Founder's Grit by Gaper.io (2021)

DECEMBER 2020

RAMON RAY

BONNIE COMLEY

KAREN D. WEEKS

BEN CHODOR

EDITOR'S NOTE No one is quite sure what the end of 2020 marks the start or end of, but it sure does bring with it a whole lot of hope and renewed resolve to get back to doing things the “normal” way. This obviously means something different for everyone.

Though our efforts have always gone toward finding silver linings during the stressful and overwhelming year, it is only appropriate to remember and understand the gravity of the loss that everyone suffered in different ways.

And though the ripple effects of 2020 will be felt in the years to come, people will continue to do what they always do in spite of events that they believe have defeated them: find new ways to go on and create value for themselves and others in their own little or big way.

How long this takes an individual or business to do is not a determinant of their success or effort, for everyone’s timelines and circumstances are unique to them 2020 was a year of humbling lessons - whether we have learned them or not, only time will tell.

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T A B LE OF CONTE N T

3 7

EDITOR'S NOTE

RAMON RAY - HUSTLING SMARTLY THROUGH COMMUNITY BUILDING

12

KAREN D. WEEKS: HELPING INDIVIDUALS THROUGH THEIR WORK LIVES

16

BONNIE COMLEY: ON BROADWAY, FUTURE OF THEATER, AND REMOTE WORK

20

BEN CHODOR: PIONEERING FUTURE OF WORK THROUGH VIRTUAL EVENTS & COMMUNICATIONS

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WHY DOES REMOTE WORK FRUSTRATE CEOS?

28

FINTECH IN 2021: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?

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RAMON RAY HUSTLING SMARTLY THROUGH COMMUNITY BUILDING Ramon Ray, who loves burnt pancakes, is also one of the most eager, passionate and forwardthinking entrepreneurs who Gaper caught up with recently.

Ramon’s work revolves around two things. He is the founder of SmartHustle.com which serves as a platform of education and guidance for small business owners to help them build profitable, successful businesses. These services are provided through events and online content. Ramon is also an author and a speaker.

INSPIRING AND BUILDING BUSINESS COMMUNITIES He manages a community of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners to whom Ramon works as an educator and inspirer. He makes use of his social channels, and self-made platform SmartHustle.com to execute this mentoring on a daily basis.

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The other hat that Ramon wears entails working with large brands as part of the process to enhance their credibility and authenticity. This means that SmartHustle takes care of a diverse range of tasks that range from content creation to Ramon hosting or speaking at event for these brands. In essence, Ramon becomes the ”Face” of these brands to build and develop their market image.

"...RESET OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY" - Ramon

RAMON’S TAKE ON COVID-LED JOB MARKET The events of 2020 mean that unfortunately, a lot of people lost their jobs. While some will find their way back in the work market once economies start to recover, others may not. Ramon terms this as a “reset of the global economy”.

A lot of people will be reliant on financial aid from the government for the foreseeable future. Some professionals may be able to leverage their transferable skills and find work in another segment of the job market. If not, it may take another six months to a year for the job seekers in the labor force to learn new skills to eventually get new work.

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THE GROWING PROSPECT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP Ramon has another keen insight pertinent to the aforementioned issue. A lot of people, he opines, will try and get a taste of entrepreneurship. A self-driven ‘side hustle’ if we are looking for a more trendy term. For example, people who are a programmer or accountant by day are now more

likely to work on something like a book, their own little startup, or an online business now. This is catalysed further by the fact that work in 2020 was characterised by a complete shift to digital platforms, making it easier and more sensible to start new projects of one’s own.

ONLINE LEARNING: THE IMPORTANCE OF CERTIFICATIONS There is no dearth of learning platforms on the internet. There is also no stopping the constant developments in technological standards that our hyper-globalised world is subject to. It is now becoming essential for individuals, no matter what age, to partake in a few back-to-school activities of sorts and update their knowledge base to align it with the skills in-demand.

Ramon adds that in order to position yourself in a more advantageous position amidst all the competition, it is highly recommended to acquire a certification of whatever it is that you are learning. A certification “shortcircuits” your hiring process.

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FOUNDER'S GRIT

MANEUVERING THROUGH REMOTE WORK Ramon focuses on three things that ensure that his work days are smooth and productive: 1. Being in control of your calendar, not the other way round. For example, for his week, Ramon does not schedule many appointments on Mondays and Fridays.

2. Saying ‘No’ as often as you can with a smile: This is something that a lot of us struggle with, but it is necessary to say a ‘No’ politely when you know you will be unable to do something, or you would do it later, or you know someone else on your team who would be able to do it better.

