Scott Dowty, Executive Chairman at Passport Technology

I think what made us successful or gave us the ability

2

to compete was our commitment to

collaboration, to relationship.

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Execution and then

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Knowing we had the best product pipeline.

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Welcome to Bridges to Excellence Podcast.

6

Inspired leadership in

payments and fintech.

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Bringing you conversations

with payments most fascinating

8

people on top of their game.

9

Leaders, influencers,

experts, and innovators.

10

Each weekly episode turns our

guest's wisdom into practical advice.

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Their personal journey starts now.

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are meant to inspire and challenge

you to explore your possibilities.

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Here's your host, Desmond Nicholson.

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Track 1: In this episode,

part of our founder series,

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we're talking to Scott Dowdy.

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Executive chairman and founder

of Passport Technology.

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Passport is a casino payments

technology and SaaS platform

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achieving in selected markets, market

share dominance across the globe.

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Scott is here to take us on his

entrepreneurial journey, the good and

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the bad, including current initiatives

as he positions the company on its

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successful continuum for growth.

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And of course, along the

way, he'll be sharing with us

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insightful, actionable takeaways.

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Scott, welcome to our show

and thanks for being here.

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scott dowty: Thank you.

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Desmond.

27

Nice to hear your voice again

after many years and glad to be on.

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Track 1: Great.

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Now, first tell us about your role at

Passport Technology, a day in the life

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of the executive chairman, and then

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we rewind and talk about your journey

and milestones along the way that

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brought you to where you are today.

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scott dowty: sure.

34

Good.

35

Yeah.

36

So,

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Founder, Executive Chairman of as

you said in your intro, we Process.

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payment transactions, loyalty.

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AML casino automation, all these types

of technologies and brick and mortar

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casinos around the world, Europe, UK

Canada, and across the United States.

41

So for me

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really involved day to day.

43

From an actionable perspective, but I

do obviously consult with the C-Suite

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daily just on overall strategy, kind of

lessons learned I've been in payments

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for, what, 25 years now, so I've got

a lot of things to kind of lean back

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on, but really.

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I'm, I'm coaching, I'm providing a lot of

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strategy.

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we're in a very competitive business.

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Very strategic business, very

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highly regulated business.

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So I,

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Think I spend most of my time,

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just brainstorming with my

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executive team.

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and really getting the creative

juices flowing in terms of.

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You know, developing strategy,

tactical plans, and then execution

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Track 1: Okay, so let's dive in and

start with your backstory, where

59

you grew up and what your life

was like when you were growing up.

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scott dowty: Yeah, so

61

I

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grew up in Canada.

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Vancouver,

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BC Canada

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to Edmonton.

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Alberta.

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I think I was four or five years old.

68

That's Northern Alberta,

just above Montana.

69

And I spent 20 Years in, Toronto

before I moved to Las Vegas.

70

But kind

71

of growing up in Edmonton,

72

It's kind of

73

like a

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Northern Texas type

75

vibe.

76

Very

77

cold long winters.

78

It's oil-based.

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It was a

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oil-based economy back then.

81

Parents got divorced when

I was, I think five or six.

82

All three of the kids

chose to go with my mother.

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So when you Talk about my

childhood, Certainly what was

84

important to note is single

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mother households back

then were not that common.

86

We're talking 50

87

years ago

88

So grew up in a, in

89

a, Single mother household

with three kids struggling.

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It's all relative, how people

struggle, of course, around the world.

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But from where I came from.

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have a lot of money.

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Track 1: of money.

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scott dowty: Broken home.

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So I think

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that whole

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thing, as I look back on

my life and I reflect on my

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entrepreneurial spirit and goals and

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what drove

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me, a lot of it came

101

from the fact that you

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was from a Broken Family.

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It

104

Didn't have a lot of

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money, you relied on

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yourself.

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And I.

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Track 1: Think,

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scott dowty: I think I draw.

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on those days A lot

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even in my years

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now.

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I think about those days and what it

meant to me and the challenges you faced.

114

And I think a lot of that kind of

really built who I was today and

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obviously over the last few decades.

116

So, and

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then moved to Toronto

118

when I was 19, started

119

my entrepreneurial days there.

120

And then I got into the, corporate

world as well in my later twenties.

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Track 1: Okay.

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scott dowty: there's a lot more

to unpack there if you want to.

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Track 1: Okay.

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We'll get into more.

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I, promise you.

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. I'm curious, what was your

favorite subject in high school?

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scott dowty: Well,

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Track 1: Oh.

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scott dowty: Full transparency.

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I was not a good student.

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My mind was

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adrift and wondering,

133

and, and in school.

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I, but

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I do think my favorite,

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oddly

137

enough, you prob, you probably asked

138

this question before, but

139

oddly enough, my favorite subject

140

was always geography.

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Just because

142

it was straightforward, simple.

