Learn the real stories behind technology and ecommerce companies. We interview founders, marketers, engineers, and investors who are building the next generation of businesses. Whether you want to get a promotion at work or build your own startup, you are in the right place. Practical information every week. Never any ads or sponsors. Revenue is hosted by Safa Mahzari, Founder & CEO of Alluxo. Visit alluxo.com and patreon.com/alluxo.
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Ayoola Oluwanusin is Co-Founder & CTO of Crypcentra, crypto investment tools for institutions. Crypcentra started with allowing retail investors to access crypto assets more easily before switching to focus on enterprise and institutional software.In this episode, we discuss Ayo's background, how he met his cofounder, the initial sketch on a Nando's napkin, the right time to test the market, when to start writing code, advice for first time founders, and more. This is a continuation of our conversation with his co-founder Alpha a few weeks ago.GUEST Crypcentra Website Crypcentra LinkedIn Ayoola Oluwanusin LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website RESOURCESAyo's Entrepreneur Trello BoardTIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 2:04 - Alpha's background and education 9:30 - Governments, big companies, and startups 19:08 - Meeting your cofounder at Crypcentra 26:28 - How and when to write code in a tech startup 36:33 - What is your personal legacy? 39:31 - Advice for first time founders 45:57 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Jeremiah Prummer is Co-Founder & CEO of KnoCommerce, the only survey platform built for ecommerce. Prior to starting KnoCommerce, Jeremiah built ecommerce companies, working at marketing agencies, and built a reputable for building one of the most widely recognized WooCommerce extensions supporting 120,000+ websites.In this episode, we discuss Jeremiah's background, his introduction to entrepreneurship, starting KnoCommerce, the challenges of building his tech startup, the importance of understanding customers at a fundamental level, and his advice for people just starting out.GUEST KnoCommerce Website KnoCommerce Twitter Jeremiah Prummer LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:54 - Jeremiah's background 7:33 - Feeling comfortable vs. overwhelming 13:14 - Uncovering the problem that you're solving 27:35 - Defining your initial target market 33:05 - Your personal life and personal legacy 39:09 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Alpha Kargbo is Founder & CEO of Crypcentra, crypto investment tools for institutions. Crypcentra started with allowing retail investors to access crypto assets more easily before switching to focus on enterprise and institutional software.In this episode, we discuss Alpha's background, how he met his cofounder (over WhatsApp), the mission of Crypcentra, the most difficult part of building the startup so far, how to sell into enterprise customers, and much more.GUEST Crypcentra Website Crypcentra LinkedIn Alpha Kargbo LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 2:04 - Alpha's background and education 15:21 - What is Crypcentra? 19:24 - Balancing the needs of today vs. the future 24:40 - The most difficult part so far 29:42 - Finding your technical cofounder 40:08 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Josh Furstoss is Co-Founder & CEO of Incued, makers of business planning software. They want to be the one-stop solution for all the resources you need to build, manage, grow, and fund your business.In this episode, we talk about whether it's worth to start a company, the persistence to continue, how to plan vs. how to build, the mission of Incued, advice for first time founders, and much more. GUEST Incued Website Josh Furstoss Twitter Josh Furstoss LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 2:10 - Is starting a company worth it? 13:03 - Storytelling and imposter syndrome 19:08 - Improving your skill level and getting started 30:46 - Planning vs. building vs. listening to advice 36:20 - What is Incued? What is your mission? 51:53 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Tooraj Helmi, PhD is Founder & CEO of Apsy, an AI application development platform. They help companies build applications by using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and human developers. Prior to starting Apsy, Tooraj was a software manager and former startup founder.In this episode, we talk about Tooraj's background, his approach to higher education, working in big companies, what it's like to be a technical founder, and his thoughts on how app development will change over the next few years.GUEST Apsy Website Apsy LinkedIn Tooraj Helmi LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:53 - Manage your schedule as a startup founder 5:27 - Tooraj's background 12:45 - Persistence vs. listening to feedback 21:16 - What problem is Apsy solving? 33:45 - What was harder than you expected? 44:22 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Olu Adedeji is Founder & CEO of Prelo, a revenue growth platform. Their product connects you to fast-growing startups looking for prodcuts and services. Prior to starting Prelo, Olu was a serial entrepreneur and worked in investment banking.In this episode, we talk about Olu's background, Prelo's launch, what it's like building a startup during lockdown, and how the skills of a startup founder and successful employee at a large corporation differ.GUEST Prelo Website Prelo Twitter Prelo LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:54 - Prelo's launch 3:16 - Olu's background 17:12 - Skills that founders need 31:52 - What is Prelo? 