Podcasts about architecting

Russ d'Sa (CEO & Co-founder @ LiveKit) joins the show to deconstruct the "Product Paradigm Shift" toward voice-driven interfaces and agent-centric UX . We dive into LiveKit's high-stakes scaling lessons: from powering OpenAI and Character AI's voice mode, how they navigated real time bottlenecks to hit the next level of scale, the architectural necessity of a multi-cloud strategy, and the foundations of a co-founder relationships that can effectively blend engineering & business strategy.   ABOUT RUSS D'SA Russ is a startup vet who founded his first company in the 2007 YC batch and was the 2nd frontend engineer hired at Twitter, Russ d'Sa now leads voice AI unicorn LiveKit. They're the backbone of ChatGPT Voice Mode, Salesforce Agentforce, Grok, and roughly 30% of US 911 calls.   ABOUT LIVEKIT LiveKit is an open source framework and cloud platform for building voice, video, and physical AI agents. It provides the tools you need to build agents that interact with users in realtime over audio, video, and data streams. Agents run on the LiveKit server, which supplies the low-latency infrastructure (including transport, routing, synchronization, and session management) built on a production-grade WebRTC stack. This architecture enables reliable and performant agent workloads.   SHOW NOTES: The product paradigm shift toward voice-driven apps and natural human-computer interfaces (2:44) Voice-apps in practice: How these trends impact the strategy of product building today (5:32) Early adopters: Why legacy industries like healthcare use voice AI (7:55) Reevaluating and building product experiences optimized for AI agents (12:52) How AI trends will impact roadmaps and Go To Market (18:16) The origin of LiveKit: Building real-time infra for the pandemic (21:07) The OpenAI moment: Powering the fastest-growing consumer app (23:48) Scaling with OpenAI: Navigating the challenges of balancing time-to-market with system design (25:39) The Character AI outage: Solving cross-continental state sync and hitting the next level of scale (29:00) The problem: When telemetry breaks first: Managing analytics and logging for millions of concurrent AI sessions (32:04) Architecting for resilience: Multi-cloud from day one and why treating infra as a utility matters (33:22) Co-founder dynamics: Blending engineering strategy with business outcomes (37:15) Rapid Fire Questions (40:51)   This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team: Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-Host Jerry Li - Co-Host Noah 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.

How Are AI-enabled Recruiters Spending Their Time?   The recruiter's day used to disappear into Boolean strings, resume scanning, and the futile pursuit of inbox zero. Now that AI has swallowed the repetitive mechanics of talent acquisition, a profound shift is underway. The question is no longer whether artificial intelligence will change recruiting—it is how the best recruiters are redeploying the hours they just won back.   Join us for an inside look at the new recruiter operating system.   • Building strategic hiring manager partnerships instead of transactional req intake calls • Architecting employer brand narratives and designing candidate experiences that convert • Nurturing passive talent communities with personalized, long-term engagement • Advancing diversity strategy through relationship-driven outreach, not checkbox screening • Delivering real-time market intelligence and competitive talent mapping to leadership • Driving internal mobility and succession planning alongside people operations • Owning high-stakes offer negotiation and candidate closing with emotional intelligence • Optimising the recruitment funnel through data analysis and process design • Providing human coaching and connection throughout the interview journey • Governing AI tools and leading change management within talent acquisition teams   AI did not eliminate the recruiter; it elevated the role from talent screener to talent strategist. But that upgrade only happens for teams that know exactly where to focus. If your recruiters are still drowning in administrative drag while competitors build genuine relationships, you are wasting the competitive advantage AI just handed you.   Register now by clicking on the green button (save my spot) and follow the channel here (recommended) for real time updates.

Welcome to The Inner Game of Change.  where we explore the thinking that shapes how change really happens. Why is it that people can sit in a room, agree with a strategy, support a transformation and nod enthusiastically at a presentation, only to struggle when the change finally arrives?Today's guests suggest the answer may lie in a concept called psychological distance.Terri Block and Susan Bartlett from Workomics spend their days helping organisations bring customers, stakeholders and teams together to solve complex problems through co creation.In this conversation we explore Construal Level Theory, why humans think differently about things that feel distant versus things that feel immediate, and why co creation may be one of the most powerful ways of helping people move from abstract ideas to tangible action.Along the way we discuss ownership, expertise, accountability, skin in the game, whether facilitators can ever truly be neutral, and even whether artificial intelligence can become a co creator.I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I think you will too.I am grateful to have Susan and Terri chatting with me today. About The GuestsSusan BartlettI am a principal at Workomics, where we help biotechs bring life-changing therapies to patients. I contribute to projects from the perspectives of go-to-market strategy, operational effectiveness, human-centred design, and strategic communications. I treasure my colleagues and my clients, and feel fortunate to be able to work with them every day. I write a monthly Substack newsletter (please subscribe!). Through the newsletter, I explore how we make work and workplaces better for people — customer-centric, inclusive and equitable, focused on employee well-being, meaningfully integrated with emerging technology. In the past, I have been a Rhodes Scholar, a CEO, and a licensed propane dispenser, only one of which involved an objective assessment of my abilities. I love to solve specific, pragmatic problems by drawing on a variety of disciplines and traditions — my university degrees span English literature, software design, philosophy, politics, and economics, and computer science. At various points in my career, I have devoted myself to: — Communicating complex medical concepts to patients. — Architecting the data, software, technology, and IT governance structures of large enterprises. — Embedding human-centred design capabilities to enable customer experience. — Applying machine learning techniques to natural language problems.Terri BlockI co-lead Workomics where we help biotechs and pharma bring life-changing medications to patients who need it. We focus on patient experience including go-to-market strategies and campaigns, creating impactful educational experiences for patients and their care teams, and empowering internal teams to champion patient-centricity across their organization. My career in human-centered design in the life sciences industry spans 10 years and is underpinned by a whole other career in theatre and teaching. The red thread is bringing the best out in people and imagining better possibilities for our work-at-hand. I am a creative at heart and author of Words of Wonder www.wordsofwonderbook.com.Contactworkomics.comSend us Fan MailExecutive Wins PodcastThe Executive Wins Podcast features inspiring Executives who share their biggest wins.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyAli Juma @The Inner Game of Change podcastFollow me on LinkedIn