3. Keeping a Zero Inbox: Another aspect of work that everyone can relate to but may not recognize it as a problem is an overflowing inbox. It can be described as clutter at best, a ticket to overstressing and mismanaging time and work otherwise.

THE FUTURE OF REMOTE WORK While Ramon sees offices opening up again once the pandemic subsides, he believes things won’t be the same again. In fact, to people who are not used to working from home, or people who struggle to self-regulate themselves, he recommends they learn to do so. This is where the future of work is headed and it is perhaps time that we learn some soft skills too.

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ADVICE FOR YOUNG AND NEW ENTREPRENEURS Ramon shared a few valuable pieces of advice for individuals who are new to the world of entrepreneurship and creating their own businesses.

01 Balance the...

02 Save as much...

03 Remember...

...aspect of optimism with the aspect of reality: A lot of business owners have the former, very few keep in sight the latter. “If you think you need $1,000, you probably need $10,000”. Something you feel could take a month can easily take a year.

...as you can…: ...and go in as little debt as possible.

...the fundamentals of good character, hard work, and being the best at something: These are “critical assets”.

04 Your network...

05 Don't focus on...

...is essential: Who you connect with and who they are connected to is an important determinant of how good your professional social circle is.

...where the puck is, focus on where it is going: That is, don’t try too hard to be where others are. Keep an eye out for where things are heading and direct your focus towards that.

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KAREN D. WEEKS: HELPING INDIVIDUALS THROUGH THEIR WORK LIVES

Over fifteen years ago, Karen found her calling in helping develop and nurture organization cultures while also being a guide for individuals to help them find fulfillment in their work. She is passionate about creating inclusive & supportive cultures, talent development, organizational effectiveness, change management and helping individuals build fulfilling careers. Karen is also a certified career coach!

The Beginnings Karen had a very unique start to her career. She started off as a stage manager with the thought that her professional life was going to be defined by theatre work. However,

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after working in LA for a while, she realized that this work and the lifestyle associated with it, while fun to be part of, was not something she would consider as a long term career.

Moving to HR She changed her career and stepped into the world of HR - and loved it! Her approach to this field of work is to think of her own role and purpose as something that helps other people find success in the work they do. This comes from the conscious realization that everyone works a lot. It is therefore important to ensure, or at least play a role in ensuring that your colleagues enjoy it to whatever extent possible.

Though Karen has worked with a variety of companies, she found a specific fondness for tech startups. She has been with Ordergroove for over four and a half years, currently serving as the SVP of People.

Ordergroove works on enabling relationship commerce experiences for their clients which constitute large brands and multinational companies.

From the Office to Remote Work: Ordergroove’s Approach Interestingly, for an innovative tech startup, Ordergroove has always been office based. However, the team realized that if they can certainly continue with it during better times. The company has thus made a shift from a fully office based system to a flexible, work-from-anywhere approach.

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Journey Through a Pandemic Ordergroove’s progress through the 2020 pandemic has been rather smooth. Karen finds that this is majorly due to the fact that their work is largely characterized by e-commerce and working with other companies that come under this category.

This has included helping retailers and brands build recurring revenue programs.

Reflecting on how the change in work setups specifically affected working individuals, Karen makes an apt contrast between the first few months of the

pandemic and the months following when these setups had become the “new normal”. Where everyone started with a rush of adrenaline that fueled the proactiveness in trying to figure out how WFH systems would work, it wasn’t long before 2020 saw more distressing events happen.

What with a global pandemic, racial injustices, political developments and being cooped up for an extensive amount of time indoors, it is no wonder that the year was a cause of several

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mental health problems faced by everyone.

With the buildup of stress and the pandemic taking its toll on everyone, Ordergroove took random days off work in order to let people disconnect.

Because in addition to exogenous factors overwhelming people, overworking and burnouts was becoming a real problem across the business communities worldwide.

Career Coaching Though HR work overlaps with career coaching in some

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aspects, Karen considered making her career coaching more official a little over a year ago. Soon after, when COVID-19 hit, she expected this side of her work to fall prey to the pandemic. However, “the exact opposite happened!” Rather than drive unemployed people away from such services, it seems that many people were broadening their outlook on work. They were perhaps realizing that there was more to their professional life than what they had been doing.

The layoffs, for some, created an opportunity to consider the importance of actually enjoying and finding success in the work that they were going to be doing. Thus, in an unexpected development, Karen saw the number of people seeking career coaching rise.

