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    The CEO Sessions
    Google Wolverine Manager to CEO (PandaDoc's CEO Keith Rabkin)

    The CEO Sessions

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2026 43:36 Transcription Available


    The Wolverine Mindset....Keith Rabkin, CEO of PandaDoc, is one of the few leaders I've met who can bridge the gap between "corporate tech elite" and "scrappy underdog."Our conversation forced me (and us all) to look at my own leadership style.At Google, Keith was one of only 25 people—out of thousands of geniuses—to win the "Great Manager Award."His secret isn't just a high IQ; it's what he calls the "Wolverine Mindset" .It's a relentless, "never-give-up" grit that focuses on one thing: obliterating roadblocks so the team can win.So many key insights and here are a few of the topics:- How the best "strategic" leaders get into the details to accelerate progress.- Why Keith left the safety of a global giant (Adobe) to hunt for survival in the trenches.- The controversial move he made that instantly drove 5x profitability.Question: Are we overvaluing "vision" and undervaluing raw determination?-----Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben FanningSpeaking and Training inquiresSubscribe to my Youtube channelLinkedInInstagramTwitter

    High Voltage Business Builders
    #235 Higher Prices Hit 2026 | Here's What You Need to Know

    High Voltage Business Builders

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2026 16:01


    Tariffs are no longer theoretical.They're now showing up in earnings calls, pricing data, and customer behavior across the entire eCommerce market.Walmart reported merchandise inflation jumping from 1.7% to 3% in a single quarter. Adobe tracked a 4% spike in online prices in January, the largest single-month increase since they began tracking eCommerce prices 12 years ago.Most sellers see these headlines and panic. Operators translate them into decisions.In this episode of the High Voltage Business Builders Podcast, Neil breaks down what the latest tariff data, price increases across Amazon and Walmart, and changing consumer behavior actually mean for eCommerce operators, and how to build systems that protect your margins when markets shift.

    Tech It Out
    Save a TON of cash by traveling with an eSIM for your smartphone. We chat with Always Mobile. Plus, Michelin talks ‘tire tech,' and more!!

    Tech It Out

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2026 39:07 Transcription Available


    I travel a lot and I used to blow my budget on staying connected. Not anymore. We talk with Mike Stanford, Founder and President of Always Mobile, about what an eSIM is and how it will change your lifeMichelin is one of the oldest brands still powerful today. We chat with Cyrille Roget, Technical and Scientific Communication Director, about how AI, simulations and other tech go into the design and development of the tires you ride on every day.Adobe is getting a huge AI makeover, allowing you to get more done in less time. Tech lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong breaks it all down for usThank you to Visa, Norton, and SANDISK for your incredible support. Get a huge discount on Norton anti-malware at norton.com/techitout

    The CyberWire
    The internet joins the war.

    The CyberWire

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 31:18


    Hacktivist activity surges in the Middle East. Defense tech firms distance themselves from Claude. International law enforcement take down the Leakbase cybercrime forum. A pair of Cisco SD-WAN vulnerabilities are under active exploitation. Google releases an urgent Chrome security update. Age-verification is put under the microscope. TikTok is leaving end-to-end encryption out of your DMs. Our guest is Daniel Barbu, Director of EMEA Security from Adobe, discussing fostering a human‑centered, enablement‑driven, and collaborative approach to AI. Clever code catches cardiac clues. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today on our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by ⁠Daniel Barbu⁠, Director of EMEA Security from ⁠Adobe⁠, discussing how fostering a human‑centered, enablement‑driven, and collaborative approach to AI through the security guild, trainings, and other initiatives. Tune into the full conversation here. Selected Reading Retaliatory Hacktivist DDoS Activity Following Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion (Radware) Threat Brief: March 2026 Escalation of Cyber Risk Related to Iran (Palo Alto Networks) Unit 42's Iran Threat Brief: What We're Seeing (Threat Vector podcast special edition by Palo Alto Networks) Defense tech companies are dropping Claude after Pentagon's Anthropic blacklist (NBC) Sen. Wyden Warns of Mass Surveillance Amid Pentagon's Fight With Anthropic (Gizmodo) Sprawling FBI, European operation takes down Leakbase cybercriminal forum (The Record) Cisco Warns of More Catalyst SD-WAN Flaws Exploited in the Wild (SecurityWeek)  Google Rolls Out Emergency Chrome Update to Patch 10 Critical Security Vulnerabilities (GB Hackers) Hackers Expose The Massive Surveillance Stack Hiding Inside Your “Age Verification” Check (Techdirt) TikTok says it won't encrypt DMs claiming it puts users at risk (BBC) WiFi signals can measure heart rate—no wearables needed - News (UCSC) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    FINE is a 4-Letter Word
    220. Broke Built Me Better with Barry Bradham

    FINE is a 4-Letter Word

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 40:00 Transcription Available


    Shaped by a childhood of resourcefulness and grit, Barry Bradham's story moves beyond your usual rags-to-riches narrative. Raised in a family where money was often scarce, his parents displayed both strong work ethics and unconventional life choices. Barry started honing his sales skills at just eight years old; he was trading toys and selling bubblegum and baseball cards from a table on the corner. These formative experiences not only instilled the value of integrity but also introduced him early to both the highs of self-sufficiency and the lessons that come when the money in play isn't as innocent as it first appears.From those humble beginnings, Barry followed an untraditional but ambitious route, blending work ethic with curiosity. His adolescence and entry into adulthood were marked by a succession of odd jobs, guided mentorship from community figures, and a constant drive to improve his financial footing. It was this drive, combined with the influence of books like "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and real-life examples of side hustles and entrepreneurship, that sustained his hunger for financial autonomy. But it was also a journey fueled by necessity and wanting a sense of control over his life that he didn't always see modeled at home.In college, Barry took those scrappy entrepreneurial skills to the next level, helping launch new student organizations and eventually moving into a career in banking and real estate. By outward appearances, things looked, well, fine.He had an expanding portfolio, social credibility, and an impressive track record managing both businesses and teams. And yet, beneath the surface, Barry was making decisions in isolation, he no longer had the mentorship and strategic counsel that are vital when navigating high stakes. This was his first “fine but not fine” phase.It all came to a head during the economic downturn, when his calculated risks unraveled. He lost properties, financial security, his fiancée, and his sense of direction. And still, he kept the front up. Smiling. Positive. “I've got this.”But as often happens, those lowest moments became catalyzing ones. One day he was on a bus in the rain in Manhattan Beach, whispering to his sister through the phone that he felt like he was living out the movie The Pursuit of Happyness in real time.He was determined not to stay in that place though. He taught himself graphic design and studied Adobe programs late into the night. Slept on his office floor when he had to. Sold his car. Kept showing up to meetings with a belief that he could still create value.Barry credits his resurgence to humility, learning to ask for help, and embracing community instead of going it alone. His second “fine” season taught him something even bigger. And that story? Tune in to hear him tell it.Resources: Website: https://digilink.global/barrybradham-entrepreneur LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrybradham/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barrybradham Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barrybradham_entrepreneur/ Hype Song: Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU&list=RDyyDUC1LUXSU&start_radio=1 Invitation from Lori:This episode is sponsored by Zen Rabbit. Smart leaders know trust is the backbone of a thriving workplace, and in today's hybrid whirlwind, it doesn't grow from quarterly updates or the occasional Slack ping. It grows from steady, human communication.Plenty of companies think they're doing great because they host all-staff meetings, keep “open door” policies, and throw the occasional team-building event. Meanwhile, leaders who truly care about culture are choosing better tools.That's where I come in. Forward-thinking organizations bring me in to create internal podcasts that connect people through real stories, honest conversations, and genuine community—your old printed newsletter reinvented for the way people actually work now.If you run, work for, or know a company ready to upgrade communication and strengthen culture, reach out at Lori@ZenRabbit dot com.Because when people feel heard, they engage. When they engage, they perform. And when they perform, the business succeeds beyond projections.

    The CMO Show
    The Lamb Ad: Unpacking Australia's most anticipated ad of the year

    The CMO Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 43:39


    What does it really take to keep one of Australia's most talked‑about campaigns culturally captivating every single year? In this CMO Show masterclass, Nathan Low, CMCO at Meat & Livestock Australia, lifts the curtain on the annual Lamb Ad.   It's a deep dive into the creative mindset of this enduring cultural moment. We get a behind the scenes look at the process, which starts well before a single line is written, scanning the cultural landscape to understand what feels big enough to bring people together.   Nathan hints at the six‑month rhythm, from exploring broad cultural territories to pressure‑testing concepts and why the Lamb brief stays constant even as the culture shifts around it.   And here's the paradox every marketer wants to create: in a world where most consumers pay to skip ads, Australians still make time for this one, waiting for the drop each January, sharing it and, more often than not, helping it jump borders and make global headlines. That kind of anticipation doesn't come from media spend; it comes from culture, comedy and craft and from an organisation willing to back brave ideas, knowing "safe" ones would be riskier.  Listen in if you want to know how to evolve your brand's marketing without losing the core, how to balance instinct with just‑enough research, and how to turn a campaign into a national conversation people choose to watch.    This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.  www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

    The CMO Podcast
    Lara Balazs (Adobe) | The Golden Age of Creativity

    The CMO Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 54:06


    To kick off Women's History Month, Jim welcomes Lara Balazs, the Chief Marketing Officer and EVP of Global Marketing at Adobe. A company at the center of creativity, transformation and technology. Founded in 1982, Adobe is a software company that is famous for its creativity, innovation, and strong employee and customer-centric culture. Their purpose is to change the world through personalized digital experiences, and their offerings include the Creative Cloud, Document Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Adobe Express.Lara is an experienced CMO. Before Adobe, Lara was the CMO at Intuit for six years, and oversaw a strong run, tripling revenue during her tenure. Over the course of her career, Lara has worked at Visa, Nike, Amazon, and Gap. At Adobe, Lara is leading the charge to help shape the iconic company into its next era of growth. Just one year into the role, she's already refreshed the company's mission to “empower everyone to create” and is leading one of the most ambitious AI-enabled marketing transformations in the industry.Tune in for a conversation with a leader who believes we are entering the golden age of creativity…—Learn more, request a free pass, and register at iab.com/ccs Promo Code for $150 off ticket prices: CMOPODCCS26—This week's episode is brought to you by IAB.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    OMR Podcast
    1000 Prozent Rendite: Investor Jan Beckers (#885)

    OMR Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 72:33 Transcription Available


    Das große Börsen-Update mit BIT Capital-Gründer Jan Beckers hat sich inzwischen zu einer kleinen Tradition im OMR Podcast entwickelt. Dieses Mal blickt er auf ein Ausnahmejahr an den Märkten zurück: Während der Nasdaq stagnierte, lieferte sein Flaggschiff-Fonds 35 Prozent Performance ab. Mit über zwei Milliarden Euro Assets under Management und einer Rendite von rund 1000 Prozent seit Auflage gehört er zur Spitze der Tech-Investoren. Doch für 2026 läutet Jan einen radikalen Strategiewechsel ein. Er erklärt, warum das goldene Zeitalter von Software-Aktien wie Adobe oder Salesforce vorbei ist und er diese sogar aktiv shortet. Stattdessen investiert er massiv in AI-Infrastruktur, Speicherchips und die Energieversorgung hinter dem Boom. Wir sprechen über seinen Weg vom Gründerszene-Chef zum Milliarden-Investor, seine privaten Wetten auf OpenAI und seine Prognose für Bitcoin und Prediction Markets. Doch trotz aller Erfolge warnt Beckers vor einer unsichtbaren Gefahr: Eine spezifische Entwicklung könnte schon in den nächsten drei Jahren eine Katastrophe auslösen, die weit über die Finanzmärkte hinausgeht.

    AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk
    Silver Surfer Is the Original Flappy Bird | AwesomeCast 770

    AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 62:21


    Sorg, Katie, and Dave Podnar hit the week's tech and geek headlines: Nintendo's Virtual Boy revival on Switch, Apple's latest product wave (including iPhone 17e and iPad Air updates), and a troubling report about Meta AI smart glasses and human review. Plus Dunkin's giant drink bucket, MuppetVision in VR, Adobe's AI video-editing experiments, Pokémon nostalgia gadgets, Xbox 1440p cloud streaming, a Marvel retro collection, and a Women's History Month spotlight on Grace Hopper.

    Monde Numérique - Jérôme Colombain

    Face à la domination des géants américains du numérique, Christofer Ciminelli lance “Le Switch”, une newsletter dédiée aux alternatives européennes. Son objectif : démontrer qu'il est possible de conjuguer performance, souveraineté et pragmatisme.Interview : Christofer Ciminelli, créateur de "Le Switch"PunchlinesIl existe des dizaines de logiciels français, mais on ne les connaît pas.Choisir européen ne suffit pas, il faut que ce soit performant.On peut déjà absorber 80 % de nos usages.En agissant, nous avons plus de pouvoir que le Parlement européen.Pourquoi avoir lancé “Le Switch” ?L'idée est partie d'un constat que je mûris depuis plusieurs mois et qui s'est accéléré avec l'élection de Donald Trump. On a toujours le réflexe d'utiliser des outils américains, que ce soit Google Workspace, Pipedrive ou Adobe. Quand on donne nos datas et notre argent à ces modèles SaaS, on affaiblit l'écosystème tech européen. S'il n'y a pas de marché local, il n'y a pas d'investissement. Et sans investissement, on ne peut pas recruter les meilleurs ingénieurs ni développer des produits compétitifs. C'est un cercle vicieux. Je me suis demandé s'il existait des alternatives européennes. J'ai commencé par les CRM et j'en ai trouvé une trentaine en France. L'offre existe, mais elle est méconnue. “Le Switch” est né pour montrer que ces solutions sont performantes et accessibles.Les alternatives européennes sont-elles vraiment au niveau ?Oui. Je ne parle que d'outils performants. Par exemple, j'utilise désormais Yousign, alternative européenne à DocuSign : c'est moins cher et l'interface est meilleure. Je parle aussi de Noota pour la prise de notes, de Brevo Meetings comme alternative à Calendly, de Lovable pour le développement, de Vivaldi comme navigateur ou encore de Swiss Transfer. Le vrai enjeu n'est pas la performance des outils, mais leur interconnexion. La force des GAFAM, c'est leur écosystème : tout dialogue avec tout. En Europe, on a encore du chemin à faire sur ces connexions API et cette logique de stack cohérente.Quels sont les freins à l'utilisation d'outils européens ?Certains détails manquent encore dans certaines applications. Ce sont les 20 % d'usages qui peuvent faire la différence. Mais si on absorbe déjà 80 % des besoins, c'est un énorme pas. Je constate aussi une vraie prise de conscience dans les grandes entreprises. On parle de plus en plus de dégaffamisation. Dans les appels d'offres, il y a désormais des critères qui valorisent les solutions développées en Europe. Il y a aussi un débat politique avec l'Industrial Accelerator Act, porté notamment par Stéphane Séjourné. Mais au-delà des décisions politiques, nous avons un pouvoir immédiat : flécher nos dépenses vers des acteurs européens.Concrètement, comment "switcher" ?Ça ne prend pas tant de temps. Pour une PME de 30 ou 50 salariés, changer un outil de visio ou de signature électronique est relativement simple. Je conseille de cartographier toute sa stack logicielle. On découvre souvent qu'on paie des outils inutilisés. Ensuite, commencer par les outils périphériques et avancer progressivement vers le cœur du système. Le plus complexe reste la messagerie, notamment Google Workspace, car tout est interconnecté. Mais à un moment, il faut se poser la question sérieusement. Sinon, on ne sortira jamais de cette dépendance.La newsletter Le Switch Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

    Sorgatron Media Master Feed
    AwesomeCast 770: Silver Surfer Is the Original Flappy Bird

    Sorgatron Media Master Feed

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 62:21


    Sorg, Katie, and Dave Podnar hit the week's tech and geek headlines: Nintendo's Virtual Boy revival on Switch, Apple's latest product wave (including iPhone 17e and iPad Air updates), and a troubling report about Meta AI smart glasses and human review. Plus Dunkin's giant drink bucket, MuppetVision in VR, Adobe's AI video-editing experiments, Pokémon nostalgia gadgets, Xbox 1440p cloud streaming, a Marvel retro collection, and a Women's History Month spotlight on Grace Hopper.