With the Co-Authors of The Greater Game and Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach and John Bowen of CEG Insights Louis Diamond speaks with Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach® and John Bowen of CEG Insights about founder dependency, enterprise value, and the architecture behind scalable businesses. In Summary Many advisory firms grow successfully while remaining highly dependent on their founders. Dan Sullivan and John Bowen argue that the difference between a successful practice and a valuable enterprise comes down to architecture. Louis sits down with the co-authors of The Greater Game to discuss founder dependency, enterprise value, intellectual property, and why some businesses scale beyond their owners while others do not. The conversation offers advisors a framework for thinking differently about growth, succession, and long-term optionality. The Storyline Many advisors spend their careers helping clients build valuable businesses. Far fewer stop to ask whether their own firms are being built the same way. That tension sits at the center of Louis Diamond's conversation with Dan Sullivan, co-founder of Strategic Coach®, and John Bowen, founder of CEG Elevate Group and CEG Insights. Their new book, The Greater Game, challenges a common assumption about growth: that bigger businesses are simply the result of working harder, adding more clients, or improving existing systems. Instead, they argue that enterprise value is created through architecture—the deliberate design of a business that can scale, transfer, and thrive without its founder at the center. The discussion introduces a framework for understanding why some entrepreneurs remain trapped in optimization while others build enterprises that compound in value over time. Along the way, Dan and John explore founder dependency, intellectual property, succession planning, strategic partnerships, and the role advisors can play in helping entrepreneurial clients navigate each stage of growth. For advisors, the framework creates an important mirror. The same forces that limit enterprise value for entrepreneurial clients often exist inside advisory firms themselves. The result is a conversation that extends well beyond business growth and into questions of optionality, transferability, and what ultimately makes a firm valuable. Topics Covered Enterprise Value Creation Founder Dependency Risk Business Architecture vs. Optimization Intellectual Property & Scalability Strategic Partnerships & Leverage Succession Planning & Optionality Legacy, Impact & the “Greater Game” Mindset > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors What is The Greater Game—and why does it matter to advisors? (17:57) Dan and John introduce the framework behind their new book and explain why advisors should think about it both for entrepreneurial clients and for their own businesses. Why do only a small percentage of entrepreneurs create exponential enterprise value? (22:24) The discussion explores the difference between “architects” and “optimizers” and why most business owners remain focused on improving what exists rather than designing what comes next. Why is founder dependency such a significant valuation risk? (35:00) John explains how businesses that depend on a single individual often struggle to scale, transfer, or command premium valuations. How does expertise become intellectual property—and why does that matter? (35:00) The transition from expertise to transferable systems may be the most important bridge in the entire framework, creating leverage that extends beyond the founder. What prevents many advisors from fully serving entrepreneurial clients? (18:00) The conversation examines why most advisors are well-equipped for traditional planning needs but less prepared for the governance, succession, and enterprise-value challenges entrepreneurs eventually face. What does the next game look like after you've already “won”? (50:00) Dan and John discuss why many successful entrepreneurs and advisors eventually shift their focus from accumulation to significance, impact, and legacy. What's the single most important move an entrepreneur can make? (52:30) Dan shares the concept of Unique Ability® and explains why simplifying around your highest-value strengths often creates the greatest multiplier effect. Key Takeaways Enterprise value is created through architecture, not effort. Many successful businesses continue to grow while remaining highly dependent on their founders. The firms that command premium valuations are often built differently from the start. Founder dependency acts as a hidden valuation discount. The more a business depends on one person, the more difficult it becomes to scale, transfer, or sell at a premium. Intellectual property is often the bridge between a practice and an enterprise. When expertise becomes codified, transferable, and repeatable, value begins to exist independently of the founder. Advisors and entrepreneurs often face the same challenge. The same founder-dependency issues advisors help clients solve frequently exist within their own firms. Strategic partnerships create leverage that expertise alone cannot. Many of the most successful entrepreneurs grow through collaboration, ecosystems, and coordinated expertise rather than attempting to solve every challenge themselves. Most advisors are trained to solve early-stage problems. Entrepreneurial clients eventually require guidance around succession, governance, scalability, and enterprise value—areas that extend beyond traditional planning. The next stage of growth is often not about growth at all. For many successful entrepreneurs, the question eventually shifts from accumulation to significance, impact, and the legacy they want their business to create. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY5xOB8GTQY Quotable Moments “The exit multiple is downstream of the architecture.” “The difference between a three-times and a fifteen-times multiple is often whether the business depends on the founder.” “You have to simplify in order to multiply.” “We're not talking about a 10x game anymore. We're talking about a 100x game.”     FAQs Why do some advisory firms command higher valuation multiples than others? Dan Sullivan and John Bowen argue that valuation is often determined long before a transaction occurs. Firms that reduce founder dependency, codify intellectual property, and build transferable systems typically command higher multiples than those built around a single rainmaker. What is founder dependency and how does it impact enterprise value? Founder dependency occurs when clients, revenue, and decision-making remain concentrated around one individual. While those businesses can be highly successful, advisors find they are often more difficult to scale, transfer, or sell. What is the difference between an architect and an optimizer? An optimizer focuses on improving an existing business model. An architect builds systems, intellectual property, and structures designed to create leverage, scalability, and long-term enterprise value. What does Dan Sullivan mean when he says “100x is easier than 2x”? The concept challenges entrepreneurs to stop thinking incrementally. Rather than working harder within the current model, transformational growth often comes from redesigning the model itself through better leverage, collaboration, and systems. How can advisors better serve entrepreneurial clients? Many entrepreneurial clients eventually need guidance beyond investment management, including succession planning, governance, intellectual property strategy, and enterprise value creation. Understanding where a client sits in their business journey can help advisors provide more relevant advice and coordination. What is the expertise trap and why does it matter for advisory firms? The expertise trap occurs when critical knowledge, relationships, and processes remain inside the founder's head. Until that expertise becomes transferable and repeatable, enterprise value often remains limited regardless of growth. Dan Sullivan and John Bowen argue that valuation is often determined long before a transaction occurs. Firms that reduce founder dependency, codify intellectual property, and build transferable systems typically command higher multiples than those built around a single rainmaker. Founder dependency occurs when clients, revenue, and decision-making remain concentrated around one individual. While those businesses can be highly successful, advisors find they are often more difficult to scale, transfer, or sell. An optimizer focuses on improving an existing business model. An architect builds systems, intellectual property, and structures designed to create leverage, scalability, and long-term enterprise value. The concept challenges entrepreneurs to stop thinking incrementally. Rather than working harder within the current model, transformational growth often comes from redesigning the model itself through better leverage, collaboration, and systems. Many entrepreneurial clients eventually need guidance beyond investment management, including succession planning, governance, intellectual property strategy, and enterprise value creation. Understanding where a client sits in their business journey can help advisors provide more relevant advice and coordination. The expertise trap occurs when critical knowledge, relationships, and processes remain inside the founder's head. Until that expertise becomes transferable and repeatable, enterprise value often remains limited regardless of growth. Related Resources The Greater Game by Dan Sullivan and John Bowen Strategic Coach® CEG Elevate Group The Greater Game Dashboard Diamond Consultants Advisor Transition Report Dan Sullivan The world's foremost expert on entrepreneurship in action, Dan Sullivan has spent the past five decades empowering business owners to reach their full potential in both their professional and personal lives. His strong belief in and commitment to the power of the entrepreneur is evident in all areas of his company, Strategic Coach®, and its successful membership community. Dan is married to Babs Smith, his partner in business and in life. They jointly own and operate The Strategic Coach Inc., with offices in Toronto, Chicago, and the UK Dan and Babs reside in Toronto. John Bowen John J. Bowen Jr. is the founder and CEO of CEG Elevate Group, the holding company that includes CEG Worldwide and CEG Insights. Through these companies, he helps elite financial advisors serve fewer, wealthier clients exceptionally well while building more valuable and scalable businesses. Before founding CEG, John spent 26 years as a financial advisor and built a $2 billion wealth management business. That firsthand experience grounds CEG’s work today across advisor coaching, enterprise programs, empirical research through CEG Insights, and practical frameworks for advisors who want to move beyond practice growth to enduring enterprise value. John is the author of 21 books on wealth management, entrepreneurship, and success. His newest book, The Greater Game: Your 100x Blueprint for Exponential Growth, Freedom, and Legacy, co-authored with Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach, will be published by Hay House Business in May 2026. Today, John and the CEG team work with leading advisors and enterprise firms — including some of the largest advisor organizations in the United States — to help advisors deepen relationships with affluent clients, build scalable practices, and design lives of greater significance. NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation. View the transcript of this episode… Architecting 100x Growth: A “How-To” From Legends Dan Sullivan and John Bowen A conversation with Louis Diamond and Co-Authors of The Greater Game, Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach and John Bowen of CEG Insights.      Louis Diamond: Welcome to the latest episode of our podcast series for financial advisors. Today’s episode is Architecting 100x Growth: A “How-To” From Legends Dan Sullivan and John Bowen, a conversation with the industry’s top coaches and co-authors of The Greater Game. I’m Louis Diamond, and this is the Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. Mindy Diamond: At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education-driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at 908-879-1002. Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our annual Advisor Transition Report. It’s the award-winning data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. Louis Diamond: Most entrepreneurs and many advisors spend years optimizing for growth without realizing they’re building a business that still depends entirely on them. Revenue and complexity grow; enterprise value, transferability, and freedom often lag far behind. Dan Sullivan and John Bowen argue that the issue isn’t effort or intelligence; it’s architecture. No doubt these are familiar names in the wealth management industry, but just to set the stage, Dan is the co-founder of Strategic Coach, and John is the founder of CEG Elevate Group and CEG Insights. Together, they spent decades coaching and studying high-performing entrepreneurs and advisory firms. Their latest book, one they joined forces on, The Greater Game, lays out a very different framework for thinking about growth, one built around scalability, transferrable value, and long-term leverage rather than incremental optimization. What makes this conversation especially relevant for advisors is that the framework cuts both ways. It applies to the entrepreneurial clients that advisors serve, as well as to the advisory firms themselves. And in many cases, the same founder dependency and expertise trap that limits a client’s enterprise value is quietly limiting the advisor’s business too. We talk about the difference between operators and architects, why 100 times growth can actually be easier than two times growth, where businesses tend to stall as they scale and how advisors can start thinking differently about their own firms, particularly when it comes to enterprise value, succession, and long-term optionality. It’s rare access to a conversation with two of our industry’s legends whose advice and counsel has not only helped to transform the business lives of many of our listeners, but also my own. So let’s get to it. Dan and John, thank you both for joining us today. Dan Sullivan: Thank you, Lou. It’s a real pleasure. John Bowen: I’ve had the privilege of joining you before, but never with my co-author, Dan Sullivan, and I’m excited to share what we’re doing because I think it can make a big impact in our advisor industry. Louis Diamond: No doubt about it. Yeah, this has been an interview I’ve been very excited to host. So let’s jump right in. Dan Sullivan, I think you are a man that needs little introduction. So many advisors in the industry are fans or clients of your firm, Strategic Coach, but for those who aren’t as familiar or need a refresh, can you just give some quick context into why you started Strategic Coach and what the company does today? Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Well, it goes back to 1974. I was a copywriter at BBDO, the Canadian branch of BBDO, big global advertising agency. It still is. But I’ve been sort of a lifetime coach. I remember once when my mother finally caught up with what I was doing in life and I was describing what I was doing, she says, “Well, you were doing that when you were a child. You were talking to adults and you were asking adults about their experiences.” And I said, “Yeah, I could do this when I was eight or nine years old, but it took me a long time to get a business model wrapped around it.” But I jumped out in 1974 and started coaching anybody, but it actually turned out that entrepreneurs were the best people to coach because they would write a check on the spot and they would make a decision on the spot and I needed cashflow and I did it. So I’ve been personally, as a Strategic Coach, which was named by someone else. You’re just out there trying to get cashflow to pay for the rent. So I started in ’74, and I was lucky and it really relates to your target audience, Lou. Right off the bat, I got what are called top-of-the-table life insurance agents. And that was really, really great because life insurance agents are purely a conceptual business. So someone can get a new idea at breakfast and they can have a new business by dinnertime just because they can change their mindset. And that moved on. And I did that for 15 years, just one-on-one, 1970s, 1980s. And then, I’d had enough experience that we turned it into a workshop program in 1989. We’ve been at it ever since. So I was at a talk. Joe Polish is a great friend of ours, Joe Polish with Genius Network. And he had a speaker there, and he says, “You’re one of the original gangsters, aren’t you? You’re one of the first people.” And I said, “I don’t know if I’m the original, but I think I’m the only surviving one.” So it’s 52 years that I’ve been doing what I’m doing. And I had the good fortune to meet John in around 2009. John, was that the year? 2009? John Bowen: Yeah, in the little economic downturn that everybody knows about here. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. And John had a great coaching program and we had a great coaching program. And over the years, we’ve talked a lot about what makes a entrepreneur exponential in their thinking. And finally, about two years ago, we decided, let’s write a book about this. And that’s the new book, which is called The Greater Game. That’s where this all started. It’s just been a great pleasure because we sync very well. Louis Diamond: Amazing. And Dan, I think a lot of people likely know you either from Strategic Coach. I know I’m personally a big fan of two of your books and I know of others, The Gap and The Gain and Who Not How. We’re going to talk about your new book, but I think it’d just be helpful. Can you talk about the key premise of some of your prior books, The Gap and The Gain and Who Not How? Dan Sullivan: As a result of my membership, I’m a member in other groups. And so Joe Polish of Genius Network fame, he’s been in my program for 28 years, and I’ve been in his program for 15 years. And there was a writer who was in one of the first Genius Network workshops, and he approached me. And I created a lot of books, but I create small books and they’re self-published. I do a book a quarter. I’m 82 in about three weeks. So when I was 70, I said, “I’m going to give myself a 25-year project. I’ll write 100 books in 100 quarters.” And this is quarter number 47, and I’m writing my 47th book. But they’re little books. They’re 60, 70 pages. They’re one-idea books. And Ben Hardy, who was, at that time, the number one writer on Medium, which is a blogging type medium, he approached me, and he said, “I know you don’t write big books and you don’t have publisher books. But,” he said, “if you ever did,” he said, “I’d like to collaborate.” And that was a great good fortune on my part. So we produced three books in five years. The first book was Who Not How. Who Not How basically says when you have a goal, the biggest problem with the goal, you’re excited about the goal, but you’re not excited about doing it. So you find “Whos” who help you and you build teamwork around it. And that was a big seller. And then, we had another concept which was called The Gap and The Gain that entrepreneurs, depending on how they measure their progress, can be perpetually unhappy or they can be perpetually motivated. And it all depends on how they measure their progress, how they measure their goal setting and their goal achievement. And then the third book, which has really turned out to be the big one, up until this book, this book will be bigger. It’s called 10x Is Easier Than 2x. So hence, Coach, everybody has a 10x game plan. Whatever number they want to choose, revenues, personal net worth, whatever, you have a framework of 10x, which is sometime in the future, but you use that future framework for deciding what you’re going to do today that will end up as a 10x result. I thought that was going to be our formula for the rest of my life until I met John. And then John is a great AI practitioner. And I began to realize that that 10x is now becoming 100x for really top-notch entrepreneurs, but the 10x is easier than 2x. And we just crossed the million mark with the three books, which is really good. And it’s great for lead… we’re having people show up and they’ve really bought into what Strategic Coach is. We have a good size company. We’re not a small company. We have 120 team members. We’re in five centers: Los Angeles, Vancouver, Chicago, Toronto and London, England. But it’s been really great because we’ve really grown with technological change and it’s basically, we teach people how to think about their thinking. And Lou, you were in for three years, both in-person and virtual. So you know what the starting structure of it is, but I’m in love with entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are crucial characters on the planet, but mostly they operate alone and what we’ve done is create a community for them. Louis Diamond: Fantastic. Thank you, Dan. And John, I think perfect segue to you, because I know you’ve spent your career serving and helping entrepreneurs as well, mostly within financial services or within wealth management. And you’ve been very kind to share some of your amazing research on advisors serving entrepreneurial clients in the past. But for anyone who’s missed those episodes, similar question for you, can you share what your companies do? CEG Elevate, CEG Insights, your new research, and then we’ll dive into your exciting new book. John Bowen: Thank you, Louis. And Dan and I are very excited about just entrepreneurs in general. Dan is, because he’s working with them directly. The best clients for financial advisors are entrepreneurs, largely, if you’re going to go high net worth, ultra-high net worth. So we have a company, CEG Elevate, which is our parent company. Two of the companies that are really interesting for this podcast is CEG Insights and this is our research arm. And we’ll study about 20,000 high net worth, ultra-high net worth clients this year in depth and 6,000 up to 7,000 we’ll do just of entrepreneurs. And this is in the partnership. Lou, I invited you up to… We were skiing two years ago in Park City and you couldn’t join us. But Dan and I made a deal to do a 25-year partnership studying entrepreneurship, one for Strategic Coach and his coaching clients, but really the opportunity for financial advisors. And it’s probably just as well because I came down, and I think, Dan, you were 80 at the time and I was 69. I’m 70 now. And I was skiing with a whole bunch of 40-year-olds, and they’re all going, “You guys are way too optimistic.” And Dan and I are just getting started on this. And the other company that’s applicable is CEG Worldwide, where we have the privilege of coaching and training some of the top financial advisors, those aspiring, and also working with the enterprises to really help move up market and do this great experience. Louis Diamond: Fantastic. Dan, question for you. What was the core problem you and John were trying to solve in your new book, The Greater Game? What is it that existing frameworks weren’t touching? And then John, I’ll have a follow-up question for you after that. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. Well, by the very nature of what we do, we’re not going for wannabes. We’re not going for entrepreneurs who hope to be really successful someday. We’re engaging with and we’re registering into both of our communities, people who, they’re already great. They’re already doing so many things right, but they’re kind of doing it unconsciously. They just have a unique ability for growth. They have a unique ability for networking and expansion, but the very, very core is they’ve done it on their own. And they’ve done it out of intuition and they’ve done it out of ambition and motivation. But their biggest problem is that they’re really lonely. I’m in my sixth decade now of coaching entrepreneurs, and people say, “Well, what’s the number one problem that entrepreneurs face?” And I said, “Loneliness.” They can’t explain themselves to the family they grew up with. They can’t explain themselves with their lifetime friends. They have thoughts about how they’re operating. And they take enormous pride in their ability to transform difficulties into breakthroughs, but they don’t have anybody to talk to. So what we’ve created is a community where when you walk in the room, everybody in that room immediately understands you. Everybody immediately applauds what you’ve done. Everybody is inspired by you. So my framework is I call, “What you’ve done on your own, you’re great. You’re a winner already, but who do you talk to?” You have to hide a lot of your success because they just won’t understand what it is that actually motivates you. And the beauty of the partnership with John is the vast majority of our clients are in 70 or 80 different industries, so they’re not peculiar. We start off with financial services, especially life insurance. But what I notice is that all the difficulty they get into life is they’re trying to communicate with people who don’t understand them. And what we’re saying is, “Stage one, you did it on your own, you’re great by any standard whatsoever. You check all the boxes for being a successful person, but you don’t really have any way to actually check out how other people are doing this.” And so we’ve created a community, and John has created a community where people, immediately, there’s understanding. And not only that, but there’s opportunity because they’re unique in their own ways. Every one of our entrepreneurs has created a very, very unique pattern of success that if they were with 10 other people, they could learn from this. If they were with 30 other people, they would learn even more. So that’s what we’ve done. So stage two is now joining a community where everybody gets you. Louis Diamond: Interesting. And that’s the premise of the book. We don’t want to have people not buy it, but what is the greater game? What’s the game that folks are playing and pursuing and how do you make it greater? Dan Sullivan: I tell you, what I’ve always been lacking, I’m sort of intuitive like most entrepreneurs are. We’ve done about 300 times growth since we started the program. But it’s intuitive. I don’t have any research to back this up. I’m low on fact finder. I find, generally speaking, the best facts are just the facts that I make up, but at a certain point, you’d like to have some actual research to back me up. So I’ve gone as far as I can go with our company without real research. Then John comes into the picture, and now we got some real research. And I will say this, this is generally true. It’s not just a problem with me that I don’t have research. I find that entrepreneurism is one of the least researched subjects on the planet. And John comes along and he’s done all the backfill for how entrepreneurs actually perform and I’ve got research to prove it. Louis Diamond: Perfect. Yeah, John, question for you. So what is The Greater Game? And then, how do you think it relates to what financial advisors have been missing? John Bowen: One of the things that we as financial advisors all want to work with people who have already won. And there’s no better group than entrepreneurs, successful entrepreneurs. If we look at people with 25 million or more of investible assets across all households in the US, 90% are entrepreneurs. And at the 5 to 25 million of investible assets, it’s three out of four. So at CEG Worldwide, we’ve always wanted to really understand advisors. And we said we’ll partner with Dan and his passion with entrepreneurs, we’ll go ahead and study them so that we can bring insights on how we can better serve them. And the very first thing we want to do is understand, yeah, there’s very different stages that we see of entrepreneurs and we talk about the whole concept of The Greater Game. And the idea here is we wanted to identify… And I’ll share some PowerPoint slides. I know a lot of us are listening and I just want to walk through this, but Louis will have it in show notes, his team will. We really saw four areas. The first one was level one, stage one was foundation for freedom. They had ambition, the vision, but they really needed security. And Dan calls this, and I love this term, “cash confidence.” But it’s really using a financial advisor to have security. And one of the things, the last time I was on with you, Louis, we talked about there’s 59.2% of entrepreneurs who want to switch advisors because they don’t believe they have that security. And that’s kind of the foundation. And this is why you’re never going to read a more friendly financial advisor book for entrepreneurs than this because in our coaching program, we’re developing workshops and so on to bring this message out. And then the second level is where now we saw… and there were four levels. Dan and I identified 5.4% of these entrepreneurs that were just killing it and they were going through all four levels. The second level was energy for expansion. They were very motivated, they were excited about getting up and really the intellectual property, and Dan’s been one of the big leaders in this, is so much of what we know… And as I go through this too, I want every one of the advisors to think about it’s not only your entrepreneurial clients, this is for you too, is having this intellectual property, getting it out of your head so that your business is not founder-dependent or personality-dependent. You’ve got this enterprise. And then, the third level where it really took off was collaboration and multiplication. And Dan talked about the power of community and this is so big. And for advisors, the community is often working with other professionals, the accountants, the attorneys, the investment bankers. Matter of fact, when we survey, we found that 40% of the people with 25 million or more that they invest with an advisor came through an investment banker. So creating that community, teamwork, having the right team and then autonomy. Can you step away from your practice? The entrepreneurs step away 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, making that independence, moving from the founder-dependent to the enterprise. And the last level was exponential. And this is all along the way, the AI opportunities to accelerate this and augment this is really real, but the agency where the blue ocean, creating new markets, then getting the commitment and courage. And at each of these levels, we saw different entrepreneurs just really taking off. And one of the things that’s so important, Louis, for what we’re talking about today is advisors all are ready to treat stage one, the foundation for freedom, but they don’t really understand the other stages, and that’s really what entrepreneurs want. So if you want to work in this market, it’s very important for you to understand what you can do to help. The difference is often for an entrepreneur, a three to five multiplier versus 15, the level one or stage one to stage four. And this is where it gets really exciting. Louis Diamond: This would be a question for John. You found, and he’s mentioned it, that only 5.4% of entrepreneurs operate as architects versus optimizers. Can you explain the difference between those two personas? John Bowen: Well, I’m going to set up the research and let Dan really bring it home. But Dan and I came up with this framework, The Greater Game and the 10 Multipliers, and we’ve got that and we’re putting it in order and we wanted to really confirm. And everything we do is empirical research. So we reached out to 1,000 very successful entrepreneurs, 1,016. And it became very clear that the 5.4% of them were actually executing on all these levels and they were just distancing everyone else. And what we came up with, and Dan mentioned it earlier, that his book, 10x Is Easier Than 2x, but we said, what we’re seeing… and we’ve got a whole bunch, I think it’s 26 stories in the book of entrepreneurs, we’re seeing so many people blow this out that 100x is easier than 2x, and it forces a whole different mindset where if you’re optimizing, you’re kind of looking incrementally. But when you step back as an architect, big picture, wow, huge opportunity, both for entrepreneurs and advisors that are entrepreneurs to make a real big difference. This is something you’ve really coached to and had the privilege of working with thousands of entrepreneurs helping them on that journey. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. One of the things that was confusing for me, Lou, when I first started coaching, because everybody who came in to coach, you remember when you came into your first Chicago workshop, that everybody in the room was motivated. I’m not a motivational speaker. I don’t have to motivate the entrepreneurs who are in Coach. They’re already motivated. The problem is the focus of their ambition and focus. And what we discovered was that there were two types that showed up. I didn’t really understand it, but they’re what I call status-oriented entrepreneurs. And what they are when they were a kid, they didn’t have anything. Their family wasn’t at the top of the pole. When they were born, they grew up in a certain community, but there were certain people who lived in the right part of town and they had really big houses and everything about their lifestyle was way above everybody else in the lifestyle. And they saw the lack of what they had, because of the way they were born, that they were going to match it. But the matching was based in not only what the big home looks like. They’ve got other homes, they’ve got vacation homes. They belong to clubs. There’s clubs for the winners, and the losers aren’t part of those clubs, golf courses and boating clubs and everything else. And what I noticed was their motivation was simply to get to that point where they had the same sort of status. And they’re interesting for a while, but once they’ve gotten to that level of status, they’re not interesting anymore. They go on cruise control at that point and they just want to stay within that framework. But the really interesting entrepreneurs, and we really highlight them in the book, it’s just about growth. So when they get to one level, they say, “That’s great. Okay, now I’ve got a new baseline and now I want to grow even further.” And we have one story, very, very interesting. When he came into my Chicago workshop, I met him and he said, “I’ve got a big engineering company.” This is Paul VanDuyne. He’s out of the Quad City area of Iowa. And he says, “My ambition for your program is for three years, I’m just going to plan my retirement.” And I said, “Well, we’ve got some thoughts about that.” So I said, “Just do your first workshop and we’ll talk about it 90 days from now.” And he came back and he had an entirely different game plan, and he’s grown basically 250 times in his last 13 years. He’s completely transformed the industry that he’s in and he had this growth. So what we’re looking for in The Greater Game, we’re looking for those entrepreneurs who are already successful, but they don’t see any stopping point. They’ll grow to one level and then they say, “Okay, that’s the new baseline. Now I grow to another level.” Meanwhile, three years ago, what happened is the world got a new capability called AI. AI, you’re not talking 10x. If you use it properly… a lot of people are in the very early stages here, but we can see the ones who are applying it for growth. John has set up an entire research structure just to measure the people, and what are the people who are just motivated by growth? They don’t see any stopping point. They don’t see any retirement age. They’re just growing. They’re in better health now than they were when they started their ambition. One of the great breakthroughs we’re having now is the impact of AI on physical fitness and health right now. And so you have 70-year-olds now who are way more ambitious at 70 than they were at 50. So we think a whole new world is being created in front of us, but there isn’t the research to measure what the real winners of this new game are actually doing. And The Greater Game is a lot of Strategic Coach thinking tools, but it’s also the phenomenal research that John is doing, and we’re measuring exactly what are these people who just constantly grow, what are they actually doing? John Bowen: Louis, if I can jump in, I want to go back to Paul just for a second because he was going to do something classical, and Dan is also my coach and I was going to do something similar. Paul told Dan that he was going to retire at 65, and his wife. And he were going to open up a little mom-and-pop coffee shop. And the reason so many of the entrepreneurs are caught in the 2x optimization is they’re grinding it out. They’re working harder to be more successful and the desire to do that isn’t very high. That’s why you retire. On the other hand, what we found, the ones working on 100x are building platforms and ecosystems. They’re architected. And as we were writing the book, CEG grew by 58%. I’m going to give a lot of credit to the book, because as Dan and I were working on the processes, I wanted to walk all the talks. This is where the world is changing. I want everybody to think as a financial advisor, you’re being served twice, one with The Greater Game, they don’t care about a few basis points on returns. That’s table stakes. So much of the level one is taking care of the investment side, mitigating taxes, taking care of the areas, protecting the assets, some charitable planning, maybe shoot in some succession planning. I can tell you only 6% of the entrepreneurs actually feel they’re getting that from you, but that’s only level one. If you can help them from each of the stages, stage one through four, and help them create that vision, they’re going to love you to death. Because many of them want to continue in this path and create tremendous value, bigger impact, not creating legacies in the sense of enduring legacies, but active legacies. Last year, my wife and I set up a private foundation. I called it The Greater Game Foundation. I just love this so much, the difference that you can make, and I want to do it while I’m living, not while I’m gone type of thing. I think that’s one Dan and I very much share. Louis Diamond: Awesome. You wrote the book 10x Is Easier Than 2x, but now you’re claiming 100x is easier than 2x. How can that be the case? Dan Sullivan: The interesting thing, one of my points of proof on the original idea, the 10x Mind Expander, I use a lot of what the entrepreneurs have already done to prove the future. In other words, I said… You’ll remember the exercise, Lou. And I said, “I want you to pick your best number.” Everybody’s got a best number. It’s revenue, it’s net worth, whatever. And I said, “I just want you to multiply by 10.” And immediately there’s this reaction. He says, “You know how hard it was to get to just where I am 10 times?” And I said, “Well, you’ve already done 10 times. You’ve probably done 10 times twice. So let’s go back to the beginning. When were you 1/10 of where you are right now?” And they can nail it. They can tell you the year, they can tell you the month when they were 1/10 of where they were. And I said, “Let’s write the actual structure that got you from 1/10 to where you are right now.” And there’s five stages, and usually it’s an event, it’s a new relationship and all of a sudden they get a big check. And we measure, as entrepreneurs, size of check is a good scorecard. When you’re first starting, you got a $10,000 check, that was the biggest check. But about five years later, you get a $100,000 check, and all of a sudden it seems strange at breakfast, but by dinner you’ve normalized the idea, “Well, I know what it’s like to get a much bigger check, a 10 times check.” And so I have them create five growth stages that took them from where they were 1/10 to where they are right now, and I said, “Now let’s go back and talk about doing 10 times more.” And what they recognize, 80% who’ve got them 10 times the first time is going to be the same. It’s relationship, it’s having a great team, it’s having a simple approach that always works and it’s about the kind end customer. It’s not about them. It’s about who is it that you’re being a hero to in the marketplace. Because the truth is people don’t want to have a lot of relationships as they grow. They’d like to have one relationship to grow. They’d like to have an advisor who’s growing with them. But then John introduced me to the whole world of AI and I said, “We’re not talking 10 times anymore. We’re talking 100 times.” I said, “If you apply this new form of thinking, because it is an entirely new form of thinking, to what you’re doing right now, you can see that 10 times is going to happen just by doing three or four things where you’re eliminating waste, you’re eliminating things that just don’t work anymore, changing relationships, changing teamwork, changing collaborations in the marketplace.” But meanwhile, this new world of thinking is making you healthier. It’s making you more fit. So where before you thought you wouldn’t have the energy at 70, you now have more energy at 70 than you had at 50. So you’re the only one who says when it’s going to stop. I’m 82 in three weeks. We’re having this… I’m 82 and I’m way more ambitious at 82 than I was at 52. And the world is, because the world outside in terms of technological capability and access is way, way bigger in my 82nd year than it was in my 52nd year, and I love the growth. I have to tell you that the greatest point where AI is going to have the impact is going to be making money. The big titans, the Metas, the Googles, the Nvidias, what do they have in common? It’s about the money and where AI is being applied most is how you do new things with money. So that’s where the 100 times now comes from. I’ve normalized it. I said, “We’re not talking a 10x game anymore. We’re talking 100x game.” But the number on the scoreboard isn’t the issue. The scoreboard is, are you actually having fun? Louis Diamond: Yeah, we call it living your best business life. That’s our major barometer in charge. John, I don’t know if you could pull up your slides again, but I want to talk about the bridge between stage two in your pyramid to stage three. So that’s from expertise into scalable property. Can you explain how this relates to a financial advisor or an independent business owner and why this concept is so important for the valuation of a business? John Bowen: The book, it’s written for entrepreneurs, but I wanted to create some bridges while we’re together with Louis on really what’s going on for financial advisors and how you can help them. So if they’re at our stage one, Dan and my stage one of The Greater Game, and they want to go to two, they’re kind of dreaming oftentimes, and we want to help them begin creating the architectural structure. And as an advisor, this is really going to encourage everybody to read chapter two, The Greater Security. It talks about really the VFO, Virtual Family Office structure that they want, and you got to help them get financially solid, building personal wealth outside of the business, tax, estate, insurance, business structure. That’s what we all do today. Then though, if they want to move from level two to three, what we find over and over again, advisors are not equipped to do this, because what we’re taking is that founder where everything’s in its head, we’re now helping them move from just having that expertise to having scalable property. This is that codifying the process of building IP that’s transferable. And this is where the real valuation changes. Now, I’m not asking financial advisors to be the IP experts, but what the entrepreneurs want is they want somebody to help them curate and then coordinate between each of these levels. We go from three to four that the founder is indispensable, oftentimes at three. Now we want the team there to be invincible. And it’s not just the individual team as Dan was talking about. It’s the community. The collaboration is where this really takes off. The noise of AI is making it harder to market, but by partnering, particularly as financial advisors, we can very quickly have groups. One of the reasons why I’m collaborating with Dan, I want to help our financial advisors to work with entrepreneurs. Dan wants that research. So this is the natural collaboration. But they’re interested here in governance, self-managing teams. One of the things that Strategic Coach is brilliant at, the pre-transaction they want. And what we find so often is the indispensable discount. So many businesses sell, if they sell at all, they’re selling for three to five times multiplier, not advisory, but traditional businesses. Well, if you can make it to four, all of a sudden you’re now talking to 10 to 15 times multipliers. And think of it as if I’m a buyer and I’ve been involved in 50-some transactions, what happens is if the business is the guy, the gal, they’re the business, then you’re buying a very expensive job type thing. So let’s just keep a simple one. They’re having a couple million dollars of EBITDA. And let’s say the high range of that, five times EBITDA is $10 million. Well, the difference at 15 times two million is 30. Now, a few basis points I don’t really care about. I really care about capturing that difference. And because there’s a machine working without, I can buy that machine and generate that cash flow and it’s also taking advantage of the vision. And then when we get to level four, this is where most advisors make the biggest mistake is, “I’ve won. I’m at level four. I’ve got tremendous wealth.” Okay, but I’m now looking at significance. And I do want to go, “It’s not enduring legacy I’m looking for. I’m looking for active legacy. I’m looking for family governance.” Do I want to continue to build it like Dan and I’m doing at 70? I’m building the business so I can continue doing it as long as I want to do it. At the same time, and I love the impact we have and I know you do too, Louis, for the impact you have. Why not build the platform that’s going to allow you to do that as long as you want to do that? And if you don’t want to do it, let’s create the most value to transfer. When you start having conversations like that with families, entrepreneur families, it just changes, and very few advisors can do that. And that’s what we’re finding. We have a coaching company, training company, we train those things. They’re winning, quite honestly, almost 100% of the time because entrepreneurs didn’t know that was available to them. Louis Diamond: Interesting. It seems like the difference between stage two in your pyramid, to leap to stage three or four, that seems like a pretty massive pivot point for valuation for building a scalable business, having a self-managing company, et cetera. Do you find or have you seen that advisors or entrepreneurs that are in stage two themselves, they kind of pattern-match when they’re working with their own clients and kind of manage their own clients into stage two, or is it not really connected? John Bowen: I think that once you get the bigger picture and see the greater game, you can help your clients. That is a very small percentage. Remember, it was only 5.4 of when we surveyed successful entrepreneurs were actually playing the greater game, all four levels, the 10 greater multipliers. So I think what we tend to do is we get stuck on what we can do. And all the training is for level one for financial advisors. We don’t know how to guide them through the other levels. And really, the big difference from two to three, Dan and I’ve talked about this a lot, and I think Dan’s one of the biggest champions of this, is collaboration, putting together strategic partnerships. It could be with your competitors. This is for entrepreneurs, competitors, it could be various vendor partnerships. But the ability to open up markets that way when you have now put together in level two your IP, value creation’s huge. For advisors, it’s putting together partnerships with centers of influence. When we survey top financial advisors, 70% of their best clients came through COI, Centers of Influence with accountants, attorneys, investment bankers, and so on. Well, let’s do it on purpose, be successful on purpose. Louis Diamond: Dan, question for you. In all your experience working with successful financial advisors, insurance producers, probably any entrepreneur, what do you feel are the most common things that folks do unintentionally to really hurt their enterprise value even long before, or if ever, they decide to sell their business? Dan Sullivan: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is they stay entirely within their industry. One of the first questions that we ask our entrepreneurs when they come into the program and where you see it most is in the professions: lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects. I’ll say, “Well, what is it that you are?” And they’ll say, “Well, I’m a lawyer. I’m a tax lawyer.” And I said, “Are you a tax lawyer or are you an entrepreneur who has a specialty in tax law?” Okay. It makes a big difference, because if you see yourself as a tax lawyer, then you’re saying that you’re a better paid factory worker. You’re a manual laborer. But if you’re an entrepreneur, it’s a fairly recent idea in human history. There’s always been entrepreneurs, but it wasn’t until about the beginning of the 1800s that you start seeing this really different class of people in the marketplace, who, it didn’t matter how they were born, they were taking advantage of some new multiplier technology. Steam power being a great example. Around 1800, steam power came on. And anybody who had a bright vision for themselves and had the wherewithal to figure out what needs could be satisfied with a new technology, all of a sudden they became rich. They became rich. And it was very disruptive, because up until then it was based on aristocracy and you were born into wealth or you were born into poverty. There was no crossover. So what we’re saying is anybody who comes into Strategic Coach, I said, “I’m not going to tell you anything about your particular industry.” I said, “You know all the best practice people in your industry and they have workshops and they have conferences and you go to them, but they don’t know how to be entrepreneurs. You know how to create a really well-paying job, but you haven’t created a company.” A company is a totally different realm and I would say the vast majority of entrepreneurs, 95% of entrepreneurs haven’t really created a company. They’ve just created a really well-paying job which requires their presence and their attendance. I said, “You don’t get any payout for your company. If you’re the company, you need to have a structure.” I’ll give you an example. We started the company in 1989, and we’re about 270 times what our first year revenues were, and that was a great year. I was very happy for the first year, but we’re about 270 times. Along the way, what I did is I created other coaches so it wasn’t just Dan, the coach. So we have 16 other coaches. And I’ll give you a little example. In 1994, that year our company did 144 workshop days, 36 per quarter. One coach: me. Last year we did 600 workshop days and I did 12. 588 were done by other coaches. And our coaches are great. They’re clients who have coaching instincts and they do it. So about four years ago, I met one of our clients who’s an M&A specialist, and I laid out all the facts just in conversation, “This is our revenues. We have no debt. It’s repeatable income, around 70% is repeatable for one year.” I put the whole structure together. And I said, “So right off the top, I don’t have any relatives on staff.” The first thing they look for, “Any relatives working for you?” And he gave me a number. It was a big number. It was probably four times revenue for that year. He said, “We got a lot of structures.” Then something happened in the marketplace, and this is a great breakthrough that the US Patent Office sometime in the last 10 years recognized that up until about 10 years ago, to get a patent, you had to have a technological component for what you were doing. Sometime in the last 10 years, the patent bureaus decided that the internet is the technological component. So they’ve introduced education and entertainment as patentable processes. So in the last three years, we’ve gotten 82 patents. 82 patents. And these are our thinking tools, Lifetime Extender, Free Focus and Buffer Days. You know the routine that you learn in the first three days, and we’ve got 82 of them. We’re averaging about 25. I get a new patent about every two weeks. So I saw this M&A specialist, and I said, “This has happened in the last three years.” And he said, “Immediately it doubles the valuation of your company.” So what John’s saying here, as you go through the four stages, more and more you get paid for your creativity, retail, you get paid for your retail. But if you structure it, you record it, you package it, it is even greater than what you got paid for your creativity. Louis Diamond: Super interesting personal anecdote, and I appreciate you sharing that because that definitely did drive the point home for me. I see the applicability to probably any industry, but especially to any financial advisor. Dan Sullivan: Oh, yeah. Louis Diamond: The best RIA firms, the best advisors, they pretty much all start off with a cult of personality founder who’s the rainmaker. And then the practices that really grow and scale and are valuable are more platforms. That’s what private equity wants to invest in. And those are the firms that get the higher multiples. Dan Sullivan: Yeah. So the big thing is there’s a really, really great IP lawyer. He’s in our program and he’s made the breakthrough, and he’s the first IP lawyer that doesn’t charge by the hour. He charges by the patent. If the IP lawyer charges by the hour, it’s a very slow patent. If he charges by the patent, it’s a very fast patent. But the big thing, he showed a slide that in just big corporations, 1980, you took big corp, Fortune 500, the S&P 500, more than 80% of their valuation was tangible. It was property, it was real estate, it was fleets, it was equipment. Last year, more than 80% were intangibles. It was your ideas, intellectual. If you look at Elon Musk, it’s all intellectual capital. If you look at Meta, you look at anything, it’s intellectual. It’s not tangibles. So we’ve entered into that new world and AI has introduced us to that new world. It’s new processes, new structures, new approaches and it’s really interesting. It’s hard for entrepreneurs to get their idea that your creativity is actually property. Louis Diamond: It sounds like the ultimate challenge for anyone listening is translate your process, your ideas, the stuff that you’re doing by instinct as you both had said, and turn it into something patentable or something repeatable that another advisor, another executive, another owner can pick up and deploy and scale. John Bowen: We share the process in chapter four. It’s the fourth greater multiplier. And we actually share Caldwell, the attorney that Dan’s talking about, his story and the value creation. He’s now the major player in that space. And this is where we as advisors, we’re given a twofer, Dan and Louis, is that you can help your clients, but you can do this yourself too. You’ve been involved in a number of large transactions. The difference, I had a $2 billion advisory practice I sold in ’98, and we sold for 16 times earnings. And a big part of it, we were in that blue ocean. We had agents that we created and strategic process that would run without me, and it did type thing. And it continued to grow and went for about 10 fold what I sold for a number of years later. This is something that’s very real. Louis Diamond: Absolutely. I got two more questions for you guys because I know you’re both busy. For an advisor who feels like they’ve won the growth game, they grow 10, 15, 20% per year, they’re charged up, they’re on the Barron’s list, the Forbes list, they’re hitting their AUM milestones, they built an amazing team, they have a family member in the business. They have everything that anyone could want. What does the next game look like for them? What’s the next frontier once you’ve achieved all those things that from the outside looking in, seems like you have it all? What’s the next game to play? John Bowen: Well, we’re going to both say The Greater Game, but the- Dan Sullivan: Well, tell them about the dashboard, John, because the book is just part of the deal here. It gives you the landscape. There’s a great tool that comes with the book. So tell them about the dashboard. John Bowen: Really what we wanted to do is to create kind of a community just around the book. Dan and I and team built a dashboard. We were very creative on naming, thegreatergamedashboard.com. You can go in and we’re now studying every month over 500 successful entrepreneurs. We have that data in here. You’ll be able to see how you compare at each of these stages, the four stages, the 10 multipliers. And you’re going to get specific recommendations. This is for entrepreneurs. But again, you should do it. If you’re a financial advisor, you have an equity ownership, you should definitely be doing it as well. And one of the things that we see over and over again, and Louis, you probably see this a lot in the conversations. They have advisors who have already won. They don’t know what the next game is. And it’s easy to check out at that point. It’s easy to frustrate the next generation of leaders and so on. If you take the time to really see what the opportunities are and architect to realize that vision, you can create, whether it’s selling the practice, creating tremendous value there or designing a role for yourself, maybe it’s executive chairman type for that business that you can guide it with the vision and what you’ve brought and strategy. But bring that team up. That’s going to create so much value, so much impact and you can design it for the life that you want. And that’s where I get very excited. Louis Diamond: I can hear the passion in your voice. Dan, let’s finish with you. Given all of your experience working with entrepreneurs, advisors, business owners, et cetera, what’s the one move that you’ve seen the most successful entrepreneurs in your orbit make that’s changed the trajectory of their firms and their life more than anything else? Dan Sullivan: I’ll answer it in a little roundabout way. Periodically, I have a thinking tool. I said, “If everything was taken away from you as an entrepreneur and they moved you 1,000 miles away, what’s the one thing that you would take with you? It has to be portable. So what is the most portable thing that you have that you would start over again with the greatest value that you had created previously? What would it be? And then you would rebuild what you’ve already created, but you would do it much faster. What would be the one thing?” It’s an interesting thought. But in our concept, it’s called unique ability, that there’s something about you, as an individual, that first of all gave you enough confidence to become an entrepreneur because it’s risky. It’s a risky proposition. It’s guessing and betting and it’s risky business and it’s unique ability. So the starting point for all growth in Strategic Coach is that there’s something about you that’s absolutely unique. You don’t have any competitors on this and it has two qualities. One is that you’re so good at it, you don’t take it seriously. You’ve done this since you were a child and it just comes to you naturally and you don’t see the significance of it. When you’re in Coach, you start seeing the significance of it. And the second thing is you just absolutely love doing it. It’s what you love doing most of all. It comes to you naturally. You don’t even have to think about it. And then you begin to realize that anything else you’re doing as the founder and the owner of your company, probably somebody else can do. So you’re doing 20 things, but really you should be doing three things. The other 17 things still need to be done but not by you. And that’s the breakthrough. You have to simplify in order to multiply. Louis Diamond: I absolutely love that. I know when I was in Coach, that was my biggest takeaway or realization was figuring out what my unique ability was because I think the two components,

