Pivoting to WEB3

Empower Your Brand, Boost Creativity, and Solve Business Challenges with AI with Mona Bavar and Donna Mitchell

• Donna P. Mitchell • Episode 65

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Want to know how AI can make your brand stand out and solve business challenges? Tune in to discover practical strategies from Mona Bavar that can take your creativity and business to the next level! 

I'm Donna Mitchell, your guide to the latest in AI, blockchain, and tech. In today's episode, we explored the journey of Mona Bavar, a fascinating entrepreneur who transitioned into the luxurious food space with DLISH, navigating the complexities of web3. Mona shares her unique gifting experiences and her insights into AI’s role in business innovation. Discover how she's embracing technology to empower her brand while maintaining that essential human touch.

🎯 Key Takeaways:

✅ AI Can Amplify Your Brand’s Strengths: Learn how AI tools can enhance creativity, improve efficiency, and give your business a competitive edge.
✅ Top AI Tools for Content Creation: Discover essential AI platforms that can revolutionize the way you create, manage, and distribute content, saving you time and boosting quality.
✅ Solving Business Challenges with AI: Understand how AI can help you navigate challenges, automate repetitive tasks, and empower your decision-making process.
✅ Hands-On Learning Drives Success: Real-world insights from Mona Bavar highlight the importance of experimenting with AI to unlock its full potential for growth and innovation.
✅ AI is Accessible for All Businesses: Whether you’re a creative entrepreneur or managing an established brand, AI offers practical solutions to fuel success and growth.

Visit [mitchelluniversalnetwork.com](https://mitchelluniversalnetwork.com) for more updates.

#Web3 #NFTs #AI #LuxuryBrand #DigitalInnovation #PivotingIntoWeb3

About Mona Bavar:

Mona Bavar is the founder of BlueApples.ai and DLISH, where she bridges technology, creativity, and human connection. At BlueApples.ai, she helps entrepreneurs integrate AI as a collaborative partner to amplify creativity and streamline operations while staying true to their unique vision. With DLISH, she transforms gifting into an art form, curating experiences that celebrate storytelling and connection.

Mona also explores the power of archetypes, guiding individuals and businesses to align their strategies with deeper, purpose-driven narratives. Her work challenges conventional approaches to success, blending innovation and humanity to inspire growth that feels authentic and meaningful.

Connect with Donna Mitchell:

Podcast - https://www.PivotingToWeb3Podcast.com
Book an Event - https://www.DonnaPMitchell.com
Company - https://www.MitchellUniversalNetwork.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-mitchell-a1700619
Instagram Professional: ht

Connect with Donna Mitchell:

Podcast - https://www.PivotingToWeb3Podcast.com
Book an Event - https://www.DonnaPMitchell.com
Company - https://www.MitchellUniversalNetwork.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-mitchell-a1700619
Instagram Professional: https://www.instagram.com/dpmitch11
Twitter/ X: https://www.twitter.com/dpmitch11
YouTube Channel - http://Web3GamePlan.com

What to learn more: Pivoting To Web3 | Top 100 Jargon Terms

Donna Mitchell  [00:00:00]:
Welcome to pivoting to Web3 podcast, where experts break down AI blockchain and tech shaping our future. I'm Donna, and today's guest has insights you won't want to miss. Let's dive in. Okay, so let me ask you this. I'm really curious because when I saw Delish, Delish looked delicious no matter what I looked at. And it has such a luxurious feel to it. The pictures, the quality, the food, the selections. How did you know to go into the luxurious space? What attracted you to that or what was happening in the marketplace that you knew that was the path to go into?

Mona Bavar [00:00:42]:
I think that happens on its own. I can't say that I said it has to be luxurious. If anything, I think a lot of times in the beginning, we end up spending so much on our car, on our overhead as far as, like, material and sourcing, that we forget. And I think that's how it happened. Because first of all, when I mentioned the table that my parents created, my mother was always into creating the aesthetics. Even regardless of our economic situation, she would always find beauty in objects. So the table was always beautifully set. And that, I think, stayed with me.