143

I could understand it.

144

It interested me in terms of kind

of the world and what the world

145

was all made up of and kind of

opportunity this world might present.

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other than that, I that was

probably the only subject

147

I actually had an affinity for.

148

In the early days,

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Track 1: Today.

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Okay.

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So how did you get into the payments

industry and what factors led

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you to the casino game in space?

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scott dowty: So

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when I was

155

in Toronto, I'll give

you a bit of backstory

156

here.

157

I started my first

company when I was I 20.

158

I call a company called Canadian

Ice, and I built my own line

159

of skin products for men.

160

It was called Canadian Ice.

161

And at the time I was

162

bartending at night and during

the day and going to college.

163

So I started this business

called Canadian Ice.

164

Obviously a couple

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years of

166

Struggling.

167

paying for stuff, selling personal

items, working, getting tips to pay for

168

the, you development of these products.

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they, they were

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skin supplies for men,

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toners, conditioners,

these sort of things.

172

And did quite well.

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By the time I was 23, 24, I got a lot

of national recognition in, Canada.

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I was distributing my

products across the country.

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I was exporting some products as well,

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Track 1: All

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scott dowty: and

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and did quite well

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with that.

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at the same time as I was

bartending, every night

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just down the street was

American Express Head office,

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for Canada for headquarters.

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I could recall many days a week, all the

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executives would come over to the bar who

I would serve, all from American Express.

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They were nicely dressed with suit and

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tie and you I could overhear them

187

talking.

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about their business or travels and

just the payments business in general.

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I was obviously very curious.

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I asked questions about it.

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So

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a course of several years,

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getting

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know these of.

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Track 1: I got a feel

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scott dowty: For what they

were doing in payments.

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Meanwhile, I was still

building this business.

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Long story short, I ended up,

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uh, selling Canadian

ice when I was about 27.

200

I sold the

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The brand,

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to a very

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large Canadian

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Track 1: various

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scott dowty: brewery,

and I sold all the assets

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to a company from Korea.

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So did very well, with

that relatively speaking,

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And then

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just in getting to know these guys at

Amex, I said to myself, you know what?

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Track 1: know what?

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scott dowty: I've been an

entrepreneur for many years now.

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I've learned a lot, been through

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a lot.

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Maybe I

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should.

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give myself a shot in

this corporate world.

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And at the same

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Time

219

there was an opportunity that someone

had provided me to apply for a sales role

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at CIBC Card Products, which was a large

bank in their merchant services division.

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So I

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went and applied for it.

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and I got the job.

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225

Track 1: Very impressive.

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let me just backtrack here regarding the

Canadian ice company that you founded,

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I'm looking at the Toronto Star Monday,

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going, that's really going way back.

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And here

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scott dowty: Old school.

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Track 1: Yep.

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And here it says, big Gamble.

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Scott Dowdy, 23 years old at that

time, has sunk more than $40,000

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to develop his Canadian ice

skin cleanser and toner for men.

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He's promoting the products in the

store of retailer Harry Rosen, who

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liked the young man's determination.

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scott dowty: Right.

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Track 1: Okay, that

That's very impressive.

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scott dowty: Entrepreneurs

have a fire that burnes their

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belly.

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And.

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I can remember when I was seven years old,

I got a free speed bike for my birthday,

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which really wasn't what I wanted.

244

It wanted one of those BMX bikes

that had the spring in the middle.

245

And I remember taking apart the bike,

selling it for parts at seven years

246

old and then buying the bike I wanted.

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So I've had this

entrepreneurial spirit from when

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very.

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Track 1: Harry Rosen was,

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scott dowty: He passed away

now, but is an icon in Canada.

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And I can

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remember going to his office

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and you know,

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back?

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then there was no email,

no, no cell phones, nothing.

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It was a call, it was a

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Cold call to his.

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office and his secretary said, he is

not in today or he may not be in today.

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And I said, well, that's

fine if you don't mind.

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I'll just wait in the

front office until he.

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Track 1: Determination

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.

scott dowty: So, you know, and that's why he says determination

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is because that's how I

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got in to see him.

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And,

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You know, it was a, it was a real,

it eye-opening experience because I

267

was completing college, attempting

to complete college, which I

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did finish after seven years.

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But as I was going to college,

Desmond, I had 20 employees, chemists,

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salespeople, marketing people working in

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my small factory.

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Developing all these products,

shipping all these products.

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I was still working as a bartender.

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to Help fund

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this business, and I can

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remember days.

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where I didn't have the

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money to make payroll, but

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families depended on me

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to provide them

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their salaries every two weeks

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or they couldn't put food

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on the table.

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So I

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remember.

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funding salaries through cash

advances on their credit cards.

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Selling personal items and

all these sorts of things.

