{"id":136731,"date":"2018-08-08T05:30:54","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T10:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=136731"},"modified":"2018-08-08T05:57:18","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T10:57:18","slug":"ict-017-importance-grit-building-business-larren-peart-blue-dot-data-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2018\/08\/ict-017-importance-grit-building-business-larren-peart-blue-dot-data-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"ICT 017:  The importance of grit when building a business, with Larren Peart, of BlueDot Data Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Starting a business, regardless of the field, is not for the faint of heart. It requires grit, stick-to-itiveness: to not give up when the going gets tough. Jamaican tech entrepreneur, Larren Peart, of BlueDot Data Intelligence, has been able to build a cutting edge business \u2013 bringing first-world technologies and solutions to Caribbean businesses. In our conversation with Larren, he pulls back the veil on what it takes not only to start, but also to grow, a tech business in the region.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/482633880&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At some point in time, we all fantasise about starting our own business. For some, it\u2019s a welcomed daydream to liven up the monotony of our current situation. For others, it is only a matter of time before they have the courage \u2013 plus the idea \u2013 to step away from their current path.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"136759\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2018\/08\/ict-017-importance-grit-building-business-larren-peart-blue-dot-data-intelligence\/blue-dot-data-intelligence-logo-facebook\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Blue-Dot-Data-Intelligence-logo-Facebook.jpg?fit=735%2C519&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"735,519\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Blue Dot Data Intelligence logo (Facebook)\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluedotdata\/&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Blue-Dot-Data-Intelligence-logo-Facebook.jpg?fit=300%2C212&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Blue-Dot-Data-Intelligence-logo-Facebook.jpg?fit=735%2C519&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright wp-image-136759\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Blue-Dot-Data-Intelligence-logo-Facebook.jpg?resize=274%2C193\" alt=\"\" width=\"274\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Blue-Dot-Data-Intelligence-logo-Facebook.jpg?w=735&amp;ssl=1 735w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Blue-Dot-Data-Intelligence-logo-Facebook.jpg?resize=300%2C212&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 274px) 100vw, 274px\" \/>However, the thing that new and prospective entrepreneurs are almost never told, is how difficult it can be to run your own business. For the most part, launching a business is riddled with challenges \u2013 many of which can derail it before it starts. But even after launching, it can take several months, even years, before the business is stable, and successful, enough, so that you, as the owner, can begin to relax. That is why our conversation with tech entrepreneur, Larren Peart, Managing Director of BlueDot Data Intelligence, is so compelling and insightful.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bluedotja.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BlueDot Data Intelligence<\/a> is a research and data intelligence company, based in Jamaica, that calls some of the largest businesses in Jamaica its clients. The firm offers a broad range of services, including data mining, predictive analytics, competitive intelligence, and strategic research, to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>However, a young entrepreneur starting such a cutting edge business in the Caribbean, which essentially competes with the like of some of the major management consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Bain Capital, and Deloitte, is no easy feat. So in our discussion with Larren, we touched upon issues including the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"136732\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2018\/08\/ict-017-importance-grit-building-business-larren-peart-blue-dot-data-intelligence\/larren-peart-linkedin\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Larren-Peart-LinkedIn.jpeg?fit=667%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"667,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Larren Peart (LinkedIn)\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/blue-dot-data-intelligence\/&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Larren-Peart-LinkedIn.jpeg?fit=300%2C270&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Larren-Peart-LinkedIn.jpeg?fit=667%2C600&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright wp-image-136732\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Larren-Peart-LinkedIn.jpeg?resize=400%2C360\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Larren-Peart-LinkedIn.jpeg?w=667&amp;ssl=1 667w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Larren-Peart-LinkedIn.jpeg?resize=300%2C270&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/>Why Larren started BlueDot Data Intelligence<\/li>\n<li>What BlueDot Data Intelligence does<\/li>\n<li>When did Larren get bitten by the entrepreneurial bug<\/li>\n<li>Whether there ever a time he thought the business might be failing<\/li>\n<li>What it is like being an entrepreneur in Jamaica<\/li>\n<li>Some of the greatest benefits and challenges of having a business in Jamaica<\/li>\n<li>The support that is available to small businesses in Jamaica<\/li>\n<li>How Larren would describe himself as a manager<\/li>\n<li>The biggest lesson he has learned in running his own business<\/li>\n<li>How Larren has been able to manage and drive BlueDot Data Intelligence\u2019s growth and evolution<\/li>\n<li>The aspects of his business Larren is most excited about, along with any specific trends that he might be carefully observing<\/li>\n<li>Where he would like to see BlueDot Data Intelligence in the next 5 to 10 years?<\/li>\n<li>The best piece of business-related advice he has received?<\/li>\n<li>Books or resources that he finds himself returning to or, recommending to friends?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>On a separate note, apologies for the background noise. Our discussion with Larren was held at his office in the Barbican Business Centre in Kingston, which is in a high traffic area, as evidenced by the vehicular noise, particularly the horns, trucks and motorcycles, that can be heard in the during our conversation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Select links<\/h2>\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned, or might be useful:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Larren Peart &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/larren-peart-40820599\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/li>\n<li>BlueDot Data Intelligence\u00a0&#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bluedotja.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/blue-dot-data-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bluedotdata\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aiswebnet.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Advanced Integrated Systems<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aiswebnet.com\/about-us\/management-team\/douglas-mca-halsall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Douglas Halsall <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/firstangelsja.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Angels JA<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/alphaangels.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alpha Angels | Alpha Angels<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sslinvest.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stocks &amp; Securities Ltd (SSL) Jamaica<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sslvcapital.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SSL Ventures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gracekennedy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Grace Kennedy Group<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">McKinsey &amp; Company<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baincapital.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bain Capital<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future\/dp\/0804139296\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future<\/a><\/em>, by Peter Thiel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Image credits:\u00a0 florantevaldez (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>);\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/blue-dot-data-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Music credit:\u00a0 Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starting a business, regardless of the field, is not for the faint of heart. It requires grit, stick-to-itiveness: to not give up when the going gets tough. Jamaican tech entrepreneur, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[186,71,274,205,204,357],"class_list":["post-136731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-big-data","tag-businesses","tag-data-analytics","tag-entrepreneurship-2","tag-innovation-2","tag-interviews","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/microphone-podcast-pop-filter-florantevaldez-Pixabay.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-zzl","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136731"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136761,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136731\/revisions\/136761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}