    A Phil Svitek Podcast - A Series From Your 360 Creative Coach
    How to Get Adobe Cheaper Every Year (Just Ask) | The Wanger Show Clip

    A Phil Svitek Podcast - A Series From Your 360 Creative Coach

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2026 2:05


    This is a clip from The Wanger Show #285 — “She-Hulk & House of the Dragon Both Premiere + The Last of Us Looks Cool” — originally streamed live on August 22, 2022. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/Xj5jhe5F-zs?si=oHBCa32RPc2s2Qca)In this moment from the larger episode, Phil shares a surprisingly simple hack for saving money on Adobe: just ask. Instead of accepting the full renewal price, he reaches out every year — and Adobe consistently offers to keep him at the discounted trial rate (sometimes even throwing in free months).We also talk about:• Why subscription services fight so hard to keep you• The psychology behind retention discounts• Why companies offer cheaper prices only when you try to cancel• A confidence-building exercise: ask for 10% off — anywhereIf you're a creative paying monthly for tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, this tip alone could save you hundreds.Watch the full episode of The Wanger Show #285 for more on She-Hulk, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, and filmmaking talk with Phil. (Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/Xj5jhe5F-zs?si=oHBCa32RPc2s2Qca)

    A11y Podcast
    Microsoft's MathML Win and Adobe's AI Alt Text Experiment

    A11y Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2026 33:00


    In this episode of ChaxChat, Dax Castro and Chad Chelius unpack two very different approaches to accessibility innovation. First, they dive into Microsoft's implementation of MathML in Word and PowerPoint and why it represents a genuine win for accessible math. By carrying MathML through to the PDF export with proper tagging and screen reader support, Microsoft demonstrates what it looks like when accessibility is built into the workflow rather than patched on later. They then turn to Adobe InDesign's new AI-generated alt text feature and explore where it helps, where it falls short, and why turning it on by default raises important concerns. The conversation highlights the difference between proven accessibility solutions and experimental AI features, emphasizing the need for human oversight, informed decision-making, and realistic expectations as tools continue to evolve.

    Ultimate Guide to Partnering™
    289 – The End of Attention: Why ‘Business as Usual’ Will Fail in 2026