42:06 - What is more difficult than you expected? 46:02 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Brian Leung is Co-Founder & CEO of SwiftAds, a startup automating digital advertising. They help small businesses create efficient and effective advertisements. Prior to starting SwiftAds, Brian started a digital marketing agency working hand-in-hand with SMBs.In this episode, we talk about Brian's background, bootstrapping his SaaS company, work life balance, his advice to his younger self, and more.GUEST SwiftAds Website Brian Leung Twitter Brian Leung LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:02 - Work life balance 4:56 - Brian's background 17:14 - First steps towards building a company 32:39 - The inner motivation 37:32 - Advice to your younger self 41:04 - Wrap up and final thoughts
JT Garwood is Co-Founder & CEO of bttn, an online medical supply platform. They want to help healthcare providers reduce the $230 billion of annual spend on medical supplies while offering a better customer experience.In this episode, we talk about JT's background, his B2B sales career, why he left his lucrative job, the founding story of bttn (pronounced 'button'), and his vision for the future. GUEST JT Garwood LinkedIn bttn LinkedIn bttn Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS PE = private equity USD = University of San Diego ICP = ideal customer profile TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:05 - JT's background 5:34 - His sales experience, and quitting that career 14:53 - What is bttn and why did you start it? 21:16 - Biggest wins and losses so far 27:43 - The wrong way to do startup sales 35:22 - Getting your first customers 42:09 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Justin Jia is Co-Founder & CEO of Project Unicorn, a new way for startup founders to meet investors. Today, it's not obvious how to meet angel investors, VCs, and advisors. Plus there is plenty of people claiming to be investors that really are there just to bleed companies dry. Justin and his team are solving that problem.We discuss why he started a startup community on Slack, the attraction for top-tier VCs to join, the irrationality it takes to join a startup, finding the right role for yourself, and having high levels of conviction and self-awareness.GUEST Justin Jia LinkedIn Justin Jia Twitter Project Unicorn Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS Startup = young companies looking to grow quickly VC = venture capital Angel investors = people who write personal checks into startups Pre-seed = startup investing before a product or revenue Seed = startup investing with very little data Series A-D = later stage startup investing IPO = initial public offering a16z = Andreessen Horowitz GP = general partner, the VCs who invest in startups LP = the investors into a venture fund YC = Y Combinator, a startup accelerator TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:19 - Starting a startup community on Slack 9:41 - The economics of venture capital 21:46 - Networking with other founders 28:29 - The irrationality of building startups 34:40 - The long term vision for Project Unicorn 44:46 - Finding your seat at the table 50:13 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Sami Halabi is Founder & CEO of Univoice, a language learning mobile app. Sami speaks Arabic, English, French, Spanish, German, and Italian and is teaching people how to learn languages through music.In this episode, we talk about his background, his experience at Fortune 500 companies, what it was like starting his company, setting the right culture, and managing your stress as a founder.GUEST Sami Halabi LinkedIn Univoice Website Univoice Mobile App PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:56 - Sami's background 8:30 - Univoice founding story 23:08 - Box checking vs. adding value 30:13 - What is a good startup culture? 39:53 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Shaun Tiwari is Founder & CEO of CapFlow, a platform for non-dilutive private capital. He is a former investment banker and startup founder who is bringing financial services into the modern age.In this episode, we discuss Shaun's background, why the financial services industry feels 20 years behind the tech sector, the founding of CapFlow, his biggest challenges to date, and advice to young entrepreneurs.GUEST Shaun Tiwari LinkedIn CapFlow Website CapFlow Explainer Video PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS Private equity = investment funds that buy and restructure private companies Generalist = a fund strategy that looks across many industries and regions SPAC = special purpose acquisition vehicle Buy side = advice relating to buy stock, assets, or companies Sell side = advice relating to selling your business B2B = business to business M&A = mergers and acquisition Deal flow = the rate at which they meet companies and receive pitches Bulge Bracket = the top tier of investment banks who with the largest corporations SaaS = software as a service EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization LP = limited partners GP = general partners Vanity metrics = metrics that make you feel good but don't move the business forward TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:50 - Shaun's background 7:00 - Working in finance today 16:00 - What is CapFlow? 24:19 - How did you get started? 30:23 - Biggest challenges so far 39:37 - Advice to founders 44:40 - Wrap up and final thoughts