Join Angel Cisneros, Founder and CEO of Saptiva AI, for a deep dive into the structural mechanics of building tech ecosystems that endure. In 2007, two years before WhatsApp launched, Angel co-founded Quiubas Mobile, converting a lean, bootstrapped messaging social network into the dominant underlying telecommunications backbone for all of Latin America. WhatsApp itself became his first Silicon Valley client, relying completely on the layer he built. Now, following Quiubas' high-profile acquisition by Twilio, Angel is executing the exact same playbook for the artificial intelligence era. In this episode, we explore why raw silicon and generic LLM models are commodities, and why the ultimate moat belongs to the orchestration and control plane.

In this episode, Craig Jeffery and Christin Cifaldi of Strategic Treasurer discuss the technology component of modern payment security and the ideas covered in Strategic Treasurer's recent Payment Security Report. They explore how fraud threats are evolving through AI-enabled attacks, deepfakes, increasingly sophisticated criminal organizations, and efforts to bypass security controls. The conversation examines common gaps in payment security programs, including insufficient training, incomplete payment flow visibility, and weak verification processes. The discussion also covers faster payments, real-time settlement, layered security architectures, anomaly detection, multifactor authentication, passkeys, payee validation, banking security services, and the growing importance of treasury acting as the "superintendent of payments." They conclude with practical recommendations for strengthening payment security through staff training, process mapping, continuous monitoring, and collaboration across treasury, finance, IT, and cybersecurity teams. Links Mentioned: Payment Security Report: https://strategictreasurer.com/payment-security-report/ Webinar Registration: https://strategictreasurer.com/webinars Company Websites: Bottomline: https://www.bottomline.com/us Eftsure: https://www.eftsure.com NSKnox: https://nsknox.net/ Serrala: https://www.serrala.com/ Trustmi: https://trustmi.ai/ VendorInfo: https://vendorinfo.com/

BuzzHPC Roundtable episode: Architecting Modern AI Systems: Platforms, Agents, and Integration Join the Community: https://go.mlops.community/YTJoinInGet the newsletter: https://go.mlops.community/YTNewsletterMLOps GPU Guide: https://go.mlops.community/gpuguideBig shout-out to BuzzHPC for the collaboration!// AbstractAs AI systems evolve into more autonomous, agent-driven architectures, the way we design platforms, tools, and infrastructure is rapidly changing. In this session with BuzzHPC, we explore the shifting boundary between platforms and tools, what developers expect platform providers to handle versus what they want to control and build themselves. We unpack what modern agentic stacks look like today, how teams are structuring them in production, and where these architectures are heading as systems become more complex and distributed. A key focus will also be on agent interoperability, how different agents communicate, coordinate, and operate within shared environments.Finally, we share insights and lessons from a recent AI hackathon delivered in partnership with Bell, Buzz, Mila, and KHP, highlighting how these concepts are being tested and applied by builders in real-world scenarios.// BioAllen RoushAllen has held senior technical and AI leadership roles at companies like Oracle and Intel. He's very active in the AI research space and open source communities. He's passionate about improving the creativity and coherence of AI systems.Frédéric BénardFrédéric is Senior Director of AI Applications Development at Mila (Quebec AI Institute), where he leads a team focused on building the engineering foundations for applied AI systems. His work centers on translating cutting-edge research into scalable applications, including AI-driven platforms and agent-based systems used across research and industry collaborations.Shuo WangShuo leads the Responsible AI Office for Bell Canada, where all AI use cases are reviewed and assessed for potential harm and bias. Previously, he led a team of data scientists to expand a large-scale ML program to improve customer support effectiveness.// Related LinksWebsite: https://www.buzzhpc.ai/~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExploreJoin our Slack community [https://go.mlops.community/slack]Follow us on X/Twitter [@mlopscommunity](https://x.com/mlopscommunity) or [LinkedIn](https://go.mlops.community/linkedin)] Sign up for the next meetup: [https://go.mlops.community/register]MLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkmConnect with Allen on LinkedIn: /allen-roush-27721011b/Connect with Frédéric on LinkedIn: /benard/Connect with Shuo on LinkedIn: /shuow/

Most leaders think their biggest problem is delegation. But what if delegation was never the real issue? In this powerful episode, Lisa GoldenthaL breaks down why so many founders, CEOs, and senior leaders stay trapped in operational chaos even after following every leadership and productivity framework they were taught. You will discover why tasks keep boomeranging back to you, why your team still depends on your approval, and why scaling becomes impossible when the leader remains the company's operating system. Lisa G. explains the critical shift from delegating tasks to architecting outcomes — and why sustainable growth only happens when businesses are built on leadership systems, emotional regulation, accountability, and decision-making structures that function without constant founder intervention. Inside this episode: • Why traditional delegation advice keeps failing • The hidden reason your team escalates everything back to you • The difference between managers and true leadership architects • How to stop becoming the bottleneck in your business • What companies need to scale beyond founder dependency • The leadership operating system every growing business requires If you are exhausted from carrying the weight of every decision, solving every emergency, and being the glue holding everything together, this conversation will change how you lead forever. Listen now and learn how to stop managing the chaos — and start architecting a business that can scale without you at the center of it.

