The Listener Who Transformed His Life Through Business Development with Lucas Benjamin Schmidt

The Listener Who Transformed His Life Through Business Development with Lucas Benjamin Schmidt

Kelly Kennedy: Today's episode is a little different. It's not a CEO, not a bestselling author, not a founder, instead. It's one of you a listener whose life changed because of this show. A biochemist in Germany who discovered business development by accident, devoured every episode in days, took action immediately and completely rewrote his future.

This is the first time we've ever shared a listener journey on the podcast, and it's one of the most inspiring transformations that I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. This is what happens when curiosity meets courage, and when somebody decides to bet on themselves, stick with us. You are not gonna wanna miss this episode.

Intro: The Great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal. And we couldn't agree more. This is the Business Development podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And broadcasting to the world, you'll get expert business development advice, tips, and experiences, and you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs.

And business development reps. You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business, brought to you by Capital Business Development Capital bd.ca. Let's do it. Welcome to the The Business Development Podcast, and now your expert host. Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly Kennedy: Hello. Welcome to episode 293

of the Business Development Podcast, and today it is my absolute pleasure to welcome Lucas Schmidt.

From the moment that Lucas first emailed me back in November of 2023, I knew that there was something different about him as a biochemist finishing his master's degree in Germany. He discovered the Business Development Podcast. Listened to every episode within days, and immediately began applying what he had learned.

Instead of waiting for opportunities, he used BD principles to market himself, reach out proactively, build real connections, and communicate his value with clarity and confidence. Within weeks, doors began to open for him. Recruiters noticed. Interviews shifted and before he even finished his degree, Lucas found himself in conversations with major companies across Germany and Europe.

Fast forward, and Lucas is now project manager for business development inside a German engineering and technology company that's transforming into the med tech and diagnostic space. He's helping shape the strategy, explore new markets, and build entirely new business segments. All because he didn't just study the ideas on the show, he acted on them, he proved them, and he made them work for him in a way that is currently rewriting his future.

Lucas, what an honor and a privilege to have you on the show. Thank you, Kelly, for having me. It's um. It's amazing, dude. You know, we've been talking since November of 2023 and it's funny because at that point, like the show was, what, seven or eight months old? Yeah, it was, it was still a baby show at that time.

And, um, you know, I appreciated that so much because so few listeners actually reach out and kind of let us know what's going on for them. And it's, it's just amazing as a podcast host to have somebody like you reach out and be like, this show is making an impact in my life. Thank you for doing it.

It's truly what keeps us wanting to keep doing this. You know what I mean? If you look at the motivation to do a podcast, it's about impact, right? Like they, you know, unless you're doing millions and millions of downloads, these shows don't make a ton of money. A lot of it, at the end of the day, is just, I wanna make a difference in the world.

And having somebody like you to be able to say, not only are you making a difference, like, you know, you've changed the trajectory of my career. That's pretty incredible. So I, you know, I appreciate you so much, dude. I appreciate you so much. You're also the only person I think who's ever written into me and said, I've listened to every.

Single episode of the Business Development Podcast, which is why Well, I was like, well, dude, you gotta, you gotta come on the show. We gotta have a conversation because that's pretty amazing. But what you are doing is amazing and your journey is amazing, and I just, I'm excited to, to explore it and share it with the rest of the listeners today.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Yeah. Thank you for having me on here. Kelly in BD we often travel far distances and, uh, yes, that's plenty of time that we have spent together.

Kelly Kennedy: No kidding. If you've actually listened to every single episode of the show at this point, Lucas. It's over 10 full days together without sleeping.

I guess that is absolutely insane. Uh, yeah. I appreciate you so much. Take me back. Take me back to 2023, maybe even, maybe even before that, you know, how did you end up on this path that is led you to a place where BD chose you? Okay, well, depends on how far you want to go back. All the way back. Take us back, man.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : I've always been following, um, the path that opened up in front of me. When I left school, I wanted to be a medical doctor. Then I quickly learned that I'm not the type of caring. The doctor should be. So, I quickly, uh, shifted into the scientific fields, which, uh, which, uh, really excited me.