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So as I look back on my

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career now

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Track 1: now

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scott dowty: and why I've been able,

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to be quite successful,

especially in stressful or

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highly competitive events, is

because those days back when

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where I, think I had.

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my first nervous breakdown or my

only nervous breakdown when I was 26.

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During these times where we had a

challenge to fund our employees.

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Those Are the

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types of character building situations

when you're young that last with you

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for a lifetime and really, benefit

you because those are just events

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you don't ever, ever find when,

you become a corporate employee.

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It's

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never that bad.

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Track 1: That's transformative.

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Indeed, isn't it?

305

scott dowty: It.

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Track 1: What is the mission

of Passport Technology?

307

Why is a company like Passport

an asset to the payment space?

308

scott dowty: Our mission, so

we're, we're a smaller player.

309

We're probably the fourth largest player

in our space in the United States.

310

We've got maybe five, 6% market share.

311

I would say that

312

we've got the greatest

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depth and breadth of product

314

in terms,

315

of, Providing all the payments and

automation and loyalty services

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we do to brick and mortar casinos.

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I think our mandate, Desmond, is that

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When

319

I talk to my

320

people, I say

321

there should be no

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instance, whether it's

an email, a meeting,

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a install, a training session.

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There is no instance where we

325

shouldn't be

326

saying to ourself and our

327

team

328

we need to

329

exceed.

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the expectations of our customers.

331

Meeting, them

332

isn't Good.

333

enough.

334

want them to walk away.

335

and go, you know what?

336

These guys were So

337

good.

338

They exceeded

339

all of our expectations.

340

So our mandate is

341

to

342

bring

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collaboration and relationship

to the next level.

344

I always tell my people, and, and

Desmond, you know this from being

345

in payments, payments isn't easy.

346

You're installing complex

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Track 1: Flex

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scott dowty: technology driven.

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Communications by loyalty

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and all these different systems, desperate

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systems.

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that come together.

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They're never

354

either easy, But when

you go to your customers.

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and you

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Kind of

357

encapsulate our mandate to

exceed expectations, collaborate,

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provide a plan, when you do all

359

that.

360

and when these installs

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don't

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kind of go the way they should.

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Your customers will always help pick

you up, dust you off, and make it

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good.

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So

366

I think

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our mandate

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that

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Desmond is

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exceed

371

customer expectations.

372

and

373

when

374

we fall

375

we fall together,

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as a

377

partnership,

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and, grow and, and

that's really how we've

379

done really well.

380

as a company that we've

381

Always

382

collaborated.

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We've always been

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transparent on our plan, on our

strengths, on our weaknesses, and

385

by doing that,

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I

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think your customer always.

388

gives you the benefit of the doubt,

and that's a big reason for our

389

success beyond what I think is the

best depth and breadth and product.

390

Track 1: Good.

391

So tell us about some of the major

hurdles you encountered in getting

392

Passport off the ground and how

you feel it strengthened Passports.

393

Technology as a company,

394

scott dowty: Well, you know,

we're a small player, right?

395

So we're we're a small player in a highly.

396

regulated industry.

397

I think our industry is the second

most highly regulated in the United

398

States outside of National Defense.

399

Our technology,

400

touches the casino management

systems, slot systems, gaming systems.

401

every state we go

402

into, you have to be licensed.

403

All the executives, people who own a

certain amount of shares in the company

404

have to be licensed with the state.

405

So it's highly

406

regulated.

407

So the barriers to entry are high.

408

The, investment

409

Required.

410

And think about it.

411

Track 1: it,

412

scott dowty: what we do in

413

brick and mortar gaming, IE payments, I

believe is probably the most sophisticated

414

form of payments in the payment space.

415

We're talking ATM,

416

we're talking check, debit credit.

417

We're talking digital wallet.

418

We're talking loyalty, casino automation.

419

We're doing more from a payments

perspective than I think any

420

other industry is, so it's highly,

Sophisticated, the bar to entry

421

is massive in terms of technology.

422

Know-how regulation,

licensing, and being A

423

small player as

424

we

425

are, we don't have.

426

say, the resources of the larger players.

427

So our biggest challenge has

been making those inroads.

428

And the way we did it was we

started off in the UK where we

429

had relationships and we had a.

430

clear guide on new technologies.

431

We knew we'd win the day.

432

We executed there, we won a majority

of market share very quickly.

433

We then went to Canada,

did the same thing.

434

And then through Covid, we, obviously

grew into the United States.

435

So, as a small company in

a highly regulated space

436

that requires a lot

437

of resources.

438

I think what made us successful or gave us

the ability to compete was our commitment

439

to collaboration, to relationship.

440

execution and then

441

Knowing we had the best product pipeline.

442

Track 1: Good.

443

As you know, the path of an entrepreneur

is not all rainbows and unicorns.

444

Right?

445

scott dowty: Oh, no.