In addition to virtual workshops, she also started a podcast series that delves into making work more fulfilling and less stressful, sharing others’ career changes, and advice on finding success in one’s career.

Advice to Young and New Startup Founders 01 Identify...

02 Don’t overlook...

I...what is important to your business:

the importance of a good HR person:

It is not uncommon for businesses to try and imitate Google or some other big firm. What matters is pinpointing what your values are, both business and personal.

Everyone rushes to get an accountant for their business, and rightly so. But having an HR person to oversee your team is equally as important. They can be a contractor, a part-time individual, an advisor or anyone the business considers appropriate. Their presence and input in building a great team will eventually pay dividends in the long run.

They can even be the determinant of how soon your business takes off or not.

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BONNIE COMLEY: ON BROADWAY, FUTURE OF THEATER, AND REMOTE WORK Bonnie Comley, is the owner and founder of BroadwayHD, a media tech company that provides entertainment SVOD services making Broadway accessible to the world through a number of streaming platforms. Her passion revolves around promoting and preserving live stage entertainment during a time when digital media is taking over the role of delivering household entertainment.

Equipped with a business degree and a Communications and and TV production degree, Bonnie started off as an entertainment recorder, ventured into theater and eventually delved into a combination of the two.

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Bonnie produced live stage shows on Broadway and tours, and then worked on TV productions of these shows.

This is primarily what BroadwayHD does. Different from traditional films or tv shows, the company produces live stage shows (that have a live audience) for digital viewership through a streaming subscription.

The platform amalgamates captured live stage productions into one place. It boasts over 300 full-length stage plays and musicals.

COVID-19 IMPACT Live theater was one of the worst hit industries by the pandemic, as was any activity that required groups of people to be together.

There are two separate industries that BroadwayHD connects: the live entertainment industry, and online digital streaming. The former has been “decimated” by the pandemic.

The revival of Broadway looks even more gloomy because of a disheartening lack of government funding for the industry in their stimulus packages.

However, Bonnie also finds that this break from normal work gives the industry an opportunity for a reset. The industry harbored several unaddressed inequitable elements which along growing discourse on fair work practices and social issues has a proper chance of being tackled now.

Bonnie also believes that Broadway will make a strong comeback. It is a strong economic driver for many communities and cultures not just in America but around the world. aper.io

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Digital streaming businesses on the other hand, saw an unprecedented rise in demand in 2020. BroadwayHD is a niche within this market because of the specific focus on stage plays and musicals. The platform is aimed mainly for theater fans or people looking to become familiarised with theater work.

THEATER AND REMOTE WORK? As part of the much needed changes that theater needs, Bonnies thinks that remote work will also find a more solid footing in the industry. This will obviously manifest itself through the digital streaming side of things.

It is a little mind boggling to think that unless a person sits on their desk and works the standard 9-5 hours, they were considered as unproductive. Bonnie’s team, like everyone else, was caught unaware by the lockdown restrictions. But they continued their work from their own homes in the flexible manner that remote setups allow you to work. And it turned out that WFH setups don’t impede workflow in the way that its critics made it out to be doing. This realization that people can be productive, if not more productive, from their homes is likely to set the tone for the future of work in the industry.

There are things that need getting

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used to (Zoom calls, digital platforms, productivity) but also things that can be forgone for the sake of efficiency (big office spaces, commute, strict schedules).

OPTIMISM 2020 was extremely harsh on the theater industry. A great amount of jobs and services that keep the industry alive saw a complete wipeout of demand for the work. The new year is uncertain but brings with it the hope that things will get better. One can thus choose to be optimistic and hope that the industry will resurface stronger and more refined in 2021.

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BEN CHODOR: PIONEERING FUTURE OF WORK THROUGH VIRTUAL EVENTS & COMMUNICATIONS Ben is a highly experienced leader in enterprise communications, social video & digital health and is a pioneer of online communications through interactive & streaming content. Currently, he is the President of Digital Media Solutions at Intrado.

Ben is also an author! He recently published Transitioning to Virtual and Hybrid Events, a boo that delves into everything that needs to be taken care of when hosting virtual events: adapting to the digital medium, the audience, marketing and other aspects that are crucial to these new means of communication.