JD Jernigan is Founder & CEO of Propagate, an ecommerce investment platform that generates passive income for investors. JD is an expert in sales and marketing, having scaled multiple online stores himself before starting Propagate.In this episode, we discuss starting off in dropshipping, running a digital marketing agency, building his first tech startup, how he thinks about ecommerce today, and the challenges of a first-time founder.GUEST JD Jernigan LinkedIn Propagate Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS Ecommerce = Buying and selling products through an online store Dropshipping = Outsourcing the inventory and fulfillment of orders SaaS = software as a service Print on demand = Where copies are not printed until orders are received Apliiq = print on demand vendor that plugs into Shopify TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:50 - JD's background 4:42 - What is print on demand? 7:03 - What is ecommerce dropshipping? 14:18 - Running a marketing agency 23:53 - What is Propagate? 32:46 - Safa's experience in ecommerce 38:16 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Tim Ryan is a 4x startup founder and Venture Partner at Interlock Capital, a community-driven VC firm. Today, he spends his time consulting, advising startups, incubating new ideas, and investing.In this episode, we talk about the challenge that startup founders have building their product and getting their first users. Tim shares his advice on how to focus on the right signals from the market and how to not spend too much time building without getting feedback.GUEST Tim Ryan LinkedIn Interlock Capital Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS B2B = business to business SaaS = software as a service Pre-product = the company stage before their product is live Pre-revenue = when the product is live, but before it's generating revenue TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:56 - Validating your idea 19:06 - Building your startup's credibility 33:50 - Traits of startup founders 58:51 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Rocco Haro is the Founder of Kickback Space, a 3D video communications company. In this episode, we talk about Rocco going from a software developer to a startup founder including the mistakes he made along the way and the first steps he made after coming up with the initial concept.Our discussion focuses heavily on the early days of a tech startup, where things are very abstract. The key, from my point of view, is to really refine your idea, talk to potential customers, and get them to buy into your vision early. Think in terms of hours or days, not months or years.GUEST Rocco Haro LinkedIn Kickback Space Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website RESOURCES"Super Founders" by Ali TamasebTERMS EE = electrical engineering IDE = integrated development environment Flask = Python micro web framework LSTM = long short term memory Overfit = when a statistical model is too many parameters tied to a set of data points, making it hard to be useful on any another set of data Underfit = when a statistical model has too few parameters and cannot adequately capture the structure of the data Ambivert = someone with a balance of introverted and extroverted features Tech debt = the cost of rework needed to be done in the future due to shortcuts today GPU = graphics processing unit TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:52 - Rocco's background 4:46 - Being a software developer 14:08 - Being a solo founder vs. co-founder 23:11 - What is Kickback Space? 37:16 - Recruiting a team and focusing efforts 56:40 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Maksymilian Podraza is an Application Engineer at Accenture and former startup founder. He co-founded Own It, a startup that built an app and community for skateboarders. This conversations centers on the truths of starting a company.We discuss perfectionism, imposter syndrome, privilege, building products, gaining users, and the problems with the public perception of startups. Startups are difficult and strange. Instead of talking about how we're all doing great all the time, let's talk honestly about what's working, what's not, and how it's affecting us and the people around us.GUEST Maksymilian Podraza LinkedIn Accenture Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS Imposter syndrome = a psychological pattern where people doubt their skills or accomplishments and has a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud FAANG = Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google UI = user interface TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:28 - Perfectionism 9:58 - Growing up in Poland 18:19 - Imposter syndrome 29:40 - Public perception of tech founders 52:00 - Psychological toll of starting a company 1:03:54 - Working at a Fortune 500 corporation 1:10:54 - Final thoughts and wrap up