Mona Bavar [00:01:25]:
Now, in Italy, where we source a lot of our products, they are made by artisans. So the artisans are. By default, it's going to be a little bit more expensive. So it's not something that you make in China and you can mass produce, which nothing against that. You can mass produce and then put it in a box and you're okay and keep the cost low. So we did start to have our. Our prices go up. And because the food items that are in there, they're produced also by mom and pops, like you.

Mona Bavar [00:02:02]:
I mean, I think Italy has 14,000 producers, micro producers of food products. So it's. They. They have small numbers, and that's, I think, our competitive advantage as well. And they also. The price tends to be maybe a little bit more than average. But I think now in the United States, it's. It's almost below average.

Mona Bavar [00:02:26]:
So little by little, I think I fell into the luxury world. And at first I was afraid of it, but then I learned to embrace it and said, you know what? We're not for everyone, and that's totally okay. But for those people that value what we value, here we are.

Donna Mitchell  [00:02:46]:
I think this is awesome because I gotta say it, when I looked at it and when I've seen it, it always impressed me. Now I have an eye for quality. I like comfort and convenience, and quality is part of the comfort. So therefore, when I look At Delish, it always stood out no matter what the angle, what the food, what the content. So you're absolutely right. The artis do a fabulous job. The layouts are awesome and the, the presentation, I had just never seen anything like that before. So when you came into the web three space on the NFT side, how are you using the NFTs and why did you see that as a benefit for Delish?

Mona Bavar [00:03:36]:
So it was about two years ago and I fell in love with this world because as an entrepreneur, as someone that was in finance, you never, you always stay in this box where you say, okay, I have to follow what it says in the book. There's a step by step in order for you to grow or to develop something. And this world of NFTs gave me this I think glimpse into my own creative expression. So I said, you know what, why don't I just have fun with it? And it became a way for me to say, let me offer these, these really advanced forward thinking companies or people the opportunity to gift in a different way. So if they're Already involved with NFTs, we created NFTs with a link of our products so they would open this NFT and inside there was this link where they could come and get 20 off whatever there was on our shot, on our site. So it became this kind of you own the NFT and you also get this opportunity to go and have this discount or this added, let's say advantage. And I have to say I think either we were too ahead of our time or I didn't do enough for the marketing side or getting it out there. The NFTs are still there on the platform.

Mona Bavar [00:05:06]:
It, it seems like the world shifted and we all went towards AI as well as me because I said okay, there's another beautiful plot frontier where there's no competition really and you can go in there and just have fun. And so I think I still do believe in the NFTs. I still am hopeful that people, we're, we're all going to start to embrace them in a different way. I do still think that it's a wonderful way to revolutionize gifting and great way to see art as we're living in this digital world.

Donna Mitchell  [00:05:44]:
Well, we're going to talk about the NFTs a little bit more probably another time, but we're going to talk about it a little bit now because I'm hoping you stay with it. I think personally when I met NFTs, I think what happened, people approached it like Regular marketing and NFTs aren't like regular marketing. And that's why it kind of shifted and went by the wayside and a lot of people made a lot of money kind of quick and the NFTs look kind of funny and people didn't understand it. So there was a lot of confusion. But I personally think if you utilize the NFTs in a manner with the utility and with some loyalty, with some different other components and dynamics, the NFT really hasn't gone away. It's just kind of sleep keeping for a while, let's say. Because I think everyone that was corporate or entrepreneurial or branding thought of an NFT like they did everything else in traditional marketing. And an NFT is a little bit different.

Mona Bavar [00:06:50]:
I love that you said that. I love that you said that. Because first of all, I would love to ask you what that means. A little bit different as far as the marketing aspect goes. Because I totally agree with you that I went the traditional route and it's not the traditional route.

Donna Mitchell  [00:07:08]:
No. The NFTs in my mind not to take this into an NFT direction because I have so many other questions in another direction, but I'm glad that you still have them. I think there's a benefit to the NFTs once there's utility and loyalty. And then with utility and loyalty, I think the sky's the limit. And with the art and artisans. Oh, that is a natural, a natural recipe for success. So we're parking lot that for now. I don't want to take my audiences down a road, nor do I want to give too much away in this episode.