446

Track 1: Take us, take us to that

moment in time of what you would

447

consider your worst entrepreneurial

moment and tell us the story.

448

scott dowty: Oh yeah.

449

No, it's, I kind of already referenced

that one, but, really, I was, I

450

think it was 25 or 26 in Toronto.

451

I was financing this company.

452

We just got a huge order from

a large Canadian retailer.

453

I had 20 or 22 people on staff.

454

I was working at night, at the bar

making tips to help fund this business.

455

I remember selling assets to make

payroll, to buy supplies, and it

456

got super, very, very stressful

for a number of months because.

457

I didn't have the money.

458

And again, back then

459

we're talking 20, what we're talking,

460

you know, 25 years ago, 30

years ago, whatever it was.

461

I

462

literally, at 25 or 26, I,

463

I believe

464

I had a nervous breakdown.

465

Hair

466

started falling out.

467

Couldn't

468

sleep.

469

And it was because I felt I

had so much pressure on me

470

for having all these employees

471

at a very

472

young age,

473

and feeling responsible to them and their

families to make sure they get paid.

474

Everybody got

475

paid.

476

But I had to leverage every line of

credit, every credit card I ever had.

477

I sold many personal

belongings to facilitate it.

478

And again, That was a moment.

479

as an entrepreneur that you dread.

480

Once you go

481

through it and confidence

it builds is immeasurable,

482

Track 1: That's the downside.

483

That was your low point.

484

There gotta be a high point . Okay?

485

Take us to that moment in

time of that incredible haha

486

moment, and tell us that story.

487

scott dowty: Well, best thing about

being an entrepreneur is that.

488

you, you create an idea in

between your ears and your mind

489

and you bring it to fruition.

490

So, Canadian ice, and I'll just,

I'll expand on this one a little bit.

491

You between, I guess I was

20 to 25 when I started.

492

I sold it for some money which is great.

493

I immediately.

494

Started a new company called So Popular.

495

It was the first alcohol-free

hand sanitizer, and that was

496

right before the bird flu.

497

Remember H one N one,

the Bird Flu came out

498

years ago.

499

I started that company right after,

so popular, which was kind of similar.

500

It was cosmetics, it was HBA,

it was health and beauty aid,

501

and I had experience there.

502

Did quite well with that.

503

as well.

504

I

505

Ended up

506

selling it right before.

507

The bird flu came out, so I didn't

get the benefit of the mass of sales,

508

but I sold it for a good profit and

I had that business as I had just

509

started working at CIBC card products.

510

So throughout my corporate

511

career.

512

I've always had a side

513

Hustle.

514

'cause as an entrepreneur I needed that.

515

So sold Canadian ICE

516

started

517

Soap Popular

518

it was sold around the world, including

United States did really well.

519

I sold that.

520

And had just started

521

in the, in the merchant

processing world for CIBC.

522

And after that I started

523

another one called Earth Germ,

but I Won't get into that,

524

but the

525

aha

526

moment was

527

once

528

you.

529

do this, once, you know, and

530

You go through.

531

the the, the pains and the pleasures

and success and failures of being

532

an entrepreneur it gets easier.

533

It gets really easier.

534

So the aha moment there is.

535

I went through a.

536

537

I went to work at First Data between

538

539

The aha moment is those trials and

tribulations as an entrepreneur

540

made it very easy for me to survive

and succeed in the corporate world.

541

Because there was nothing they could

ever throw at me in the corporate world

542

that would ever compare to the stress I

put myself through as an entrepreneur.

543

Track 1: I think you've answered the next

question and that was, and that is rather.

544

How have your prior experience

at companies like CIBC First Data

545

Card Connect Global Cash Access?

546

Soap Popular and Canadian ICE

International shaped how you

547

approach your role today at Passport.

548

scott dowty: Yeah.

549

so.

550

beyond that, entrepreneurial battles,

entrepreneurs fight every day.

551

I did get into, when I was at First

552

You might even know who I'm talking about

because I know you, you know, the folks.

553

But

554

I was

555

reporting to an individual

out of New York and this, this

556

is Really my second

corporate world job, but my

557

First job working for

558

an American company,

559

American companies are much

different than Canadian companies.

560

Much more aggressive,

561

demanding, and which is great, but

562

I remember

563

for

564

three years

565

ev every

566

day speaking to my boss.

567

who was out of New York.

568

This man

569

Track 1: man

570

scott dowty: was so

571

demanding,

572

so

573

Track 1: so

574

scott dowty: unrelenting in his

575

desire,

576

to be successful and to make his direct

577

report successful, that

578

it was

579

Incredibly difficult for people to succeed

under his leadership, and many didn't.

580

But for me.

581

I felt like this was such a blessing.

582

I was gonna prove This guy,

583

that I could be the guy that

584

when he calls, he doesn't.