Eric Lanke hosts Philippe Reynolds, director of Poclain Hydraulics' Electromobility program, in an NFPA Fluid Power Forum episode tied to the NFPA whitepaper "Energy Efficiency Gains from Electrified Hydraulics." Reynolds explains Poclain's shift from component supplier to system partner integrating hydraulics, electric drives, power electronics, sensors, and software into mechatronic solutions, including electric drive units like the eWheel for compact equipment. He outlines electrification challenges—system complexity, energy and thermal management, architecture selection (battery electric, hybrid electrohydraulic with energy recovery, and series hybrid for heavier machines), and the need for decentralized power-on-demand designs to boost efficiency. The discussion highlights duty-cycle-based sizing, liquid cooling to control operating conditions, lessons adapted from automotive and other industries, and the growing importance of functional safety, compliance, plug-and-play integration, and supplier–OEM partnerships. Subscribe to the Fluid Power Forum today to never miss an episode. The podcast is available on all of your favorite podcast platforms, including YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.   Be sure to check out the full report here.   Connect with our host, Eric Lanke, at elanke@nfpa.com.   Connect with our guest, Philippe Reynolds, at philippe.reynolds@poclain.com.   Find and share more interesting fluid power technologies and unique applications using #onlyfluidpowercan and follow podcast and other fluid power industry-related updates at @TheNFPA.   #FluidPowerForum #EnergyEfficiency #Electrification #SystemArchitectures

In today's relentless work environment, leaders are pressured to continuously perform, make rapid decisions, and drive organizational success. But sooner or later, life intervenes—illness, vacation, or unexpected absences disrupt routines and challenge leadership norms. The real test arises not from how leaders perform when present, but from how their teams and organizations operate in their absence. This episode dives into the uncomfortable reality of becoming a bottleneck: the hidden dangers when a team's momentum, decisions, and outcomes hinge on constant leadership involvement. By exploring why dependency often masquerades as trust and how high-performing leaders unintentionally stunt team growth, this conversation sheds light on practical ways leaders can empower teams, build resilience, and sustain productivity regardless of their physical presence. Architecting a team that thrives, learns, and executes without the leader at the center isn't just operationally wise—it's a hallmark of great leadership. This episode delivers actionable strategies to reframe absence as opportunity, foster true autonomy, and move from being indispensable to being impactful. Timestamped Overview 00:19: Why sickness and absence challenge leadership—and why the response matters03:42: The myth of being indispensable: Why dependency is not trust04:49: Recognizing when your organization runs (or stalls) without you07:03: Self-reflection: What actually happens when you're not there?07:46: Dependency vs. trust: The core distinction every leader must understand09:16: How high performers unintentionally become bottlenecks10:49: The hidden costs: Initiative crushed by permission-seeking12:05: Reflection on when you've become the bottleneck in decision-making15:23: Strategies for leaders to unplug and truly delegate16:52: Four warning signs your team is dependent—not empowered19:15: Are you really creating psychological safety for challenge and pushback?20:26: Operationalizing trust: How to set clear intent, thresholds, and boundaries23:02: Defining what your team "owns" and when escalation is needed24:15: After Action Reviews: Learning from mistakes instead of defaulting to the leader25:50: Trust first—moving beyond the “prove yourself” mentality26:38: Building capability: Why leadership in senior roles means letting go27:41: The growth that comes from team struggle and doing things differently28:24: Measuring leadership by what works when you're gone For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://leaddontboss.com/367

In this episode of The Masonic Roundtable, we explore the complex landscape of the male experience, focusing on the dual themes of Happiness and Loneliness. We examine the crucial differences between fleeting pleasure and true enjoyment, and how satisfaction is often forged through struggle rather than just ease. The Knights discusses the search for meaning through the lenses of coherence, purpose, and significance, while contrasting the "resume virtues" of the world with the "eulogy virtues" we build within the Craft. We also address the sobering reality of the "friendship recession" and the isolation many men face today, discussing how the bonds of our fraternity can act as a vital lifeline. Join us as we consider how Masonry provides the tools to move from isolation to belonging and from simple existence to a life of deep meaning.

Watch: https://youtu.be/Pb8-NSWhrSEAPR Health Solutions Peptides: www.aprhealthsolutions.com - code nyleOptimize HRT Clinic: https://members.optimize-hp.com - code nyleMerch: https://www.aykons.com/nylePlease share this episode if you liked it. To support the podcast, the best cost-free way is to subscribe and please rate the podcast 5* wherever you find your podcasts. Thanks for watching.To be part of any Q&A, follow trensparentpodcast or nylenayga on instagram and watch for Q&A prompts on the story  https://www.instagram.com/trensparentpodcast/Huge Supplements (Protein, Pre, Defend Cycle Support, Utilize GDA, Vital, Astragalus, Citrus Bergamot): https://www.hugesupplements.com/discount/NYLESupport code 'nyle' 10% off - proceeds go towards upgrading content productionYoungLA Clothes: https://www.youngla.com/discount/nyleCode ‘nyle' to support the podcastLet's chat about the Podcast:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trensparentpodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@transparentpodcastPersonalized Bodybuilding Program:  https://www.nylenaygafitness.comRP Hypertrophy Training App: rpstrength.com/nyle00:00:00 Intro00:01:48 The Goalie's Grit00:04:32 Architecting the Support Unit00:06:38 The 8lb Precision Trap00:07:37 Spinal Physics & IFBB Rules00:10:54 Vegas Move & Brand Evolution00:12:49 Jersey Grit & Home Life00:13:59 Individual Identity vs. Cbum00:17:16 The 2019 Crucible00:23:54 The "32" Synchronicity00:31:02 Faith, Suffering, and Meaning00:40:57 The Global Contender Goal00:46:54 Densely Populated Jersey Life00:50:16 The Natural Rubicon00:58:25 Crisis Management & Clarity01:06:54 Pharma Grade Transparency01:25:18 Engineering the X-Frame01:31:22 Midsection Mastery Secrets01:36:45 Gut Health Foundations01:45:43 Finding Your Sweet Spot01:52:29 The Insulin Variable01:59:13 Back & Leg Blueprints02:09:31 Systemic Wellness & Hair02:12:49 The Philosophy of Triviality

https://teachhoops.com/ In the world of elite athletics, "Culture" is often used as a buzzword, but rarely is it defined with precision. A winning culture is not a set of slogans on a locker room wall; it is the collective set of behaviors that a team repeats under pressure. It is the "soil" in which your tactical systems grow. If the soil is toxic, even the most brilliant offensive sets will wither. To build a championship-level environment, a coach must move from "policing" behavior to "Architecting an Identity." You aren't looking for compliance; you are looking for "Buy-In" so deep that the players eventually take ownership of the standard themselves. 1. Standards over Rules Rules are meant to be broken or bypassed; Standards are the floor below which no one is allowed to fall. A rule says "Don't be late"; a standard says "We value each other's time." When you have a culture of standards, accountability becomes a peer-to-peer transaction rather than a top-down dictate. In the mid-season January grind, the strength of your standards is tested. If your best player is allowed to skip a box-out without a consequence, you don't have a standard—you have a "suggestion." Consistency in upholding these standards, regardless of the player's talent level, is the only way to build lasting Trust Equity. 2. Radical Accountability and the "Truth Room" A winning culture thrives on "Radical Honesty." This means creating a "Psychological Safety" zone where players and coaches can critique performance without it becoming personal. In the "Truth Room" (your film sessions or locker room meetings), the only goal is the Pursuit of the Right Play. When players feel safe enough to admit mistakes and hold their teammates accountable, you eliminate the "silent resentment" that destroys teams from the inside out. You want a team that is "demanding but supportive"—where the friction of high expectations produces a diamond, not a crack. 3. "Stars in Their Roles" Every championship roster has a "Hierarchy of Value" but an "Equality of Respect." Culture is strengthened when the "bench energy leader" feels just as vital to the win as the leading scorer. You must explicitly define and celebrate the "invisible" roles: the screen-setter, the gap-filler, and the vocal communicator. When players realize that their specific role is the "missing piece" of the puzzle, they stop competing with their teammates for stats and start competing with the opponent for the win. Basketball team culture, winning mindset, athletic leadership, program building, coaching philosophy, high school basketball, youth basketball, basketball IQ, coach development, "The Villanova Way," character development, radical accountability, psychological safety in sports, team chemistry, coach unplugged, teach hoops, basketball success, mental toughness, leadership standards, coaching legacy. Show NotesThe Anatomy of a Winning CulturePillarThe ManifestationThe Cultural ImpactShared LanguageUsing specific "program terms" for drills and actions.Creates a sense of "In-Group" identity and speed.VulnerabilityCoaches admitting mistakes to the team.Increases trust and allows players to take risks.GratitudePlayers thanking teammates for "extra passes" or "help rotations."Shifts focus from "Me" to "We" instantly.Next Play SpeedZero "hang time" after an official's call or a turnover.Builds mental resilience and competitive poise.SEO Keywords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For decades, network and security professionals have adapted to technology change in a piecemeal fashion: a new rule here, an upgrade there, a new product deployment over yonder. On today’s Packet Protector, co-host Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jabbusch makes the case for why several emerging technologies require IT pros to think about security at an architectural level.... Read more »

For decades, network and security professionals have adapted to technology change in a piecemeal fashion: a new rule here, an upgrade there, a new product deployment over yonder. On today’s Packet Protector, co-host Jennifer ‘JJ’ Jabbusch makes the case for why several emerging technologies require IT pros to think about security at an architectural level.... Read more »

Fresh out of the studio, Peter Noszek, co-founder of SuperAI and TOKEN2049 join us on a conversation that maps the widening gap between Silicon Valley's creative intensity and Asia's underutilised compute infrastructure — including 900 megawatts of GPU capacity in Johor, Malaysia sitting at low utilisation because the routing layer between US demand and Asian supply simply doesn't exist yet. Peter introduces Pax Silica, his thesis that Singapore can serve as the neutral ground where fragmented AI communities from East and West converge through curated rooms, cultural bridging, and unreasonable hospitality. They explore why the Bay Area still doesn't understand Asia, the 12-to-18-month window before GPU backlogs clear, Singapore's unique "one to a hundred" positioning for enterprise distribution, and why AI agents — from Coinbase x402 transactions to Meta's agent-to-agent one-on-ones — are already reshaping how coordination happens at scale."I'm of like a hundred percent conviction that the majority of times when something is not aligned, it's a case of miscommunication. An inability of information to flow properly between people. And in this highly digitalized, highly fragmented and siloed world that we operate in, those things are usually not present. So bringing people into the same room and bringing them into an environment where they feel natural—as long as that room is curated in the right way—that's really going to open up these sort of icebreakers that then lead to creativity, to ideation, and to realizing that we're actually all trying to do the same thing and we're all just trying to make this entire pie grow bigger." - Peter NoszekEpisode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Peter Noszek, co-founder of SuperAI and TOKEN2049[01:21] Peter Noszek's origin story[04:30] SuperAI as bridge across siloed frontier tech nodes[07:34] The Bay Area hive mind and its velocity on AI[08:27] Bay Area fragmentation versus Singapore's unified strategy[10:14] Chinese frontier models: fork on approach, convergence on distribution[14:41] The infrastructure shift from GPUs to energy[17:08] Data centres in space versus a 15-hour flight to Asia[19:15] Pax Silica: composing rooms that break the ice[22:10] The 12 to 18-month window for Asia's underutilised compute[24:13] Gulf energy, European bottlenecks, and the geography of compute[26:00] Is AI in Asian financial services still pilot theatre?[28:42] When does an AI agent stop being a tool?[31:25] Coinbase x402 and AI-agent transactions[32:47] OpenClaude adoption: Singapore ahead of Silicon Valley[33:42] SuperAI 2025 Pulse survey: the agent thesis, called correctly[34:59] SuperAI 2026's six tracks — from frontier models to society[38:26] Collaboration over competition in the paradigm shift[41:16] Five-year view: open models and agent-run logistics[44:32] ClosingProfile: Peter Noszek, Co-Founder, SuperAI and Token2049 ConferenceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergnoszekPodcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Our Official Site: https://www.analysepodcast.com

https://teachhoops.com/ In this special edition of Coach Unplugged, we explore the "under the hood" power of the One-on-One Member Call with Coach Moore. Let's face it: as coaches, we often get "married" to our own ideas. We run the same drills and the same sets because they worked three years ago, even if they aren't working with this group. A one-on-one session with Coach Moore provides the ultimate "Tactical Audit." This isn't just about drawing up a "quick hitter" for a baseline out-of-bounds play; it's about having an elite basketball mind look at your roster and help you identify the "invisible leaks" that are costing you 6–8 points a game. The real magic happens when you move from generic advice to Hyper-Personalized Strategy. Coach Moore brings a unique "outside-in" perspective that can spot things you've become blind to. Whether it's your point guard's tendency to over-dribble in the press or your post players failing to "seal" correctly, Coach Moore helps you translate complex concepts into "Gym-Ready Language." During the mid-season January grind, these calls serve as a "Professional Reset." You walk away not just with a new drill, but with the Confidence and Clarity to lead your team through the toughest part of the schedule. Finally, these calls are a masterclass in "Efficient Implementation." We don't just talk about the "what"; we talk about the "How." How do you explain a role change to a disgruntled starter? How do you increase your "Rep Density" without burning your players out? Using Coach Moore as a sounding board allows you to "stress-test" your leadership decisions before you step onto the floor. Use your TeachHoops membership to its full potential: stop guessing and start Architecting your success with a one-on-one deep dive. Coach's Perspective: "The smartest coaches aren't the ones with the most answers; they are the ones who ask the best questions. A call with Coach Moore is an investment in your own coaching ceiling." Coach Moore, TeachHoops member calls, basketball coaching mentorship, one-on-one basketball coaching, high school basketball, youth basketball, basketball strategy audit, player development, team culture, basketball IQ, athletic leadership, program building, coaching philosophy, practice planning, coach unplugged, teach hoops, basketball success, mental toughness, leadership standards, defensive efficiency. Show NotesWhy Book a Call with Coach Moore?BenefitImpact on Your ProgramObjective Film ReviewIdentifies technical flaws you may have missed.Roster OptimizationEnsures your "Top 20%" are in positions to succeed.Practice AuditEliminates "dead time" and increases skill transfer.Culture CheckProvides strategies to handle parent/player friction.SEO Keywords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of The Dev Life, we sit down with Burton Smith, Senior Software Engineer at Zocdoc and former Microsoft engineer, to discuss modern frontend development, breaking down the "why" and "how" of building robust design systems, the critical UX questions every developer should ask at the start of a project, and why Web Components are becoming a vital tool for interoperability in large-scale applications.It's a masterclass in building for the long term, delivered by a seasoned public speaker and community leader.CONNECT WITH US:https://www.linkedin.com/in/burton-smith-48132a34/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jedibravery/https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbchristiansen/Follow us onX: @DevLifePodcastX: @AngularShowBluesky: @theangularplusshow.bsky.socialThe Angular Plus Show and The DevLIfe Podcast are a part of ng-conf. ng-conf is a multi-day Angular conference focused on delivering the highest quality training in the Angular JavaScript framework. Developers from across the globe converge  every year to attend talks and workshops by the Angular team and community experts.JoinAttendXBluesky        ReadWatchStock media provided by JUQBOXMUSIC/ Pond5

How does a 76-year-old legacy retailer reinvent itself as a tech-powered ecosystem? Lisa Horton, Chief Communications & Creative Officer at David's Bridal, dishes on the company's grand modernization and how they've expanded to accommodate the next generation's Gen-Z-sized aspirations.  Here Comes the Algorithm Key takeaways: David's Bridal's "Aisle to Algorithm" pivot puts AI at the center of everything — from merchandising to internal communications. The Style Squad ambassador program bridges employee creators ("Dream Makers") and external influencers, offering the most aggressive affiliate commission in retail at 20%. David's captures 90% of brides who enter their ecosystem — a first-party data advantage few retailers can match. The definition of "influencer" is broadening: word of mouth is influence, and everyone is influential. David's is building beyond bridal — eyeing the post-wedding household, where the majority of purchase decisions are made. [00:00:54] "We're basically a startup inside of a 76-year-old retailer." - Lisa Horton [00:12:09] "We have shifted in the last 12 months from being a legacy retailer to a 360 degree wedding planning ecosystem." - Lisa Horton [00:13:12] "Word of mouth is influence. And everyone is influential." - Lisa Horton [00:22:06] "Everything that we do moving forward is always going to come from a place of how do we mitigate her stress? How do we make her feel excited and seen and celebratory in every moment." - Lisa Horton Associated Links: Check out Future Commerce on YouTube Check out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and print Subscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce world Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce Have any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, it is my pleasure to speak with Annette Hopper and Levi Hammett, co-founders of Full Scope Solutions, a strategic outsourcing firm serving family offices. Annette brings more than 25 years of experience in the investment advisory industry. From 2004 through January 2025, she held key leadership roles at a Boulder- and New York-based asset allocator, serving as Partner, CFO, CCO, and COO. In these positions, she oversaw financial strategy, compliance, and operational execution for both institutional and family clients. Prior to that, she co-founded a consulting firm that served over 60 clients across multiple industries and provided outsourced CCO services for a Boulder-based asset allocator. Levi has over 12 years of investment operations and analytics experience with an Asset Allocator operating out of both Boulder and New York City. Throughout his career, he has successfully implemented performance reporting systems, risk management platforms, data warehouses, trading workflows, and custodial relationships. His extensive expertise in investment operations, systems integration, and investment reporting has made him an expert in enhancing business processes and supporting data-driven strategies within the financial industry. Annette and Levi, and their firm Full Scope Solutions, are valued Advisor members of FOX, and we are privileged to have their knowledge and expertise in our membership community. There is much talk within our space about the formalization and professionalization of family office functions, but not much uniformity or consistency in defining what these functions are. Annette and Levi give us their overview of the core family office functions and their working definitions of back-office, middle-office, and front-office departments that are commonly seen among family offices. A big part of professionalizing various family office functions is the decision whether to outsource any of them – and certainly, many families are making the decision to hand off key components of their family office operations to specialized external providers. Annette and Levi talk about what it takes to architect an outsourcing relationship that both brings in world-class expertise and capabilities and provides the family with the control, quality and customization of services they often require. Annette and Levi offer their practical tips and advice for family principals and leaders on how best to understand the middle-office and back-office functions that serve their family – and why it is important to do that in the first place. Going back to the concept of architecting the family office for the long term, Annette and Levi provide some suggestions to families and their family office executives on how to build a resilient infrastructure for their family office – how do they decide what to own vs. rent, build vs. outsource. Enjoy this informative dialog with two highly experienced operators and service providers in the UHNW wealth management and family office space.

In this episode, Luke Leasure breaks down how DeFi's onchain yield curve is constructed using Ethena and Pendle. He explores implied yields, term structure, and how curve signals connect to Bitcoin performance, shifting yield regimes, hedging demand, and broader crypto market risk. Thanks for tuning in! As always, remember this podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely their opinions, not financial advice. -- Follow Blockworks Research: https://x.com/blockworksres Follow Luke Leasure: https://x.com/0xMether -- Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3foDS38 Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3SNhUEt Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3NlP1hA Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ -- Timestamps: (0:00) Introduction (2:35) How Ethena and Pendle Work (5:19) Reading the Yield Curve (7:23) What Drives the Signal (9:02) Why Implied Yields Trade Rich (11:12) Closing Comments -- Check out Blockworks Research today! Research, data, governance, tokenomics, and models – now, all in one place Blockworks Research: https://www.blockworksresearch.com/ Free Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter -- Disclaimer: Nothing said on 0xResearch is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Boccaccio, Danny, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.

Martin Raison, Co-founder and CTO of Nabla speaks with Pitt HexAI host Jordan Gass-Pooré about Nabla's central role in architecting the agentic AI era in healthcare. Martin details Nabla's evolution from a specialized ambient scribing tool into a comprehensive "Adaptive Agentic Platform". They discuss the significant challenges involved in making it possible for AI agents to perform complex clinical tasks and how Nabla has been thrust into tackling a labyrinth of structural and data hurdles. These range from the integration of fragmented, unstructured patient charts and hospital guidelines to the complex technicalities of agent discoverability, interoperability, and the establishment of standardized accountability frameworks.The interview highlights a significant shift in Nabla's technical strategy: moving from probabilistic Large Language Models (LLMs) toward world models. Raison explains that while LLMs are effective at generating text, they lack a fundamental understanding of cause-and-effect and the ability to simulate evolving environments. To address this, Nabla has entered an exclusive partnership with Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI), a research lab co-founded by Yann LeCun. This collaboration provides Nabla with early access to world model technologies that can "imagine" different scenarios and simulate the consequences of actions, providing a more deterministic and auditable path for AI in high-stakes clinical settings.In discussing the technical foundations of computational health, Martin addresses the critical need for inference optimization to manage the millions of model executions required daily at scale. Furthermore, Martin envisions a fundamental shift in the paradigm of AI inference through the adoption of world models. He suggests that these architectures will blur the traditional boundary between training and inference by enabling continuous learning, where the model adjusts and evolves in real-time based on new data and clinician feedback, rather than being limited by the static context windows of current LLMs.Beyond the core technology, Martin and Jordan discuss the critical importance of explainability and interoperability in the "agentic web" of healthcare. They specifically highlight architectural initiatives like MIT's Project NANDA, which focuses on the foundational layers of the agentic web, including critical elements like discoverability and authentication that go beyond the AI layer alone. Martin emphasizes that the sector must move toward standardized "Agent Fact Files" to ensure accountability and ease of governance as organizations begin to manage thousands of agents. He concludes by looking toward a future of "emergent intelligence," where the collaboration between multiple models creates sophisticated patterns that can eventually help clinicians improve their own professional practice over time.