    Ultimate Guide to Partnering™

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2026 42:10


    Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ The Shift from Attention to Trust In this compelling episode, Ashleigh Vogstad, CEO of Transcends, joins Vince Menzione to discuss the tectonic shifts occurring in the global partner ecosystem. Ashleigh shares her firsthand experiences studying AI at Oxford, the rise of the “Trust Economy,” and the controversial Amazon vs. Perplexity lawsuit. They dive deep into the practicalities of becoming a “Frontier Firm,” the importance of building proprietary AI agents, and the ways Gen Z and AI-driven marketplaces are revolutionizing the buyer journey. Whether you are looking to win Microsoft Partner of the Year or navigate the demise of traditional SaaS, this conversation provides a strategic roadmap for leading through the AI revolution. Key Takeaways The economy is shifting from a focus on human attention to a foundation of verified trust. Future commerce will involve “selling to machines” as AI agents begin making purchasing decisions on behalf of humans. Microsoft is prioritizing “Frontier Firms” that integrate AI into every customer interaction and internal process. Gen Z buyers are prioritizing product value and “dupes” over traditional brand names, with 75% of buyers expected to be Gen Z by 2030. To win Partner of the Year, organizations must publicly celebrate “better together” stories with validated customer wins. Modern leaders should transition from a “growth mindset” to a “frontier mindset” to keep pace with rapid technological change. https://youtu.be/xJmd43NvfnI If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Trust Economy, Selling to Machines, Amazon vs Perplexity Lawsuit, Frontier Firm, AI Agents, Copilot Studio, Anthropic Claude, Microsoft Partner of the Year, B2B Marketplaces, Gen Z Buyer Behavior, Digital Freedom, AI Therapy, Ray Kurzweil Singularity, Substack Growth, Co-selling Partnerships, MCI Funding, Azure Accelerate, Agentic AI, Transcending Tech, Ashleigh Vogstad. Transcript Asleigh Vogstad Audio Podcast [00:00:00] Ashleigh Vogstad: The attention economy is about selling to human beings. Now, if you look at something like the Amazon versus Perplexity lawsuit, the whole underlying premise is around the shift of no longer selling to humans directly, but of selling to machines. [00:00:19] Vince Menzione: We just finished Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat here in beautiful Boca to a sold out crowd. Today I’m joined by Ashley Waad. The CEO of transcends for this compelling discussion. Ash, welcome back to the podcasts. [00:00:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s so good to be here, Vince. Thank you. Uh, [00:00:37] Vince Menzione: so well, we’re back in Boca again and we were just here yesterday for the Ultimate Partner Executive Winter Retreat in person. [00:00:44] Vince Menzione: What a great event we had together. [00:00:46] Ashleigh Vogstad: It was phenomenal. Thank you so much for having us there and on stage and, and genuinely the community is like a family, so seeing so many familiar faces and spending some quality time was just great. [00:00:57] Vince Menzione: It has really, truly become like family. It really, I’m, I’m, I’m having so much fun with this and getting to watch. [00:01:04] Vince Menzione: Not just our business grow and our community grow, but to see all of our friends and, uh, organizations like Transcends that have been with us since the beginning, since the very first ultimate partner acting even before the first ultimate partner. And, uh. We were just talking about. I’d love to catch up with what you’ve been doing. [00:01:22] Vince Menzione: Like you just came, you’ve been on a whirlwind. I mean, you’re always, every time like it’s, where’s Ash? She’s, uh, she’s on a plane again, or she’s on, she’s on the slopes. But tell us where you were just this week. [00:01:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. The week started in a snowstorm, actually transporting myself from Whistler. I didn’t know if I would make it to the airport, but then down to Silicon Valley and [00:01:45] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:01:46] Ashleigh Vogstad: Wow, that place is just inspiring and eyeopening. I mean, seeing the Nvidia campus, a MD, it’s really just other worldly and it had me reflecting on, it’s [00:02:00] Vince Menzione: not Whistler. Yeah, it’s [00:02:02] Ashleigh Vogstad: definitely not Whistler. Definitely not Whistler [00:02:05] Vince Menzione: about, [00:02:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: um, yeah, it just had me reflecting on being down there. I used to spend a lot of time in the Valley around 2017 and. [00:02:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: In this theme of AI and kind of what’s really coming, I was, I was thinking about, I had met this woman, Julia Moss Bridge, who’s a neuroscientist studying ai. She had a project called Loving Ai, and I was down there when they had borrowed Sophia, this humanoid robot from S and Robotics. [00:02:32] Vince Menzione: Oh yes. Yes. [00:02:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: Really interesting. [00:02:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: Sophia’s actually a citizen of Saudi. Mm-hmm. First, first robot to actually be made citizen of a country. So they had Sophia set up and the part that was just mind boggling at the time was that Sophia was hosting in real life therapy sessions with actual human beings sitting across the table. And what really struck me as. [00:02:59] Ashleigh Vogstad: Kind of just, you know, that was only eight, nine years ago. And that was esoteric. Wacky and [00:03:05] Vince Menzione: eerie. [00:03:05] Ashleigh Vogstad: Weird. [00:03:05] Vince Menzione: Eerie at the time. [00:03:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: Incredibly eerie. Yeah. I mean, a, a human getting, uh, you know, therapy sessions from a robot sitting across the table. Yeah. And it just had me thinking how far we’ve come today. In 2025, Harvard Business Review said that therapy is actually the number one use case for ai. [00:03:26] Vince Menzione: I’ve heard that. That is striking. I go back to COVID. We were having this conversation last night at at the dinner for the Ultimate Partner event, and I think that COVID allowed us to transcend, [00:03:42] Ashleigh Vogstad: mm-hmm. [00:03:42] Vince Menzione: No pun intended there, but actually accelerate where we are today, that the acceptance of AI and the acceleration, or the ability to accept change so quickly. [00:03:56] Vince Menzione: Started with COVID because we were so, so we were forced on whatever it was, March 10th I think, here in the United States to shut down everything and move to this remote life. [00:04:08] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm-hmm. [00:04:09] Vince Menzione: And I think we’ve been shocked by that. I think our systems have all been shocked by that. And then here comes chat GBT in November of 2022 and we’re like. [00:04:20] Vince Menzione: Shocked in some respects, but like really everyone has embraced it in such a strong way, and now we’re getting. It’s almost daily update. You know, we’re gonna talk, I know we’re gonna talk about Anthropic and some of the things that’s been happening just in this last month that are striking and changing that have a lot of organizations trying to navigate, which is what, you know, you, you help organizations do. [00:04:43] Vince Menzione: But it feels like this is happening so fast and will continue to happen so fast. And as I said yesterday, I don’t know what this world’s gonna look like by 2030. [00:04:53] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, and I think the thing is, is that nobody knows what the world is gonna look like in 2030. I’ve been reading Ray Kurz Well’s, the Singularity is nearer, so the original book, the Singularity is near and he’s known to be a very accurate predictionist on the future. [00:05:11] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. But even with someone like that, you know, there, there nobody really knows what the world is gonna look like. And when you talk about COVID. At transcends, we have a value of digital freedom. So I founded the business in 2018, which was pre COVID. I as a fully remote organization, and at the time that was, you know, more groundbreaking, but then very quickly with CI that, that became the so-called new normal. [00:05:37] Ashleigh Vogstad: But we’re always thinking about. You know, remote first doesn’t mean remote only, and I think in this tide of what you’ve talked about, technological change being more acceptable and the pace of change. One of the interesting things that we see as a go-to-market agency is that in-person events are increasing. [00:05:56] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:05:57] Ashleigh Vogstad: People want and crave the face-to-face. Just like with the ultimate partner series. [00:06:02] Vince Menzione: I felt it. So it was striking yesterday. It, it seems like it’s, again, this was event number nine for us, but to see the, um, uh, receptiveness isn’t the right term, but it was this, uh, people, the, the embracing. Of seeing each other and hugging each other and being in the same room with each other. [00:06:22] Vince Menzione: And even people that didn’t know each other, like by the, the, as the day evolved, this, uh, connection that they all seemed to have with one another during the sessions and participating, everyone actively participated in the sessions. And, um, I said this in the beginning, we’re not a Slack channel and we’re not like some post on LinkedIn. [00:06:43] Vince Menzione: Uh, we’re there, there’s no playbook that’s set today around partnerships or even go to markets and marketing that we could espouse and say, this is the playbook for the next year. Right. It’s, it’s changing so rapidly. [00:06:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: So rapidly, [00:06:57] Vince Menzione: and you’ve embraced it. And I, and what we’re gonna talk about right now, I mean, I, I, you know, you’ve embraced AI in such a strong way. [00:07:04] Vince Menzione: Um, personally and with your business, I want to, I wanna dive in here a little bit. First of all, a couple things For those of those who are listening who don’t know you, I think maybe just a moment about transcends and your role, and then I wanna dive in on how you’re thinking about ai because I know you’re doing some things personally. [00:07:22] Vince Menzione: I want you to share that with, with our listeners and viewers today. [00:07:25] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, great. And I just wanna comment that it was a cool moment yesterday being up on stage with yourself and Mark Monday from ServiceNow and having the audience so engaged and active and Nina Harding from Microsoft stepping up and entering the conversation. [00:07:40] Vince Menzione: So cool. [00:07:41] Ashleigh Vogstad: It just made for such a collaborative experience, which was a cool moment, but yeah. Um, so. I founded this business, transcends a go-to-market agency after being at Microsoft myself. And really our differentiation is deep strategic partnerships with hyperscalers, whether that’s AWS, Google, Microsoft, and you know, that. [00:08:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: It comes with a challenge to be on the leading edge of technology. [00:08:08] Vince Menzione: Yes, [00:08:09] Ashleigh Vogstad: it, it’s really an imperative for our business and we are an AI first firm. Microsoft talks a lot about Frontier Firm, and I’ll take a, a different kind of angle on it. You know, when I think about Frontier. I now think about it as instead of the growth mindset, I now think about a frontier mindset. [00:08:28] Vince Menzione: Frontier mindset. You have to change my principles. [00:08:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, maybe, like you said, the world is changing so rapidly. Yeah, it’s [00:08:36] Vince Menzione: changing rapidly. [00:08:36] Ashleigh Vogstad: And what a frontier mindset means is that as we’re approaching work for our clients, we are thinking about AI innovation in every single customer. Interaction, customer innovation. [00:08:49] Ashleigh Vogstad: So today we’re building AI agents into much of the work that we’re delivering for clients. And as a business owner and leader, I’ve been challenged to also think critically around how I’m choosing to run the company. And right now we’re going through a huge overhaul of where we have data sitting in silos and different applications. [00:09:09] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yep. And getting that into one place with one view so we can start layering on more insight. AI innovation. [00:09:17] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And data’s such an critical part, part of this, as we, we talked about yesterday. But you know, even the, what you said, which is, would, would’ve been striking a year ago to say, we’re an AI first, uh, agency isn’t as striking anymore. [00:09:32] Vince Menzione: Uh, we heard Nina when we were having this conversation on stage yesterday, say that it’s an imperative at Microsoft that the agencies that they choose to work with, the third party vendors that they work with have to be an AI first organization. I have to be a frontier firm, and so I’m a, I am sensitive to the word frontier firm. [00:09:53] Vince Menzione: I understand why Microsoft uses it and I understand the value of what we used to call, you know, customer zero or back in the day we used to say eating your own dog food, but essentially being an organization that has leaned in, in a way, and with ai. Even more so, so important to do it. So tell us, I know you’ve done some things personally as well, but tell, tell us what you’ve done with the organization. [00:10:18] Vince Menzione: Uh, you talked about data and making data available and having, having a true data state as opposed to silos of data, but then you also made some personal investments and sacrifices. I would say. [00:10:30] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. [00:10:30] Vince Menzione: Yeah. In terms of what you’re doing around ai, [00:10:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: so I mean, let’s start on the personal side. I’m the CEO of my organization, and you can read in books or news articles that it is critical for AI transformation to start at the C-suite and specifically in the CEO seat. [00:10:46] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:10:46] Ashleigh Vogstad: And that really. Landed for me and so I’m personally leading in About two weeks ago, I built an agent, just end-to-end on my own, got into copilot studio. Wow. Got comfortable with the interface. You know, I was clunky moving around in there at first, chose my model. You know, I went with one of the anthropic Claude models for this particular project and built up an agent that can deliver executive communications like. [00:11:14] Ashleigh Vogstad: Thought leadership blogs, uh, LinkedIn posts, but in a particular human being’s voice by ingesting things like their social profiles, their SharePoint sites, where they live and work. And it has been so surprising doing an ab test between just what a chat GBT or a copilot could produce. [00:11:32] Yeah. [00:11:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: In comparison with the authenticity of the voice coming from the agent. [00:11:37] Ashleigh Vogstad: Uh, it was just a really cool experience to roll up the sleeves and get in there. But also I think the, the investment that you’re referring to is, I made a big decision to return to school and uh, got accepted to go to Oxford. [00:11:52] Vince Menzione: Wow. [00:11:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: And I’m studying artificial intelligence there. [00:11:54] Vince Menzione: That is incredible. That is incredible. [00:11:57] Vince Menzione: Oxford, uh, we’ve heard of that school before here in the United States. [00:12:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, it’s been a really great experience. It’s in person, so I’m traveling there about every 60 to 90 days and living on campus. I mean, really, Oxford isn’t. Formally a campus, it’s sort of a, a city and a university all, all ruled into one and the experience has been really powerful. [00:12:21] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yes. One of the things I wanted to get outta the program was a more global perspective, and it’s been fascinating to me that about half the faculty so far, or or professors, guest lecturers that have been coming into the program have been from China or very direct experience working in the Chinese market. [00:12:38] Vince Menzione: That is fascinating. [00:12:39] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s been a completely different view. Or for example, you know, really digging into some of the legal cases that are driving precedence for how AI is interacting with corporations. [00:12:51] Vince Menzione: Mm. [00:12:51] Ashleigh Vogstad: One of the big ones for me has been looking at Amazon versus p perplexity. This is still a live case that’s happening right now. [00:12:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: And you know, I think it was Forbes magazine that the headline was the End of Commerce for this case because it’s really about. How human beings are being replaced with machines and hearing some of the world’s leading thinkers, leading AI researchers on these topics has just been really expansive. [00:13:19] Vince Menzione: It’s fascinating. [00:13:20] Vince Menzione: I mean, it’s, this started a couple years ago with, uh, Hollywood, in fact. Suing the industry or suing the technology companies with regards to, uh, employment, right? Mm-hmm. About the, the, uh, copyright infringement and what’s gonna happen in the entertainment industry. And I think that was just a one very small example. [00:13:40] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, voice people think about DeepFakes. Yeah. And they think about video, but actually voice is a big issue. And you look at the, um, you know, the what happened between Scarlett Johansson and her voice in her, and then open AI rolling out a voice that sounded identical. Sounds like her. [00:13:59] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:13:59] Ashleigh Vogstad: To Scarlett Johansen and, and where that went. [00:14:01] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s, it, this is a new ground for, for everybody that we’re going through right now. [00:14:07] Vince Menzione: It is. We can dive and go in so many different directions, but let’s talk about marketing and advertising since that’s kind of. Transcends core, and a lot of the people that watch and listen to us are in the partnership world. [00:14:22] Vince Menzione: They’re leading organizations, they own organizations, the the chief executives or CVPs of organizations. Let’s talk about advertising and where that’s going. [00:14:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, great. [00:14:33] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:14:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: I mean, uh, I love Marshall McCluen. He’s a Canadian theor, uh, media theorist, and in 1964, he very famously said, the medium is the message. [00:14:43] Ashleigh Vogstad: And what that really means when you peel back the layers is that every type of communication medium has these inherent biases. And I think what we’re experiencing right now is this new medium of artificial intelligence, and I’m really interested in exploring what that means for the media world. So. If I gonna take you back to 1997, there’s this really famous, the Innovator’s Dilemma. [00:15:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yes. Kind of a classic business 1 0 1 type book by Clayton Christensen. Yes. And he talks about this theory of disruption where new technologies, emerging technologies start at the low end of the market. They gain this momentum and they eventually displace incumbents. And you know, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere. [00:15:28] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And Microsoft was a good example of this at that time. [00:15:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: Def, [00:15:32] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:15:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: All the big players. All the big players. I mean, Google go for search as well, right? So that’s one of the classic examples. And so. If we look at storytelling technology, you have things like chat, GBT and Sora entering the scene. And in the beginning, you know, they’re producing a shitty first draft. [00:15:51] Ashleigh Vogstad: Uh, you know, it’s things like post-apocalyptic dogs with five finger human beings. Yeah. Things like this. But, you know, and they really lacked emotional resonance. But as we all know. That’s not the case anymore. No, it’s [00:16:05] Vince Menzione: not. [00:16:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: AI is increasingly producing content that is very powerful and is starting to resonate with people. [00:16:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, I’m definitely not a neuroscientist, but if we, we look into the neuroscience, it’s your cortical sal circuit that. Kind of is responsible for pattern recognition and it compares what you’re seeing in the real world with what you expect to see. So when you take this into a space of advertising, you know, if there’s an ad that is AI generated, that is just weird and kind of. [00:16:38] Ashleigh Vogstad: Tweaking for you. [00:16:39] Vince Menzione: Like that robot we were talking about earlier, [00:16:41] Ashleigh Vogstad: like the robot we were Exactly, yeah. Like Sophia, you enter what psychologists call the uncanny valley, so it’s like what you’re looking at isn’t exactly what you’re expecting to see and the Spidey sense is, is tweaking. You know, that’s a low place of emotional resonance. [00:16:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: This world is changing really, really quickly and we’re seeing AI generated media make huge impacts in the market Now, tools like Luma Dream Machine, I mean, it’s incredible what they can achieve today. [00:17:11] Vince Menzione: It’s fascinating. We see it in, you know, I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. That’s sort of the world of our business community, and you can very easily detect when someone is doing a post. [00:17:22] Vince Menzione: Or they’re writing an art, whatever they’re doing. Right. Some type of draft of something. Uh, and you can tell when it’s ai, I mean, it’s so easy to tell, and even people are generating reports and claiming that their research papers or studies or whatever they call them, uh, and it’s AI generated and it’s just the authenticity isn’t there. [00:17:39] Vince Menzione: The, the sense that this is real. That it can be trusted is not there. And I think trust is what we’re talking about here too, as well. [00:17:47] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. I mean, let’s go to authenticity ’cause that’s super important. Yeah. And I know a lot of your listeners, you come from the hyperscaler world of partnerships. You need to have that differentiated, better together story. [00:17:59] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. It’s really important to have an authentic voice in market. And I think about that also in terms of platforms and channels. We’re seeing a decrease in certain major social media platforms, and yet Substack spiked 48% in monthly active users last month. [00:18:15] Vince Menzione: That’s [00:18:16] fascinating. [00:18:16] Ashleigh Vogstad: Um, you know, and I think that one of the reasons is it’s viewed as a more authentic channel where you’re getting thought leadership from people that you’re, you know, genuinely interested in hearing their, their points of view. [00:18:28] Ashleigh Vogstad: And I think that’s really an important piece in here. [00:18:31] Vince Menzione: Yeah, you mentioned this yesterday and you had me thinking about it as well because we have used LinkedIn for everything internally, our newsletter, which has been around for six or seven years now. But that Substack is really, and I go to Substack too, to, if I really wanna dig in on a topic. [00:18:47] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:18:47] Vince Menzione: And there’s a particular author that I like their point of view, I’ll follow, I’ll follow them on Substack. [00:18:53] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. I mean, and this comes, maybe brings us around to who is the buyer and who is the audience, and who do we need to be thinking about when we’re designing sales and marketing programs. And really we’re, we’re shifting into the place of the Gen Z buyer by 20 30, 70 5% of buyers are gonna be Gen Z. [00:19:12] Ashleigh Vogstad: They’re gonna control 12 trillion in. Spend [00:19:16] Vince Menzione: by 2030. ’cause we, we’ve been, we’ve been saying that the millennial is the new buyer the last three years. I think Jay said it right here at this stage. [00:19:23] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:19:24] Vince Menzione: Um, so now it’s Gen Z. [00:19:27] Ashleigh Vogstad: And they’re buying online. Yeah, they’re buying in marketplaces. Yeah. So a stat recently was that roughly half of them made purchases on the social platforms of YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok in the last month. [00:19:39] Ashleigh Vogstad: I mean, that buyer behavior of being inside. Social type application and directly making a purchase. And I think in the B2B world, we need to take lessons from here and start thinking more front and center than we even have been around marketplaces. I mean, part of my reason for being in Silicon Valley this week was to celebrate a $12 million transaction that happened via Marketplace and two years ago that would’ve been a huge deal. [00:20:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: Huge, [00:20:07] Vince Menzione: huge. [00:20:07] Ashleigh Vogstad: And, and it still is a really big deal, but these things are becoming. More and more common experiences. Very much so. We need to be there and in that