585

have to ans ask me those questions because

I'm already giving him the answers.

586

So this went on for three years.

587

I worked, as many people

do, many, many, hours.

588

Much more than five days a week,

much more than eight hours a day.

589

But I can tell you that at The

end of those four years when I

590

left First Data.

591

When

592

My manager had his team calls weekly and

when he got to me he got don't even, don't

593

even worry about Scott

594

He's got it

595

and what

596

he put

597

me through

598

Track 1: me through,

599

scott dowty: and I appreciated that he

did prepared me for my days at Global

600

Cash Access Card Connect and even

Passport 'cause the level of discipline.

601

Track 1: That

602

scott dowty: I acquired from

a corporate perspective that I

603

didn't

604

have as an entrepreneur.

605

The level of discipline,

detail, forethought that he

606

made me, he required of me

607

positioned me

608

at a.

609

level that no one else in any other

company I went to had, honestly.

610

So the combination

611

of having

612

that entrepreneurial spirit, being

through those trials and tribulations

613

that you do as an entrepreneur.

614

But then getting the fine tuning

coaching sometimes with a bat up

615

against your head at First Data, the

616

combination of.

617

that, prepared me to be what

I think was a, a really good

618

619

Track 1: Now when you have a very

competitive market, people figure

620

out innovative ways to differentiate.

621

What in your product suite offers

that Is that kind of differentiation

622

that benefits your client at Passport?

623

scott dowty: All right, so that's a good

624

question.

625

Desmond.

626

Thing

627

we did was

628

and this is another aha moment, is

629

that.

630

we, were the first.

631

Track 1: The first

632

scott dowty: To

633

say, Hey,

634

rather

635

than fear

636

gaming regulators and gaming

commissions and like social,

637

a, a big thing in our business.

638

is social responsibility.

639

Like people have gambling

problems and these sort of things.

640

We said instead of fearing these sort

of things, because our job is to put

641

cash on the floor, as much cash on the

floor as you can so people can gamble.

642

We

643

Said, instead of fearing these sort,

644

of things, why don't we, as we go to the

UK and Europe and Canada, for example.

645

Why

646

don't we meet with.

647

the gaming commissioners first as

we develop our product and ask them

648

what would they like to see from our

product, knowing that we put maximum

649

cash on the floor through debit

cards, credit cards, check, et cetera.

650

And they were in fact,

very receptive of that.

651

And they gave us ideas and thoughts.

652

We bounced ideas off 'em.

653

So when we did

654

That

655

we

656

incorporated things like

ability for a customer to opt

657

out on our system in real time.

658

If they didn't want to use a credit card

anymore, they could actually restrict

659

that credit card in real time so they

could never use it again on our system,

660

say for a month, six months, or a year.

661

We

662

also did things like developing

technology where, based on the

663

size of the transaction, the origin

664

of the card, whether

665

it was domestic or international, we'd

666

had dynamic

667

pricing based on

668

card type,

669

transaction size, country of, or origin,

or if the customer was a known VIP or

670

not

671

So

672

as an example, those two real

time functions, the ability for

673

someone to opt out and say, you

674

know what?

675

I don't wanna gamble anymore.

676

on this card.

677

I

678

spent too

679

much.

680

money that was all about

social responsibility and the

681

ability to offer

682

dynamic pricing.

683

For

684

example, the

685

operators really?

686

loved because not every customer's,

has the same value to them.

687

when we went to the customers and said,

688

hey.

689

listen, we've already talked

to the gaming commission.

690

They Actually love what we're doing, and

691

these are some of the things,

692

we incorporated.

693

You know, they, they would,

they would give us the applause

694

And then

695

the whole dynamic pricing thing.

696

was just right up their alley.

697

So

698

those

699

types of innovative ideas that might

700

seem simple now nobody

701

was even thinking about.

702

And

703

Those are the reasons why

704

we won success in

705

the UK, Europe, and Canada,

706

And we are now.

707

the first

708

to do in the United States as well.

709

Track 1: so collaboration with

the authorities is definitely key.

710

Okay, which leads me to the next

Passport has recently been in the news

711

as an official finalist for multiple

gaming awards, namely the Compliance

712

Payment Service Award and also the

Solution Provider of the Year Award.

713

explain the significance of these awards.

714

Most importantly, what is it

about your company's culture that

715

contributes to this ;;recognition?

716

scott dowty: Yeah,

717

we've actually

718

won several

719

awards over the last few

years and I, think our C-suite

720

team does a good job in that.

721

We're always trying to

ensure that competitive and

722

creative.

723

juices are flowing.

724

I have this thing of I always wanna be

725

Looking over my

726

back to see what, you know, I always

727

feel like

728

there's someone watching us.

729

Someone catching up to us.

730

So what

731

can we do to stay ahead of the pack?