AI is no longer a novelty; it is now a significant part of our lives. In this podcast, we discuss the importance of using AI thoughtfully in software architecture. As architects, our role is not to chase the latest AI trends but to determine how AI can genuinely enhance our applications. We emphasize that AI should be viewed as a tool, not just a product strategy. We also provide guidance on evaluating AI requests, ensuring that the focus remains on achieving meaningful business outcomes while managing the complexities that come with AI implementation.Software Architecture Insights provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving role of AI in software architecture as we enter 2025. The discussion begins with the acknowledgement that AI is no longer a novel concept, but a standard aspect of modern technology. Generative AI models and multimodal systems are now common, seamlessly integrating text, images, and speech. Despite the substantial growth in AI capabilities, the hype surrounding AI continues to escalate, with companies feeling pressure to incorporate AI into their products. This episode emphasizes that software architects must not succumb to this hype. Instead, their focus should be on ensuring that AI is used appropriately and effectively within their applications. The speaker stresses that AI should be viewed as a tool to enhance products rather than a mere trend to follow. This means that architects need to translate management's desire for AI into actionable, realistic strategies that align with business goals and product visions.The conversation delves into the responsibilities of a software architect, who must evaluate whether AI solutions genuinely address identified problems. This includes assessing the available data, understanding the types of AI needed, and determining the long-term operational costs associated with implementing AI features. The speaker underscores that not every problem requires an AI solution; sometimes, a simpler approach may suffice. For instance, traditional algorithms might be more efficient and effective than complex AI systems for certain tasks. As architects navigate these challenges, they are advised to engage in thoughtful discussions with leadership to align expectations and ensure that AI implementations are sustainable.In conclusion, the episode provides practical guidelines for evaluating AI requests in a software architecture context. Architects are encouraged to clarify business goals, assess data readiness, explore simpler alternatives, and plan for compliance and sustainability. By doing so, they can ensure that AI is integrated into products in a meaningful way, ultimately bridging the gap between innovation and practicality. The key takeaway is that AI should enhance the product and align with business objectives rather than merely serving as a checkbox to satisfy market demands.Takeaways:In 2025, AI is a significant part of everyday software development and design.Software architects must not only embrace AI but also understand its real implications and costs.AI should enhance products and services, not be an unthoughtful addition driven by hype.The role of the architect includes translating management's AI requests into meaningful technical strategies.Links referenced in this episode:softwarearchitectureinsights.comCompanies mentioned in this episode:OpenAIMentioned in this episode:How do you operate a modern organization at scale?Read more in my O'Reilly Media book "Architecting for Scale", now in its second edition. http://architectingforscale.com Architecting for Scale

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Pranav Lal, Head of Business Technology at Gusto, to unpack what it really means to build a commerce engine, not just a tech stack.Drawing on experience from high-growth journeys at Slack, Eventbrite, and Ethos Life, Pav shares hard-won lessons on lead-to-cash architecture, IPO readiness, SOX compliance, and designing systems that scale without drowning in tech debt.

This week, Jack Sharry talks with Amy Young, Founder of Advice Architects. Amy Young is a longtime wealth-management strategist and former Microsoft managing director who has spent three decades at the intersection of capital markets, consulting, and technology partnerships. After working with major financial institutions on data and generative-AI initiatives, she founded Advice Architects, a consulting practice helping firms design the technology, workflows, and skills needed to deliver more effective, scalable financial advice. Amy talks with Jack about how generative AI has evolved from a simple chat interface into a powerful, governed ecosystem capable of executing tasks, surfacing insights, and enabling mass personalization at scale. She discusses how wealth management firms can leverage these advancements to help advisors bridge the AI skill gap and move beyond portfolio talk into high-value, holistic advice. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (01:51) - Amy's path into wealth tech and behavioral finance (04:10) - Why Amy left Microsoft to start Advice Architects (06:13) - How generative AI has evolved beyond chatbots (08:54) - Building AI tools without being a developer (12:07) - Why agents may define the next phase of AI (19:15) - Turning financial advice into real-life problem solving (24:47) - Amy's key takeaways (27:22) - Amy's interests outside of work Quotes "The biggest challenge impairing the wealth industry's adoption of AI is that leaders have a skill gap. They have a huge learning curve to scale on AI. And maturing AI, like building a whole stack, a strategy, and a roadmap, really requires those leaders to upskill." ~ Amy Young "Advice is absolutely central, but how we architect our stack is a critical success factor for the delivery of that advice." ~ Amy Young "If advisors can't differentiate from what a consumer can get from ChatGPT, the industry is going to have a problem." ~ Amy Young Links  Amy Young on LinkedIn Microsoft Jump AI Never Eat Alone Connect with our hosts LifeYield Jack Sharry on LinkedIn Jack Sharry on Twitter Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

UNLOCK THE 13 SYSTEMS EVERY AGENCY OWNER NEEDS TO REACH 8 FIGURES:https://bit.ly/41Sm05NIn this episode, Jordan Ross sits down with Arman Taheri, co-founder of TalentPop, to unpack the infrastructure, hiring systems, and operational design behind one of the most scaled agency teams in the industry.From architecting org charts to tracking capacity utilization with workforce analysts, Arman breaks down how TalentPop scaled to over 2,500 employees by building two core departments: internal ops and client-facing CX, each supported by a layered management structure.If you're an agency founder stuck at $2M-$5M and struggling to scale people without breaking quality or margin, this episode is your playbook for transitioning from generalists to specialists and turning headcount into growth capacity.Whether you're searching for insights on recruiting at scale, org chart design, hiring process automation, or how to build an 85% capacity utilization model, this episode maps the exact journey to scalable ops.Chapters:1. TalentPop's Origin Story: From Face Masks to CX Ops2. The Two Departments That Run an 8-Figure Agency3. Architecting a Layered Team: Specialist → Team Lead → Ops Manager4. How to Track Capacity Utilization With Real Math5. The Role of Workforce Management and Business Analysts6. Hiring Funnel Design: Filtering, Scoring, and Scaling7. Common Mistakes in Team Building (and How to Avoid Them)8. Why You Shouldn't Let CSMs Own Onboarding9. Data-Driven Growth: People Ops That Actually ScaleTo learn more go to 8figureagency.coReach Arman at:TalentPop: https://www.talentpop.co/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thearmantaheri/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armantaheri/

In this episode of Making Risk Flow, host Juan de Castro speaks with David McMillan, former CEO of esureGroup, to unpack how a mid-sized insurer reinvented itself under private equity ownership. Facing COVID-19, reserve pressures, a soft market, and geopolitical disruption, the company leaned into culture, clarity, and modern technology to outpace larger rivals. David shares why building a high-performing team starts with shared values, how blending insurance expertise with external digital talent accelerates innovation, and why cloud-native, API-driven architecture is essential for real-time decision-making. He also explains how to shift boards from traditional ROI forecasts to agile, outcome-based governance. It's a candid conversation about resilience, leadership under pressure, and why staying smaller, more agile, and hence, faster can be a lasting competitive advantage.Fan Mail: Got a challenge digitizing your intake? Share it with us, and we'll unpack solutions from our experience at Cytora.To receive a custom demo from Cytora, click here and use the code 'Making Risk Flow'.Our previous guests include: Bronek Masojada of PPL, Craig Knightly of Inigo, Andrew Horton of QBE Insurance, Simon McGinn of Allianz, Stephane Flaquet of Hiscox, Matthew Grant of InsTech, Paul Brand of Convex, Paolo Cuomo of Gallagher Re, and Thierry Daucourt of AXA.Check out the three most downloaded episodes: The Five Pillars of Data Analytics Strategy in Insurance | Craig Knightly, Inigo 20 Years as CEO of Hiscox: Personal Reflections and the Evolution of PPL | Bronek Masojada Implementing ESG in the Insurance and Underwriting Space | Simon Tighe, Chaucer, and Paul McCarney, Moody's

Send a textUnlocking Cloud Cost Savings and Performance Optimizations with Michael GoughIn this episode, we dive into practical strategies for managing cloud expenses, optimizing performance, and overcoming skills gaps in multi-cloud environments. Michael Gough shares his insights on how businesses can get more value from their cloud investments while maintaining speed, reliability, and security.Main Topics:The critical importance of cloud cost management and optimizationHow full-stack cloud assessment drives performance and savingsIdentifying ideal clients for managed cloud servicesKey discovery questions for partners to unlock new opportunitiesThe role of continuous managed services in reducing skills gaps and mitigating risksExamples of successful cloud optimization and cost savings, including a $100K/month exampleTimestamps: 00:00 - Introduction and guest background 00:24 - The common confusion between American Eagle companies 01:15 - Overview of American Eagle's legacy web applications and history 01:56 - Differentiating between AmericanEagle.com and AEMCS.com 02:48 - American Eagle's engineering scale and channel focus 03:30 - The relevance of cloud and managed services in the current digital landscape 04:22 - How AEMCS delivers cloud performance improvements and cost savings 05:04 - Typical client discovery process and customization 06:17 - Full-stack approach to cloud optimization—from application to underlying resources 07:16 - The significance of application layer assessment and tuning 08:05 - Architecting for speed, uptime, and scalability across cloud platforms 09:46 - Cost control challenges post-COVID and real-world cloud cost example 11:00 - The $100K/month savings from optimized data access 11:37 - Ideal partner and client profiles for managed cloud services 12:40 - Strategies for partners to identify potential cloud optimization opportunities 15:14 - Managing cloud security, compliance, and ongoing security posture 16:03 - Discovery questions to help partners open conversations with clients 17:34 - The importance of ongoing management and the value of continuous optimization 18:40 - Why bad actors target the application layer and how to defend it 20:18 - Types of projects and vertical markets served in cloud optimization 26:23 - The broad industry applicability—from healthcare to transit to retail 30:30 - Final thoughts on cloud cost reduction and performance management 33:10 - Wrap-up and key takeaways for partners and businessesResources & Links:AEMCS.com — Managed Cloud ServicesMichael Gough LinkedInConnect with Michael Gough for expert cloud assessment and optimization strategies.“This is The Wireless Way—where mobility, IoT, and innovation drive real business outcomes.” Support the showCheck out my website https://thewirelessway.net/ use the contact button to send request and feedback.

On this episode of CIO Classified, host Yousuf Khan sits down with Ravi Thadani, Global Head of IT at Enphase Energy, a company powering over 5 million homes across 160 countries with clean, solar-driven energy. With 85 million microinverters producing 30 gigawatts of power, Ravi's team is at the epicenter of a massive, real-time data operation—and every IT decision directly impacts the customer experience.About Ravi: Ravi Thadani is a seasoned IT executive with extensive experience leading large-scale digital transformations across Fortune 500 companies. He has driven strategic initiatives across ERP, CRM, PLM, HCM, SCM, analytics, AI/ML, network architecture, cloud infrastructure, and M&A integration. With oversight of multi-$10M budgets and teams of over 300, Ravi has supported business units ranging from $2B to $70B in revenue.Known for his strategic vision and execution, Ravi is recognized for fostering cross-functional alignment, driving agile transformation, and cultivating high-performing teams. His leadership approach is grounded in strong business partnerships, stakeholder governance, innovation, and a relentless focus on outcomes.Timestamps:01:50 – Enphase Energy's Global Operations03:40 – Ravi's Role and Responsibilities06:00 – Managing Customer Data and CRM16:45 – Driving Change as a CIO19:50 – The Role of Data in AI20:55 – The Importance of Data Cleaning21:20 – Effective Data Governance Strategies23:45 – Architecting for Scalability27:30 – Challenges in Hardware and Software IntegrationGuest Highlights:"AI isn't replacing you—people using AI are. The adoption curve is about enabling people to do more, not just reducing headcount.""The biggest failure point in IT projects? Treating them like IT projects. Every transformation has to be owned by the business.""Your architecture should always assume 10x growth. Even if you're not scaling today, you need a conscious plan for when you do."Get Connected:Yousuf Kahn on LinkedInRavi Thadani on LinkedInHungry for more tech talk? Check out latest episodes at ciopod.com: Ep 65 - Accelerating Software Development at Enterprise ScaleEp 64 - How Autonomous AI is Solving the Enterprise Modernization ChallengeEp 63 - How AI is Expanding the CIO RoleLearn more about Caspian Studios: caspianstudios.comOur Sponsor: Want to accelerate software development by 500%? Meet Blitzy, the only autonomous code generation platform with infinite code context, purpose-built for large, complex enterprise-scale codebases.While other AI coding tools provide snippets of code and struggle with context, Blitzy ingests millions of lines of code and orchestrates thousands of agents that reason for hours to map every line-level dependency.With a complete contextual understanding of your codebase, Blitzy is ready to be deployed at the beginning of every sprint. Blitzy handles the heavy lifting, delivering over 80% of the work autonomously. The platform plans, builds, and validates premium-quality code at the speed of compute, turning months of engineering into a matter of days.It's the secret weapon for Fortune 500 companies globally. To hear how engineering leaders are transforming the way they deliver software, visit blitzy.com. Schedule a meeting with their consultants to enable an AI-Native SDLC in your organization today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Crystal continues her deep dive investigation into how this whole fucking mess called Morgellons got started back in the early days of the Morgellons Research Foundation.

Real-time analytics at a petabyte scale isn't just a technical challenge; it's a business survival requirement. Catherine Johnson, VP of Global Solutions Engineering at Hydrolix, joins the show to deconstruct the "impossible" architecture required to power the 2025 Super Bowl broadcast for Fox Sports. From managing 1.4 petabytes of daily log data to the brutal reality of why traditional auto-scaling fails during mission-critical events, Catherine reveals the strategic framework behind being a "Truth Teller" in the high-stakes world of Solutions Engineering.Key Takeaways1. Data Architecture as a Competitive Moat- Normalization is Non-Negotiable: At a petabyte scale, you cannot afford "dirty" data. Success requires normalizing disparate CDN logs—matching units (ms vs. s) and handling recursive URL encoding—into a single, queryable schema.- Indexing vs. Regex: Computational intensity kills performance. Strategic indexing for exact matches must replace regular expressions for high-frequency queries to avoid massive, costly table scans.- Schema Flexibility: Implementing multiple schemas on a single table allows for both granular technical deep-dives and high-level executive overviews without duplicating storage.2. Scaling Strategies for "High-Intensity" Events- The Limits of Auto-scaling: For predictable surges like the Super Bowl, relying on auto-scaling is a risk. Pre-scaling to 3x expected peak ensures availability when AWS regional compute limits are hit.- Multi-Region Redundancy: True global scale often exceeds the capacity of a single cloud region. Architecting for multi-region deployment is a requirement, not an option, for Tier-1 broadcast events.- Segregated Query Pools: Prevent "compute competition" by isolating resources. Executive dashboards, SRE monitoring, and ad-hoc troubleshooting should never fight for the same compute cycles.3. Solutions Engineering as "Truth Telling"- The Trust-Based Framework: A Solution Engineer's (SE) primary role isn't selling—it's building trust through accurate empathy. If the product isn't a fit, say it. Protecting your professional reputation outlasts any single sales cycle.- Root Cause Inquiry: When a customer asks for a feature or query optimization, pause. Don't answer the technical question until you've uncovered the business outcome they are trying to achieve.- Business Mapping: Every technical requirement must map directly to a business requirement. If it doesn't, it's just unnecessary complexity.4. The "Break-Fast" Learning Philosophy- Fearless Experimentation: The learning curve is shortened by breaking things in dedicated environments. If you only follow the "happy path" of a tutorial, you haven't actually learned the system.- Bridging Data Realities: There is often a gap between how data is stored for performance and how it looks in the real world. Success in SE requires the ability to bridge these two perspectives for the customer.Chapters:00:10 - Introduction: Meet Catherine Johnson00:50 - The Origins of Hydrolix: Solving the CDN Log Crisis06:10 - Deep Dive: Behind the Scenes of the 2025 Super Bowl10:14 - When the Path Changes: Adjusting Architecture Mid-Season14:25 - Multi-Region Deployment & AWS Compute Limits16:51 - Half-Second Query Times: How to Segregate Compute25:49 - The Non-Obvious Skills of Top-Tier SEs31:32 - The "Farming" Lesson: Understanding How Businesses Make Money37:04 - Lightning RoundVisit our website - https://saassessions.com/Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilneurgaonkar/

Doctronic became the first AI in the world legally licensed to practice medicine through Utah's AI Learning Lab regulatory sandbox in December 2025. In this episode of BUILDERS, I sat down with Matt Pavelle, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Doctronic, to learn how he and his co-founder (a physician) launched an AI-powered primary care chatbot in September 2023, validated demand through Facebook chronic condition groups and minimal Google Ads spend, and navigated uncharted regulatory territory to offer $4 prescription renewals for chronic conditions—targeting the medication non-adherence problem that causes 125,000 preventable deaths and costs $100B annually. Topics Discussed: Why friends with excellent health insurance still couldn't get medical answers quickly Building clinical accuracy into GPT-3.5 when context windows were small and hallucinations were rampant The tactical launch: Google Ads plus Facebook chronic condition groups in September 2023 Architecting safety: RAG with tens of thousands of physician-written clinical guidelines The study: 99.2% agreement rate between AI treatment plans and human doctor reviews across 500 patients Navigating Utah's AI Learning Lab: the only regulatory sandbox that mitigated medical licensing laws Securing AI malpractice insurance through Lloyd's Market—a first in the industry The three-phase oversight model: 100% human review, then 10%, then spot checks Expansion strategy: targeting other state regulatory sandboxes and international governments GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Launch with the minimum feature set that proves your core hypothesis: Pavelle shipped Doctronic in September 2023 without user accounts—chats disappeared when closed unless users saved them manually. Within days, user requests for persistent chat history validated demand. The insight: your MVP should test one assumption, not solve every user need. If you're hesitating to launch because features are missing, ask whether those features are actually required to validate your hypothesis or just things you assume users want. Use specificity to unlock early adoption in skeptical markets: Rather than targeting "healthcare" broadly, Pavelle posted in Facebook groups for specific chronic conditions, offering a free AI backed by clinical guidelines. Half the groups banned them for commercial activity, but the other half engaged immediately. The lesson: in regulated or skeptical markets, narrow targeting with explicit safety mechanisms (clinical guidelines, physician co-founder credibility) converts better than broad positioning. Identify where your skeptics congregate and address their specific objections upfront. Design system architecture to prevent failure modes, not just tune models: Doctronic's safety architecture separates AI decision-making from prescription execution. The LLM asks questions and determines renewal safety, but deterministic code outside the AI verifies the prescription exists, checks dosage accuracy, and confirms the schedule. Even if adversarial prompting compromises the LLM, the deterministic layer prevents bad outcomes. Founders building high-stakes AI products should architect multiple independent verification layers rather than relying on prompt engineering or temperature tuning alone. Target regulatory pain points with quantified deaths and costs: Pavelle approached Utah with specific numbers: 125,000 preventable deaths annually from medication non-adherence, 30-40% caused by renewal friction, and a $100B economic burden. These statistics—combined with Utah's rural population and physician shortage—made the problem impossible to ignore. When approaching regulators, lead with mortality and cost data that make inaction untenable, not just efficiency gains or convenience improvements. Regulatory sandboxes require proof of safety methodology, not just technology demos: Utah's AI Learning Lab didn't just grant Doctronic permission—they required a three-phase oversight structure where human physicians review 100% of initial prescriptions in each medication class, then 10%, then ongoing spot checks. Pavelle also secured AI malpractice insurance through Lloyd's Market before launch. The insight: regulatory innovation offices want risk mitigation frameworks, not promises. Build and fund your oversight methodology before approaching regulators, and treat insurance underwriting as a third-party validation of your safety claims. Publish clinical validation studies before scaling—they become your regulatory and sales asset: The study showing 99.2% agreement between Doctronic's AI and human physicians across 500 patient encounters became the foundation for regulatory conversations and public trust. Founders in regulated spaces should budget for formal validation studies early—these aren't marketing expenses, they're the permission structure for everything that follows. Work backward from what regulators and enterprise buyers need to see, then design studies that generate that specific evidence. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

How does a university reach 180,000 students while maintaining a billion-dollar research engine and a "perpetual" culture of innovation? In this episode of An Educated Guest, Todd Zipper sits down with Dr. Chris Howard, EVP and COO of Arizona State University, to explore the "Public Enterprise" model that is shaking the foundations of higher education.Chris shares his remarkable journey from being a Rhodes Scholar and helicopter pilot to leading ASU's operations alongside President Michael Crow. We dive into the "Crow Transformation," the crisis of belief in modern higher ed, and how ASU is using Hollywood-style storytelling through Dreamscape Learn to revolutionize the way students learn biology.We also tackle the complex world of college athletics, the legacy of Pat Tillman, and why Chris believes that partnership—not just enrollment—is the key to a resilient workforce. Whether you're curious about the future of AI in the classroom or how military leadership translates to the boardroom, this conversation offers a masterclass in agency, service, and strategic growth.

