#516 Ricky Ho - Sourcing Products

Ricky Ho is a young entrepreneur, already on his second start-up company that is set to dominate the sourcing products arena. Yes, he has Alibaba to outmanoeuvre, but the signs are good, and his AI-inspired model has much to recommend it to SMBs/SMEs around the world.Summary of PodcastIntroductions and backgroundGraham, Kevin, and Ricky (from SourceReady) introduce themselves and provide background on Ricky's career and the inspiration behind starting SourceReady, a platform that uses AI to help businesses find and vet suppliers outside of China.SourceReady's unique approachRicky explains how SourceReady differentiates itself from platforms like Alibaba. They do this by using a data-driven, objective approach to ranking suppliers based on factors like quality, compliance, and customer relationships - rather than just supplier advertising. This helps democratize access to supplier information for small and medium businesses.Addressing supply chain risksThe discussion shifts to the importance of managing supply chain risks. They discuss such as compliance issues, supplier financial health, and reputational risks. Ricky highlights how SourceReady's tools can help businesses proactively screen for and mitigate these risks, which is especially critical for smaller companies that may lack dedicated procurement teams.SourceReady's growth and futureRicky shares his vision for SourceReady to become the go-to platform for businesses of all sizes to discover and vet suppliers globally, beyond just China. He discusses the challenges of changing user behavior and the need to provide a significantly better experience than existing options to drive adoption. The group also touches on the favorable market trends, like supply chain diversification, that could benefit SourceReady.Recap and closing thoughtsRicky provides a brief testimonial on his experience being interviewed, and the group wraps up the discussion, with Graham and Kevin expressing optimism about SourceReady's potential for success.The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-HostsGraham ArrowsmithGraham founded Finely Fettled eleven years ago to help businesses market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner of MeclabsAI, providing AI Agents, workflows, and Phone-to-agent delivery systems. Now, Graham offers Answer Engine Optimisation so you get found by LLM search and Enterprise-level AI Solutions.Kevin ApplebyKevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com