732

think it's important

733

especially

734

from a

735

compliance perspective.

736

We won several compliance

awards over the last few years.

737

This idea of always staying in touch with,

the regulatory authorities and the gaming

738

commissions, and developing your product.

739

in a socially responsible manner

so you're not just driving

740

Commercial application to drive

revenue, but you're also thinking

741

about the community around you.

742

You're thinking about, you

where this industry is going.

743

And I think

744

that alone

745

really gets

746

Track 1: gets

747

scott dowty: These

748

associations who offer these awards

749

excited because.

750

Track 1: because

751

scott dowty: We're, we're collaborating

752

not just for their customers,

but all stakeholders.

753

So,

754

So we do that.

755

But I think most importantly is

756

we've got some people

in our, in our company.

757

that are highly, intelligent,

know the space well.

758

And some of the things we're doing is

just no one else has done in the past.

759

I'll give you example what I like

to call the holy grail on payments.

760

Especially for resorts and casinos is the

ability for a casino operator to track

761

value a customer throughout the resort on

762

Every transaction they make.

763

So they're playing

764

blackjack

765

a blackjack table.

766

They go to a slot

767

machine

768

they go to the spa, they go to the

steakhouse, they go to the pool

769

and order a bottle at the cabana.

770

They

771

do all of these things.

772

No one's ever been able to track.

773

All of

774

These.

775

transaction mix and then aggregate it up

to a portal where the casino, for example,

776

could say, okay, well they're, this is

777

Their gaming play.

778

or they're

779

Going to show here,

780

they're

781

buying food here They're gone to

782

a Chanel store over here.

783

Track 1: here,

784

scott dowty: Aggregate the data

785

and then reward them.

786

and send them, acknowledge them

787

in real time.

788

in

789

real time.

790

This is

791

what

792

Passport

793

is doing.

794

For example,

795

at Fontainebleau, which is the largest

casino that's opening here on the

796

strip in, in December, passport is

essentially the heartbeat of the entire

797

resort, and it's through our Origins,

798

API and our lush loyalty platform that

799

every

800

transaction in.

801

the resort will be aggregated through

our technology to give the casino a

802

view, a unique view on that customer.

803

As it relates

804

to Everything

805

they do in the resort and

provide incentives, rewards,

806

recognition, that to me is a

807

Holy

808

grail of payments and at

least this space that no one's

809

ever been able

810

to achieve.

811

And Passport will be the first to do it.

812

And we've done it through collaborating

813

with partners, having really

creative people on our team,

814

and just through execution.

815

Track 1: What are some of Passport's

growth initiatives for the next year,

816

scott dowty: So the last two years?

817

we've spent a lot of time and

money resources on products.

818

In fact, probably more than we

should have because we, should

819

have been outselling more.

820

But we've been

821

Developing all these great products.

822

So I think because our market share

literally in the United States is maybe

823

five or 6%, we've got

824

green space,

825

to grow for the next, many, many years.

826

we also have a very,

827

good, robust pipeline as well of products.

828

So I think the focus

829

the next year or two,

Desmond, is simply sales.

830

We've got all these great products.

831

We know that we now need to become a

known player in the space, we already?

832

are known, but we need to become

a much bigger piece of the pie.

833

So it's gonna come down to

834

Track 1: to

835

scott dowty: building

836

a sales force, a bigger

sales force, incenting them

837

properly, and really

838

making sure that

839

when there's an

840

RFP out there.

841

or someone in procurement making

a decision on any product we have

842

that our name is on the list.

843

That has got to be our goal.

844

Track 1: Good.

845

What are you are most excited

about Passports future?

846

scott dowty: I'm most excited about is,

847

our people

848

and the opportunities

that they're gonna have,

849

to like position yourself for

850

career

851

growth.

852

I think the ideas they have that are

853

coming to

854

fruition, just like the one I talked

about at Fontainbleau, I think as we

855

make progress on

856

this new product

857

suite, it is

858

absolutely

859

game changing,

860

not

861

just for.

862

casinos.

863

By the way, this is relative to

864

sporting facilities.

865

It's relative to hotels

that are non-gaming.

866

It's relative to.

867

Any large company.

868

So I think I'm most excited about our

ability to develop an ecosystem of

869

payments that's driven by loyalty for

the gaming space, but also beyond.

870

'cause it's something that I,

believe, is absolutely game changing

871

and is transformative to payments.

872

I think we're on the verge.

873

of transforming payments in that.

874

What I like to say is, You

know one thing I'll say,

875

Desmond, I always still hear about Omni.

876

commerce.

877

This omni commerce that

878

I'm like, I was writing articles in Omni,

879

Commerce nine years ago.

880

That's like yesterday's technology.

881

What we're

882

doing now is driving payments.

883

Through loyalty in real time,

and I think that business model

884

isn't just gaming specific.

885

It can be across the board.