Dane Baker is Co-Founder of EcoCart, an ecommerce plugin that helps brands with their carbon offset. On average, 1 in 4 shoppers opt to make their online orders carbon neutral and DTC brands see a 14% lift in cart conversion rate.In this episode, we talk about Dane's background, how his previous business led him to start EcoCart, how consumers want to go carbon neutral, their carbon recapture partners, and his advice to people who want to start companies and raise venture capital.GUEST Dane Baker LinkedIn Dane Baker Twitter EcoCart Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS Merchants = brands who sell goods online CES = Consumer Electronics Show, a conference API = application programming interface Ecommerce = selling products through the internet Carbon offset = a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide to compensate for emissions made somewhere else Carbon footprint = the amount of carbon dioxide emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by an online order TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:15 - Dane's background 9:27 - Being resilient and persistent 15:20 - Getting the first EcoCart customers 25:04 - Challenges running the business in 2021 32:20 - What is a carbon offset? 34:35 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Hunter Allemand is Managing Partner of Moriah Consulting, an M&A advisory firm. He has been an entrepreneur and operator several times before getting into advising companies on how to raise capital and sell to the right buyer.In this episode, what you need to know to start a consulting firm, the M&A process from a founder's perspective, the rise of micro acquisitions, and where the startup market is heading.GUEST Hunter Allemand LinkedIn Moriah Consulting Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS M&A = mergers and acquisition Capital raise = raising money from investors for your company Buy side = advising companies on what to acquire Sell side = advising companies on who to sell to PE = private equity CIM = confidential investment memorandum Goldman = Goldman Sachs, the investment bank Financial buyer = a private equity firm that buys companies Strategic buyer = a large company in the industry that buys up smaller players Data room = a secure place for your legal and financial documents Balance sheet = shows assets, liabilities, and ownership of a company P&L = profit and loss statement, shows revenues and expenses for a company ESOP = employee stock option pool IPO = initial public offering TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:55 - Hunter's background 14:56 - What is Moriah Consulting? 22:19 - The rise of micro acquisitions 34:12 - What is the M&A process for startups? 43:54 - Thoughts on startup ecosystem
Clark Nowlin is Founder & CEO of Golden Ratio, a gold roast coffee company. Golden Ratio is popularizing a lighter roast of coffee that is less acidic and bitter than traditional black coffee.In this episode, we talk about Clark's background, the founding story of Golden Ratio, getting several key assumptions wrong, finding the right partners, raising their first outside money, the importance of recruiting, and more.DISCOUNT CODEUse 'REV20' at drinkgoldenratio.com GUEST Clark Nowlin LinkedIn Golden Ratio Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS B2B = business to business SaaS = software as a service CPG = consumer packaged goods Co-pack = contract packaging, a vendor response for putting goods in their final packaging Cost of goods sold = the direct labor and material costs to generate revenue Gross margin = the percent of profit left after covering variable costs MOQ = minimum order quantity Pro forma = estimated financial statements for future periods H-E-B = Texas-based grocery store chain with 300+ locations Free cash flow = the amount of cash generated by a company's normal operations Product market fit = when your product aligns with your market and marketing TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 0:50 - Clark's background 12:18 - Starting Golden Ratio 24:06 - What is gold coffee? 34:10 - The expectation of being a founder 46:47 - Delegating tasks and decisions 53:53 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Hem Suri is Founder & Managing Partner of Spark Growth Ventures, a community-driven venture capital firm. For the past two decades, Hem has been an operator, executive, board member, investor, and advisor. While we talk about startups and venture capital, we also reflect on living a meaningful life and supporting those around you.In this episode, we cover Hem's background, his introduction to startups, working at large companies and funds, starting his own unique fund, betting on yourself, and advice to young entrepreneurs. Hem has been a trusted advisor to me personally, so I want to thank him for his guidance throughout the years.GUEST Hem Suri LinkedIn Hem Suri Crunchbase Spark GV Website Spark GV LinkedIn PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website HEM'S FAVORITE READS "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" by Robin Sharma "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell "Illiad" and "Odyssey" by Homer "Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" by Eric Jorgenson TERMS M&A = mergers and acquisitions PE = private equity KKR = Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. EVP = executive vice president VC = venture capital LP = limited partner GP = general partner CAC = customer acquisition cost LTV = lifetime value Churn = the number people who stop using your product RESOURCESThe Paradox of HedonismTIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:18 - Hem's background 16:06 - Doing more with your life 35:33 - What makes Spark unique? 56:14 - Who should raise VC money? 