Charles Hoskinson is a co-founder of Ethereum, and the CEO and Founder of Input | Output (the company behind the Cardano blockchain). In this episode he shares his journey into the world of cryptocurrencies and his early influences. He also explains the conception and operational details of the Midnight Network (a privacy-focused, layer-two solution), and discusses his ambitious efforts in anti-aging and regenerative medicine. Key Takeaways:  Trillion dollar disruption ideas and a vision for how users will interact with the Internet in 2035 Why regulation is the single most exciting opportunity for DeFi Ways we can bring the world together in 2026 by working more cooperatively and combatting polarization How regenerative species force us to rethink how humans should approach longevity Cutting-edge research involving exosomes, electrical fields and hyperbarics Guest Bio: Charles Hoskinson is a co-founder of Ethereum, and the CEO & Founder of Input | Output (the company behind the Cardano blockchain). He also owns and operates a state-of-the-art healthcare clinic in rural Wyoming focused on anti-aging; is part of the group that de-extincted the dire wolf; and co-founded a lab that is genetically engineering bioluminescent plants. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About this Show: The Brave Technologist is here to shed light on the opportunities and challenges of emerging tech. To make it digestible, less scary, and more approachable for all! Join us as we embark on a mission to demystify artificial intelligence, challenge the status quo, and empower everyday people to embrace the digital revolution. Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a curious mind, or an industry professional, this podcast invites you to join the conversation and explore the future of AI together. The Brave Technologist Podcast is hosted by Luke Mulks, VP Business Operations at Brave Software—makers of the privacy-respecting Brave browser and Search engine, and now powering AI everywhere with the Brave Search API. Music by: Ari Dvorin Produced by: Sam Laliberte  

What Makes a Family Business Last Across Generations Episode 125 of The Family Biz Show delivers one of the most grounded and insightful family business leadership stories in recent memory. Hosted by Michael Palumbos, a seasoned financial advisor for family business owners, this episode features Domenic Cortese of Cortese Construction Services—a second-generation leader actively transitioning a thriving company to the third generation. Through honest family business conversations, this episode explores the real mechanics behind longevity: trust, governance, wealth discipline, and intentional succession. These are not theoretical lessons. They are lived leadership legacy stories that show what it truly takes to move a family business to new generation leadership without breaking relationships or momentum. Immigrant Roots and the Foundation of Trust The Cortese story begins in the early 1950s when Domenic's father and uncle immigrated from Italy and built a construction company from nothing. Their partnership was rooted in deep family enterprise relationships, marked by absolute trust—even when conflict was present. Their dynamic illustrates a critical truth often discussed by any experienced family business advisor: trust does not require harmony, but it does require commitment. These early family enterprise stories laid the groundwork for a business that would survive multiple transitions. Yet, as Domenic explains, the same trust that fueled growth also created governance challenges—highlighting why family governance and trust must evolve as businesses grow. Succession Is About Choice, Not Obligation One of the most impactful family business conversations in the episode centers on Domenic's cousin, who never wanted to be in the business. Rather than forcing participation, Domenic sought outside guidance from a family business succession planning advisor, creating a dignified exit that preserved both family harmony and business health. This moment underscores why family business legacy planning is inseparable from personal fulfillment. A strong family business advisor understands that continuity fails when individuals feel trapped. Addressing family dynamics in succession early is one of the most effective forms of family business continuity planning. Architecting a Family Enterprise That Can Adapt When Domenic assumed leadership, he didn't simply inherit the business—he rebuilt it. By exiting seasonal concrete work and expanding into remodeling, he demonstrated thoughtful family business strategy rooted in core competencies. This approach to architecting a family enterprise allowed the company to maintain family enterprise momentum without reckless risk. Rather than chasing growth, Domenic focused on designing family business continuity, proving that sustainable scale comes from discipline. This mindset mirrors how sophisticated family business family office structures think about long-term enterprise value. Letting Go of Control to Build Real Leadership A defining theme in this episode is Domenic's decision to move away from founder-centric control. Learning to trust non-family leaders became essential to sustaining momentum in family business operations. Today, key non-family roles support quality, operations, and growth—demonstrating how trust in family business extends beyond bloodlines. This shift reflects best practices in family office explained frameworks, where governance systems protect culture while empowering professionals. Any family business family office advice worth following emphasizes this balance. Preparing the Family Business for the New Generation Now transitioning ownership to his three children, Domenic offers a real-world case study in multi-generational continuity. Equal ownership, clear expectations, and accountability—such as shared liability for company assets—reinforce mature family enterprise relationships. Domenic's focus on separating sibling roles from business roles directly addresses common family business trust issues. These intentional structures support family business continuity strategy and reduce emotional decision-making, a lesson any family business succession planning advisor would endorse. Wealth Discipline and the Family Office Mindset Throughout the episode, Michael Palumbos—speaking from his experience as a financial advisor for family business owners—highlights the importance of separating personal wealth from business dependency. Domenic's disciplined approach to family business wealth management, including real estate investing and gifting strategies, reflects a true family business family office mindset. This approach ensures founders can step back without fear, a cornerstone of effective family business wealth management advisor guidance and long-term family office legacy planning. Grandchildren, Values, and Legacy Beyond the Balance Sheet Looking ahead, Domenic emphasizes preparing grandchildren through earned responsibility, humility, and philanthropy. These practices reinforce legacy continuity planning and sustain family business momentum across generations. By introducing philanthropy early, the Cortese family uses values as a training ground for leadership—an often overlooked yet powerful aspect of family enterprise stories that truly last.   Why This Episode Matters Episode 125 stands out because it connects governance, wealth, and relationships into one cohesive narrative. It offers clarity on family business legacy planning, real insight into family enterprise relationships, and practical guidance from both a business owner and a trusted family business advisor perspective. For anyone navigating succession, governance, or wealth transitions, this episode explains—clearly and honestly—what makes a family business last across generations.

Most marketing and revenue leaders know their data model is flawed. The elite ones actually architect something new. This is how.This episode is part of a 5-part series exploring the journey B2B revenue leaders take from reactive chaos to finally understanding, measuring, and transforming their entire Revenue Factory. Each stage represents a critical inflection point and the exact moments that separate leaders who consistently hit targets and drive real, provable results.This episode explores Stage 4: Architecting Transformation—where you shift from recognizing what's broken to designing what comes next. This is where transformation moves from concept to practice.What We Cover in This Episode:The two realizations that trigger readiness for transformation: understanding the career-ending cost of staying in a broken system AND seeing lived proof of what's possible when you rebuildThe 4 core elements your new data model MUST have: removing department silos, multi-dimensional tracking, the new GTM stages, and unified metrics with separate accountabilityWhy the old Demand Waterfall model is structurally broken and what the Engage → Prospect → Pipeline framework unlocksHow to operate GTM like a relay race instead of siloed teams competing for creditThe exact business case framework to get leadership buy-in (including how to quantify the revenue you're leaving on the table)Build vs. buy: Understanding the "Time Tax" and why elite teams move 4–5x faster with proven frameworksThe 3 critical mistakes that kill transformation before it even starts and how to avoid themThis is the episode for every revenue, marketing, or GTM leader who has ever thought:"I know what needs to change, but I don't know where to start""How do I get leadership to invest in this transformation?""What does the new model actually need to look like?"Stage 4 is where you become the architect of your own transformation. This is where you stop talking about change and start building it.

The gut-brain connection is deeper, weirder, and far more literal than we ever imagined. For years, we've been told that our 'gut feeling' is just a metaphor for intuition. But recent science suggests that your gut is actually a 'second brain'—a complex neural network of 100 million neurons that can operate entirely on its own, independent of the one in your skull.We aren't just talking about digestion; we're talking about a bidirectional superhighway where bacteria in your colon produce up to 90% of your body's serotonin and significantly influence your levels of GABA, the primary neurotransmitter for calm. Essentially, the 'critters' in your gut might be the master puppeteers of your mood, your sleep, and even your cognitive clarity.But as the market for 'gut health' explodes, the gap between marketing claims and clinical reality is widening. I interview Gabe Dough, the founder of Good Bru. His product bridges that gap using a specific combination of prebiotics and a resilient probiotic strain known as BC30, which I've been using.2:16 “All illness starts in the gut”6:50 Origins of autoimmune disease11:40 Probiotic vs Prebiotic20:43 Synbiotic vs Psychobiotic25:55 The truth about Probiotic yogurt30:58 Probiotics for PCOS34:41 Gut microbiome testing42:25 Probiotics vs Candida44:06 Probiotics for protein absorption44:25 Probiotics for children46:39 Probiotics for Psoriasis47:14 Probiotics for bone loss54:32 Digestion hacks epic feasting58:57 Weird science: Personality transplant via gut microbes1:03:50 Weird science: Microbial hijacking of craving control1:06:53 Gabe's supplement stack1:09:03 Probiotic cofactors1:12:03 More yogurt hacks1:16:42 Weird science: Brain as "PR department" for the gut1:19:33 Stress vs the “gut brain”1:21:01 Gut health as a tool for architecting personalityRead

Most leaders don't fail because they lack clarity. They fail because their life is not built to support who they are trying to become. In this final episode of the Design Yourself series, I focus on the piece most leaders overlook when trying to change their leadership or their life: structure. You can have deep self-awareness and a clear leadership identity, but if your calendar, systems, and environment are misaligned, old patterns will resurface under pressure. 2026 will not test your intentions. It will test your structure. Why Willpower Breaks Down Under Pressure Many leaders rely on discipline and motivation to create change. The problem is that leadership rarely happens under ideal conditions. Stress, uncertainty, emotional load, and constant disruption are part of the job. Research from Stanford University shows that environmental and structural cues drive nearly 45 percent of daily behavior, far more than conscious intention. Under pressure, leaders don't revert to goals. They revert to structure. Your leadership is perfectly designed for the results you are currently getting. The Invisible Leadership Load Decision overload, emotional labor, unresolved tension, and constant context switching create an invisible leadership load that pushes leaders back into urgency and control. The problem is not the leader. It is the load. Architecting your 2026 means identifying what you are carrying that you were never meant to hold alone and redesigning your life so leadership does not require constant force. The Three Areas That Matter Most This episode focuses on three essential design domains. Energy design How your day drains or restores you matters more than productivity. Leaders must protect recovery, thinking time, and white space in order to lead effectively. Decision design Reducing decision fatigue requires clear ownership, strong filters tied to values and strategy, and pushing decisions down instead of pulling everything up. Relationship design Leadership is relational. Access boundaries, feedback flow, and proximity shape how you lead and how others experience you. Your Calendar Tells the Truth Your calendar is not a scheduling tool. It is a leadership tool. If your calendar does not reflect your priorities, neither will your leadership. If it doesn't change in 2026, neither will your results. Key Takeaways • Willpower fades, structure holds • Stress reveals the quality of your design • Energy, decisions, and relationships must be intentional • One structural shift can change everything Mic Drop Moments • You don't need more discipline. You need better design. • Stress doesn't test your intentions. It exposes your structure. • Build the structure, and the behavior will follow. This episode completes the Design Yourself series by showing how to build a life and leadership that actually support who you are becoming. Listen or watch the full episode of Reflect Forward on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube. Connect with Kerry Visit my website, kerrysiggins.com, to explore my book, The Ownership Mindset, and get more leadership resources. Let's connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, or TikTok! Find Reflect Forward on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kerrysiggins-reflectforward Find out more about my book here: https://kerrysiggins.com/the-ownership-mindset/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-siggins/

Karl and Erum kick off 2026 with deep reflections on prosperity, consciousness, and the idea that we might be living in a simulation. But the real focus is on a concept that could make or break biotech companies: orchestration. They dive into why most biotech innovations outside of pharma struggle to commercialize and introduce the idea of value chain syndication—bringing together innovators, manufacturers, investors, and big incumbents to create entire ecosystems rather than just individual deals. Using examples like K18 Hair's marketing orchestration and the urgent need to replace Red Dye 40, they break down how founders can architect strategic "seed deals" that build toward transformative industry shifts. This isn't about traditional sales or business development—it's about becoming the center of an ecosystem that includes everyone from ingredient suppliers to end customers. With tailwinds from geopolitical changes, supply chain concerns, and increasing demand for bio-based solutions, the time for orchestration is now. Whether you're a founder trying to scale or a big company looking to innovate, this episode shows you how to think bigger than your own company and build the infrastructure for a bio-based future.Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing?Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Chapters:(00:00:00) - Welcome and New Year reflections from California and Cape Town(00:01:00) - Prosperity, money circulation, and building a better society(00:04:23) - Consciousness, simulation theory, and the philosophy of everything(00:09:00) - Why we're replaying the orchestration episode(00:10:00) - What is orchestration and why it's not just sales or business development(00:15:00) - Why biotech companies struggle to commercialize outside pharma(00:18:00) - Value chain syndication and manufacturing orchestration explained(00:20:00) - Seed deals: How to start small and build toward the big picture(00:22:00) - The Red Dye 40 case study: Architecting an ecosystem for change(00:27:00) - Why founders need to think differently and become deal architects(00:31:00) - Why now? Geopolitical and economic tailwinds for biomanufacturing(00:34:00) - Risks, rewards, and the 5-10 year arc of ecosystem building(00:37:00) - Final reflections and how to get started with orchestrationLinks and Resources:MessaginglabNational Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology's Report: Charting the Future of BiotechnologyRed Dye ban153. Ghosts of Biotech Past: Veronica Breckenridge's Playbook for Smarter Scaling149. Beyond Capital: Phil Morle of Main Sequence Ventures on Collaboration as the New Competitive Edge120. Busting Biotech's Bottlenecks: Veronica Breckenridge on the Path to Industrial Scale26. Breaking Bad Hair Habits with Biology: Suveen Sahib's K18 Rescues Your StrandsStar Talk Neil deGrasse TysonTopics Covered: biotech, CPG, business models, industry, bacterial cellulose, fermentationHave a question or comment? Message us here:Text or Call (804) 505-5553 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grow Everything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email: groweverything@messaginglab.comMusic by: NihiloreProduction by: Amplafy Media

It started with the prompt: "Create an Uber Clone"! Several iterations and some months later Abhi presents his lessons learned when vibing a Ride Share Platform for RoboTaxis at Cloud Native Days Austria!"Commit to one tool and go deep. Don't get distracted by all the options you have. Treat your agent like a human! Get better in expressing what you really want!", those are the many lessons learned in Abhi's journey applying the potential of the latest AI agents that are available for software engineers.Tune into our latest episode and understand what Abhi means when he says: Context is important! Give it Macro Context and do Micro Incremental Improvements!Links we discussedAbhi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhimanyuselvan/Cloud Native Austria Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjMPHWjawxM&list=PLtLBTEzR4SqU9GwgWiaDt10-yOVIN0nzM&index=9Cursor AI: https://cursor.com/OpenSpec: https://openspec.dev/

Straight from re:Invent 2025, technology leaders from C3 AI, nCino, New Relic and Vercel reveal learnings, best practices and predictions for the future of Agentic AI.Topics Include:Four technology executives introduce their companies' AI innovations in fintech, cloud, enterprise software, and observability.Vercel built agents for code reviews, infrastructure optimization, and across finance, sales, and support functions.C3.ai deploys enterprise AI applications from scratch to production in six months for Fortune 500s.New Relic provides observability for AI systems and built agents that resolve infrastructure issues in real-time.Vercel's agents improve code quality by incorporating security and framework best practices into AI-generated output.C3.ai partnered with Department of Defense to autonomously produce mission-critical intelligence assessment reports from data.Industry shifted from copilots everywhere to agents that actually own outcomes and land the plane.New Relic moved beyond natural language translation to agents that execute actions and resolve issues autonomously.Panel debates whether Model Context Protocol or broader ecosystem approaches better enable agent interoperability and communication.Autonomy requires accountability: agent decisions must be explainable with traceable steps and replay capabilities built-in.Governance and security should be prerequisites for acceleration, not impediments—a critical mental model shift needed.Many enterprises struggle with process bottlenecks preventing them from harnessing high-quality agents despite having technology.Financial services must carefully balance where human discretion remains essential versus where agent autonomy justified.Will Jung envisions deeply continuous context enabling banks to deliver truly personalized insights without appearing creepy.Suraj Krishnan predicts agents will own outcomes by 2026, coordinating tools and other agents to achieve goals.Participants:Panelist: Merel Witteveen, SVP of Operations, C3.aiPanelist: Will Jung, Chief Technology Officer, nCinoPanelist: Suraj Krishnan, GVP of Engineering, New RelicPanelist: Aparna Sinha, Senior Vice President, Product, VercelModerator: Olawale Oladehin, Managing Director, NAMER Technology Segments (Enterprise, ISV, DNB, and Model Providers), Amazon Web ServicesSee how Amazon Web Services gives you the freedom to migrate, innovate, and scale your software company at https://aws.amazon.com/isv/

Architecture school taught you how to design buildings not how to not how to survive, grow, or lead in your career. In this episode of Architecting, AEC Industry recruiter Bryce Batts calls out the rules that quietly keep you small and compliant. This isn't about chasing the next job. It's about designing your career on purpose — with clarity, self‑advocacy, and connections that actually move the needle. Architects without personal career clarity get overlooked — even when they're highly skilled Every architect who advances has a sponsor, not just a mentor. Sponsors can see your potential within the firm and advocate for you to get opportunities. Your career requires constant recallibration in order to be aligned with what you want to achieve at any given point in your life. Keep the receipts of accomplishments and positive reviews- they give you confidence about your strengths, proof of what you have accomplished and reveal patterns around what you truly value. Know when it's time to renegotiate your role, change firms, or redesign your path Contact Bryce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryce-batts-recruiter/ https://brycebatts.co/ Get The Career Architect Book: https://www.amazon.com/Career-Architect-Aligns-Vision-Values-ebook/dp/B0FSYM4QLZ?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Episode Summary: In this finale of our "Refocus to Rise" series, Mark and Theron break down exactly how to transition from planning to execution. While many people set New Year's resolutions that fade by February, this episode focuses on creating purpose-driven goals that stick. Whether you are listening at the start of the year or need a reset mid-year, these evergreen principles will help you align your values, balance your professional and personal life, and architect a process that guarantees results. In this episode, you will learn: The "North Star" Concept: How to define your "Why" to guide difficult decision-making. The Energy Test: A simple mental check to see if your goals are exciting you or draining you. The Setback Filter: How to audit your previous year to identify internal weaknesses that held you back. Dual Focus Resolution: Strategies for merging your professional drive with your personal development. Architecting the Process: Why "micro-practices" and time blocking are superior to relying solely on willpower. Key Action Steps from this Episode: 1. Align Your Values Before setting a goal, run the "Energy Test." Ask yourself: Does this goal excite me, or does it feel like doing taxes? Use a "Setback Filter" to review why you missed previous goals—not to blame external factors, but to identify internal hurdles you need to clear. 2. Create a Dual Focus Resolution Don't compartmentalize your life. Look for ways to stack your professional goals (career/financial) with your personal resolutions (health/relationships). Focus on process-based goals (e.g., "Walk 10 minutes a day") rather than just outcome-based goals (e.g., "Lose 20 lbs"). 3. Architect the Process Micro-Practices: Define the small, daily habits that lead to the big result. Time Blocking: Schedule your priority actions first, rather than hoping you have time for them at the end of the week. Review Rhythm: Establish a consistent schedule (weekly, monthly, or quarterly) to review your progress. Don't write a novel; just check your trajectory. Quotes from the Episode: "It's important to understand that you can't lose 20 pounds. You can walk 10 minutes a day." "We fill our calendar with all the things that we have to do... and we save the things that move the needle in our resolutions for if we have time for it." "Goals have buddies. If you align your goals in such a way... you can do that goal stacking and habit stacking to increase your productivity." Connect with Us: Website: www.achieveresultsnow.com Facebook: facebook.com/achieveresultsnow Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. ARN Suggested Reading: Blessings In the Bullshit: A Guided Journal for Finding the BEST In Every Day – by Mark Cardone & Theron Feidt https://www.amazon.com/Blessings-Bullshit-Guided-Journal-Finding/dp/B09FP35ZXX/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=blessings+in+the+bullshit&qid=1632233840&sr=8-1 Full List of Recommended Books: https://www.achieveresultsnow.com/readers-are-leaders Questions? 1.   Do you have a question you want answered in a future podcast? 2.   Go to www.AchieveResultsNow.com to submit. Connect with Us: Get access to some of the great resources that we use at: www.AchieveResultsNow.com/success-store www.AchieveResultsNow.com www.facebook.com/achieveresultsnow www.twitter.com/nowachieve Thank you for listening to the Achieve Results NOW! Podcast.  The podcast that gives you immediate actions you can take to start seeing life shifting results NOW!