886

So we're very

887

excited about.

888

that.

889

Track 1: about.

890

Okay.

891

Let's switch up somewhat,

getting more into the personal.

892

What role does mentorship

play in your career?

893

Does any one person come to mind?

894

scott dowty: Yeah, I think, I think the.

895

that first day to the individual I

reported to for four years, although at

896

the time I didn't think He was a mentor

897

'cause I think he was beating me up

898

every day

899

and, caused me a lot of stress in my life.

900

Track 1: in my life.

901

scott dowty: But as

902

I look back,

903

on what I went through,

904

I would say he had a.

905

meaningful impact on my career,

my, my career in terms of my

906

appreciation or discipline.

907

Getting into the weeds on the business

and knowing the business inside and out.

908

So I think, although he was a mentor

for just three or four years, whether

909

he knew it or not, he was certainly one.

910

But I think

911

overall, as I was a

912

young boy,

913

I think when I was 19 or 20 years

old there was a public speaker.

914

You, you may know this man, you may not.

915

His name is Earl Nightingale.

916

Track 1: Oh yes.

917

Familiar with Earl.

918

scott dowty: Earl is probably the

919

Godfather

920

of all motivational

speakers and the cassette.

921

Back then it was eight

track cassette or cassettes.

922

I used to sit in my car

923

Track 1: in my car.

924

scott dowty: and I I listened to

925

the, it was called the New Lead the field.

926

It was eight cassettes.

927

I must have listened to

928

that.

929

thing a thousand times.

930

I knew it inside and out, and

it became a religion for me.

931

Throughout my entire career and to

this day if I, if Anybody had an impact

932

on my life, it was listening to Earl

Nightingale and the new lead the

933

Field, because it's not just about

934

business?

935

it's about being a person, about being

a man, and how to live your life.

936

Track 1: Earl was definitely the

forerunner before Tony Robbins and

937

scott dowty: Oh, oh, by a.

938

Track 1: Absolutely.

939

Now, what are your tips

for seeking out a mentor?

940

scott dowty: You

941

think my tips are, you look to people who

942

who

943

you admire,

944

right?

945

You look to people who you admire,

946

who have done

947

things you,

948

want to do, or you look to

people who are doing things

949

that you

950

think you could never do.

951

You wanna do also

952

people that.

953

you have access to, right?

954

I mean, sure, I'd love Warren

Buffett as a mentor, but I

955

know that's not gonna happen.

956

So are there people in your life,

that you are close to or you have,

957

you're associated to that You can

958

get to

959

But I

960

think people who are

doing things you wanna do

961

or even

962

people, things that

963

Track 1: that

964

scott dowty: you're not

doing what you'd love

965

to do, Or people that

are doing things that

966

you just think are

967

so far out there, and so not you.

968

Those

969

are the types of mentors I like.

970

because that's How you grow as a person,

971

is getting out your outside your

comfort level and just, and then

972

just asking them,

973

you know, asking them for some time.

974

every week or every month.

975

I've

976

got Several people that

I've mentored over my life

977

I have several now, and I can

978

tell you

979

From

980

my perspective.

981

I love.

982

doing it,

983

Track 1: Wow.

984

what are some of the most

important lessons you've

985

learned in your career to date?

986

scott dowty: I got a couple, I

think, from a corporate, so, you

987

know, I was a Section 16 officer.

988

At at every or global Cash access.

989

I was on that New York Stock Exchange.

990

I was a Section 16 officer

at Card Connect on NASDAQ.

991

I was a suc successful entrepreneur, so

I've got a pretty unique skillset and

992

I've been a successful

993

entrepreneur

994

and also very successful

in the corporate world.

995

In

996

the corporate world,

997

My biggest learning

998

lesson, I think has been.

999

It doesn't

matter how hard you work there, you can

put in an 80 hour, a week, a hundred hour.

a week, thinking about it, 24 7,

as passionate as you possibly can.

The

End of the day though you are, you are.

gonna be a number and you're

not gonna have full control

of, of your, of your destiny.

I can

remember at Global Cash Access,

you know,

we went through three CEOs in a

matter of three years, I think.

I personally believed I should

have been named CEO at least

one or two of those times.

I wasn't, I was pigeonholed a revenue

guy and, and that was a lesson learned.

I mean, that was just who they saw me as.

I was not seen as the CEO, Even though

I think everyone else probably did.

Track 1: probably did

scott dowty: The

board didn't,

so the lesson

learned there was

you're ultimately

not.

in control of your destiny.

At a corporation, And I think as

an entrepreneur, the lesson learned

is, doesn't matter how hard things,

get, how

down you get on yourself

or how bad things look,

you just have to persevere through those.

hard times.

You gotta just.

you

gotta

bite the bullet,

find a way to win.