conversation. [00:20:16] Vince Menzione: So how are you thinking about it? How are you directing your clients to behave or act around it? What are you, what are you doing exactly that we could take to this community perhaps and share with them. [00:20:28] Ashleigh Vogstad: I’ll bring it back to the authenticity piece because you need to have a product that delivers value first and foremost. There is, there is no substitution for that. Yeah, and what I would say is. One of my professors at Oxford, Eric Zow, he has this theory that I’m really digging into and finding very fascinating, which is that for the last several decades we’ve been in the attention economy, and that’s shifting to the trust economy. [00:20:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: Now the attention economy is about selling to human beings. Yeah. It’s about the, the business model is essentially that you need human being eyeballs on lists of recommendation links. Yeah. Whether that’s from Google or from, you know, searching, shopping on Amazon, you get this list of recommendation links and the economic engine that drives that business model is advertising. [00:21:19] Ashleigh Vogstad: Now, if you look at something like the Amazon versus Perplexity lawsuit, the whole underlying premise is around the shift of no longer selling to humans directly, but of selling to machines, or in other words, agents who are making purchases, s on behalf on your behalf. And an agent isn’t going to be razzle dazzled by some inauthentic story. [00:21:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:21:44] Ashleigh Vogstad: They’re gonna be looking for third party validation on Exactly. You know, they need to be sure that they’re making the right decision. [00:21:51] Vince Menzione: They’re gonna look at surveys, they’re gonna look at customer comments. Like if I went through my Amazon site and I was looking to see what people said about the purchase or the product and specifically Exactly. [00:22:01] Vince Menzione: The agent’s gonna do this on my behalf, is what you’re saying. [00:22:04] Ashleigh Vogstad: This is what I’m saying. Yeah. And, and. I believe that to layer on top of, you know, Eric Z’s philosophy, I’ve been thinking about this in terms of the hyperscaler world, and I think that this is the time to lean into co-selling partnerships. [00:22:18] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, because being third party validated by somebody like AWS Microsoft and having all that co-sell data, what are your recent wins? Yes, that’s really high integrity, trusted data source for an agent to make a purchasing decision, and marketplaces are a key part of that. [00:22:35] Vince Menzione: So we’ll move from AI will take a, a more active role in the marketplace. [00:22:40] Ashleigh Vogstad: I definitely believe so. [00:22:42] Vince Menzione: Which makes total sense. I, you know, we’ve been doing this for nine or 10 years now, and when I was at Microsoft, we started co-selling. In fact, it was, uh, Aaron Feiger was up on stage yesterday talking about it. Right? January of 2016, co-selling began. [00:22:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:22:56] Vince Menzione: And there were only a few companies doing it. [00:22:59] Vince Menzione: Right. So she worked with one of the very first ones that were doing it. Uh, the challenge we have today is there are tens of thousands of partner organizations in the marketplace that are all trying to get the attention of the Microsoft sellers. Hmm. As, or the Google sellers or the AWS sellers and tell their story. [00:23:19] Vince Menzione: And a seller only has so many minutes in a day, they have a quota that they have to hit. These quotas are tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars of annual quota of cloud consumption. And I wanna sell my $50,000 widget, whatever it is. Yeah. Right. And I, I don’t understand why I’m not getting a callback. [00:23:38] Vince Menzione: And this, this is the dilemma we’ve faced because of, because of this, uh, scarcity of time and this over overwhelming of tech, you know. Tech, tech buyers trying to make this all happen, so now the AI can come in and help me solve for it as a seller, right? [00:23:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: The AI is definitely acting as an interface to make recommendations to field sellers in different organizations and. [00:24:04] Ashleigh Vogstad: To, to kind of take this on a, a tangent. Dupes. So a dupe. I know people of my generation, we’d think about this like a knockoff Right. You know, a knockoff handbag. [00:24:15] Vince Menzione: Yep. [00:24:15] Ashleigh Vogstad: Dupes have exploded. [00:24:16] Vince Menzione: Fake. Fake Rolexes. [00:24:18] Ashleigh Vogstad: Exactly. The fake Rolex for sure. And I think it was in December, P WC rolled out a survey. 81% of Gen Z were planning to purchase a dupe this holiday season. [00:24:29] Vince Menzione: That’s wild. [00:24:30] Ashleigh Vogstad: Dupes can be, you know, we gave luxury, good examples, but Louis [00:24:34] Vince Menzione: Vuitton and yeah. So, [00:24:35] Ashleigh Vogstad: but furniture, these sorts of things. And the important takeaway here for tech is the same principle will land, is that people are looking for value out of a product, not necessarily a name brand. AI is accelerating this whole process, and agents are gonna be looking at the same thing. [00:24:56] Ashleigh Vogstad: They’re looking for that authenticity in terms of the actual product value. So, you know, beware there’s lots of disruption happening in the market right now with this dupe mentality, which is actually a cultural shift talking about I appreciate value over a superficial. Brand name. In some cases, there’s also a, a small contrary trend where certain luxury goods are rising because yes, things are never that simple. [00:25:22] Vince Menzione: So you work with a lot of these tech companies, a lot of SaaS companies, is we, we call them ISVs, we also call them, uh, software development companies. Now we keep changing these acronyms around. Uh, there’s been a lot of, uh, consternation in that segment, I would say, around ai. Right, because a lot of them are getting told that they’ll be outta business in a few years. [00:25:43] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. I think Satya Nadella famously said this last year that SAS will go away. Right? He’s predicting the demise. How do you help some of these organizations to differentiate? And there’s some of these are huge value organizations. We have have them in the room with us, ServiceNow and Veeam and Adobe. [00:26:01] Vince Menzione: Um, how do you help them achieve their results? ’cause that’s what you, you know, your organization is really helping these organizations to achieve their pinnacle as a partner. What do you, what do you say to them now and how do you help them through this time? [00:26:16] Ashleigh Vogstad: I’m on the side of the fence that I really can’t see an organization ripping out something like Salesforce, Adobe, ServiceNow. [00:26:24] Vince Menzione: Agreed. [00:26:24] Ashleigh Vogstad: I mean that the amount of change management and. The extent to which these, these platforms are embedded, actually running and operating organizations. I personally, if, if we’re calling those companies, SaaS companies, I don’t agree that that layer is gonna go away. I mean, we’re seeing these organizations lean into AI in a huge way to borrow Microsofts. [00:26:50] Ashleigh Vogstad: Term, you know, they’re all becoming frontier firms. [00:26:54] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:26:54] Ashleigh Vogstad: So where I would go to, to answer that question, we do work with many, you know, organizations on that caliber, on things like their marketplace strategy on how to light up the fields of different hyperscalers. It really does come down to things like having a strong drumbeat with the Microsoft field, celebrating your win stories. [00:27:15] Ashleigh Vogstad: Maybe that’s where I’ll land as Please do the marketer, because it sounds so simple, and I don’t know why we kind of continue to come back to this, but we’re talking about that third party validation and really, um, in order to have that, like what the hyperscalers want is you jointly celebrating success. [00:27:36] Ashleigh Vogstad: Here’s the kicker. Publicly. [00:27:38] Vince Menzione: Publicly, [00:27:39] Ashleigh Vogstad: you know, you need a customer story on your website, a press release that contains a quote from your customer. Ideally, also a quote from an executive at one of the hyperscalers. Like, actually lean in to live the value of your better together story. And when you do that, when you, when it comes around to partner of the year time, and we talk to you about, okay, what client stories are we gonna feature? [00:28:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: We’re even gonna know because when we Google you, we can see the public press of the joint wins that you’ve been celebrating. And I can tell you that that is a huge indicator on whether or not you’re well-placed to be in the 4% of partners who actually win Partner of the Year award’s. [00:28:20] Vince Menzione: Fascinating to me. [00:28:21] Vince Menzione: ’cause to me it would feel like table stakes maybe ’cause where we sit is ultimate partner and where this room sits with all the top partners that I just assume that everybody follows that. That, that guidance. [00:28:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:28:34] Vince Menzione: And so this is really impactful and I want to get here because I know you spent a lot of time here and we’ve talked about it before, but I think the partner of the year awards, when we first met many years ago, that was a you, you’ve expanded the business, but that’s still a core mission and and value that you bring to the community and to the partner ecosystem is helping them through this process. [00:28:55] Vince Menzione: So I know that that’s gonna be coming up soon, so I thought maybe we’d spend a couple moments on that. [00:29:00] Ashleigh Vogstad: Partner of the Year awards, regardless of which partner, I mean, Salesforce has their own awards there. There’s more and more award programs coming out, and they’re a great way to celebrate the incredible work that your organization has done. [00:29:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: Jay McBain is brilliant on this. He’ll talk a lot about the increase in valuation. Yeah. The, the increase in stock valuation or the likelihood that if you’re looking to be acquired, that you’re acquired within 12 months of a partner of the year win it. It’s really impressive. There is strong business value there. [00:29:33] Vince Menzione: He like, he likes, he likes to tell the story of that when the award is handed to them and they go back into the audience, that the private equity people are all over them right then and there and making offers. I mean, that’s the visual that you get [00:29:47] Ashleigh Vogstad: and it’s very powerful. Yeah. Very powerful. It’s very powerful and it, it can make it worthwhile to invest in the process, but don’t invest in the process if you haven’t been investing in the process for the 12 months. [00:29:57] Ashleigh Vogstad: Prior, [00:29:58] Vince Menzione: exactly. [00:29:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: The Microsoft field or you we’re talking about Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. They need to know about your win that that needs to be top of mind for them. Yeah. How much Azure revenue is it driving? Was it a huge marketplace? Build sales and. You know, one of the questions I get asked a ton, everybody wants to know how do we get money out of the hyperscalers? [00:30:20] Ashleigh Vogstad: How do I get access to marketing development funds or all these different programs? Yeah. You know, at Microsoft, some of these programs are like EI and customer investment funds or Azure Accelerate, you know, and there’s millions and millions and millions of dollars in these, these buckets of funds, but. [00:30:36] Ashleigh Vogstad: An interesting point of view is that it’s actually a scorecard metric for many people at Microsoft who have partnership roles for you to be drawing down those funds. [00:30:45] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:30:45] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, your interests are actually aligned here, and so again, when it comes to Partner of the Year awards, how much money have you pulled down? [00:30:54] Ashleigh Vogstad: How much have you been an activating partner of key Microsoft programs that they’re pushing? What are you doing with marketplace rewards? How are you resing? Those into your business. These are the types of things that you really wanna be thinking about. Sitting it. You know, this time of year we probably will get the awards were likely be due in July. [00:31:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: They haven’t officially announced timelines, but you’ve got a few months to start moving these pieces into place. [00:31:18] Vince Menzione: And there are quite a few of them. And to your point, Nina, when she was up on stage here yesterday, there were at least 10 or 12 award. Uh. Funding categories that were on her, that were on her slide. [00:31:31] Vince Menzione: Her partner, her partner slide. So, [00:31:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: and what great looks like for a partner is that you understand your end-to-end funnel as it is mapped to Microsoft’s SEM model, the Microsoft customer Engagement model. Mm-hmm. The first stage there, inspire and design. That’s really the marketing space of lead generation. [00:31:50] Ashleigh Vogstad: So how are you generating leads with webinars, in-person, event activations, digital campaigns, and then at the very end, in the fifth column, you have the Microsoft outcomes that you’re driving. Yes. Whether that’s Azure consumed revenue, marketplace build sales, co-pilot, monthly active usage, these sorts of things. [00:32:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: And in each of those SEM swim lanes. There’s Microsoft funding associated to it. And that’s one of the things that Nina Harding was showing yesterday. When and where does it make sense to make requests for EA funds versus Azure accelerate the MCI funding? There’s different workshop proof of concept funding, and those all fall at specific stages in that EM model. [00:32:33] Vince Menzione: And what you’re also pointing out in this conversation is that the co the partners need to understand that mm, they need to understand MM. We talked about it years ago. I’ve had, haven’t had anybody on stage recently talk about m You could probably take us through that if we wanted to devote some time here, uh, and then understand all of those categories and how to access those funds. [00:32:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, it’s critical and. The number one place we point partners, if you want a quick overview of what that looks like is to Microsoft’s FY 26 solution playbooks. Nice. They’re available on the web for download. There’s, well, there used to be three, but they’ve added a few agen being, being one. So, so there’s a handful of, they had [00:33:11] Vince Menzione: simplified it, now they’re, now they’re expanding it back again. [00:33:14] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, exactly. I think there’s now a breakout for security as well. Yes. So take a look at those playbooks. It will map programs and incentives very specifically to each solution area and to each sales play that are gonna be available to you. And then we’re always happy to guide people through the details [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: as well. [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: I love that. I love that. And reach out to the. Ashley is just amazing at this process. I’ve, I’ve watched her for years now, work with some of the top, what have become the pinnacle partners of Microsoft and with the award season coming up. So we wanna make sure we have a plug there. But I also wanna talk about like, podcasts with you. [00:33:50] Vince Menzione: Um, you’ve been on this podcast multiple times, been in the studio before doing this, and I understand you have your own podcast now. So tell us about that. [00:33:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, Vince, I just wanna say. As a friend and a mentor. You’ve been so inspiring. Thank you. And I think from years ago when we met, there was this seed in my brain of, you know, I, I should really get out there. [00:34:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: And you talk a lot about growth mindset and fear setting is, is one of Tim Ferriss’s terms? Yes. And models. [00:34:21] Vince Menzione: I love Tim Ferris. I’ve been, been a fan of his for 10 years now. So that’s settled. We all got started with this. Sorry. Sorry, I [00:34:26] Ashleigh Vogstad: interrupt. No, no, not at all. [00:34:27] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:34:28] Ashleigh Vogstad: And. I think it’s just been, it’s been back there. [00:34:31] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. That I’m really passionate around having voice is how I think about it. And as a marketing agency, we’re really amplifying the voice, um, or helping companies to find their voice, particularly in hyperscaler partnerships. And what better way to assist, you know, authentically the amazing people in our network, in our community and our clients than with our own channel where we can celebrate their stories and success? [00:35:00] Vince Menzione: Very cool. [00:35:01] Ashleigh Vogstad: So the podcast is called Transcending Tech. It’s about [00:35:06] Vince Menzione: very cool transcending tech. Just so you don’t [00:35:08] Ashleigh Vogstad: transcending tech. [00:35:08] Vince Menzione: It’s out there now. [00:35:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: It, we just released our first episode. Okay. I think two days ago. [00:35:13] Vince Menzione: So by the time we’re live, yes. We’ll, we’ll be able to access it. Good. [00:35:17] Ashleigh Vogstad: You will be able to access it. [00:35:18] Ashleigh Vogstad: The first episode is with Alyssa Fit. Patrick from Elastic. [00:35:21] Vince Menzione: Oh my goodness. [00:35:22] Ashleigh Vogstad: And the concept of the podcast, it’s long form and it’s really about getting to the people behind the platforms. [00:35:29] Vince Menzione: Very cool. [00:35:29] Ashleigh Vogstad: And to the stories that transcend technology. So we’re here to get to know the human beings behind. Agents. [00:35:38] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:35:38] Ashleigh Vogstad: And taking the time to, to go in deep and really explore that. [00:35:43] Vince Menzione: So I am excited to see all the developments here with the, with the podcast. And you’re gonna be joining us again. You were just here, you in Boca. But you’ll be joining us again in Bellevue. Not too far a little bit. Closer ride or travel, uh, for you to come to Bellevue. [00:35:57] Vince Menzione: We’re gonna be hosting the first ultimate partner live, which is our larger events in this beautiful facility, this new Intercontinental hotel, which is fabulous. And, uh, you’re gonna be taking a more active role. Your leadership around AI is. Palpable and we’re gonna love to have you on stage and talking through some of the changes. [00:36:17] Vince Menzione: I, I suspect by the time we get to Bellevue we’ll have a lot more to talk about. That hasn’t even happened yet. [00:36:23] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, I’m really excited. I’ll have been through my next cohort at at Oxford, kind of coming out hot from there back to the Pacific Northwest, and really excited to just share the learnings and Awesome. [00:36:35] Ashleigh Vogstad: Genuinely. It’s also helping me in my own research, really formulate particularly around the role of ag agentic AI in hyperscaler partnerships. [00:36:43] Vince Menzione: That’s so cool. And then what I’ll say is this, and I don’t know, we on the space perspective, and I’ll, the team will probably hang me for this because we haven’t done it yet, but if you wanna bring the podcast along with you, there might be, we’ll see if we can find an extra room for you to set up. [00:36:58] Vince Menzione: If you wanna do some interviews while you’re. In, at the event. So [00:37:02] Ashleigh Vogstad: you’re so generous, Vince. [00:37:03] Vince Menzione: That’s [00:37:04] Ashleigh Vogstad: amazing. [00:37:04] Vince Menzione: Thank you. Again, I can’t say for certainty yet, but, uh, let’s see, let’s see what happens with that. So, uh, let, let’s, uh, you know, I always, we, we have known each other for years and I just assume everybody knows this amazing Ashley sda. [00:37:19] Vince Menzione: But, um, we always, I like to ask this question because it helps us kind of dig in a little bit about you personally. And it’s my favorite question. I ask all my guests this question now, and it’s, um, you’re hosting a dinner party, Ashley, you are, pick a pace, place, you wanna have this dinner. We could talk about parts of the world. [00:37:36] Vince Menzione: You’ve traveled all extensively. Uh, and you can invite any three people, guests from the present. Or the past to this amazing dinner party you’re throwing. Whom would you invite and why? [00:37:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s a beautiful question, Vince and. Instantly I go to a place in terms of the location, since you asked that part, which was surprising. [00:38:01] Ashleigh Vogstad: I, I like that is my home. I, I love where I live up in Whistler, Canada and [00:38:08] Vince Menzione: I hear it’s beautiful. I haven’t been yet, [00:38:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: it’s so gorgeous and it’s, it’s my own sanctuary. You know, I live on a plane 75% of the time and coming back to that place is really grounding for me. Yes. So, so I would love to have it at, at my home and to invite. [00:38:24] Ashleigh Vogstad: Pippa Malrin would be one. She, Pippa [00:38:26] Vince Menzione: Malrin. [00:38:27] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. She’s sure. I get an advisor to the White House for many administrations. Okay. She’s an economist and she just has really interesting perspective on geopolitics. Uh, I follow her on Substack ’cause she’s a big substack. Okay, now [00:38:41] Vince Menzione: I need to look. This is awesome. [00:38:42] Vince Menzione: The [00:38:43] Ashleigh Vogstad: mal, she’s fantastic. I would say Dr. Lisa Sue, the CEO, Dr. Lisa of a md. [00:38:49] Vince Menzione: Okay. Yes, yes. I know a little bit about her. [00:38:51] Ashleigh Vogstad: So she was one of Time Mag, I think she was the only woman in Time Magazine’s, group of people of the year, which was basically this AI cohort in including, you know, the Elon Musks of the world. [00:39:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: Uh, it’s just so impressive what she’s doing with leadership in a MD. I don’t think it’s as public as. Anybody else who is on the cover of that magazine, but it’s incredibly powerful. [00:39:14] Vince Menzione: Yeah, they’ve made a com uh, turnaround’s probably not the right word, but it seems like they’ve made a tremendous, uh, gains turnaround probably in the last few years. [00:39:23] Ashleigh Vogstad: I would say that many would say turnaround. And then lastly is Dr. Fefe Lee, who. For those in the AI space, particularly AI research space. I mean, she’s arguably number one. Um, she’s leading at Stanford currently. [00:39:37] Vince Menzione: Wow. This is gonna be a heady conversation, but you know, I love conversations. So if you don’t mind, maybe I’ll bring dessert and come, come in for a few moments, maybe do some podcast interviews there. [00:39:48] Vince Menzione: How’s that? [00:39:49] Ashleigh Vogstad: That sounds absolutely perfect, Vince, [00:39:50] Vince Menzione: so, so good. So good to have you here today. So great. Good to have you in the studio again, and, uh, excited for transcends and all the great work you’re doing. Um. This time with ai. I think you, uh, we talked about this a little bit last night. I think you’ve made some really wise, personal and professional decisions about how to lead and how to take this forward and not kind of rest on your laurels, which you see so many organizations do People fear change [00:40:17] Ashleigh Vogstad: Hmm. [00:40:18] Vince Menzione: And you embrace it, which is just, it’s astounding to me that you do that and, um. I look forward to working with you in the future and for years and years to come. So I will ask you one more question though, because we are still at the precipice of these tectonic shifts and we’re still early in 2026. And so for our listeners and our viewers today, what would be the one thing you would tell them that they need to go do now that possibly they haven’t done yet as they prepare for 2026 and beyond? [00:40:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: The generic phrase would be, be curious, but if we want an action, it would be go build an agent. [00:40:59] Vince Menzione: Go build an agent [00:41:00] Ashleigh Vogstad: if, if you haven’t already. Yeah. And, and I’m, yeah. Speaking hopefully to like a business audience, you know, to, to anyone. Yeah. Really, um, find something that is interesting that you’re passionate about. [00:41:12] Ashleigh Vogstad: A, a use case that it doesn’t have to be some big thing. It could be quite mundane, but just something that’s gonna help you in your role. It’s, you know, what is creativity is an interesting question, and I can tell you that sitting down and hands-on keys and actually creating something is, is a beautiful, powerful experience. [00:41:32] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Awesome. All right. We’re all gonna go create agents this weekend, so thank you for listening. Thank you for viewing the Ultimate Guide to partnering on our YouTube channel, ultimate Partner, and on each end of your platforms at the Ultimate Guide to partnering. Thank you for being with us and supporting us all these years. [00:41:50] Vince Menzione: Thank you. Don’t forget, ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, May 11th through the 13th in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. I hope to see you there.