Donna Mitchell  [00:07:47]:
We'll keep that for another time and maybe everyone will tune in for another episode when we have something to say about these NFTs that you have that you're not too sure what you're going to do within the future. You just know they have a place at Delish and they're still at Delish. So I'm excited. I'm just really excited about this and having you. But I'm curious to know, you mentioned AI and with AI, how do you see that impacting creatives and in your business? Because you have a consultancy called Blue Apples and Blue Apples, is that all part of Delish or tell us how that interconnects or if it doesn't or just I want to make sure that we mention them both and not run out of time.

Mona Bavar [00:08:31]:
No, Blue Apples is actually an agency, AI agency that, because I was using AI myself for Delish. Like most entrepreneurs out there where you're, you're trying to Bootstrap as much as you can. And so about two and a half years ago, when Chachi BT was there, I started to play with it and realized that I could do a lot and fast forward with some friends, we started the agency to help other entrepreneurs use AI in a way that you don't become just another content out there or just another brand out there. Because the biggest pitfall with AI is generic. We all run the risk of becoming so generic. And you can tell already when people send you an email or they send you a message or you read a blog, a newsletter, LinkedIn caption. You always know from the very first sentence if it's AI generated and that's fine. It's wonderful to use it for content, for everything that you want to use it for.

Mona Bavar [00:09:39]:
I do. But don't forget there is that human side that you need to know exactly who you are, what you're all about. What's your story, your brand story, your brand voice in order for you to be able to communicate so you don't become one of those generic brands that people out there say, oh my God, I've read this, I've heard this, I'm not interested. I skim through it because last year the statistic, the number was 4 billion content was created this year because everybody now is sitting in front of Chat GPT or whatever they want to use. It's projected to be anywhere between 8 to 10 billion.

Donna Mitchell  [00:10:25]:
Oh, wow.

Mona Bavar [00:10:26]:
So you have to know that if you are not standing out in some way, you run the risk of just getting lost. And I bet at that on myself in the sense that last March my apparently something happened in my website because I was like, I don't need my SEO person, I don't need this, I don't need that. I did this to myself. I had an audit done of my website because Christmas was flat and so I wanted to know what was going on. And apparently there's been such. The content has been so poor that it hasn't been ranking. And so you understand that if you are not doing the work, we all think it's going to be easy. And it can be.

Mona Bavar [00:11:11]:
But remember, you have to have your why you have to know who is your target audience? How are you going to communicate to them? What is it that you're going to add that's going to differentiate you from the same competitor that's sitting in front of the same chatgpt saying, Write me a blog about the top 10 corporate gifts. Okay? They're doing the same thing using the same keywords because all of a sudden you think you're an expert and generating this blog, you probably skim through it and say, ah, it works. And you put it on your platform and Google says, you know what? I have a thousands and thousands of them like blogs like that. Forget about it. I'm gonna now start to crawl and look for the ones that are going to be different and answer actually the pain points of the. The target audience. And so that's how Blue Apples was born.

Donna Mitchell  [00:12:10]:
So Blue Apples sounds like a boutique consultancy in a way where you tailor to the brand and the entrepreneur and the corporation, your client. So when doing so, what advice would you give anyone that's listening? That's new. How do they know what to use? You knew to use. You knew to use certain tools. And right now there's people coming on board, there's people using AI, but there's so many that don't know what to use. When. How did you choose? How did you figure it out? What was it that made you realize that you wanted to use these tools? And what was it? Maybe I asked this in other episodes. And what is it that you have seen or learned that makes you nervous? That's two questions in one.

Mona Bavar [00:13:04]:
Yes. So the first one is curiosity. So I reached a point in my life where I said, okay, I've done enough of the suffering of this world of work hard, do this, do that. Now I just want to have fun. I'm at an age where I'm tired, menopause has kicked in, everything is just. And you just say, you know what? I have nothing else to lose.