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A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR Ben describes himself as a serial entrepreneur. He has been creating and building companies since over 20 years ago. He built one of the first live streaming companies in 2004, then moved on to a digital health startup. In 2018, he joined Intrado as the president of digital media solutions. All of Ben’s projects and companies have focused on leveraging the power of digital platforms to provide services to customers. Intrado is essentially a combination of acquisitions. They aim to deliver high quality public relations, "mission-critical

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communications”, investor relations and marketing solutions through their prowess in web hosting and webcasting. The companies that Intrado has acquired include GlobeNewswire, Ambassador Software, Notified, Inxpo, their Hosting and Streaming business that they acquired from Nasdaq, West Streaming and Commercial CX business.

WRITING ENDEAVORS: TRANSITIONING TO VIRTUAL AND HYBRID EVENTS Ben has always been a believer of the notion that “physical and virtual should be married.

Naysayers of this approach are apprehensive about one medium cannibalising the other’s audience, but Ben finds that this only helps businesses “amplify their message” and create a better

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presence in the markets they exist in.

Did virtual events cannibalize physical events? No, but the global situation in 2020 sure did. Virtual events are now a necessity. They require a better understanding of the audience you are communicating with. What is their viewing behavior: do they watch on phones or a computer? Is a webinar more appropriate than a lecture-style presentation? Everything that goes into delivering an event needs to be reevaluated.

JOURNEY THROUGH THE PANDEMIC Before social distancing SOPs were a thing, Ben practically lived on planes, and his company operated in 17 office locations around the world. After the pandemic started, this turned into 1,300 global employees working remotely, and Ben going from a plane ride each week to months without being on one.

REMOTE WORK: TEAMWORK, MENTAL HEALTH & MORE Given that remote work has developed a sustainable presence in everyone’s work lives now, it only makes sense to start thinking about strategies and approaches to making this experience more fruitful.

1. Everyone should overcommunicate, says Ben. Be consistent about holding meetings with your teams and keeping them up with the company’s progress. Make everyone meet new people in the company. Keep everyone involved.

2. Team events: another approach that Ben practices and endorses for teams. Plan whatever activity/event is appropriate for your team but aper.io

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ensure that everyone engages with each other. It may help to have everyone turn their cameras on too.

3. Weekly live videos: Intrado also holds a live event twice a week on activities that can be described as extracurricular. Team members get to learn and ask questions from someone who is teaching them cooking, or meditation or any other topic that serves to help break the monotony of WFH life.

Businesses have a certain level of responsibility towards ensuring that an overbearingly tedious working environment, whether in an office or at home, is addressed in a healthy manner. Mental stress and overwork are unfortunately a very real byproduct of remote work setups.

“There is no such thing as too much communication” ADVICE FOR MANAGERS, OWNERS AND BUSINESS LEADERS Ben’s advice for business leaders is also centered around engaging with your teams in a productive but easygoing manner. Here are two simple, but very underrated suggestions that many companies can do well to adopt:

01 Communicate: Communicate: be open and honest with your team. Get to know them. Check-in with them.

Ask them about what’s going on in their life.

Talk about yours.

02 Acknowledge... ...your employees’ efforts. Send them a little token of appreciation if they do well.

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WHY DOES REMOTE WORK FRUSTRATE CEOS? The debate around the merits of remote work have been brewing for a good few years now with a growing number of remote jobs now becoming a source of fulltime income for some. But 2020 did not distinguish between supporters and naysayers of remote work. As everyone spent the year trying to get to an optimal setup that works for remote employees, there were certainly some facets of this change that irked a lot of managers, business leaders, and CEOs. Some CEOs are staunch advocates of remote work. Gaper was successfully staff augmentation for businesses needed teams of software engineers even before the pandemic. Other companies are still struggling to accept remote as a valid means of working, and not just during a pandemic. This article outlines a few aspects of remote work that make it unappealing to business leaders and how these things can be dealt with.

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YOU CANNOT MANAGE EMPLOYEES AS CLOSELY Some managers and CEOs have a hard time not observing, keeping up to date, or in some cases, micromanaging their employees. But they do need to ask themselves whether this is entirely necessary or not. If your teams are delivering their work on time, perhaps it is better to let them manage themselves.

Employees can do their part by ensuring they keep their managers up to date with their progress through digital platforms and regular meetings. ask themselves whether this is entirely necessary or not. If your teams are delivering their work on time, perhaps it is better to let them manage themselves.

Employees can do their part by ensuring they keep their managers up to date with their progress through digital platforms and regular meetings.

SCHEDULING MEETINGS THAT EVERYONE ATTENDS Working from home means your work now revolves around family, children, others’ and your health, house chores, your sleep routine, guests (hopefully in a pandemic-safe way) and many other dynamics that office life was devoid of.