    Empower Hour with Gina Zapanta
    Business Growth Is Not Linear: Catalina Del Carmen on Ego, Embarrassment & Building a Brand

    Empower Hour with Gina Zapanta

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2026 30:42


    In this episode of Empowered With Gina, Gina sits down with entrepreneur and brand strategist Catalina Del Carmen to unpack the real truth about business growth.From taking ten years to graduate college to working in tech at companies like Airbnb and Adobe, Catalina shares how ego hits, embarrassment, and uncertainty shaped her journey into building a profitable personal brand. She explains why you must first learn how to make $1,000 before you ever see $10,000 months — and why each new income level demands a new version of you.Gina and Catalina dive into the emotional cost of entrepreneurship, why women often undervalue themselves, and how embarrassment is not a sign you're failing — it's the price of success. They also break down how to turn content into paying clients, why focusing on one platform matters, and what it actually means to “show up real” online.This conversation is for aspiring entrepreneurs, content creators, and women ready to stop playing small and start building with confidence.Topics discussed:• Business growth and scaling• Overcoming ego in entrepreneurship• Charging what you're worth• Turning content into clients• Building an authentic personal brandSubscribe for more conversations that challenge you to think bigger, move smarter, and live empowered.  ⁨@empoweredwithgina⁩ 

    The FOX News Rundown
    Business Rundown: Hardware vs. Software, Anthropic, And The Future Of AI

    The FOX News Rundown

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 20:56


    On Wall Street, it's a showdown between hardware and software: As the rise of AI proves once again this week, it will continue to reshape the future of our economy. February was a volatile month, driven largely by growing investor anxiety about the long-term impact of artificial intelligence. Software stocks are currently experiencing a significant sell-off, driven by fears that AI tools from companies like Anthropic will disrupt traditional "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) business models for major players such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce. Lou Basenese—Executive Vice President of Market Strategy at Prairie Operating Company and a FOX News Contributor—joins FOX Business Network host Taylor Riggs to discuss how AI disrupted the markets this month, the standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon, and the latest economic data regarding mortgage rates and inflation. Plus, Lou and Taylor discuss a surprising new trend: companies marketing makeup to... six-year-olds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    From Washington – FOX News Radio
    Business Rundown: Hardware vs. Software, Anthropic, And The Future Of AI

    From Washington – FOX News Radio

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 20:56


    On Wall Street, it's a showdown between hardware and software: As the rise of AI proves once again this week, it will continue to reshape the future of our economy. February was a volatile month, driven largely by growing investor anxiety about the long-term impact of artificial intelligence. Software stocks are currently experiencing a significant sell-off, driven by fears that AI tools from companies like Anthropic will disrupt traditional "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) business models for major players such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce. Lou Basenese—Executive Vice President of Market Strategy at Prairie Operating Company and a FOX News Contributor—joins FOX Business Network host Taylor Riggs to discuss how AI disrupted the markets this month, the standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon, and the latest economic data regarding mortgage rates and inflation. Plus, Lou and Taylor discuss a surprising new trend: companies marketing makeup to... six-year-olds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    It's No Fluke
    E333 Brian Keenan: AI is Rewriting How Reputation is Built

    It's No Fluke

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 29:11


    Brian Keenan leads international strategy and AI consultancy for WE Communications, a ~$200M integrated marketing firm. Brian counsels senior leaders from companies such as Adobe, HEINEKEN and Amazon to succeed in an AI-enabled future. Latest interest areas including AI search, agentic commerce, synthetic audiences, and autonomous workflows. He is a regular presenter at industry conferences such as ICCO, PRCA, WARC, and Mumbrella across EMEA & APAC. He brings a global and grounded mindset to his work from living in four countries and raising three children.

    Fox News Rundown Evening Edition
    Business Rundown: Hardware vs. Software, Anthropic, And The Future Of AI

    Fox News Rundown Evening Edition

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 20:56


    On Wall Street, it's a showdown between hardware and software: As the rise of AI proves once again this week, it will continue to reshape the future of our economy. February was a volatile month, driven largely by growing investor anxiety about the long-term impact of artificial intelligence. Software stocks are currently experiencing a significant sell-off, driven by fears that AI tools from companies like Anthropic will disrupt traditional "Software-as-a-Service" (SaaS) business models for major players such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce. Lou Basenese—Executive Vice President of Market Strategy at Prairie Operating Company and a FOX News Contributor—joins FOX Business Network host Taylor Riggs to discuss how AI disrupted the markets this month, the standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon, and the latest economic data regarding mortgage rates and inflation. Plus, Lou and Taylor discuss a surprising new trend: companies marketing makeup to... six-year-olds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    商业就是这样
    Vol.246 潘通凭什么靠颜色赚钱?

    商业就是这样

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 41:57


    世界不能没有色彩,但让各种色彩在日常生活中变得丰富易得,整个过程却经历了很长时间。进入现代社会,色彩的作用更是被品牌和消费者充分认可,行业的困境也随之变得更为抽象:如何清楚、准确、稳定地描述和传递某一种颜色?在潘通看来,这是一个机会。它在20世纪中期发明了如今通行的潘通色彩编码体系,并在此基础上建立了一套精细(且昂贵)的商业模式。这套模式精确地抓住了所有需要精确使用色彩的行业从业者,也让潘通自己的品牌变得更有价值。丙午马年,春节长假归来的第一期节目,我们就为大家介绍潘通和它五彩斑斓的生意。| 主播 |肖文杰、约小亚| 特别致谢 |徐如,《第一财经》杂志总编辑助理| 时间轴 |01:03 彩蛋:《第一财经杂志》纸刊的小细节06:57 眼前的黑不是黑,你说的白是什么白?12:51 潘通卖的究竟是什么?17:42 潘通不拥有颜色,那“潘通色”又是什么?26:58 潘通和Adobe解约、全球设计师遭殃34:36 “年度流行色”是潘通为自己打的大广告| 延伸资料 |The King of ColorVol.151 这也能是商标?Planet Money-The company that owns colorsBusiness Insider-Why Pantone Colors Are So ExpensiveNew York Times-Who Made That Pantone Chip?99% Invisible-The Trend ForecastQuartz-Pantone: How the world authority on color became a pop culture icon| 后期制作 |KK| 声音设计 |刘三菜| 收听方式 |你可以通过小宇宙、苹果播客、Spotify、喜马拉雅、网易云音乐、QQ音乐、荔枝、豆瓣等平台收听节目。| 认识我们 |微信公众号:第一财经YiMagazine联系我们:thatisbiz@yicai.com

    Thriving Matters Podcast
    Leading with Humanity in Edtech

    Thriving Matters Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 43:31


    Brett Salakas and I have an energetic future focused conversation for you this episode as we talk about human-centred community and connection especially in learning and teaching. Brett opened our conversation by explaining the background artwork by Indigenous artist Melissa Barton, whilst sharing his experience of working on a program to adapt international standards for Australia at HP, linking the artwork that narrates HP's educational vision in Australia. Listen in as Brett shares his personal and professional journey, including his teaching experience and his role as an HP Education Ambassador. He described an artwork created by Indigenous artist Melissa Barton (that you can see is his screen background) that represents the Australian education system and HP's educational vision for Australia. We discus the different types of screen time and its impact on education that is very topical here across media and government policy makers. Brett emphasized the need to differentiate between productive and recreational screen time, highlighting the importance of using technology to enhance learning rather than simply entertain. We also touch on the evolving nature of education and the need to maintain focus on core values and purposes. Brett shared an example from Korea, known as the "wild geese," where students are sent abroad for education, highlighting the perceived quality of education in countries like Australia. We focus in on the Australian education system's values and the importance of focusing on clear educational goals rather than chasing trends or technology fads. Brett emphasized the need to understand the purpose of AI within education, framing it as a tool under the broader umbrella of cybernetics that serves human needs. We also discussed the future of learning environments, drawing parallels between ancient learning spaces and modern technology. We explored the concept of "campfire caves, mountaintops, and holodecks" as metaphors for different learning spaces, where it is essential that the importance of balancing technology with human-centered education is forefront. Brett's recent initiative, the Wattle Vision, involved gathering CIOs from 16 Australian universities to create a collective vision statement for the role of technology in higher education over the next 20 years. The vision focuses on creating relationship-rich environments and experiences for students, emphasizing a human-centered approach. Brett spent two years working with industry experts, including HP, Microsoft, Intel, and Adobe, to develop this vision and has now returned to execute the 13 action items outlined in the plan. Thriving Matters podcast has just celebrated 150 episodes with 'ordinary gals and guys who are doing extraordinary things in life and work' with more to come! If you enjoyed this episode with Brett, we would appreciate you subscribing and spreading it around your colleagues, family and friends. Brett is a champ, who deeply loves his leadership work in educational across the globe!   To Connect with Brett: LI: linkedin.com/in/salakas URL: salakas.live EMAIL: brett.salakas@hp.com   To Connect with Carrie: LI: linkedin.com/in/carriebenedet URL: carriebenedet.com  Email: carolinebenedet2@gmail.com

    InDesign Secrets
    The Making of the CreativePro Week 2026 Agenda

    InDesign Secrets

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2026 53:45


    In this episode of the CreativePro Podcast, David Blatner and Theresa Jackson pull back the curtain on how the CreativePro Week 2026 agenda came together for this summer's event in Nashville. Recorded in conjunction with the agenda launch, the conversation offers a timely look at the decisions shaping the program. If you've ever attended CreativePro Week and felt like the content spoke directly to your day-to-day work, this episode sheds light on why. David and Theresa talk about how listener feedback, community conversations, and real-world creative challenges influence what makes it onto the agenda. They also discuss how CreativePro Week fits into a larger ecosystem of events, membership, and ongoing education. They reflect on how the needs of creative professionals have evolved over time, why certain topics return year after year, and how particular constraints affect what ultimately makes it onto the schedule. This is a candid conversation about learning, community, and the invisible work that supports meaningful professional development for designers who want more than surface-level inspiration. Episode Highlights Theresa describes agenda planning as solving a difficult puzzle, and the relief of finally locking in the 2026 CreativePro Week schedule David and Theresa share where session topics actually come from, including speaker submissions, focus group surveys, and ideas shaped through conversations with each other and the community David admits that even Adobe designers still have to work in a Microsoft world Theresa shares what matters most when deciding whether to work with a new CreativePro speaker Why switching to Miro changed the entire agenda-building process, from color-coded topics to drag-and-drop scheduling and real-time collaboration Episode Resources CreativePro Week 2026, Nashville, June 29–July 3, 2026: https://creativeproweek.com/ CreativePro Events: https://creativepro.com/events/ Speaker submissions: https://creativepro.com/speak-at-our-events/ Miro online white board https://miro.com/ Save $100 on any CreativePro event in 2026 with the discount code PODCAST: https://creativepro.com/events/ Get $15 off one year of CreativePro membership with the discount code PODCAST: https://creativepro.com/become-a-member/

    DESIGNERS ON FILM
    Amélie (2001) with Zipeng Zhu [more thoughts]

    DESIGNERS ON FILM

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2026 21:00


    In this bonus episode, hear more from Zipeng Zhu who talks about his design philosophy and methodology, the importance of sprinkling magic dust on top of things, and why swiping up and down and hoping for the best isn't the best design approach. We also talk about manga and manifestation, creating work that you can touch or work that touches people, and be sure to listen to the end, you'll hear us planning a Zoom Drop-In to surprise an upcoming guest.-Zipeng Zhu is a Chinese-born artist, designer, educator, and founder of the award-winning creative studio Dazzle in New York City. He wants to make every day a razzle-dazzle musical and has collaborated with iconic brands such as Apple, Adidas, Adobe, Coca-Cola, Instagram, MTV, Microsoft, Netflix, The New York Times, The New Yorker magazine, Samsung and Uber. His work has been exhibited at major museums and institutions in cities all over the world, including New York, Barcelona, Dubai, Shanghai, Beijing, and Mumbai. Zipeng dedicates his days running both the Dazzle Studio and merch shop Dazzle Supply, bringing his dazzling design to clients and fans around the globe.https://dazzle.studio/https://dazzle.supply/ https://x.com/zzdesign https://www.instagram.com/zzdesign https://sva.edu/features/sva-creators-zipeng-zhu-makes-exuberant-designs-that-leave-you-dazzled -Amélie (2001)https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/‍ ‍-Other movies, shows, and books discussed:Akira (manga, 1982-1990)Chicago (2002)Harry Potter (2001-2011)Naruto (manga, 1999-2014)One Piece (manga, 1997-)Sailor Moon (manga, 1991-1997)Shōnen Jump (manga, 1968-)

    Sales Is King
    210: Craig Bowman | SVP, Trellix

    Sales Is King

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2026 65:04


    In this episode of Sales Is King, Dan sits down in the new Midtown Manhattan studio with Craig Bowman, SVP of Public Sector at Trellix and author of the new book Craft: CIA Elite Selling. Craig brings a wild career arc to the mic—from clandestine work with the CIA and the intelligence community to building high‑performing sales teams at Adobe and now leading public sector growth at scale.Craig unpacks how CIA tradecraft, “mission first” thinking, and AI can radically upgrade how you prospect, qualify, and win in complex B2B deals. Key topics coveredThe CIA recruitment story: from a mysterious hotel lobby interview, underground parking garages, and VCR‑filled rooms to landing his first role under commercial cover.Moving from intelligence to entrepreneurship: starting, scaling, and selling his own government contracting company, then returning post‑9/11 for a new mission.Jumping into sales at Adobe: how he was recruited, doubled his salary, and built a new intelligence division by deeply understanding the mission—not just the tech.“In the mud with the customer”: why Craig literally went to the southern border with CBP to understand the mission and coined his mantra about getting in the trenches.Influence maps vs org charts: why the real power sits with the “knuckle‑draggers” in the back of the room, not just the CIO, and how to find and engage true influencers.Frameworks without rigidity: his take on MEDDIC, Challenger, and why you coach the bottom half differently while using top performers as mentors to “shift the middle.”The AI inflection point: how he rewrote his book mid‑stream to integrate AI, and why he now spends 70% of his time using AI agents as a personal chief of staff.Craig's live AI workflow: daily scripts that summarize email, corporate updates, and account intel; auto‑generated dossiers, personas, and value hypotheses. The 90‑Second Takeover: how to send a pre‑meeting hypothesis of value, then open meetings with clarity, validation, and a working session instead of random discovery.Humility as a superpower: the intern experiment that proved “humility emails” beat cold calls, and why genuine curiosity and asking for help unlock meetings.AI from the buyer's side: why your customers are already using AI to shortlist vendors and how you should be using AI the same way to qualify where you can truly win.Metrics that actually matter: the question Craig asks every customer about how they'll measure value 7 months after buying—then how he uses that in MEDDIC the right way.The seven criteria of a successful seller: why he evaluates inputs (character, curiosity, rigor) rather than just outputs (pipeline, quota).Mentors and pivotal leaders: from his grandfather and tough college professor to powerful women leaders in the intelligence community and sales leaders like Ken Karsten.Who this episode is forEnterprise and public sector sellers trying to win complex, multi‑stakeholder deals.Sales leaders looking to blend frameworks like MEDDIC with modern AI and real coaching.Rev leaders who want their teams “in the mud with the customer” instead of stuck on Zoom.Listen for these takeawaysWhy you must deeply understand your customer's mission—and often physically go to the “border” or “boat”—before pitching technology.How to build influence maps, not just chase titles on an org chart.A tested AI + email play that interns used to book meetings your team “could never get.”A simple question that turns MEDDIC metrics from guesswork into a mutual accountability pact.Connect with CraigBook: Craft: CIA Elite Selling on Amazon (hardcover, ebook, and audiobook).Bonus material & AI scripts: unlock the members section using the book, or message Craig on LinkedIn if you bought the audio version.If you're tired of canned discovery, bad qualification, and random acts of prospecting, this conversation will change how you think about mission, AI, and what “elite selling” really looks like.