And, uh, I came to study biochemistry also totally randomly 'cause, um, the place where I wanted to study, uh, human biology back in the day, biology, um, they had, uh, different different times for application. Okay. So, I the studies that I wanted to take in human biology the application window closed a earlier before I found, uh.

So I just started something very similar. So, uh, I could continue in from the third semester but eventually found biochemistry so much more interesting and so much more versatile that I stuck to it. And, uh, that brings us, uh, to 2023, whereas, uh, doing the research for my master thesis.

Kelly Kennedy: Yep.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : And, uh, where I then discovered business development.

Business development, it discovered me.

Kelly Kennedy: It has has that effect. Yeah. It, it's not a lap code anymore. No kidding. And, and I think too, it's just such an interesting transition, right? It's like, obviously we've interviewed a lot of people with interesting transitions on this show. It's, it's happened a lot. But to go from biochemistry into business development is probably the biggest jump I've ever seen on this show.

Talk to me about that. How many years did you spend in biochemistry?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : I started my biochemistry bachelor's in mid 2027. Okay. Uh, 20, 20 17. Sorry. Uh, didn't start in the future.

Kelly Kennedy: Not yet. Well, who knows? I don't know. Where are you from? When are you from? When are you from?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Yeah, so I started in, uh, 2017, um, and did bachelor and Masters until 2023.

Uh, so five years. That was, or six years? Typical. Typical six years. Yeah. There was, uh, a lockdown gap in the middle.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah. Kind of. Wow. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So six years learning biochemistry, and obviously, I know where you go, so I know that this actually makes sense ultimately, but talk to me like, what was it about.

I I'm pretty sure that business development is not the standard path for a biochemist. I, I'm just gonna throw that out there. That does not seem to be the typical journey of somebody who, who spent, five, six years learning biochemistry. What was it, you know, how did business development choose you?

How did that even show up as the thing for you?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Okay, well, the story, how I got into business development and discovered that it even existed. It was totally random as well. Um, when I been working with, uh, the company where I did my master thesis there was someone in our organizational sheet who has the title business development manager.

And most of my colleagues, they were researchers or quality manage, uh, quality managers. But I've never seen a business developer before. So I reached out to her and asked her about what she was doing. So we scheduled short meeting, like 30 minutes. Yeah. And she told me what she was doing, but just by the way, her name is Josephina Sandino.

Thank you for your just a quick shout out to her. And, um, for 30 minutes she was enthus about what she's doing and why business development changed her life and it also chose her. Randomly yeah, she applied to an, uh, an easy apply application on LinkedIn. Got hired and then discovered what BD is.

And I was really excited about what she was telling because, uh, in science bd, she was doing more scientific work, talking about science, talking with, uh, scientists, with users of scientific products. Yep. She was doing more science than in science itself. Um, that, that sounded really interesting to me.

Yeah. Because I ha recently had discovered that, um, I certainly can do lab work or, uh, can deal with quality management tasks, which is where most other biochemists that I've studied with end up eventually. Either they stay in research and development or they go into a more hands-on quality management topic.

But I couldn't picture myself, uh, in such a role actually. I'm not the type type of guy, uh, doing the same process tens of thousands of times over and over again. Mm-hmm. Uh, in exactly the same way, which is crucial in that business. So, um, I was really thrilled when, um, Josephina told me that, uh, there was another path that requires the same set of skills that you learn in university plus some extra that you can deal with doing science.

That, that was, uh, the point where I soon stumbled upon the Business Development podcast.

Kelly Kennedy: Okay. Okay. And, and you found us obviously, and I appreciate that greatly. And you know, you did something though that most people who listen to the show, I don't think do Now, once again, it's hard to tell, it's hard to tell how people kind of go through a show, but I, I think that most people who find the Business development podcast and.

Let's keep in mind too that you found this in 2023, probably about eight months in. At the time. We probably would've had somewhere around 70 episodes of the show when you found us, at least initially. So it's not as, it's not as grueling as it is today to hit full 300 episodes of the show. But even then, significant amount of time to get caught up in the time that you did and, um, you didn't just listen to the show.

