things in life is to have the confidence to to walk in the dark, right?Yaniv Azar: Right. One hundred percent.Josh Kriger: If you could eliminate one of your personality traits from the next generation, what would it be?Yaniv Azar: I'm a workaholic like crazy with 100 percent workaholic. No work life balance in any single way. I really wish for them that they'll find better work-life balance. And maybe in myself at some point when when day comes to life, I'll have a better work-life balance. But probably that's true. I'll be like, get a better work-life balance.Josh Kriger: Yeah, that's definitely a good one. And, you know, children will definitely keep you honest when it comes to that. If you ask them to make sure you have a better work-life balance, they'll hold you to it for sure. A hundred percent. What did you just do before joining us on the podcast after you sold a recent piece of software?Yaniv Azar: I was actually literally right before this call. I had a VC that really wants to invest in us, had a call with me for like 45 minutes. So literally that was my previous goal before it was literally that. I was talking to them on why we're not doing a round right now and maybe we'll do it later on. probably they'll hear about it and know who they are, but that's basically what I literally did 45 minutes before joining the podcast.Josh Kriger: Nice. Keeping, keeping those VCs at bay for now. Yeah. Well, um, always, always good to, to, to take money when you actually need it and are able to do something with it though. Also say, you know, um, never turned down an open check. So I'm sure you sort of appreciate that balance and you're working through those details and you know, congrats on on the traction you've had that sort of has, you know, induced these types of conversations. Last question here is, what are you going to do next after the podcast?Yaniv Azar: So my wife and I, so Friday in Israel is not a working day. I always work, but it's not a working day. So usually every Friday morning, my wife and I go either on a run or in a walk together. And that happens at six in the morning. So right after this podcast, I'm going to sleep and wake up in six and a half hours for a 10 kilometer, either run or walk. We'll see what my wife and I decide tomorrow morning. Cool.Josh Kriger: So we sometimes like to ask a bonus question and the one that comes to mind here is what is one habit or trait you picked up while you're in the military that you still sort of hold true to to this day?Yaniv Azar: Resilience through everything. Resilience through the hard parts, resilience through the good parts, Resilience. That is the one thing that a founder needs that you get in the military every single day being there.Josh Kriger: Yeah, it definitely takes a lot of resilience, especially with, you know, an industry like web three and the dynamics of emerging technology and how shifting that, um, you know, for every good day, there's a bad day and you just have to expect the unexpected and just keep, keep going. Right. It's just about keep going.Yaniv Azar: Exactly.Josh Kriger: Well, this has been great. I'm so thankful to have had this opportunity to have you on the show. I know it's late in the evening for you and really enjoyed getting to know you better, learning more about nReach and what's to come. I'm definitely excited about beta testing some of those cool new features. For those that aren't familiar with your company, where can listeners go to learn more about you and what you're working on?Yaniv Azar: So either our website or really just find me at a conference. I mean, probably in every single one of the Web3 conferences. Walk up to me, say hi. I promise I don't bite. Actually, I'm kind and I smile a lot. Or really just send me a message on Telegram. It's at the first name and my last name.Intro/Outro/ Disclaimer: Easiest way to reach me out. We've reached the outer limit, at the edge of show for today. Thanks for exploring with us. We have room for more adventurers on our starships, so invite your friends and cool strangers to join our journey. If you're among the hundreds of thousands following us on Spotify, iTunes, iHeartRadio, or watching us on Maiko or YouTube, please hit that subscribe button, rate us, and make an awesome comment too. And don't forget to pass this episode along to a friend or two who would benefit from it. Doubling back to again, recommend checking out myco.io, where you can watch The Edge of Show and earn for your time and attention. That's m-y-c-o dot i-o. 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