    Keen On Democracy
    The Silicon Gods Must Have Their Blood: How Public Venture Capital Might Kill Venture Capitalism

    Keen On Democracy

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2026 38:19


    "They are changing venture capital from a 30% tax to 0% tax. If Robinhood succeeds, it makes Sequoia and Andreessen's business model untenable." — Keith TeareThe Silicon Gods must have their blood. And they've finally come for the funders of disruption, the venture capitalists, who are now being disrupted by something called Public Venture Capital (PVC). That, at least, is the view of That Was The Week publisher Keith Teare, who leads his newsletter this week with Robinhood's new venture fund. This new stock-trading app for millennials is going after Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz—not by competing on deal flow, but by charging 0% carry instead of 20-30%. Robinhood promises it blows the doors off traditional venture capital.But Keith urges caution over PVCs. Robinhood is packaging late-stage private assets—companies like Databricks that would have IPO'd years ago but are staying private longer. By the time retail investors get access, employees are already cashing out through tender offers because they think the peak is near. The poster child: Figma, which did secondaries at $12 billion after Adobe's $20 billion acquisition failed. A lot of (dumb) people bought at the top and are now slightly less stupid.Fortunately, this week's tech roundup isn't just about get-rich-quick investment schemes. We also discuss Yasha Mounk's sobering experiment: he asked AI to write a political philosophy paper and found it "depressingly good"—publishable in an academic journal. Keith reframes this supposed "death of the humanities" as automation, not democratization. The humans aren't being leveled up; they're masquerading as producers while AI does the work. But craft still matters. When technology relieves humans of the mundane, he hopes, it elevates the special.Lastly but not least, we get to the abundance debate. Peter Diamandis and Singularity University have promised something called "exponential abundance" by 2035. Keith is sympathetic. I am not. The only thing I'm willing to guarantee is that we'll still be talking abundantly about abundance in 2035. And that the Silicon Valley Gods will have their blood. Five Takeaways●      Robinhood Is Charging 0% Carry: Sequoia and Andreessen take 20-30% of profits. Robinhood takes nothing. If they scale, the traditional VC model becomes untenable.●      But You're Buying at the Top: These are late-stage assets. Employees are selling through tender offers because they think peak valuation is near. Ask the people who bought Figma at $12 billion.●      AI Is Automating the Humanities: Yasha Mounk found AI could write "depressingly good" political philosophy. This isn't democratization—it's humans masquerading as producers.●      Craft Still Retains Its Power: Technology relieves humans of the mundane—and elevates the special. Creativity that breaks through will always command attention.●      The Abundance Debate Continues: Diamandis says abundance by 2035. Keith agrees land is already abundant. Andrew calls this "such a stupid thing to say." About the GuestKeith Teare is the publisher of That Was The Week and Executive Chairman of SignalRank. He is a serial entrepreneur and longtime observer of Silicon Valley. Keith joins Keen On America every Saturday for The Week That Was.ReferencesCompanies mentioned:●      Robinhood is launching a publicly listed venture fund, raising up to $1 billion at $25/share with 0% carry. They already have $340 million in assets including Databricks.●      Figma is cited as a cautionary tale: after Adobe's failed $20 billion acquisition, it did secondaries at $12 billion—many bought at the top.●      Polymarket is a prediction market platform that Robinhood has responded to by adding prediction markets to its offerings.People mentioned:●      Yasha Mounk wrote about AI writing "depressingly good" political philosophy papers that could be published in academic journals.●      Peter Diamandis and Dr. Alexander Wisner-Gross of Singularity University argue that exponential abundance is coming by 2035.●      Packy McCormick wrote about power in the age of intelligence.About Keen On AmericaNobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States—hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,800 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting.WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction: If it's Saturday, it must be revolution (02:11) - Robinhood's venture fund announcement (03:17) - What is Robinhood's day job? (07:43) - Secondary markets and tender offers (10:33) - Democratization or late-stage risk? (14:09) - Is Robinhood just gambling? (16:08) - Private vs. public market returns (19:02) - Is finance merging with betting? (24:23) - Blowing the doors off Sequoia and Andreessen (26:27) - Yasha Mounk: AI automating the humanities (28:47) - Where does power go in the age of AI? (30:42) - Craft retains its power (31:33) - The abundance debate (34:00) - Is land abundant? Andrew loses patience (00:00) - Chapter 15 (00:00) - Chapter 16 (00:00) - Introduction: If it's Saturday, it must be revolution (02:11) - Robinhood's venture fund announcement (03:17) - What is Robinhood's day job? (07:43) - Secondary markets and tender offers (10:33) - Democratization or late-stage risk? (14:09) - Is Robinhood just gambling? (16:08) - Private vs. public market returns (19:02) - Is finance merging with betting? (24:23) - Blowing the doors off Sequoia and Andreessen (26:27) - Yasha Mounk: AI automating the humanities

    Unlocking Your World of Creativity
    Teamwork and Collaboration: BONUS GLOBAL ROUNDTABLE

    Unlocking Your World of Creativity

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 38:24


    On Your World of Creativity, we travel around the world talking with creative practitioners who turn ideas into impact. In this special roundtable episode, Mark brings together leaders from film, animation, hospitality, consumer brands, immersive experiences, and big-tech UX to explore one powerful theme:Teamwork.When creative outcomes depend on dozens—or even hundreds—of contributors, how do you align vision, manage complexity, and still leave room for magic?Today's PanelistsMichael Robinson — Hotel & Hospitality Operations LeaderDiego Pulido — Lead UX Designer, Amazon (formerly Google, Walmart, Adobe, JPMorganChase)Matt McLean — Organic Consumer Juice Brand FounderTom Bairstow — Event, Concert Production & Immersive Visual Experiences Rich Magallanes — Children's & Animated Content ProducerSteven Puri — Focus app creator, ex-studio exec/producer Fox, DreamWorks, SonyTogether, they share real-world lessons from film sets, animation studios, hospitality teams, live events, consumer brands, and product design at scale.In This Episode, We Explore:Creativity as a Team Sport. What great collaboration actually looks like across industries—and why creativity doesn't happen in isolation.Aligning Vision Across Many Contributors. How leaders communicate creative direction clearly when working with writers, designers, engineers, performers, vendors, and operational teams.Conflict, Constraints & Creative Breakthroughs. How budget limits, timelines, technical requirements, and differing opinions can either block creativity—or unlock it.Leadership in Collaborative Environments. What it means to lead when you're not the only decision-maker, how to build trust quickly, and why delegation is essential for scale.Practical Takeaways for Better Collaboration. From film crews to UX teams, each panelist shares what actually helps teams work better together—and what listeners can apply immediately.Final Lightning RoundEach panelist shares one simple action listeners can take this week to become a better collaborator.Huge thanks to our panelists. Be sure to connect with them.https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-robinson-a6985735/https://www.linkedin.com/in/diegopulido/https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-mclean-5507733/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tombairstownorthhouse/

    The ChatGPT Report
    171 - I see dead people…and are AI Agents stupid?

    The ChatGPT Report

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 14:38


    Episode Sponsor - Airia.comThe AI Compiler Debate: Anthropic's Claude-generated C compiler has sparked controversy; while marketed as a milestone, hands-on testing reveals it is fragile, significantly slower than traditional compilers (like GCC), and heavily reliant on human-written code.The SaaS "Death Spiral": The traditional "per-seat" licensing model for software is under threat as AI agents begin to do the work of multiple people, leading to massive market cap losses for giants like Salesforce and Adobe.Safety and Ethics Concerns: Beyond the "doomerism" of upcoming AI documentaries, real-world concerns are mounting, including lawsuits against AI-powered surgical tools (TruDi Navigation System) and Meta's patent for AI that replicates the online behavior of deceased users.Innovation vs. "Vibe Coding": There is a growing shift toward "vibe coding"—prioritizing the speed of AI generation over long-term stability—which critics argue creates bloated software and significant technical debt.The Rise of Autonomous Models: Intelligence is becoming a commodity through high-performance open-weight models (like Qwen and MiniMax), pushing the industry away from human-centric dashboards toward autonomous orchestration.@trikcode@rushicrypto

    The CMO Show
    Rethinking B2B: Amazon's unexpected Aussie marketing lessons

    The CMO Show

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 28:32


    Australia isn't just another western market. Amazon learned this quickly in its 12th market roll out. In this episode of The CMO Show, Lena Zak, Country Manager for Amazon Business Australia, discusses the nuances of branding in an unusually personal, human‑to‑human business culture with distinct approaches to buying and supplier relationships.  From buyer instincts shaped by Amazon's B2C footprint to the procurement friction unique to local organisations, Lena shares the surprises that forced her team to rethink assumptions and rework their approach, including the need to explain what Amazon Business even is before they could persuade anyone why it matters.  What are Lena's biggest lessons?  How listening beat out global playbooks in a market where trust still trumps technology  How the whimsical Little Bo Peep campaign became an unlikely shortcut to clarity and cultural connection  Why simplicity in fast shipping, easy controls and fewer suppliers to manage proved the strongest lever for earning confidence with Australian organisations navigating digital transformation.  It's a behind‑the‑scenes look at the decisions, challenges and creative swings that defined one of Amazon's most interesting market launches and a reminder that in B2B, understanding how people buy is still the most powerful strategy of all.  This episode is brought to you by impact advisory, communications and events agency, ImpactInstitute in partnership with Adobe.  www.impactinstitute.com.au | https://business.adobe.com/au

    On The Tape
    Dave vs Goliath: How Fintech Challenges The Banking Establishment with Dave CEO Jason Wilk

    On The Tape

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 47:27


    In this episode of The Risk Reversal Podcast, Dan Nathan and Guy Adami break down the massive rotation rocking the tech sector. Why are investors dumping software darlings like Salesforce, Adobe, and Oracle while Apple hits new highs? The guys debate whether the "AI tailwind" has officially become a headwind for SaaS companies and if the massive infrastructure spend by Microsoft and Google will ever generate a real return. After the break, Dan sits down with Jason Wilk, Founder and CEO of Dave ($DAVE). Jason shares his incredible founder journey—from a professional golf aspirant to landing Mark Cuban as a lead investor who capped his salary at $30k. They discuss how Dave is using AI-driven underwriting to disrupt JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, slashing default rates from 20% to 1%, and the future of fintech in a high-rate environment. —FOLLOW USYouTube: @RiskReversalMediaInstagram: @riskreversalmediaTwitter: @RiskReversalLinkedIn: RiskReversal Media

    Developer Tea
    AI-Era Employability and Job Security for Software Engineers - Mental Models for Finding a Competitive Advantage Without Selling Out

    Developer Tea

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 40:31


    I've been delaying this episode for a long time because the topic is genuinely difficult and, for many of us, scary. AI is threatening not just to our livelihood, but to our sense of self-worth as creators.In this episode, I don't offer false guarantees about job security. Instead, I frame the problem through the lens of microeconomics and rational incentives to help you understand how to remain employable. We discuss why you must separate your ego from your current skill set and how to position yourself not as a competitor to AI, but as a force multiplier.• The Hard Truth: I explain why the "abstinence" approach—hoping the industry rejects AI or that it turns out to be a bubble—is a high-risk gamble that is unlikely to succeed.• Ego vs. Employability: We discuss the difficult mental shift required to disconnect your self-worth from the act of writing code manually, allowing you to adopt new tools without feeling like you are losing your identity.• The Microeconomics of Your Job: Understand the cold reality that a rational market only pays you if you generate more value than you cost; if AI can do the same task with less risk or cost, the market will choose AI.• The Non-Zero Sum Game: Learn why the economy isn't a fixed pie. The goal isn't just to survive, but to recognize that the combination of Human + AI can generate more total value than either can alone.• Multiplicative Value: I challenge you to stop thinking about linear skill acquisition and start thinking like a manager: how can you use AI to multiply your output and become indispensable?• Accepting Atrophy: We confront the reality that your core coding skills may degrade over time as you rely on AI, and why accepting this trade-off might be necessary for your career survival.