You actually sent me one of the most thoughtful emails. I think I've ever received on the show, even way back then. Uh, introducing yourself, introduce, letting me know that you found the show and you're really enjoying it. Why did you reach out? I, and, and just outta curiosity, because like as a podcaster, we would love it if all of our listeners would reach out to us.

What was it specifically that inspired you to reach out to me?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : That was one of your very first episodes. I remember. We have been talking about, uh, it must have been around the time that you interviewed Jack Schafer. Okay. Yeah. And, um, those episodes around, uh, this one, uh, they were very interesting and, uh, acting on your advice.

I also read, uh, the like switch and times.

Books are nice, but what we bd people do is talking to people. Yes. So the best, uh, Jack Schafer recommended that if you want advice, you need to ask for it. Yes. But only do people like it when they're asked for advice, but you can also learn something from it. Yes. And that was the reason why I reached out to you.

'cause you're the expert on that topic and I was willing to learn.

Kelly Kennedy: Oh, amazing. Amazing. Yes. And for people listening, the episode that he's talking about, I don't know the number, but it's called The Power of Primacy with Jack Schafer. Yes. Also, one of my favorite, one of my favorite interviews. And the reason being is that he's one of my favorite authors of all time.

I, I always recommend two specific books to anybody in business development. One is Jack Schafer's, The Like Switch. Probably one of the most impactful ones in my life. And the second one is, uh, Dale Carnegie's, how to Win Friends and Influence People. Which I imagine was the other book you probably devoured.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah. And both of them are, are really more so about humanity than they are about sales and business development or marketing. And I think that might be surprising to a lot of people listening to this show, but. Human connection is number one. Human connection is the thing that's going to open the most doors for you, and the better you are at working with people and becoming likable and being somebody who other people enjoy spending time with is ultimately, I think, better than any sales tactic that you can ultimately employ on people.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Mostly they're based on exactly these principles. Yeah, most sales tactics that you can learn in workshops. You can also read in the Carnegies How to Win Friends and Influence People or, uh, in the like, switch.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah. Yeah. As Dale Carnegie would see, would say a person's name is the sweetest sound to them, you know?

Uh, take me into it. Lucas, though, you didn't just find the show and cherry pick and listen to a couple episodes to. You devoured. This is your words. I devoured the entire show in a matter of days. Yeah. And I love that man. What, talk to me, what was it that roped you in so much?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : We all know those hours when we are, um, going to work back, uh, or having some errands to run or doing chores in the household.

And I just couldn't part with, uh, what I was hearing your very first episodes that all, um, all were about how, what's better in marketing, like, uh, having physical brochures over, uh, yeah. Over an email having what qualities are important in business development. Yeah. And those were very interesting to me because I was gorging whether I, I'd fit into that field of business.

Or I didn't. And, um, yeah, hence I, it couldn't part with, uh, with a show. And yeah, the, the, it took me about a week, I think, to catch up with everything.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Because every spare minute I spent, uh, listening to the podcast or researching something, something on it. Uh, and from that point, my first fascination grew and I thought, Hmm, maybe.

That's destiny calling if you wanna be a little theatrical.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's amazing. I know it's, um, the first time that I got asked if I would do business development, I'd never even heard the term before, so I totally understand. Right. And, and it's funny because when I hear your story. The whole point, the entire point of the show, Lucas was to help you, was to help listeners just like you, who maybe had never heard of business development before.

And were looking for that introduction to it. And obviously the show has changed. The show has changed a lot and evolved over the past three years and will continue to evolve and. You know, I've kind of decided that in 2026 I do plan to go back again and I do plan to revisit a lot of the things that we did in the beginning of the show because I know that we're getting a lot of new listeners and people finding us for the first time who may or may not be going back to the beginning.

Like, I get it and you have 300 some episodes of a show. It can feel pretty daunting to go all the way back to the beginning. Yeah. It's one of those things where I do plan to go back Lucas and revisit those topics again here in 2026. I think it's time. To kind of start over and take a fresh look at at each one of them.

But it's funny because the show has just evolved and evolved and evolved and, and I realized that like, sure, you can have all the principles, you can have the steps on how, but you have to have the mindset to do it as well. You have to be encouraged as well. You have to understand the entrepreneurial journey as well for some of us that are entrepreneurs.