Donna Mitchell  [00:13:29]:
Girl, you ain't tired yet. You got another 20 years. Go ahead. Yes.

Mona Bavar [00:13:38]:
Your listeners should know that we already discussed our ages. We're not gonna.

Donna Mitchell  [00:13:40]:
Yeah, we're not gonna tell you out loud. Well, they kind of know I've been hanging around here a long time. Oh, go ahead.

Mona Bavar [00:13:51]:
So. So that's what ended up happening. So I said, okay, everybody's using chat, gbt, let. And. And it was just the beginning. And so I said, okay, let me play with it, just asking random questions. And then it became almost like a co founder, a partner, a friend, a therapist, a business coach today. But because I've.

Mona Bavar [00:14:14]:
You only learn. And that's at least how I learn. I'm not one of those book learners. I'm one of those that has to do it and learn by trial and error. And so I did. I played with it. I realized what works. I realized what didn't work.

Mona Bavar [00:14:28]:
The same thing I did with NFTs. I just keep playing with it. But because at this point in my life, I say, what's going to happen if it doesn't work out? It doesn't matter anymore. Maybe we say that's a luxury. I don't necessarily think so because I still have to reach my numbers, I still have to deliver. But it's still that point where you can say, it's okay, just get, give yourself a break and have fun. And that's how I explore. I listen, I, I know there's so much on social media, especially Instagram, that says, oh, these are the top 10 AI platforms that will make you money in 20 days.

Mona Bavar [00:15:07]:
There's no such thing, don't do it. It's absolutely not true. There's always some kind of a caveat in there where you have to then say, oh no, there's no such thing. There's no AI free platform. There's a seven day trial or a two week trial, so it's those. And then I, I, I narrowed it down for myself with the platforms that I like to work with and we recommend to our clients when they come to us, because you don't want to be overwhelmed. And that's what's happening today because everybody is out there in this race desperately trying to earn their first millions thinking that that's done. I feel so much gratitude for the fact that I am an older generation where I had to actually work, I actually had to learn and then come and apply it and learn from it and try.

Mona Bavar [00:16:05]:
And there was no easy fixes. I had to go to the library and do the indexing and find the book and the reference book and encyclopedias. So that is what I say, the human touch is where you're bridging the traditional way of doing business or living life into this new innovative world of abstract that no one, if anyone says I'm an AI expert, aside from the ones that in the 50s started to play with it, they're all lying because we're all on this road and there's no expert. And so I find it fascinating. And that's how I learned how to learn how to hone it all down, narrow it down to what works best for me and what I think works best for most entrepreneurs, at least small to medium sized businesses.

Donna Mitchell  [00:17:01]:
Thank you. So with the human element, when you look at the different corporations and culture, or the different geographic cultures, as you've traveled, or as you've created and procured the artisans and how they present and deliver and execute, what do you feel is the most common thread that you see in all cultures. And have you had to really differentiate with dependence on the corporate culture or the geographic culture?

Mona Bavar [00:17:44]:
Actually, that's a really great question. I don't think you need to differentiate. I think what you need to do is understand. So the most important thing is everybody has. And again we go back to your brand story, your why every, even the big multi, like Apple, for example, let's say the biggest company that we have now as far as capital, they have their story. Their brand story is very powerful, isn't it, with Steve Jobs and how he created Apple, the up, the down, everything that happened that led to then the company brand story. So then we say Apple has a culture, right? But that culture has to come from somewhere. Culture isn't or just spontaneously created, right? So we go back to that brand story and the importance of it.

Mona Bavar [00:18:40]:
Because you have to understand what you're, what is your vision, what is it, your values. And anybody that starts out, whether you're a corporation, as a CEO, you're doing this, or you're a founder of a small business, you have the reason why you are where you are and doing what you're doing. And once you know that clearly, then you can create that corporate culture and then you can lead and then you can delegate and then you can say, this is what I want you to do. This is what we need. This is how we're going to grow more. Because growing also comes with it a lot of weight. So this is how we're going to grow in a way that we, our roots are so deep that if a win comes, we're not going to get blown over. So I think it's that kind of a way of looking at things.