    The Smattering
    193. Nothing Works All the Time

    The Smattering

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 43:56


    We discuss the recent market dislocation where SaaS stocks are crashing while the broader market hits all-time highs. We break down the three main fears driving the sell-off and debate which companies—like Adobe and Salesforce—are actually at risk. Finally, we share how we are handling the volatility, with Jeff buying more Shopify and Jason using a "barbell strategy" to stay sane.02:27 Housekeeping03:53 Episode Setup06:37 Three AI Threats to SaaS: 09:23 Is AI Really Different? 12:59 Stock Spotlight: Adobe18:35 The Real Issue: Moats, Stickiness, Switching Costs, and Resetting SaaS Multiples23:18 LLMs Aren't Free23:49 Why SaaS Stocks Are Selling Off25:11 Shopify vs. Toast27:06 Disruption Timelines & Valuation Reratings29:19 Earnings Season as the Reality Check31:53 Tactical Moves: Selling Puts for Margin of Safety33:02 Barbell Portfolio Strategy: Growth on One Side, Dividends on the OtherCompanies mentioned: ABNB, ADBE, ASAN, CRM, CRWD, ENPH, EPR, MNDY, MSFT, NOW, O, PYPL, SHOP, SQ, TEAM, TOST, TTDFind where to listen & subscribe,  portfolio contests, and contact information at https://investingunscripted.com*****************************************To get 15% off any paid plan at fiscal.ai, visit https://fiscal.ai/unscriptedListen to the Chit Chat Stocks Podcast for discussions on stocks, financial markets, super investors, and more. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube*****************************************Join our PatreonSubscribe to our portfolio on Savvy Trader

    Magic Markets
    Magic Markets #261: The AI Effect on Free Cash Flow

    Magic Markets

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 25:00


    2026 has seen US tech giants throwing enough capex at AI infrastructure to fund a small country. Amazon has guided capex that is roughly half of South Africa's entire GDP! But with fracture lines appearing in the AI landscape, is the ROI really justifiable? And if not, will Big Tech even feel it, or will someone else be left to foot the bill? In this episode of Magic Markets, The Finance Ghost and Mohammed Nalla explore the dangerous games that giants like Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft are playing, exhausting their free cash flow on data centres and AI projects with a potential half-life of an overripe avocado. Alphabet is borrowing money from a hundred years down the line. Is that the sign of the top? And if not, then what is? Today's Topics: A reminder of the US railroad bubble and how AI stacks up in comparison The market is punishing Microsoft and Amazon for deteriorating free cash flow margins The disruption to the valuation of the SaaS giants like Adobe and Salesforce  Free cash flow margins across various Big Tech names and how this has changed over time  Are the hyperscalers too big to fail, or could things go that badly? Get in touch: The Magic Markets Website @MagicMarketsPod, @FinanceGhost, and @MohammedNalla (all on X) Pop us a note on LinkedIn Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Please speak to your personal financial advisor. Chapters (00:00:00) - Introduction & A Technical Glitch(00:01:15) - Big Tech's AI Capex Pig(00:02:45) - Is AI Eating the World?(00:04:15) - Why Meta is Spending 100% of its 2026 Cash Flow on Capex(00:05:41) - The Absurdity of Alphabet's 100-Year Bond(00:06:50) - Why Salesforce and Adobe are Under Fire(00:08:15) - The Cyclical Capex Pig: TSMC's Struggle with the Foundry Model(00:10:30) - Microsoft: From Enterprise Software to Risky Infrastructure(00:12:15) - Amazon: Reinvesting Profits That Haven't Happened Yet(00:13:50) - The Canary in the Coal Mine: Oracle's Credit Stress and CDS Spikes(00:15:30) - Too Big to Fail? The Contagion Risk of a Tech Infrastructure Bubble(00:18:15) - ASML's Dilemma: European Regulation and the Tax on Unrealised Gains(00:20:45) - How 2026 AI Spend Matches the 19th Century Railroad Bubble(00:23:00) - "Vibe Coding" and Disruption: Can AI Replace the SaaS Giants?(00:24:47) - Conclusion

    Art + Audience
    Ep. 39: Jess Miller on Blending Art + Influence: Licensing, Content, and the Power of Showing Up

    Art + Audience

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 30:22


    Today, Stacie chats with illustrator, content creator, and multi-hyphenate entrepreneur Jess Miller. Known for her brand partnerships with names like Adobe and Casetify, Jess shares how she's built a thriving creative business by combining social media savvy with her love of art. From licensing deals and royalty checks to viral videos and a new coloring book, Jess walks us through her income streams, her biggest lessons learned, and how she keeps her studio sacred and stylish. Whether you're an artist looking to explore content creation or a seasoned illustrator rethinking your pricing, this conversation is full of actionable advice, inspiration, and honest reflection. Today on Art + Audience: From Art to Income: Jess explains how she earns through licensing, royalties, content creation, and brand partnerships, and how these streams work together. Building a Following Online: She shares how consistently showing up during the pandemic helped her grow from zero followers to a thriving online presence. Charging What You're Worth: Jess reflects on early mistakes with pricing and how she now structures her rates for both artwork and content. Studio Setup and Workflow: From tripods and extra phones to keeping her creative space kid-free, Jess offers a look behind the scenes of her daily process. Sharing to Empower: Jess talks about why she shares her income breakdowns each year and how having multiple income streams gives her flexibility and stability.   Connect with Jess Miller: Website: jessmillerdraws.com Instagram: @jessmillerdraws   Connect with Stacie Bloomfield: Subscribe, Rate, and Review: Art + Audience Podcast Website: staciebloomfield.com | leverageyourart.com Instagram: @gingiber | @leverageyourart  Facebook: @LeverageYourArt Pinterest: pinterest.com/leverageyourart Got questions? Call the Art + Audience Podcast hotline: (479) 966-9561 Get Stacie's book: The Artist's Side Hustle

    The Engineering Leadership Podcast
    The innovation engine behind Samsara driving real-world impact: compounding feedback loops, data flywheels and embedding engineers in customer problems w/ Kiren Sekar #249

    The Engineering Leadership Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 43:34


    Kiren Sekar (CPO @ Samsara) joins us to deconstruct the "Innovation Engine" behind Samsara, and how this system drives real-world impact and ROI across their products. We explore Samsara's decade-long compound product strategy and the mechanics of accelerating feedback loops in an era where the primary bottlenecks shift from code generation to customer feedback and absorption of change. Kiren details how their data flywheel expands the aperture of what is possible to build and we dive into the system of customer-driven innovation: advisory boards, “spark sessions” to test hypotheses and gain unfiltered feedback. Plus we talk about the power of embedding engineers in frontline environments (from truckyards to construction sites) to cultivate “taste,” customer empathy and trigger non-linear ideas. ABOUT KIREN SEKARKiren Sekar is the Chief Product Officer at Samsara (NYSE: IOT), where he has helped lead the company from a hardware-hacking startup in a basement to a global leader in Connected Operations with over $1.5B in ARR. An early leader at Meraki (acquired by Cisco for $1.2B) and an Apple veteran with multiple patents, Kiren specializes in the rare intersection of hardware, massive-scale data, and AI. He is the architect of a platform that now processes trillions of data points for the industries that keep the world running—trucking, construction, and logistics. This episode is brought to you by Retool!What happens when your team can't keep up with internal tool requests? Teams start building their own, Shadow IT spreads across the org, and six months later you're untangling the mess…Retool gives teams a better way: governed, secure, and no cleanup required.Retool is the leading enterprise AppGen platform, powering how the world's most innovative companies build the tools that run their business. Over 10,000 organizations including Amazon, Stripe, Adobe, Brex, and Orangetheory Fitness use the platform to safely harness AI and their enterprise data to create governed, production-ready apps.Learn more at Retool.com/elc SHOW NOTES:Real-world ROI The Intersection of Bits and Atoms: How Samsara supported customers through a once-in-a-century snowstorm using real-time AI insights (3:59)The Practicality Filter: Why low-margin, high-utility businesses are the best "BS detectors" for product builders (9:25)Deconstructing the compound product strategy: 10 years of feedback loops, scaling empathy, and technical capabilities (10:53)Accelerating your innovation flywheel, customer and product feedback loops (14:39)The New Bottleneck: Why writing code is no longer the constraint, and how to optimize for customer absorption of change (19:58)The Data Flywheel: Leveraging trillions of proprietary data points to solve new problems and expand your innovation engine into new capabilities (23:36)Embedding engineers in customer problems: Why there is no substitute for engineers seeing the frontline environment firsthand (29:56)How customer empathy and "taste" amplify the benefits of AI coding agents (33:26)Building a system of customer-driven innovation: Utilizing Advisory Boards and "Spark Sessions" to turn 10,000+ customers into co-creators (37:40)Rapid fire questions (47:50)This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan's also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    SaaS Sessions
    S10E2 - From Harvard Law to SaaS CEO: Decoding the "Paperless" Future ft Shashank Bijapur, Spotdraft

    SaaS Sessions

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 31:00


    Shashank Bijapur, co-founder and CEO of Spotdraft, explores the transition from the archaic, manual world of legal practice to the high-velocity domain of B2B SaaS. In this episode, we strip away the jargon surrounding "LegalTech" to reveal how Spotdraft powers the invisible infrastructure of global commerce - from airport leases to ride-sharing agreements. Shashank provides a masterclass on finding product-market fit in the mid-market, the reality of AI's role in high-stakes legal workflows, and the strategic pivot from technical perfection to market-driven iteration.Key Takeaways1. The "Aha Moment": Identifying Stagnation in Essential Industries- Digital Lag: While photography (Adobe) and accounting (Intuit) underwent digital revolutions decades ago, legal innovation peaked in 1993 with Microsoft Word's "Track Changes."- The Opportunity Gap: Identifying ubiquitous, paper-heavy processes that remain manual despite technological advancements is the strongest signal for a SaaS disruption.- Democratic Software: The goal isn't just to replace a lawyer; it's to turn complex legal processes into software that is as accessible and intuitive as a consumer app.2. GTM Strategy: The Power of Mid-Market Focus- Avoid the "Gambler's Fallacy": Shashank emphasizes the importance of trashing unusable early products rather than doubling down on a failing idea.- Homogeneity Matters: The US is the primary target for Indian SaaS due to its massive, homogeneous market, which allows for a repeatable ecosystem and faster flywheels.- The Mid-Market Sweet Spot: Avoiding the high-churn "small business" trap and the "unobtainable enterprise" early on leads to a focused GTM where legal teams (the true buyer persona) have decision-making power.3. The Founder's Dilemma: Accuracy vs. Speed- Legal Training vs. Startup Reality: Lawyers are trained for 100% accuracy; founders must embrace "fail fast." Overcoming the urge to pursue a "perfect product" is essential to gathering user feedback.- Technical Maturity: In 2017, the promise of AI exceeded the technology's capability. Spotdraft pivoted to building robust workflows first, capturing the data needed to make today's LLM integrations effective.- The Talent Moat: When a founder lacks specific functional knowledge (like GTM or engineering), the solution is "talent density"—hiring highly motivated experts who believe in the mission.4. The Future of AI in High-Stakes Legal- The End of "Form Filling": UI is shifting from manual data entry to conversational interfaces where users describe an outcome, and the AI configures the workflow.- Context is King: General LLMs lack company-specific context. AI's value in SaaS comes from mapping global laws against a company's specific historical data and standards.- Humans in the Loop: AI will handle "grunt work" and pattern recognition, but $1M+ deals will still require a human handshake and strategic negotiation for at least the next decade.About Spotdraft:Spotdraft is an AI-driven, end-to-end contract automation platform designed to clear the "madness from quote to cash." It helps businesses of all sizes—from startups to giants like Uber and Airbnb—create, manage, and analyze contracts seamlessly.Chapters:00:10 - Introduction00:50 - Journey from Lawyer to SaaS CEO03:34 - The "Aha Moment" for LegalTech07:09 - Spotdraft's Hidden Role in Everyday Life11:34 - GTM Strategy: Building from India for the US18:24 - Balancing Legal Risk with Founder Speed22:56 - How LLMs are Changing Legal Workflows30:22 - Lightning Round: Lessons Learned & AI ToolsVisit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

    Growthmates
    Build an Audience, Then Build a Company | Michael Ridd (Dive.club, InFlight)

    Growthmates

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 55:55


    In this episode of Growthmates — The Creator's Path, Kate Syuma speaks with Michael Ridd — founder of Inflight, creator of Dive Club, and former creator of Figma Academy.Michael shares how he intentionally shifted from selling his time to building leverage through distribution.—

    Skippy and Doogles Talk Investing
    Is Software Dead or Just On Sale?

    Skippy and Doogles Talk Investing

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2026 43:14


    Software stocks are getting hammered. Adobe at 7 year lows, Salesforce crushed. We discuss why and then cover our takes on the recent viral piece "Something Big is Happening."Join the premium Skippy and Doogles fan club. You can also get more details about the show at skippydoogles.com, show notes on our Substack, and send comments or questions to skippydoogles@gmail.com.

    Scratch
    How Satisfy Built The Most Adored Brand In Running

    Scratch

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2026 44:51


    Instead of following trends, Satisfy chooses to build a brand that's different. Daniel said it best: “The easiest way to do something quite different is to not look at anything at all.”In a landscape where brands benchmark competitors and chase fleeting trends, Satisfy focuses on culture. They hire for it before skill, treat customers as guests, and think in decades rather than moments.This philosophy shines through in the Satisfy Pro Team. It's not just a sponsorship roster, but a reflection of the brand's commitment to process and discipline. The key takeaway: Most brands chase relevance, but Satisfy builds consistency. They react to culture, while Satisfy hires for it. They aim for long-term impact, not short-term hype.This conversation is a masterclass in long-term brand strategy and the discipline of saying no.Watch the video version of this podcast on Youtube ▶️: https://youtu.be/CRUMwdDoj5o

    FP&A Today
    What an AI-Native General Ledger Means for FP&A: John Glasgow

    FP&A Today

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2026 51:48


    John Glasgow, is the founder, CEO and CFO of Campfire AI native ERP with more than $100m in funding, built to help high growth companies close faster, get richer visibility from their accounting data, and scale. John brings his insights as an operator who has spent time in FP&A and strategic finance, including at Adobe and an executive at Invoice To Go, leading that finance company to a $625 million sale to bill.com. Campfire came out of firsthand frustration with legacy ERPs and a need to rebuild the general ledger for the AI era. In this episode: My years in FP&A and strategic finance at Adobe before becoming a founder  CFA Certification  Invoice to Go acquisition what I learned   The frustration and origin story of frustration and why Campfire was set up Why building our own AI model makes sense  Key quote: “If you slap AI on top of an ERP with summarized revenue data, then you're essentially gonna get no insights that are of any value.”

    Chip Stock Investor Podcast
    Software Apocalypse or Opportunity? Interview with Braden Dennis, CO-Founder and CEO of Fiscal.ai

    Chip Stock Investor Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2026 23:20


    Is AI eating the software industry, or is it just making it more powerful?In this episode, we sit down with Braden Dennis, CEO and co-founder of Fiscal.ai, to discuss the shift happening in enterprise SaaS. If you've watched our videos, you know we use Fiscal's charts every single day to analyze the markets, so it was great to get Braden's perspective on where the industry is headed.We dive deep into the software apocalypse narrative and whether it's based in reality or just a market overreaction. Braden explains why maintaining software is getting easier, how his engineering team has achieved 10x productivity, and why internal AI solutions are coming for the "busy work" that off-the-shelf SaaS can't solve.Join us on Discord with Semiconductor Insider, sign up on our website: www.chipstockinvestor.com/membershipSupercharge your analysis with AI! Get 15% of your membership with our special link here: https://fiscal.ai/csi/Sign Up For Our Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/b1228c12f284/sign-up-landing-page-short-formChapters:0:00 – Is AI Eating Software? 1:12 – Meet Braden Dennis, CEO of Fiscal.ai 1:45 – Why Software Engineering Has Changed Completely 2:40 – 2026 Outlook: Opportunities vs. Traps 3:30 – What Software is Becoming Obsolete? 4:30 – Automating the "Unsolvable" Internal Busy Work 5:15 – "Intelligence in the Sky": A New Data Layer 6:10 – Pricing Power Debate: Will Clients Pay Less? 7:45 – Broadcom & VMware Case Study8:55 – Comparing the Software Correction to 2018 Semiconductors 11:45 – Lessons on Market Cyclicality 13:55 – The Problem with Late-Stage Venture Capital 16:00 – Why We Need More Tech IPOs 18:10 – The Incentive for Founders to Stay Private 20:00 – Evaluating Figma and Adobe in the AI Age21:30 – ServiceNow: Narrative vs. Financial Reality 22:45 – Final Verdict: Being Selective in a Sell-offIf you found this video useful, please make sure to like and subscribe!*********************************************************Affiliate links that are sprinkled in throughout this video. If something catches your eye and you decide to buy it, we might earn a little coffee money. Thanks for helping us (Kasey) fuel our caffeine addiction!Content in this video is for general information or entertainment only and is not specific or individual investment advice. Forecasts and information presented may not develop as predicted and there is no guarantee any strategies presented will be successful. All investing involves risk, and you could lose some or all of your principal. #AI #SaaS #SoftwareStocks #Investing #ChipStockInvestor #FiscalAI #TechInvesting #ServiceNow #stockmarket2026 Nick and Kasey own shares of Adobe, Figma, ServiceNow