And so it's kind of one of those things where as the show evolves, I find that maybe the tone has evolved year over year as well. You know? What are your thoughts? How do you feel as somebody who's listened to the entire show? How do you feel about the direction the show has gone over the past, three years from the start to where we're, we're at today?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : In the beginning the show really felt like, a Pierre talking to you about, uh, fusing about what they're doing. Just uh, juicy back in the day, it told me about business development. You were talking out to the world, what you're doing and what, what you're so excited about. Yeah. And over the years it became much more professional.

Um, you strayed a little away from from being a fellow bd, uh, colleague to more of to play off more of your expertise, which you totally. So and the last episodes, like I think since maybe, um, April to August. Yeah. It was noticeable that you shifted back and you did more emotional topics like Yeah.

Burnout and mental health and things like that. That's what I've, what I've recognized.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah. Yeah. And actually I am, I'm even shifting back even further now as well, and I want to, I think what's ultimately happened is that I've been growing, I've been growing throughout this show, right? Like you're absolutely right.

When I started this show, I. I was just a business developer out there trying to give a little bit back to the world and after, you know, interviewing nearly 200 people, I've learned a lot after going through my own entrepreneurial journey the last five years. I've learned a lot, and so I do kind of find that like you're right, like as I've evolved and grown and learned more, I'm also continuing to try to push the boundaries for myself on how I can.

Do that. But I am finding too that I am feeling the need to shift a little more back. So I think you'll find that as the shows go into 2026, that you're gonna see a lot more of those heartfelt, warm. Kelly Kennedy episodes that only I can do a little less, a little less on the, like, full on, educational space and a little more on the, on the humanity space, which is really, you know, I think my calling at the end of the day.

So I, I appreciate that and thank you for that take. Like I said, it's not something that I could get from every listener, so I appreciate it greatly. I wanna lead into what you did with it though, because I think when we talked and you explained to me what happened, we've gone through essentially the first emails, but we didn't go into the.

Man, hearing what you did and how it's panned out for you was probably one of the most inspiring messages I've ever gotten on this show. And it really does encourage me, Lucas, to keep going to keep at this. Um, you've shown me that I am making a difference here in a way that, you know, I, I'm not gonna say that other listeners haven't, but at the same time, you, I don't think any other listener has in the depth that you did.

So I appreciate that greatly. Take me into what you did with all that business development knowledge, because it's pretty epic.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Well, um, what I did with what I took from your early podcast episodes was acting on myself as if I did, if I had my own company, even though I didn't have any company, just myself to market.

And, uh, I started out just as, uh, I do now with products that I'm marketing by, uh, creating a value proposition, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, doing SWOT and, and all those things that you would do in business. Uh, but with myself finding out what my customer, a k, a, uh, potential employer would need and ask for what facets of my personality would, uh, become important.

And I prepared and practiced, uh, I did cold calls. I made physical marketing material, just doing it for like self-marketing purposes. And, uh, from there, uh, I had some, uh, pretty nice experiences. And some pretty awkward ones, but I guess that's just a process

Kelly Kennedy: that's part of the, that's part of the process.

Yeah.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Um, but from there, during the time I was applying and uh, was getting into the field of business, uh, building contacts and then in a small network, uh, I knew that I, that's, that is one thing that I wanted to do in the future. Um, and that, uh, I really wanted to learn more. Just by the way, I initially, I applied for internships everywhere that I could imagine.

And eventually I met my current employer on a conference about diagnostics. And it was totally not planned. Not planned at all. We just had a nice human connection a very warm connection we had, an interesting exchange about, uh, the topic of the conference. And, uh, just by the way, they told me there was a position in business development opening because they were building, uh, a new business development department.

Wow. And by, by the time, um, I knew only knew about automotive industry and engineering and couldn't imagine that. Be something, uh, that I could get into. Yeah. But fast forwards a couple of months and I was the project manager for business development responsible for the medical technology field.

Kelly Kennedy: Wow. Wow. Just like one of the best business development positions that you could end up in. Not just like, not just as a new BD person, but even as a senior BD person, as a director, even like one of the highest level positions that you could have found yourself in and, and to me like that was just.