Mona Bavar [00:19:42]:
So when we speak to clients and whatever, wherever they're from, whatever their background is, the, the size of their business, it's most important to understand whoever our reference point is, what is it? Because a lot of companies say we have a culture, but where did that culture come from? And I think that's what's most important. And it also helps because we do a lot of workshops where we go in and we teach them, the people and companies how to use, best use AI. And there you come in contact with their culture, with at least the approach the company has. And then you say, you know what, let's, let's understand it better because then you want to be able to prompt the, the AI in order for you to get the responses that you're looking for. So it's a very, it's like a recipe. I always Say a recipe of pastries, not even of a pasta dish. It's a pastry recipe that involves science and exact measure.

Donna Mitchell  [00:20:51]:
So on occasion, because you walked right into it. And I'm going to try and get a couple of little tidbits on occasion, on quite a few episodes, the guests will mention some of their favorite tools or what they like to utilize and why, and maybe some things that they prefer to stay away from. Do you have any favorite tools that you like to share with AI or a couple of platforms that you really prefer as you execute your lovely, lovely gifts to corporate and to the world?

Mona Bavar [00:21:26]:
Yes, absolutely. We chatgpt. I call him my. My boyfriend and he there. It's wonderful for ideation, for strategy, for content creation, for so many different things. It's wonderful for. And we all heard the news last week where they're launching their first AI agent with three different tiers of payments and they're quite expensive. But Chat gbt, I still think it's one of the best ones out there for video creation is Runway.

Mona Bavar [00:22:03]:
I like Runway. I think it works, especially if you subscribe. All of these I recommend subscribing to. They're not expensive. They we it's an investment. I like it for video creation. I like Opus Clip for multi purposing. So when you create the video like right now, the zoom, you can upload it onto Opus Clip and it will give you a few different bits of this that AI helps generate in the sense that says what's the best part for you to put on Instagram or what's the best for LinkedIn? About a minute long or 30 seconds or, or 10 minutes, whatever you want on YouTube.

Mona Bavar [00:22:47]:
And I also like Canva. Funny enough, I used to use my Journey for creating images, which I still do. But Canvas image, AI generated images I think is one of the best that's out there right now.

Donna Mitchell  [00:23:02]:
I love canva as well. But I also just recently met Runway and that was through a episode previous episode. I think that was episode 60. I never heard of Runway, but there's quite a bit of tools and enhancements and just. I was, I was amazed. That was a whole new platform for me. And at the end of the day, I really just believe in finding a few that works for you and gives you what you need. And remember that AI is an enhancer and it does more than just create based on a prompt.

Donna Mitchell  [00:23:42]:
If you can think will help you dream it and bring it to life. But you have to think it. I don't want people to really feel that it's going to take the place of you, I prefer to look at it. It's an enhancement of you, of who you are in the direction you're going. So I'm curious about personalization just a little bit more for those people with businesses and the personalization that you use with your clients and your companies. Is there anything that you can share in regards to all the data that people are talking about today? Do you protect your data in a certain way or use certain programs to help you personalize your data gifts, your corporate gifts? How does your data come into play? How are you playing in that sandbox when it comes to data and AI? If you can answer that question?

Mona Bavar [00:24:42]:
The. The data has. As far as like doing analysis, we basically have platforms that are connected to delish because it's a. It's a Shopify.

Donna Mitchell  [00:24:53]:
So.

Mona Bavar [00:24:53]:
And Shopify already provides that. As far as how our sales are doing, our marketing is doing. So that's ready available as far as data gathering in the sense to understand like emails, collecting emails, or any of that, we store it like with mailchimp or. I mean, it's not. Most platforms right now offer the data. We don't store any data. We just refer, as far as blue apples goes, in the sense that we don't have like a cloud where we need to keep people's information. We come and we help you and we provide it like we did on any platform even before AI.

Mona Bavar [00:25:42]:
So I don't know if that answers your question.