1:08:32 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Mitch Stein is Co-Founder & CEO of Pond, a software platform that brings together nonprofit organizations and technology providers. Their approach is unique, allowing nonprofit executives to be paid for taking meetings with vendors. The end goal is to help all 1.5 million nonprofits in the country get access to better software and tools.In this episode, we discuss Mitch's background, his work at Goldman Sachs, perfectionism, what inspired him to be a founder, the mistakes he made building Pond (including the false starts along the way), and his advice to founders. We talk about the importance of talking to customers and focusing on the right solution, instead of trying to build a complex product from the beginning. This advice alone will save you months of time and tens of thousands of dollars.GUEST Mitch Stein LinkedIn Pond Website PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS VC = venture capital ARR = annual recurring revenue PMF = product market fit SaaS = software as a service CRM = customer relationship management B2B = business to business DTC = direct to consumer H2H = human to human TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:06 - Culture and work styles 5:21 - Mitch's background 24:11 - Advice based on your startup stage 38:10 - Founding story of Pond 53:18 - The problem with hero worship 1:07:18 - Aligning around a mission 1:15:43 - Advice to founders 1:23:09 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Diane Wiredu is Founder of Lion Words, a B2B conversion copywriting firm. She helps companies create a clear, compelling message to a specific audience. We discuss her process for customer research and copywriting, and how that process leads to outperforming other methods.Diane has a background in languages, having studied them at university. She speaks English, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, and half of French. (We'll round up and give her credit for all 5.)"Copy is never written. Copy is assembled." –Eugene SchwartzGUEST Lion Words Website Lion Words Newsletter Diane Wiredu LinkedIn Freebie: Voice of Customer Research Template PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS B2B = business to business ROAR = research, organize, assemble, review KPI = key performance indicator CTA = call to action Demographics = external or physical factors of your audience (age, gender, location, etc.) Psychographics = psychological factors of your audience (motivations, beliefs, ideas, etc.) SaaS = software as a service TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:16 - Diane's background 9:09 - What mistakes are founders making? 12:42 - The right copywriting process 22:16 - Clarity and consistency 37:22 - Customer funnels 42:32 - Customer research 56:38 - Diane's question for Safa 1:04:44 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Nawar Alsafar is Founder & CEO of Bytez, a tool to help data scientists. In this episode, we talk about his background, getting into software development, growing several companies from scratch, and participating in startup accelerators.Nawar was the former founder, CEO, and CTO of Augur, a company that he scaled to 40M monthly active users before selling to BounceX. We touch on his unconventional path towards computer science, his personal philosophy, what matters when building products, and much more.GUEST Bytez Website Nawar Alsafar LinkedIn Nawar Alsafar GitHub PODCAST Safa Mahzari Patreon Alluxo Website TERMS CEO = chief executive officer CTO = chief technology officer Term sheet = agreement outlining a potential startup investment Demo day = when all the startups pitch investors AI = artificial intelligence TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Episode intro 1:03 - Staying focused 30:16 - Nawar's background 45:54 - Persisting when it's not working 57:08 - Founder vision vs. market feedback 1:05:11 - Wrap up and final thoughts
Nick Robbin leads business development at Yerbuzz, the makers of yerba mate hard seltzer.
Daniel Arabi is Franchise Owner at The Baked Bear.
Nemanja Zivkovic is Founder & CEO of Funky Marketing.
Angelica Hoyos is Founder & Creative Director of AH! Digital Growth.
Ryan Matonis is Founder & CEO of Lead Engines.
Charles Siritho is Founder & CEO of Function Factory Performance. This is his second interview on Revenue.
Amir Torabi is Director of Strategic Partnerships at Sendlane.
Steve O'Dell is Co-Founder & CEO of Tenzo, a matcha tea company.
Marti Sanchez is Founder & CEO of Influence Podium.
Nick Jordan is Founder & CEO of Content Distribution.
Brandon Christopher is Founder & CEO of Lexicon Healthcare
Karen Danujaja is Co-Founder of Blume, makers of superfood blends.
Aleksandr Volodarsky is Co-Founder & CEO of Lemon.io.
Declan Schweitzer is VP Growth at Albert, a consumer fintech app.
Patrick Frank is Co-Founder & COO of Rightdevice.
Michael Siegel is Strategic Analyst at Oracle for Startups.
Camille Trent is Managing Editor at MarketerHire.
Matt Barnett is Founder of Bonjoro, a personalized communication platform.
Kasey Luck is Founder of Luck & Co, an ecommerce marketing agency.
Isaac Herrera is VP Ecommerce and Digital Strategy at DAOU Vineyards.
Ilse Calderon is Senior Associate at OVO Fund, a venture capital fund.
Daniel Murray is Head of Marketing Operations at ServiceTitan.
Yashar Ahmadpour is Co-Founder & CPO of Advice Analytics.
Lauren Holmes is Founder of Corl West, a UI and UX agency.
Jordan Josloff is Co-Founder & VP Revenue of 1sm.
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