It made me over the moon for you, over the moon for you, because you've put in the effort, you've put in the work, you've listened to all of the episodes, you've beed yourself, so many people ask, how do I get my dream job? You just told them. You don't wait for it to show up. You don't wait for the job application.

You find the people, you get in touch with them and you market yourself. Talk to me about the connection because I think that's an important thing and you know that I talk about it all the time on, on the show where I say I. The best experiences or the best opportunities you'll never see coming?

I like to say that I'm horrible at planning my future, and it's because I just, my crystal ball's broken. My crystal ball's broken. Lucas, I, I can't see my future. And I, I have people all the time tell me, well, Kelly, you know, you gotta put together your five year and your 10 year plans. And it's like, dude, nothing that's panned out in an incredible way for me, I could have planned out five or 10 years into the future. It's like a year is a long time to plan into the future in Kelly Kennedy's world, because the world just changes so quickly that the opportunities present. And I'm one of those people who I like to just take action.

I'll see an opportunity and I'm like, okay, I'm going this way. I'm gonna try it. We'll see what happens. It might crash and burn, but I'm gonna figure it out. Talk to me though about that chance opportunity, because I think. A lot of ways, that's exactly what happened to you. You were put in an opportunity where you met the right person.

That person said, I like you. I think we wanna talk about an opportunity coming up at our organization. You were willing to say yes. Do you feel like that was a bit of like a divine intervention for you? And I know that might be like a little woo woo, but I like to say the universe sometimes puts things in front of you for you to say yes or no to.

Do you kind of feel like that was one of those scenarios, or do you think that it was, fully the hard work that you put in that led you to that moment?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : I'm a fan of statistics. Yeah. Uh, if you repeat an experiment over and over again, even if your chances are slim, you're finally gonna succeed.

That's how cold calling works. And this is how, uh, finding your dream job works. At least it worked. That's the way it worked for me. So I, I wouldn't put it on a hard effort or divine intervention. Yeah. Uh, but but consistency over time. Exactly. Exactly. Consistency. Sticking to what you have, you have started and yeah.

Kelly Kennedy: So talk to me about the transition you know, essentially from becoming, you know, a, a biochemical engineer and then transitioning that into business development. What were the first, what was the first month like on the job for you?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Oh, yeah. I guess the hard part wasn't even the BD stuff, but the engineering stuff.

'cause um, uh, biochemistry studies, you also learn about maths and physics, but that does not by far compare to any, uh, engineering environment. So, um, people were throwing around terms I've never heard of because it's so normal to speak in their jargon because everyone who's an engineer knows them, but I, I'm not an engineer.

Kelly Kennedy: Mm-hmm.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Um. I'm not a business person either, so, um, I still got something of what they were talking about and, uh, yeah, so it was interesting learning that whole new engineering language. Ultimately, uh, the company hired me because I was able to speak. Uh, the language of science. Yes. The language that you need to communicate with people who are invested in life science who are doing medical technology, who are doing diagnostics.

And, um, it was like a second language that I had to learn regarding engineering. Yeah. How do projects run in engineering? What are life cycles in development in engineering, they're totally different compared to life science.

Kelly Kennedy: It's, uh, it's actually kind of funny because, about a year and a half ago, I launched my coaching programs, and since then I've actually worked with a lot of engineers.

Believe it or not, there's a lot of engineers transitioning into the business development space or starting their own companies and needing that business development advice. Um, I would actually say it's disproportionately engineers that I've worked with on, you know, through my coaching programs, which has been funny.

I would've never seen that coming because, you know, I'm pretty introverted myself and I know a lot of engineers are as well, so I found it kind of funny. There are a lot of people in similar roles to you, similar backgrounds, technology, engineering SI science, who are really starting to make that transition into bd.

And I think, I think ultimately it's a great skillset to have because you can really just get into the work, you can focus in on it and get it done. How would you say that your scientific background has contributed to your BD career, has helped you even in your success?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Oh, I think, uh, that the word detective work sums it up best.

Science is much like bd. Um, when it comes to the, all the detective work and background idea, being creative about where to get information most importantly reliable, uh, information. That's, that's the, the most important part I think. Because you have to juggle numbers. Maybe you get some clues, some, some leads from looking into like public numbers, public figures of a company.