Once again, this is a matter of acceptance and adaptation. If it is overwhelming for some of your team members to be present on Zoom at a certain time, there is no harm in scheduling their call some other time during the day. Share your calendars with each other so everyone can add slots for themselves when they cannot attend team meetings.

It may be inconvenient to miss a few members in certain meetings, but it really is something that needs to be adapted around. It also helps to schedule important meetings well in advance instead of announcing them the day of. aper.io

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HIRING BECOMES TRICKY WHEN DONE REMOTELY This is perhaps the most critical of the issues discussed so far. When looking to hire anyone for your company - and it does not matter whether it is for a technical position or not - it is rather difficult to assess and evaluate someone’s compatibility with your company.

Another issue tied to this is the importance of soft skills. You want potential employees to be good at teamwork, self and time management, and other traits like empathy and flexibility. Where technical and other skills can be assessed through online tests, previous work experiences and references, online interview and calls do not relay an accurate picture of soft skills.

This can be somewhat tackled by ensuring that potential hirees are familiarised with the company culture (virtual or otherwise) as well as the kind of interactions and work ethic that would be expected of them.

REMOTE IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE Finally, perhaps something that some people find annoying is the idea that remote work has sustainably cemented its place for a significant amount of professional work. If you decide not to be flexible and and implement it, your competitor most likely will. And your teams will take note of that and reconsider their work accordingly.

The judicious thing in this context is to just keep up with the times and adapt to changing times. A lot of employees are vey receptive to the idea of a hybrid system where they have the option of working from home or coming to the office when they want. The office days can be utilised

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for important, monthly, weekly or biweekly team meetings or any other company event that requires the physical presence of teams.

LEARN FROM YOUR TEAM, COLLEAGUES AND FELLOW CEOS Also, it helps to open up to new ideas and opinions on how to run a business and manage teams online. A lot of businesses have done a remarkable job of adapting to the new normal and coming up with optimal solutions for a smooth workflow for everyone. Changing times call for trial, error and learning. Take this opportunity to set your business apart from others inject a much needed agility and flexibility in your systems.

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FinTech in 2021: What Can We Expect?

2020 saw some interesting developments in FinTech (and some scandals) but what does the new year have in store? Nobody knows but it is always fun to think about it?

SOME MUCH NEEDED TRUST What can hurt a sector that combines money and technology? Loss of trust, corruption, Impropriety. FinTech must ensure that it focuses on building sustainable security measures that maintain credibility and trust in their services. For this, it is essential for industry regulators and other agents in the sector to work together to promote a safe environment for every participant in the arena.

THE ROLE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY OUR THE

GUIDE ROAD,

TO

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GOOD

FOOL FOR

PROOF A

LIFE

MONTH!

ON

The hype has died down a bit but remember how PayPal put its foot in these waters? Or how banking licenses are being issued to crypto companies?

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Cryptocurrencies look set to move on from being a topic for trendy headlines to something much more robustly involved in everyday finances and businesses.

DIGITAL BANKING Bank’s are notorious for stubbornly operating with old legacy systems but their consumers are not. Digital banking and transactions provide a distinct convenience that the physical counterpart does not.

The pandemic catalysed the use of digital banking services and looks set to stay that way in 2021.

One can safely expect advancements in AI, cybersecurity, biometrics, open banking and other such concepts to be undergoing more improvements and R&D.

companies and tech giants.

Mastercard and Visa are already collaborating with FinTech firms while Google is teaming up with banks to develop a new banking system. 2021 may very well see the landscape of the sector changing where the dominance of usual banking systems is challenged by other agents moving into their space.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS It is inevitable that traditional financial institutions can no longer ignore the presence of FinTech aper.io

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P2P/ALTERNATIVE LENDING These are online platforms that connect borrowers that are considered undeserving (like small businesses) by traditional institutions with lenders looking to capitalize on profitable yield-generating investments. As entrepreneurs and small businesses look to acquire funding for themselves, a lack of credit history will turn them away from standard banks towards alternative lending means. These lenders are often faster, more flexible in their terms, and have high approval rates.

The pandemic’s impact on FinTech can be looked at through several lenses.

Consumers of the services looked towards more smart solutions that would help them make better financial decisions in light of income uncertainty. The other side of this coin

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means that rising unemployment and recessionary tendencies in economies mean that lenders did not exactly have a great time.

FinTech companies that redirected their efforts towards meaningful, informed innovations appear to be on the right path as compared to those that were relatively stagnant during the year.

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