And when you win, and you've heard

this before, when you win and get

past those days, when you look

back and reflect, those times

are the most valuable by a mile.

Nothing

is more valuable than those days.

Track 1: good.

Now, what aspect of your

personality do you think has been

the most helpful in your career?

scott dowty: Yeah, so

I

I.

always say when I'm in

a room.

I'm never, the, I'm never

the smartest guy in the room

I can

tell you that right now.

Never

the smartest guy.

in the room.

However like to think I have

a, , a quick twitch brain.

I, think very quickly,

Track 1: quickly,

scott dowty: I am in

real time.

I

understand things.

I kind of

know what to do very quickly.

Track 1: I

scott dowty: I

think most importantly, I have

a dog and a bone mentality

Track 1: gonna

scott dowty: I'm gonna go

out,

and I am gonna

win.

Track 1: win.

scott dowty: Hockey analogy.

the putt goes In the corner

I'm coming out with it every time.

And

I think people got to know that about me.

is that I'll put in the work,

I'll put in

the time

I'm

passionate.

about

What I do

I'm

always on 24 7.

I I,

I have a unique

knack to think

in real time.

Real quick,

but

the one thing I have,

A dog and a bone mentality.

So if you think you can beat me

go for it.

Track 1: as Mr.

Rosen says?

You have a determination

scott dowty: Right

Track 1: Can you share three

actionable takeaways, for example,

in leadership, work habits, lessons

learned, whatever with our listeners?

scott dowty: Sure.

Track 1: So

scott dowty: as a manager I've,

spoken about this quite a

bit.

I've managed thousands of people.

I think there may be some people out

there who may not like me, but I think

ultimately they all respect me because

as a manager, I always believed I provide

the tools for people to be successful.

Because I want everybody who

works with me or under me, or

around me to be successful.

So I always believe

that I've, I provide the

People, the tools

and the guide

and the path to

be successful.

If

They've fallen down,

we'll pick them up,

mentor

them, and

show them the path

to be successful.

Now if over time they fail, you gotta

make difficult decisions, right?

Because you can't.

You know, you're only as

strong as your weakest link.

So

we've made a lot of

decisions,

we've got

to move on.

But I think people will say about me,

is that

I manage

always having

good.

intentions.

I always

have good intentions

and whatever I do, and I

want people to succeed.

But at a certain

point in time, you do

have

to cut bait and leave.

So

I think, that's one takeaway is you

should always have good intentions.

Always do

your best

to maximize your people,

get the most of them.

Because

their success,

is your success.

There's no question about that.

And

I think number two.

I

think Number two is just from a

leadership.

perspective, being

disciplined,

in decision making

in the sense, I've seen this way too

much, where

executives

will waffle

They'll

never make a decision.

They'll always try to stay on the

fence to.

Track 1: to

scott dowty: not go in either way, and

they're afraid to make decisive decisions.

And

I think people

Track 1: who

scott dowty: who

report to other people

are looking for leaders.

to be decisive.

They look to Them.

for, to Listen,

to have their own point of view.

and then

Make decisive decisions.

I think managers who waffle and

don't make decisive decisions

the long term will fail.

I.

Track 1: Now we move

into our final segment.

scott dowty: Okay.

The lightning round bridges to

excellence, inspired leadership

in payments and fintech..

Track 1: Scott, in this segment

I pose the question and you

respond with a single word or one

scott dowty: Okay.

Track 1: Okay.

What is your greatest

strength as an entrepreneur?

scott dowty: Confidence.

Track 1: What is the best

advice you ever received?

I.

scott dowty: Never give up.

Continue down the path.

Track 1: What one book would you

recommend to our listeners and why?

scott dowty: It's not a book.

It's the new Lead the

Field by Earl Nightingale.

Track 1: what is your favorite

Quote in leadership or otherwise

that really inspires you?

scott dowty: Oh, okay.

This is an easy one.

Earl Nightingale.

Luck is when preparedness

meets opportunity.

And opportunity is always there.

Track 1: What is one thing the people

you work with would be surprised to know?

scott dowty: I think people, they'd

be surprised at how sensitive

I am to everybody's success.

Track 1: What does success mean to you?

scott dowty: Success means to

me personal success is fine,

but I want everybody around me.

To enjoy success and have

the opportunity to succeed.

But ultimately, my own success is

just me being healthy with my family.

Track 1: Introvert or extrovert,

scott dowty: Introvert,

Track 1: what is one thing that

has you fired up right now?

scott dowty: passport technology.

we've spent so much time

developing,

this business and.

There's so

much opportunity.

ahead of us, and it's all about

execution now, so I'm just fired

up about the potential for my team.

Track 1: we have covered a lot today.

From your backstory to your role

as chairman and founder and the

rise to prominence of passport

technology, is there anything you

haven't said you want to say or any

final comment before we wrap up?

scott dowty: I think it