Donna Mitchell  [00:25:44]:
Yes, it does. It does. Because some people use data differently and with the product that you have in your position in the marketplace. The reason I asked that question is because once you start going into the personalization direction and the storytelling, it seems like in personalization, I'm finding there's a lot of data being stored, used, analyzed and predicted. And it helps in the buying decisions, the fulfillment and the personalization depending on, you know, your product and what you're doing and how you're doing it and where you're doing it at in the place and space. So I was really curious, especially being in the luxurious market and delish, if the data was being used or assessed or analyzed any differently or how it was being looked at, if at all, at this point, more than normal, let's say. But being with Spotify, they've got so much data analytics.

Mona Bavar [00:26:49]:
Yeah, Shopify does have data analytics, but I, I understand now what you're saying. It's not that we. I think we still do it organically in the sense that we, we like that human touch that Human connection at delays.

Donna Mitchell  [00:27:07]:
Let me ask you one last question. What haven't I asked that you want to share?

Mona Bavar [00:27:13]:
One thing that I'm very proud of is the fact that we at Blue Apples, in order for us to be able to understand or help people understand better themselves, we use the Jungian archetypes in order to tap into how you can use AI to see exactly as a360, your characteristics and which archetype you bring out, in which situations and how you can either nurture one to help it become stronger, or how you can downplay one, or in a way so that both in your personal and professional life, you bring these archetypes in in a harmony where they are essentially one, which is that you. And so this is something that I'm very proud of and it's one of the guides that's available on our website under the resources and I highly recommend it because it I did the beta again and I love to do betas on myself before I put it out there on myself last year in 2024, and it was so powerful and it was a part of. I am a part of this female entrepreneurial coaching group, mentors, and she had asked me to do it every month and I did. And the result was so powerful that this year we put out a guide. So I think that's something very interesting and it helps you understand better your why. And therefore, using these prompts, you understand how, like you were saying, AI is there to amplify and to make it. To make you feel more empowered, to make you feel like you can conquer anything. So I think it's a useful tool.

Donna Mitchell  [00:29:10]:
I love AI. I know there's the good, the bad and the ugly, but I really believe there's more good and more benefits, just like Web3. You asked me earlier when we first started, how did I come into web3 or why? I think the main benefit that triggered me beyond that, I saw it as a big shift, like when intel came into the market. I really ended up seeing everything differently. When I learned it can give somebody identity. I had never really thought about the fact that there are populations and underprivileged populations that don't even have an identity to do the banking or to make the transaction or to have an ecosystem. So that became very, very important to me. And that's how I really kind of jumped into this Web3 space.

Donna Mitchell  [00:30:00]:
I think those were the two whys for me, wanting to educate on what's going to happen and wanting to understand why certain things weren't happening. If that Makes some sense. How can somebody reach you?

Mona Bavar [00:30:14]:
How do we reach you for our gifting? They can visit Delish D L I S H dot us and Blue Apples. That's apples with an S AI they can come and schedule a call, a discovery call, and get to know us and see what we have, the resources that we have. And me personally, you can find me on LinkedIn.

Donna Mitchell  [00:30:38]:
Okay. Well, thank you so much for being on pivoting to Web3 podcast. I've just had a good time getting to know you and talk to you. Thank you so much for your time and consideration. And I'm really going to be checking out Blue Apples.

Mona Bavar [00:30:53]:
Thank you very much, Donna. It was wonderful meeting you.

Donna Mitchell  [00:30:55]:
Really.

Mona Bavar [00:30:56]:
You're. You're someone I hope to be down the line.

Donna Mitchell  [00:31:00]:
Thank you so much. Very kind of you to say thank you. And thank you all for listening to pivoting to Web3 podcast. We have a good day, good evening, and a good morning, and we're shaping tomorrow together. Thanks for tuning in to pivoting to Web3 podcast. If you're a developer, innovator or AI expert with insights to share, or if you're looking to partner, let's Connect. Visit MitchellUniversalNetwork.com and be part of the conversation. Want more content? Check out my playlist for more episodes.

Donna Mitchell  [00:31:28]:
See you next time.