And, uh, from there you find the one odd number in the detail. And from there you have a, a like a point to talk about with the company that you're wanting to get in. You get a conversation starter for once, but you can also, uh, show that your, your interest in the other person's company. One lesson that comes from the Carnegie as well is that if we enthus about things, we love talking about them.

Yes. And we love connecting to people who also enthused topics that we like. Hence, once you find that one nook that you can grab. It's pretty easy to get a conversation started. No better acquired leads.

Kelly Kennedy: Absolutely. Absolutely. You're the very first listener story that we've ever had on the show, and you know that 'cause you've listened to them all 300 episodes.

We have never, ever done that before. How have you felt about this? What do you think about that? Does it, do you feel good being number one? Yeah.

We'll see. We'll see. We'll see how good you edit this, Kelly.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Probably, probably, yeah. Uh, no. I've never been on the podcast before. Uh, this is your first podcast.

Kelly Kennedy: It's Oh, wow. Wow. You're doing exceptional. I just wanna say, you're doing very great. What would you hope? That a fellow listener takes away from this episode. From your journey, from your story, if you, you know, if there was something that someone could walk away with and really take action on from this what do you hope it is?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Be flexible. The most important thing. I've discovered that brought me forward. The most was being flexible. Once you start sticking to a certain set of tasks that you're doing or a certain set of thoughts, you're thinking you get rigid. And, uh, that really impeded me to move forward. And that was one thing to shed to gain flexibility.

Be and find the joy. Doing flexible things. Doing different things. Doing new things, stepping out of the comfort zone.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah. I, you know, I never stop learning. Right. And you know, on the show I've said it many times, you're only an expert until yesterday. Things are changing all the time, even in business development, especially in podcasting.

And it's just like you have to be willing to admit you don't have the answers. And I think maybe that's something that's helped me. Keep the show going is, I'm genuinely curious. Whenever I'm interviewing people, I'm genuinely curious. I really do wanna know. 'cause I know for a fact I don't have all the answers and the more answers and the more people I meet the more knowledge I'm going to gain and, and help me on this journey.

And so, being able to come to anything humble and recognize. You are only an expert until yesterday, no matter what you did, and there's always a better way or a new thing for you to learn. It just makes life more exciting. It would be horrible to just not have any more questions. Lucas, I want to, um, pivot into obviously the transition because you've done something.

That I think most people in business development actually have happened to them. However, it can feel pretty daunting in the moment, right? You know, you made a transition into business development as I would say, business development chose you. It doesn't always feel good in the moment. It can feel pretty scary.

Talk to me and talk to the people listening. Who may be in the opportunity to have that pivot to go from science to business development, to go from engineering to business development, to go from entrepreneurship or whatever you know, they were doing to business development. If they're feeling unqualified or like they don't know what they're doing, what advice would you give to them?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Okay, so, well, one thing that also gave me anxiety when doing the step into business development was, uh, what if I cannot go back? Mm-hmm. But, uh, you are scientists and engineers. You've got your qualifications and you can always go back to what you've learned. That is the thing that hampered me to take the first step, uh, until I got the confidence to just make the step forward.

But then BD is nothing that you can study. I know, uh, the engineering field and the, the life science field, they're both very academic. So, in any application that, uh, you will run into, people will be asking about why are you qualified for this role? What have you studied? Where have you studied?

What are your credits? What are your grades? Way less scary, uh, in business and especially in business development because there's no degree for it. That's right. And on the one hand side, it is very hard to describe and to hard to pinpoint what business development means because depending on what company you go into, business development can mean everything from sales to product management, to all sorts of tasks that are just crammed into this word.

Yeah. This big word. Business development. Yeah. Everything that moves the company forward essentially. Even if you compare to business development experts with one another, chances are that they have totally different skill sets. Yeah. And think about yourself and your skillset that you develop as a unique mixture, like a cocktail or, um, or a nice, uh, exotic dish, uh, that you're cooking.

You're just finding the right customer. Not everyone likes Indian food, but not everyone needs to eat Indian food. Correct?