    The 7investing Podcast
    Feb 2, 2026: Why Retail Stocks Are Too Cheap to Ignore (ChatGPT Ads Change Everything)

    The 7investing Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2026 24:00


    Happy Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow (6 more weeks of winter ☃️), but consumer discretionary stocks are about to heat up!What is Consumer Discretionary?NOT consumer staples (milk, eggs, cereal)The "wants" not "needs" - retailers, restaurants, automakers, home improvementAmazon, Tesla, Home Depot, Lowe's, McDonald's, Chipotle, StarbucksHighly cyclical - outperforms in good times, underperforms in downturnsWhy the Last 5 Years Were Rough:COVID impact on restaurants, brick-and-mortar retail2022: Fed raised rates 7 times (crushed consumer spending)2025: International tariffs pushed up pricesNike, Lululemon: Multiple quarters of negative compsMedian 5-year return: ~9.8% (vs typical 11-12%)Why 2026 Could Be Different:ChatGPT Ads Launch - 1 billion users, new ad format for retailersLower customer acquisition costs - More platforms = cheaper conversionsEasier year-over-year comps - 2025 was terrible, 2026 looks betterInternational brands too cheap - Crocs at 6x free cash flow?!CEO turnarounds - Major brands hiring new leadershipSupply chains stabilizing - Post-tariff efficiency gainsThe ChatGPT Game-Changer:1 billion users (50M paying $200/month for Pro)New ad format: Embedded product suggestions in promptsExample: "Mexican dinner ideas" → Hot sauce ad placementSimilar to Google's playbook: Free product → Monetize with adsRetailers get NEW low-cost acquisition channelStock Opportunities Discussed:- Lovable brands selling cheap: Nike, Lululemon, Crocs- Restaurant plays: Starbucks, Domino's, Chipotle, Cava Group- Software crossover: DraftKings, Duolingo (100M+ users each)- Tesla: Robotaxi progress, new Elon pay package- Adobe: "Dead" due to AI? Still 40% FCF margins, strong retention- The Trade Desk: Collapsed in 2025, cyclical downturn ≠ dead company

    The WAN Show Podcast
    Discord Threw It All Away - WAN Show February 13, 2026

    The WAN Show Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2026 157:17


    Check out Razer's all new Iskur V2 NewGen chair at https://lmg.gg/wanrazeriskurv2newgen Visit https://www.squarespace.com/WAN and use offer code WAN for 10% off Go to https://www.zerobounce.net/linus-wan , plug in your list, and use code LINUS2026 for 20% off Master your documents with UPDF. The all-in-one AI powerhouse for editing, converting, and researching across all your devices for a fraction of the price of Adobe. Get your Exclusive Discount at https://updf.com/go/youtube-linustechtips-2602 Get a Circuit Board skin for your device so dbrand can keep messing with Linus at https://dbrand.com/pcb Check out the Razer Blade series of laptops; perfect for work or pleasure: https://lmg.gg/wanrazerblade Game or work in comfort on a Razer Iskur V2: https://lmg.gg/wanrazeriskur Get a special deal on Private Internet Access VPN today at https://www.piavpn.com/LinusWan Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Stocks for Beginners
    Adobe Stock Pick: Buy, Sell or Watch? Tykr's Method vs AI Threats

    Stocks for Beginners

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2026 22:34


    Stocks for Beginners and Tykr proudly present "Weekend Watchlist". We dissect a company using Tykr's risk rating and fair value analysis process. Learn how to avoid emotional mistakes, choose investments with a rationale, and build wealth with confidence. Get your free trial and special discount offer. Join Tykr today and take advantage of this special offer of 30% off with coupon code SAVE30. See for yourself why Tykr is the essential tool for every serious DIY share investor. 14-day free trial included, then a no-quibble 30-day money back guarantee: Get your free trial and special discount offer. Is Adobe (ADBE) a smart stock pick in the AI era, or is it getting eaten alive by generative tech? In this episode of Weekend Watch, host Phil Muscatello dives deep with Sean Tepper from Tykr into Adobe's business model, revenue streams, and the massive AI threat to tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro. Discover Tykr's proven 7-point methodology for picking winners—focusing on scores, margins, returns, and earnings beats—to decide if Adobe is a buy, sell, or watch. Disclosure: The links provided are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase. You will receive a discount by using these links/coupon codes. I only recommend products and services that I use and trust myself or where I have interviewed and/or met the founders and have assured myself that they're offering something of value. Stocks for Beginners is a production of Finpods Pty Ltd. The advice shared on Stocks for Beginners is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. Opinions expressed by guests are theirs alone and may not represent the views of Finpods, Money Sherpa, or Phil Muscatello. Stocks for Beginners exists purely for educational and entertainment purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD, and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Philip Muscatello and Finpods Pty Ltd are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708, AFSL - 451289. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Page 7
    Nick and Noro's Infinite Puke List w/ Jake Young

    Page 7

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2026 93:22


    Jackie and MJ are BACK and joined by the nerd that's NOT LIKE THE OTHER NERDS, Jake Young, to goss' 'bout flashin' back to them early days of internet memes and whatnot, plus a recent Adobe blunder with Adobe Edge, Jackie watched the Olympics because she was trapped in the bed with a norovirus haaaaze! There's controversy around the Serena Williams GLP-1 ad as well as Mike Tyson's "I was a big gross fatty" ad, Bad Bunny did AMAZING, but there was faaaaar too much AI slop in the ads! The Olympics are experiencing a PENIS GATE involving acid injections (and not the fun kind), plus the first legal back flip on ice in 28 years, and MJ will be going with their mother to see "Dancing with the Stars" Live for their 40th! In the afterglow of his Super Bowl, which revealed the cereal eating while driving was STAGED, William Shatner said he was relentlessly bullied for his name. Then it's a LIST of CURSED behind the scenes stories of movies that were WAAAAAAAAAAY more chilling than what actually made it to the THEATRE! Then we got some SUPER BOWL THEMED BLINDZ! Lastly, we got a very scrotal lookin' Valentines Jackie's Snackie's starts at 1:11:00.790, with a SWEET TREAT MJ's Minute Munchies starting at 1:17:26.046 AND A THEME SONGED Jakie's Slakie's starting at 1:20:52.740, going til 1:27:50.198!Want even more Page 7? Support us on Patreon! Patreon.com/Page7Podcast Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of Page 7 ad-free.Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

    SANS Internet Stormcenter Daily Network/Cyber Security and Information Security Stormcast
    SANS Stormcast Thursday, February 12th, 2026: WSL in Malware; Apple and Adobe Patches

    SANS Internet Stormcenter Daily Network/Cyber Security and Information Security Stormcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2026 6:09


    WSL in the Malware Ecosystem https://isc.sans.edu/diary/32704 Apple Patches Everything: February 2026 https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Apple%20Patches%20Everything%3A%20February%202026/32706 Adobe Updates https://helpx.adobe.com/security/security-bulletin.html

    MacVoices Video
    MacVoices #26068: Apple Info Leaked, Camo vs. Apple, Pantone, Adobe AI, and Android in Utah

    MacVoices Video

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2026 35:03


    A multi-topic discussion in this MacVoices Live! session starts with a Luxshare cyberattack that may have exposed Apple product plans, raising concerns about ransom demands and security implications. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, Norbert Frassa, Guy Serle, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden also examine Camo's lawsuit against Apple over Continuity Camera, Utah's proposal to make Android its official OS, Pantone's affordable color-matching kit, and Adobe Acrobat's AI-generated presentations and “podcasts,” debating the value and risks of AI-created media.  MacVoices is supported by Squarespace. Check out https://www.squarespace.com/MACVOICES to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using offer code MACVOICES. Show Notes: Chapters: 00:30 Luxshare cyberattack and Apple product leaks05:45 Camo lawsuit against Apple15:56 Utah's Android “official OS” proposal17:48 Pantone's affordable color-matching kit22:41 Adobe AI presentations and audio generation33:29 Broader thoughts on AI and media creation Links: Apple's Secret Product Plans Stolen in Luxshare Cyberattackhttps://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/21/apple-product-plans-stolen-in-luxshare-cyberattack/ Camo developer sues Apple for copying its tech with Continuity Camerahttps://9to5mac.com/2026/01/27/camo-developer-sues-apple-for-copying-its-tech-with-continuity-camera/ Utah senator has nothing better to do than officially troll iPhone usershttps://www.macworld.com/article/3040234/utah-senator-has-nothing-better-to-do-than-officially-troll-iphone-users.html Pantone just made a color matching starter kit for only $99https://www.fastcompany.com/91478571/pantone-capsule-the-ultimate-color-matching-starter-kit Adobe Acrobat can now generate presentations and audio podcasts from your documentshttps://www.engadget.com/ai/adobe-acrobat-can-now-generate-presentations-and-audio-podcasts-from-your-documents-140000146.htm Guests:   Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town”. Follow him on X and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Guy Serle, best known for being one of the co-hosts of the MyMac Podcast, sincerely apologizes for anything he has done or caused to have happened while in possession of dangerous podcasting equipment. He should know better but being a blonde from Florida means he's probably incapable of understanding the damage he has wrought. Guy is also the author of the novel, The Maltese Cube. You can follow his exploits on Twitter, catch him on Mac to the Future on Facebook, at @Macparrot@mastodon.social, and find everything at VertShark.com. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

    Developer Tea
    Why Getting Paid Stole Your Drive and How to Get Into the Flow Again (Career Growth Accelerator)

    Developer Tea

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2026 22:22


    Do you remember the early days of your career? You likely spent hours coding late into the night, fueled not by a paycheck, but by the sheer joy of building. But somewhere along the way, that intrinsic fire faded, replaced by the extrinsic motivators of Jira tickets, performance reviews, and ultimately the almighty dollar.In this episode of the Career Growth Accelerator, I explore why this shift happens and how it might be the very thing keeping you stuck. We discuss the "Overjustification Effect"—how getting paid for your passion can actually degrade your performance—and how to reclaim the autotelic personality required to enter a flow state and accelerate your career.• The Overjustification Effect: Learn why introducing extrinsic rewards (like a salary) for a task you inherently enjoy can weaken or completely replace your intrinsic motivation, eventually making the work feel like a chore.• The Loss of Flow: Discover how moving from hobbyist to professional changes your relationship with the work, often stripping away the conditions necessary for "flow state," such as risk-taking and immediate feedback.• Autotelic Personality: Understand the concept of being "autotelic"—doing something for its own sake—and why this trait is critical for high-quality, creative work that pushes your career forward.• The Stagnation Trap: Recognize that if your only motivation is doing what is required to get paid, you are unlikely to take on the voluntary challenges necessary to grow to the next level.• Reclaiming Your Drive: I discuss how finding pockets of intrinsic motivation—even if they are ancillary to your main job—can reignite your ability to enter flow, improve your work quality, and break through career plateaus.

    The Engineering Leadership Podcast
    Why founders should invest in coaching, communication & leadership mechanisms before you scale w/ James Birchler #248

    The Engineering Leadership Podcast

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2026 50:46


    Founders often delay leadership coaching until a major crisis hits, leading to significant costs in productivity, team churn, and poor decisions. In this episode, James Birchler (Technical Advisor & Executive Leadership Coach) argues that early coaching is a game-changer for a startup's success. We explore the hidden costs of waiting and the benefits of intentionally installing leadership and communication systems before you scale. James shares specific self-awareness mechanisms, like advisory groups and feedback loops, to help founders design their day and create accountability. You'll also learn practical strategies like the "5-Minute Alignment Loop" for spotting communication breakdowns & for reinforcing clarity. Plus insights on how to "install your leadership OS" so it can scale with your company. ABOUT JAMES BIRCHLERJames Birchler is an executive leadership coach and technical advisor who specializes in helping engineering leaders and founders develop greater self-awareness and build high-performing teams. He combines deep technical expertise with practical leadership development, making him particularly valuable for technical leaders scaling their organizations.As both a founder and engineering leader, James has more than 20 years of experience leading teams at companies ranging from early-stage startups to Amazon, where his current role is Technical Advisor to the VP of Amazon Delivery Routing and Planning. Most recently, he founded NICER, a premium natural personal care company, and Actuate Partners, his executive coaching and technical advisory practice. He also held VP of Engineering roles at companies including Caffeine (backed by Greylock and Andreessen Horowitz), SmugMug (where his team acquired Flickr), and IMVU.At IMVU, James implemented the Lean Startup methodologies alongside Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and creator of the methodology, literally the first company to apply these principles. His team helped pioneer the DevOps movement by building infrastructure to ship code to production 50 times per day and coining the term "continuous deployment." This experience in systematic experimentation and continuous improvement now informs his coaching approach through frameworks like CAMS (Coaching, Advising, Mentoring, Supporting) and the Think-Do-Learn Loop.James completed his executive coaching certification at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Executive Coaching Institute. His coaching practice focuses on self-awareness, integrity, accountability, and fostering growth mindsets that support continuous learning and high performance. He writes the Continuous Growth newsletter and offers both individual executive coaching and peer learning circles for technical leaders.Through his advisory work with growth-stage startups in the US and Europe, James helps leaders navigate common scaling challenges including hiring and interviewing, implementing development methodologies, establishing operational cadences, and developing other leaders. His approach treats leadership development like product development—with systematic feedback loops, measurable outcomes, and continuous improvement.You can find James at jamesbirchler.com, LinkedIn, and Substack. This episode is brought to you by Retool!What happens when your team can't keep up with internal tool requests? Teams start building their own, Shadow IT spreads across the org, and six months later you're untangling the mess…Retool gives teams a better way: governed, secure, and no cleanup required.Retool is the leading enterprise AppGen platform, powering how the world's most innovative companies build the tools that run their business. Over 10,000 organizations including Amazon, Stripe, Adobe, Brex, and Orangetheory Fitness use the platform to safely harness AI and their enterprise data to create governed, production-ready apps.Learn more at Retool.com/elc SHOW NOTES:Why founders should seek coaching earlier rather than waiting for a crisis to occur (2:45)The high stakes of ignoring this critical advice & how this leads to communication & scaling problems (4:50)The importance of effective communication channels & leadership mechanisms before pressure increases (6:12)How investing a small amount in coaching early on can prevent hundreds of thousands of dollars in future costs (8:07)Frameworks for cultivating self-awareness / leadership blind spots (11:06)James's practice of "designing your day" around a desired identity, not just a list of tasks (12:30)Why designing your day is about intentionality (15:13)How this practice leads to better relationships & opportunities to reflect (17:44)Reflective listening & its impact on customer relationships (19:32)Strategies for improving self-awareness / uncovering blind spots (22:05)An example of how awareness can lead to better results  (26:03)Day-to-day rituals for improving self-awareness (28:14)Signals that your communication methods are effective & getting through (30:37)Reflect on & define the desired outcome you want to generate (33:26)The five-minute alignment loop for creating clarity & confirming ownership as a leader (35:21)Why creating clarity & finding alignment is key as a founder (37:02)How the same communication & leadership patterns recur as your org scales, from small startup to large enterprise (39:46)The increasing importance of human skills like emotional intelligence and reflective listening in an age of AI (42:03)Rapid fire questions (44:38)This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan's also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.