Kelly Kennedy: Correct. No, I love that analogy. And it, it is, you know, one of my goals with this show, Lucas, was to define business development. I, I really did want to help people have a better understanding.

Like you said though, you know, at the end of the day, my definition is just my definition, but I was hoping to try to level set that and create a little bit of distance between sales and marketing and show that yes, it has aspects of both, but business development really needs to be focused on new opportunities and opening doors in a new way.

And I, I, I think whenever I do my coaching or when I work with clients and I show them it. They do agree that this is the better way to do it. So I do hope one day, I hope one day that, that we can, all agree on a common definition of business development. So maybe, uh, who knows, maybe me and you'll be sitting in a room one day trying to lock that down for people.

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Yeah, maybe we could start creating another umbrella term that, uh, is currently, uh, BD used for everything.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah, that's right. That's right. Alright. Well it's been an absolutely amazing story, Lucas. It's been a pleasure having you on, you know, what comes next for you and what, what, what are you building now?

What's coming next in your BD journey you think?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Well, I don't have a crystal ball either, but, um, currently the company I'm working with, um, undergoes, uh, major restructuring. Yeah. Because, uh, the economy demands it. And, uh, this is the reason, uh, why I currently lean more into strategic aspects, looking at, uh, different industries, um, and learning a lot about, uh, other parts of engineering that I haven't heard before.

Yeah, the step from, uh, medical technology to thermal management is quite big actually. Sure. But, um, yeah, that's, um, very interesting. Currently what I'm doing. And, uh, what else will come? We'll see.

Kelly Kennedy: Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And lastly, for maybe people in a very similar situation to you, they're not in business development yet, but maybe it's on the docket.

How has business development changed your life? Not just professionally, but maybe personally as well?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Business development really sparked that genuine curiosity for many things in, uh, in me that go well beyond things that I typically think about or thought about. I kind of nerdy uh, I often thought about, I, I calculated things in my head, um, for how far would that apple fly if I threw it into the lake?

Yeah. And why? And that's pretty nerdy physics, life science stuff. But since I, um, went into business development, uh, I see opportunities everywhere I see. New challenges challenging my mind and my learning everywhere. Things that I know about and that I could apply, but also many things that I explicitly dunno about and that I want to get to know more about.

That is a thing that really shaped my day-to-day life. But psychology is another thing. 'cause um, many psychological principles that apply in business development come to shine in every single situation in which we interact with other people or even interact with ourselves. Hence, uh, the way we communicate, the way we.

Talk to ourselves and to others. Uh, it really shapes our, our mind and our thinking. Yes, and I wouldn't have stumbled upon this, I guess, without, uh, entering BD space.

Kelly Kennedy: Amazing. Amazing. Well, I hope that's inspired a ton of people listening today. If they're on the fence, looking to take that leap. Um, you know, follow Lucas.

He's, uh, he's changing the world. By simply stepping into business development. And I appreciate you greatly, my friend. You're talking to potentially hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people here over time. Lucas, um, obviously you're in a new position doing great things. Are you on LinkedIn? How do people get ahold of you?

Lucas Benjamin Schmidt : Oh, yeah. Uh, you can find me on LinkedIn and, uh, you can my, find me under the URL uh, Lucas with a c. Benjamin Schmidt, and, um, that's the easiest way to find me on LinkedIn. Uh, if you're, um, uh, interested in, uh, connecting about essentially anything regarding business development, life science, engineering, whatever you're curious about I am happy to meet new people at. Who knows where our shared stories will lead us.

Kelly Kennedy: Who knows where our shared stories will lead us. For anybody listening, uh, his LinkedIn profile will be in the show notes for this episode. So if you wanna follow Lucas, hop on in. He's an incredible individual. Lucas, what an honor and a privilege. Thank you for coming on today.

Thank you for having me, Kelly. It was an honor, uh, being here. The honor was mine, my friend. Until next time, you've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we'll catch you. On the flip side.

Outro: This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy. Kelly has 15 years in sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry, and founded his own business development firm in 2020.

His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation. And business development. The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your Business Development Specialists. For more, we invite you to the website@ www.capitalbd.ca. See you next time on the Business Development Podcast.