What does it really take to build a multi-six-figure author business with no advertising? Is running your own warehouse really necessary for direct sales success — or is there a simpler path using print-on-demand that works just as well? In this conversation, Sacha Black and I compare our very different approaches to selling direct, from print on demand to pallets of books, and explore why the right model depends entirely on who you are and what your goals are for your author business. In the intro, Memoir Examples and interviews [Reedsy, The Creative Penn memoir tips]; Written Word Media annual indie author survey results; Successful Self-Publishing Fourth Edition; Business for Authors webinars; Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant; Camino Portuguese Coastal on My Camino Podcast; Creating while Caring Community with Donn King; The Buried and the Drowned by J.F. Penn Today's show is sponsored by Bookfunnel, the essential tool for your author business. Whether it's delivering your reader magnet, sending out advanced copies of your book, handing out ebooks at a conference, or fulfilling your digital sales to readers, BookFunnel does it all. Check it out at bookfunnel.com/thecreativepenn This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn Sacha Black is the author of YA and non-fiction for authors and previously hosted The Rebel Author Podcast. As Ruby Roe, she is a multi-six-figure author of sapphic romantasy. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Two models for selling direct: print on demand vs running your own warehouse. Plus, check out Sacha's solo Rebel Author episode about the details of the warehouse. Cashflow management Kickstarter lessons: pre-launch followers, fulfillment time, and realistic timelines How Sacha built a multi-six-figure business through TikTok with zero ad spend Matching your business model to your personality and skill set Building resilience: staff salaries, SOPs, and planning for when things change You can find Ruby at RubyRoe.co.uk and on TikTok @rubyroeauthor and on Instagram @sachablackauthor Transcript of the interview Joanna: Sacha Black is the author of YA and nonfiction for authors, and previously hosted the Rebel Author podcast. As Ruby Roe, she is a multi-six-figure author of sapphic romance. So welcome back to the show, Sacha. Sacha: Hello. Thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure to be here. Joanna: I'm excited to talk to you today. Now, just for context, for everybody listening, Sacha has a solo episode on her Rebel Author podcast, last week as we record this, which goes into specific lessons around the warehouse in more detail, including financials. So we are going to come at this from a slightly different angle in our discussion today, which is really about two different ways of doing selling direct. I want us to start though, Sacha, in case people don't know your background, in case they've missed out. Can you just give us a quick recap of your indie author journey, because you haven't just come out of nowhere and jumped into this business and done incredibly well? Sacha's Indie Author Journey Sacha: No, I really haven't. Okay. So 2013, I started writing. So 12 years ago I started writing with the intention to publish, because I was writing before, but not with the intention. 2017 I first self-published and then two years after that, in 2019, I quit the day job. But let me be clear, it wasn't because I was rolling in self-published royalties or commissions or whatever you want to call them. I was barely scraping by. And so those are what I like to call my hustle years because I mean, I still hustle, but it was a different kind. It was grind and hustle. So I did a lot of freelance work. I did a lot of VA work for other authors. I did speaking, I was podcasting, teaching courses, and so on and so forth. 2022, in the summer, I made a realisation that I'd created another job for myself rather than a business that I wanted to grow and thrive in and was loving life and all of that stuff. And so I took a huge risk and I slowed down everything, and I do mean everything. I slowed down the speaking, I slowed down the courses, I slowed down the nonfiction, and — I poured everything into writing what became the first Ruby Roe book. I published that in February 2023. In August/September 2023, I stopped all freelance work. And to be clear, at that point, I also wasn't entirely sure if I was going to be able to pay my bills with Ruby, but I could see that she had the potential there and I was making enough to scrape by. And there's nothing if not a little bit of pressure to make you work hard. So that is when I stopped the freelance. And then in November 2023, so two months later, I started TikTok in earnest. And then a month after that, December the eighth, I went viral. And then what's relevant to this is that two days after that, on December the 10th, I had whipped up my minimum viable Shopify, and that went live. Then roll on, I did more of the same, published more Ruby Roe books. I made a big change to my Shopify. So at that point it was still print on demand Shopify, and then February 2025, I took control and took the reins and rented a warehouse and started fulfilling distribution myself. The Ten-Year Overnight Success Joanna: So great. So really good for people to realise that 2013, you started writing with the intention, like, seriously, I want this to be what I do. And it was 2019 when you quit the day job, but really it was 2023 when you actually started making decent money, right? Sacha: Almost like we all need 10 years. Joanna: Yeah. I mean, it definitely takes time. So I wanted just to set that scene there. And also that you did at least a year of print on demand Shopify before getting your own warehouse. Sacha: Yeah, maybe 14 months. Joanna: Yeah, 14 months. Okay. So we are going to revisit some of these, but I also just want as context, what was your day job so people know? Sacha: So I was a project manager in a local government, quite corporate, quite conservative place. And I played the villain. It was great. I would helicopter into departments and fix them up and look at processes that were failing and restructure things and bring in new software and bits and bobs like that. The Importance of Business Skills Joanna: Yeah. So I think that's important too, because your job was fixing things and looking at processes, and I feel like that is a lot of what you've done and we'll revisit that. Sacha: How did I not realise that?! Joanna: I thought you did know that. No. Well, oh my goodness. And let's just put my business background in context. I'm sure most people have heard it before, but I was an IT consultant for about 13 years, but much of my job was going into businesses and doing process mapping and then doing software to fix that. And also I worked, I'm not an accountant, but I worked in financial accounting departments. So I think this is really important context for people to realise that learning the craft is one thing, but learning business is a completely different game, right? Sacha: Oh, it is. I have learnt — it's wild because I always feel like there's no way you can learn more than in your first year of publishing because everything is brand new. But I genuinely feel like this past 18 months I have learnt as much, if not more, because of the business, because of money, because of all of the other legal regulation type changes in the last 18 months. It's just been exhausting in terms of learning. It's great, but also it is a lot to learn. There is just so much to business. Joanna's Attempts to Talk Sacha Out of the Warehouse Joanna: So that's one thing. Now, I also want to say for context, when you decided to start a warehouse, how much effort did I put into trying to persuade you not to do this? Sacha: Oh my goodness, me. I mean a lot. There were probably two dinners, several coffees, a Zoom. It was like, don't do it. Don't do it. You got me halfway there. So for everybody listening, I went big and I was like, oh, I'm going to buy shipping containers and convert them and put them on a plot of land and all of this stuff. And Joanna very sensibly turned around and was like, hmm, why don't you rent somewhere that you can bail out of if it doesn't work? And I was like, oh yeah, that does sound like a good idea. Joanna: Try it, try it before you really commit. Okay. So let's just again take a step back because the whole point of doing this discussion for me is because you are doing really well and it is amazing what you are doing and what some other people are doing with warehouses. But I also sell direct and in the same way as you used to, which is I use Bookfunnel for ebooks and audiobooks and I use BookVault for print on demand books, and people can also use Lulu. That's another option for people. So you don't have to do direct sales in the way that you've done it. And part of the reason to do this episode was to show people that there are gradations of selling direct. Why Sell Direct? Joanna: But I wanted to go back to the basics around this. Why might people consider selling direct, even in a really simple way, for example, just ebooks from their website, or what might be reasons to sell direct rather than just sending everything to Amazon or other stores? Sacha: I think, well, first of all, it depends on what you want as a business model. For me, I have a similar background to you in that I was very vulnerable when I was in corporate because of redundancies, and so that bred a bit of control freakness inside me. And having control of my customers was really important to me. We don't get any data from Amazon or Kobo really, or anywhere, even though all of these distributors are incredible for us in our careers. We don't actually have direct access to readers, and you do with Shopify. You know everything about your reader, and that is priceless. Because once you have that data and you have delivered a product, a book, merchandise, something that that reader values and appreciates, you can then sell to them again and again and again. I have some readers who have been on my website who have spent almost four figures now. I mean, that is just — one person's done that and I have thousands of people who are coming to the website on a regular basis. So definitely that control and access to readers is a huge reason for doing it. Customising the Reader Relationship Sacha: And also I think that you can, depending on how you do this model, there are ways to do some of the things I'm going to talk about digitally as well. But for me, I really like the physical aspect of it. We are able to customise the relationship with our customers. We can give them more because we are in control of delivery. And so by that I mean we could give art prints, which lots of my readers really value. We can do — you could send those digitally if you wanted to, but we can add in extra freebies like our romance pop sockets, that makes them feel like they are part of my reader group. They're part of a community. It creates this belonging. So I think there is just so much more that you can do when you are in control of that relationship and in control of the access to it. Joanna: Yeah. And on that, I mean, one of the reasons we can do really cool print books — and again, we're going to come back to print on demand, but I use print on demand. You don't have to buy pallets of books as Sacha does. You can just do print on demand. Obviously the financials are different, but I can still do foiling and custom end papers and ribbons and all this with print on demand through BookVault custom printing and bespoke printing. The Speed of Money Joanna: But also, I think the other thing with the money — I don't know if you even remember this, because it's very different when you are selling direct — you can set up your system so you get paid like every single day, right? Or every week? Sacha: Yes. Joanna: So the money is faster because with Amazon, with any of these other systems, it can take 30, 60, 90 days for the money to get to you. So faster money, you are in more control of the money. And you can also do a lot more things like bundling and like you mentioned, much higher value that you could offer, but you can also make higher income. Average order value per customer because you have so many things, right? So that speed of money is very different. Sacha: It is, but it's also very dangerous. I know we might talk about cashflow more later, but— Joanna: Let's talk about it now. Managing Cashflow With Multiple Bank Accounts Sacha: Okay, cool. So one of the things that I think is the most valuable thing that I've ever done is, someone who is really clever told me that you're allowed more than one business account. Joanna: Just to be clear, bank accounts? Sacha: Yes, sorry. Yeah. Bank accounts. And one of my banks in particular enables you to have mini banks inside it, mini pots they call it. And what I do with pre-orders is I treat it a bit like Amazon. So that money will come in — you know, I do get paid daily pretty much — but I then siphon it off every week into a pot. So let's just say I've got one book on pre-order. Every week the team tells me how much we've got in pre-orders for that one product and all the shipping money, and I put it into an account and I leave it there. And I do not touch it unless it is to pay for the print run of that book or to pay for the shipping. Because one of the benefits of coming direct to me is that I promise to ship all pre-orders early, so we have to pay the shipping costs before necessarily Amazon might pay for its shipping costs because they only release on the actual release day. But that has enabled me to have a little savings scheme, but also guarantee that I can pay for the print run in advance because I haven't accidentally spent that money on something else or invested it. I've kept it aside and it also helps you track numbers as well, so you know how well that pre-order is doing financially. Understanding Cashflow as an Author Joanna: Yeah. And this cashflow, if people don't really know it, is the difference between when money comes in and when it goes out. So another example, common to many authors, is paying for advertising. So for example, if you run some ads one month, you're going to have to pay, let's say Facebook or BookBub or whoever, that month. You might not get the money from the sale of those books if it's from a store until two months later. In that case, the cash flows the other way. The money is sitting with the store, sitting on Amazon until they pay you later. This idea of cashflow is so important for authors to think about. Another, I guess even more basic example is you are writing your first book and you pay for an editor. Money goes out of your bank account and then hopefully you're going to sell some books, but that might take, let's say six months, and then some money will come back into your bank account. I think this understanding cashflow is so important at a small level because as it gets bigger and bigger — and you are doing these very big print runs now, aren't you? Talk a bit about that. The Risks of Print Runs Sacha: Yeah. So one of the things I was going to say, one of the benefits of your sell direct model is that you don't have to deal with mistakes like this one. So in my recent book, Architecti, that we launched at the end of September, we did a print run of a thousand books, maybe about 3,000 pounds, something like that, 2,000 pounds. And basically we ended up selling all thousand and more. So the pre-orders breached a thousand and we didn't have enough books. But what made that worse is that 20% of the books that arrived were damaged because there had been massive rain. So we then had to do a second print run, which is bad for two reasons. The first reason is that one, that space, two, the time it's going to take to get to you — it's not instant, it's not printed on demand. But also three, I then had to spend the same amount of money again. And actually if we had ordered 2,000 originally, we would've saved a bit more money on it per book. So you don't — if you are doing selling direct with a print on demand model, the number of pre-orders you get is irrelevant because they'll just keep printing, and you just get charged per copy. So there are benefits and disadvantages to doing it each way. Obviously, I'm getting a cheaper price per copy printed, but not if I mess up the order numbers. Is Running a Warehouse Just Another Job? Joanna: So I'm going to come back on something you said earlier, which was in 2022 you said, “I realised I made a job for myself.” Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: And I mean, I've been to your store. You obviously have people to help you. But one of my reservations about this kind of model is that even if you have people to help you, taking on physical book — even though you are not printing them yourself, you're still shipping them all and you're signing them all. And to me it feels like a job. So maybe talk about why you have continued — you have pretty much decided to continue with your warehouse. So why is this not a job? What makes this fun for you? The Joy of Physical Product Creation Sacha: I wish that listeners could see my face because I'm literally glittering. I love it. I literally love it. I love us being able to create cool and wacky things. We can make a decision and we can create that physical product really quickly. We can do all of these quirky things. We can experiment. We can do book boxes. So first of all, it's the creativity in the physical product creation. I had no idea how much I love physical product creation, but there is something extremely satisfying about us coming up with an idea that's so integrated in the book. So for example, one of my characters uses, has a coin, a yes/no coin. She's an assassin and she flips it to decide whether or not she's going to assassinate somebody. We've actually designed and had that coin made, and it's my favourite item in the warehouse. It's such a small little thing, but I love it. And so there is a lot of joy that I derive from us being able to create these items. Sending Book Mail and Building Community Sacha: I think the second thing is I really love book mail. There is no better gift somebody can give me than a book. And so I do get a lot of satisfaction from knowing we're sending out lots and lots of book presents to people and we get to add more to it. So some of the promises that we make are: I sign every book and we give gifts. We have character art and, like I've mentioned before, pop sockets and all these kinds of things. And I get tagged daily in unboxings and stories and things like this where people are like, oh my gosh, I didn't realise I was going to get this, this, and this. And I just — it's like crack to me. I get high off of it. So I can't — this is not for everybody. This is a logistical nightmare. There are so many problems inherent in this business model. I love it. Discovering a Love of Team Building Sacha: And I think the other thing, which is very much not for a lot of authors — I did not realise that I actually really like having a team. And that has been a recent realisation. I really was told that I'm not a team player when I was in corporate, that I work alone, all of this nonsense. And I believed that and taken it on. But finding the right team, the right people who love the jobs that they do inside your business and they're all as passionate as you, is just life changing. And so that also helps me continue because I have a really great team. Joanna: I do have to ask you, what is a pop socket? Sacha: It's a little round disc that has a mechanism that you can pull out and then you — and it has a sticky command strip back and you can pop it on the back of your phone or on the back of a Kindle and it helps you to hold it. I don't know how else to describe it. It just helps you to hold the device easier. Joanna: Okay. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was confused. I'm like, why are you doing electrical socket products? Know What Kind of Person You Are Joanna: But I think this actually does demonstrate another point, and I hope people listening — I hope you can sort of — why we are doing this partly is to help you figure out what kind of person you are as well. Because I can't think of anything worse than having lots of little boxes! And I've been in Sacha's thing and there's all these little stickers and there's lots of boxes of little things that they put in people's packages, which make people happy. And I'm like, oh, I just don't like packages of things. And I mean, you geek out on packaging, don't you as well? Sacha: Oh my goodness. Yeah. One of the first things I did when we got the warehouse was I actually went to a packaging expo in Birmingham. It was like this giant conference place and I just nerded out there. It was so fun. And one of the things that I'm booked to do is an advent calendar. And that was what drove me there in the first place. I was looking for a manufacturer that could create an advent calendar for us. I have two. I'm not — I have two advent calendars this year because I love them so much. But yeah, the other thing that I was going to say to you is I often think that as adults, we can find what we're supposed to do rooted in our childhood. And I was talking the other day and someone said to me, what toy do you remember from your youth? And I was like, oh yeah. The only one that I can remember is that I had a sticker maker. I like — that makes sense. You do like stickers. And I do. Yeah. Digital Minimalism vs Physical Products Joanna: Yeah, I do. And I think this is so important because I love books. I buy a lot of books. I love books, but I also get rid of a lot of books. I know people hate this, but I will just get rid of bags and bags of books. So I value books more for what's inside them than the physical product as such. I mean, I have some big expensive, beautiful books, but mostly I want what's in them. So it's really interesting to me. And I think there's a big difference between us is just how much you like all that stuff. So if you are listening, if you are like a digital minimalist and you don't want to have stuff around your house, you definitely don't want a warehouse. You don't want all the shipping bits and bobs. You are not interested in all that. Or even if you are, you can still do a lot of this print on demand. Then I think that's just so important, isn't it? I mean, did you look at the print on demand merch? Did you find anything you liked? The Draw of Customisation Sacha: Yeah, we did, but I think for me it was that customisation. We are now moving towards — I've just put an order in this morning for 10,000 customised boxes. We've got our own branding on them. We've got a little naughty, cheeky message when they flip up the flap. And it's little things like that that you can't — you know, we wouldn't have control over what was sent. So much of what I wanted, and some of the reasons for me doing it, is that I wanted to be able to sign the books. I was being asked on a daily basis if people could buy signed books from me, and it was driving me bonkers not being able to say yes. But also being able to send a website mailing list sign-up in the box, or being able to give them a discount in the box. I mean, I know you do that, but yeah, there was just a lot more customisation and things that we could do if we were controlling the shipping. Also, I wanted to pack the boxes, the books better. So we wanted to be able to bubble wrap things or we wanted to be able to waterproof things because we had various different issues with deliveries and so we wanted a bit more control over that. So yeah, there were just so many reasons for us to do it. Print on Demand Is Still Fantastic Sacha: Look, don't get me wrong, if I suddenly wanted to go off travelling for a year, then maybe I would shut down the warehouse and go back to print on demand. I think print on demand is fantastic. I did it for 14 months before I decided to open a warehouse. It is the foundation of most authors' models. So it's fantastic. I just want to do more. Joanna: Yeah. You want to do more of it. Life Stage Matters Joanna: We should also, I also wanted to mention your life stage. Because when we did talk about it, your son is just going to secondary school, so we knew that you would be in the same area, right? Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: Because I said to you, you can't just do this and — well, you can, you could ditch it all. But the better decision is to do this for a certain number of years. If you're going to do it, it needs time, right? So you are at that point in your life. Sacha: Yeah, absolutely. We — I mean, we are going to move house, I think, but not that far away. We'll still be in reachable distance of the warehouse. And yeah, the staying power is so important because it's also about raising awareness. You have to train readers to come to you. You have to show them why it's beneficial for them to order directly from you. Growing the Business Year Over Year Sacha: And then you also have to be able to iterate and add more products. Like you were talking earlier about increasing that average order value. And that does come from having more products, but more products does create other issues like space, which may or may not be suffering issues with now. But yeah, so for example, 2024, which was the first real year, I did about 73 and a half thousand British pounds. And then this year, where — as we record this, it's actually the 1st of December — and I'm on 232,000. So from year one to year two, it's a huge difference. And that I do think is about the number of products and the number of things that we have on there. Joanna: And the number of customers. I guess you've also grown your customer base as well. And one of the rules, I guess, in inverted commas, of publishing is that the money is in the backlist. And every time you add to your backlist and every launch, you are selling a lot more of your backlist as well. So I think as time goes on, yeah, you get more books. Kickstarter as an Alternative Joanna: But let's also talk about Kickstarter because I do signed books for my Kickstarters and to me the Kickstarter is like a short-term ability to do the things you are doing regularly. So for example, if you want to do book boxes, you could just do them for a Kickstarter. You don't have to run a warehouse and do it every single day. For example, your last Kickstarter for Ruby Roe made around 150,000 US dollars, which is amazing. Like really fantastic. So just maybe talk about that, any lessons from the Kickstarter specifically, because I feel like most people, for most people listening, they are far more likely to do a Kickstarter than they are to start a warehouse. Pre-Launch Followers Are Critical Sacha: Yeah, so the first thing is even before you start your Kickstarter, the pre-launch follow accounts are critical. So a lot of people think — well, I guess there's a lot of loud noise about all these big numbers about how much people can make on Kickstarter, but actually a lot of it is driven by you, the author, pushing your audience to Kickstarter. So we actually have a formula now. Somebody more intelligent gave this to me, but essentially, based on my own personal campaign data — so this wouldn't necessarily be the same for other people — but based on my campaign data, each pre-launch follower is worth 75 pounds. And then we add on seven grand, for example. So on campaign three, which was the most recent one, I had 1,501 pre-launch followers. And when you times that by 75 and you add on seven grand, it makes more or less exactly what we made on the campaign. And the same formula can be applied to the others. So you need more pre-launch followers than you think you do. And lots of people don't put enough impetus on the marketing beforehand. Almost all of our Kickstarter marketing is beforehand because we drive so many people to that follow button. Early Bird Pricing and Fulfillment Time Sacha: And then the other thing that we do is that we do early bird pricing. So we get the majority of our income on a campaign on day one. I think it was something wild, like 80% this time was on day one, so that's really important. The second thing is it takes so, so very much longer than you think it does to fulfil a campaign, and you must factor in that cost. Because if it's not you fulfilling, you are paying somebody else to fulfil it. And if it is you fulfilling it, you must account for your own time in the pricing of your campaign. And the other thing is that the amount of time it takes to fulfil is directly proportionate to the size of the campaign. That's one thing I did not even compute — the fact that we went from about 56,000 British pounds up to double that, and the time was exponentially more than double. So you do have to think about that. Overseas Printing and Timelines Sacha: The other lesson that we have learned is that overseas printing will drag your timelines out far longer than you think it does. So whatever you think it's going to take you to fulfil, add several months more onto that and put that information in your campaign. And thankfully, we are now only going to be a month delayed, whereas lots of campaigns get up to a year delayed because they don't consider that. Reinvesting Kickstarter Profits Sacha: And then the last thing I think, which was really key for us, is that if you have some profit in the Kickstarter — because not all Kickstarters are actually massively profitable because they either don't account enough for shipping or they don't account enough in the pricing. Thankfully, ours have been profitable, but we've actually reinvested that profit back into buying more stock and more merchandise, which not everybody would want to do if they don't have a warehouse. However, we are stockpiling merchandise and books so that we can do mystery boxes later on down the line. It's probably a year away, but we are buying extra of everything so that we have that in the warehouse. So yeah, depending on what you want to do with your profit, for us it was all about buying more books, basically. Offering Something Exclusive Sacha: I think the other thing to think about is what is it that you are doing that's exclusive to Kickstarter? Because you will get backers on Kickstarter who want that quirky, unique thing that they're not going to be able to get anywhere else. But what about you? Because you've done more Kickstarters than me. What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned? Reward Tiers and Bundling Joanna: Oh, well I think all of mine together add up to the one you just did. Although I will comment on — you said something like 75 pounds per pre-launch backer. That is obviously dependent on your tiers for the rewards, so most authors won't have that amount. So my average order value, which I know is slightly different, but I don't offer things like book boxes like you have. So a lot of it will depend on the tiers. Some people will do a Kickstarter just with an ebook, just with one ebook and maybe a bundle of ebooks. So you are never going to make it up to that kind of value. So I think this is important too, is have a look at what people offer on their different levels of Kickstarter. And in fact, here's my AI tip for the day. What you can do — what I did with my Buried and the Drowned campaign recently — is I uploaded my book to ChatGPT and said, tell me, what are some ideas for the different reward tiers that I can do on Kickstarter? And it will give you some ideas for what you can do, what kind of bundles you might want to do. So I think bundling your backlist is another thing you can do as upsells, or you can just, for example, for me, when I did Blood Vintage, I did a horror bundle when it was four standalone horror books in one of the upper tiers. So I think bundling is a good way. Also upselling your backlist is a really good way to up things. And also if you do it digitally, so for ebooks and audiobooks, there's a lot less time in fulfillment. Focus on Digital Products Too Joanna: So again, yours — well, you make things hard, but also more fun according to you, because most of it's physical, right? In fact, this is one of the things you haven't done so well, really, is concentrate on the digital side of things. Is that something you are thinking about now? Sacha: Yeah, it is. I mean, we do have our books digitally on the website. So the last — I only had one series in Kindle Unlimited, and I took those out in January. But so we do have all of the digital products on the website, and the novellas that we do, we have in all formats because I narrate the audio for them. So that is something that we're looking at. And since somebody very smart told me to have upsell apps on my website, we now have a full “get the everything bundle” in physical and digital and we are now selling them as well. Surprising. Definitely not you. So yeah, we are looking at it and that's something that we could look at next year as well for advertising because I haven't really done any advertising. I think I've spent about 200 pounds in ads in the last four months or something. It's very, very low level. So that is a way to make a huge amount of profit because the cost is so low. So your return, if you're doing a 40 or 50 pound bundle of ebooks and you are spending, I don't know, four pounds in advertising to get that sale, your return on that investment is enormous for ads. So that is something that we are looking at for next year, but it just hasn't been something that we've done a huge amount of. A Multi-Six-Figure Author With No Ads Joanna: Yeah. Well, just quoting from your solo episode where you say, “I don't have any advertising costs, customers are from my mailing list, TikTok and Instagram.” Now, being as you are a multi-six-figure author with no ads, this is mostly unthinkable for many authors. And so I wonder if, maybe talk about that. How do you think you have done that and can other people potentially emulate it, or do you think it's luck? It's Not Luck, It's Skill Set Sacha: Do you know, this is okay. So I don't think it's luck. I don't believe in luck. I get quite aggressive about people flinging luck around. I know some people are huge supporters of luck. I'm like, no. Do I think anybody can do it? Do you know, I swing so hard on this. Sometimes I say yes, and sometimes I think no. And I think the brutal truth of it is that I know where my skill set lies and I lean extremely heavily into it. So what do I mean by that? TikTok and Instagram are both very visual mediums. It is video footage. It is static images. I am extremely comfortable on camera. I am an ex-theatre kid. I was on TV as a kid. I did voiceover work when I was younger. This is my wheelhouse. So acting a bit like a tit on TikTok on a video, I am very comfortable at doing that, and I think that is reflected in the results. Consistency Without Burnout Sacha: And the other part of it is because I am comfortable at doing it, I enjoy it. It makes me laugh. And therefore it feels easy. And I think because it feels easy, I can do it over and over and over again without burning out. I started posting on TikTok on November the 19th, 2023, and I have posted three times a day every day since. Every single day without stopping, and I do not feel burnt out. And I definitely feel like that is because it's easy for me because I am good at it. Reading the Algorithm Sacha: The other thing that I think goes in here is that I'm very good at reading what's working. So sorry to talk Clifton Strengths, but my number one Clifton Strength is competition. And one of the skills that has is understanding the market. We're very good at having a wide view. So not only do I read the market on Amazon or in bookstores or wherever I can, it's the same skill set but applied to the algorithm. So I am very good at dissecting viral videos and understanding what made it work, in the same way somebody that spends 20,000 pounds a month on Facebook advertising is very good at doing analytics and looking at those numbers. I am useless at that. I just can't do it. I just get complete shutdown. My brain just says no, and I'm incapable of running ads. That's why I don't do it. Not Everyone Can Do This Sacha: So can anybody do this? Maybe. If you are comfortable on camera, if you enjoy it. It's like we've got a mutual friend, Adam Beswick. We call him the QVC Book Bitch because he is a phenomenon on live videos on TikTok and Instagram and wherever he can sell. Anything on those lives. It is astonishing to watch the sales pop in as he's on these lives. I can't think of anything worse. I will do a live, but I'll be signing books and having a good old chitchat. Not like it's — like that hand selling. Another author, Willow Winters, has done like 18 in-person events this year. I literally die on the inside hearing that. But that's what works for them and that's what's helping grow their business models. So ah, honestly, no. I actually don't think anybody can do what I've done. I think if you have a similar skill set to me, then yes you can. But no, and I know that I don't want to crush anybody listening. Do you like social media? I like social media. Do you like being on camera? Then yeah, you can do it. But if you don't, then I just think it's a waste of your time. Find out what you are good at, find out where your skill set is, and then lean in very, very hard. Writing to Your Strengths and Passion Joanna: I also think, because let's be brutal, you had books before and they didn't sell like this. Sacha: Yep. Joanna: So I also think that you leaned into — yes, of course, sapphic romance is a big sub-genre, but you love it. And also it's your lived experience with the sapphic sub-genre. This is not you chasing a trend, right? I think that's important too because too many people are like, oh, well maybe this is the latest trend. And is TikTok a trend? And then try and force them together, whereas I feel like you haven't done that. Sacha: No, and actually I spoke to lots of people who were very knowledgeable on the market and they all said, don't do it. And the reason for this is that there were no adult lesbian sapphic romance books that were selling when I looked at the market and decided that this was what I wanted to write. And I was like, cool, I'm going to do it then. And rightly so, everyone was like, well, there's no evidence to suggest that this is going to make any money. You are taking a huge risk. And I was like, yeah, but I will. I knew from the outset before I even put a word to the page how I was going to market it. And I think that feeling of coming home is what I — I created a home for myself in my books and that is why it's just felt so easy to market. Lean Into What You're Good At Sacha: It's like you, with your podcasting. Nobody can get anywhere near your podcast because you are so good at it. You've got such a history. You are so natural with your podcasting that you are just unbeatable, you know? So it's a natural way for you to market it. Joanna: Many have tried, but no, you're right. It's because I like this. And what's so funny — I'm sure I've mentioned it on the show — but I did call you one day and say, okay, all right, show me how to do this TikTok thing. And you spent like two hours on the phone with me and then I basically said no. Okay. I almost tried and then I just went, no, this is definitely not for me. And I think that this has to be one of the most important things as an author. Maybe some people listening are just geeking out over packaging like you are, and maybe they're the people who might look at this potential business model. Whereas some people are like me and don't want to go anywhere near it. And then other people like you want to do video and maybe other people like me want to do audio. So yeah, it's so important to find, well, like you said, what does not work for you? What is fun for you and when are you having a good time? Because otherwise you would have a job. Like to me, it looks like a job, you having a warehouse. But to you, it's not the same as when you were grinding it out back in 2022. Packing Videos Are Peak Content Sacha: Completely. And I think if you look at my social media feeds, they are disproportionately full of packing videos, which I think tells you something. Joanna: Oh dear. I just literally — I'm just like, oh my, if I never see any more packaging, I'll be happy. Sacha: Yeah. That's good. The One Time Sacha Nearly Burnt It All Down Sacha: I have to say, there was one moment where I doubted everything. And that was at the end — but basically, in about, of really poor timing. I ended up having to fulfil every single pre-order of my latest release and hand packing about a thousand books in two weeks. And I nearly burnt it all to the ground. Joanna: Because you didn't have enough staffing, right? And your mum was sick or something? Sacha: Yeah, exactly that. And I had to do it all by myself, and I was alone in the warehouse and it was just horrendous. So never again. But hey, I learned the lessons and now I'm like, yay, let's do it again. Things Change: Building Resilience Into Your Business Joanna: Yeah. And make sure there's more staffing. Yes, I've talked a lot on this show — things change, right? Things change. And in fact, the episode that just went out today as we record this with Jennifer Probst, which she talked about hitting massive bestseller lists and doing just incredibly well, and then it just dropped off and she had to pivot and change things. And I'm not like Debbie Downer, but I do say things will change. So what are you putting in place to make sure, for example, TikTok finally does disappear or get banned, or that sapphic romance suddenly drops off a cliff? What are you doing to make sure that you can keep going in the future? Managing Cash Flow and Salaries Sacha: Yeah, so I think there's a few things. The first big one is managing cash flow and ensuring that I have three to six months' worth of staff salaries, for want of a better word, in an account. So if the worst thing happens and sales drop off — because I am responsible for other people's income now — that I'm not about to shaft a load of people. So that really helps give you that risk reassurance. Mailing Lists and Marketing Funnels Sacha: The second thing is making sure that we are cultivating our mailing lists, making sure that we are putting in infrastructure, like things like upsell apps. And, okay, so here's a ridiculous lesson that I learned in 2025: an automation sequence, an onboarding automation sequence, is not what people mean when they say you need a marketing funnel. I learned this in Vegas. A marketing funnel will sell your products to your existing readers. So when a customer signs up to your mailing list because they've purchased something, they will be tagged and then your email flow system will then send them a 5% discount on this, or “did you know you could bundle up and get blah?” So putting that kind of stuff in place will mean that we can take more advantage of the customers that we've already got. Standard Operating Procedures Sacha: It's also things like organisational knowledge. My team is big enough now that there are things in my business I don't know how to do. That's quite daunting for somebody who is a control freak. So I visited Vegas in 2025 and I sat in a session all on — this sounds so sexy — but standard operating procedures. And now I've given my team the job of creating a process instruction manual on how they do each of their tasks so that if anybody's sick, somebody else can pick it up. If somebody leaves, we've got that infrastructure in place. And even things down to things like passwords — who, if I unfortunately got hit by a car, who can access my Amazon account? Stuff like that, unfortunately. Joanna: Yeah, I know. Well, I mean, that would be tragic, wouldn't it? Sacha: But it's stuff like that. Building Longer Timelines Sacha: But then also more day-to-day things is putting in infrastructure that pulls me out. So looking more at staffing responsibilities for staffing so that I don't always have to be there, and creating longer timelines. That is probably the most important thing that we can do because we've got a book box launching next summer. And we both had the realisation — I say we, me and my operations manager — had the realisation that actually we ought to be commissioning the cover and the artwork now because of how long those processes take. So I'm a little bit shortsighted on timelines, I think. So putting a bit more rigour in what we do and when. We now have a team-wide heat map where we know when the warehouse is going to be really, really full, when staff are off, when deliveries are coming, and that's projected out a year in advance. So lots and lots of things that are changing. And then I guess also eventually we will do advertising as well. But that is a few months down the line. Personal Financial Resilience Sacha: And then on the more personal side, it's looking at things like not just how you keep the business running, but how do you keep yourself running? How do you make sure that, let's say you have a bad sales month, but you still have to pay your team? How are you going to get paid? So I, as well as having put staff salaries away, I also have my own salary. I've got a few months of my own salary put away. And then investing as well. I know, I am not a financial advisor, but I do invest money. I serve money that I pay myself. You can also do things like having investment vehicles inside your business if you want to deal with extra cash. And then I am taking advice from my accountant and my financial advisor on do I put more money into my pension — because did I say that I also have a pension? So I invest in my future as well. Or do I set up another company and have a property portfolio? Or how do I essentially make the money that is inside the business make more money rather than reinvesting it, spending it, and reinvesting it on things that don't become assets or don't become money generating? What can I do with the cash that's inside the company in order to then make it make more for the long term? Because then if you do have a down six months or worse, a down year, for example, you've got enough cash and equity inside the business to cover you during those lower months or years or weeks — or hopefully just a day. Different Business Models for Different Authors Joanna: Yes, of course. And we all hope it just carries on up and to the right, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. So it's really great that you are doing all those things. And I think what's lovely and why we started off with you giving us that potted history was it hasn't always been this way. So if you are listening to this and you are like, well, I've only got one ebook for sale on Amazon, well that might be all you ever want to do, which is fine. Or you can come to where my business model is, which is mostly even — I use print on demand, but it's mostly digital. It's mostly online. It's got no packaging that I deal with. Or you can go even further like Sacha and Adam Beswick and Willow Winters. But because that is being talked about a lot in the community, that's why we wanted to do this — to really show you that there's different people doing different things and you need to choose what's best for you. What Are You Excited About for 2026? Joanna: But just as we finish, just tell us what are you excited about for 2026? Sacha: Oh my goodness me. I am excited to iterate my craft. And this is completely not related to the warehouse, but I have gotten myself into a position where I get to play with words again. So I'm really excited for the things that I'm going to write. But also in terms of the warehouse, we've got the new packaging, so getting to see those on social media. We are also looking at things like book boxes. So we are doing a set of three book boxes and these are going to be new and bigger and better than anything that we've done before. And custom tailored. Oh, without giving too much away, but items that go inside and also the artwork. I love working with artists and commissioning different art projects. But yeah, basically more of the same, hopefully world domination. Joanna: World domination. Fantastic. So basically more creativity. Sacha: Yeah. Joanna: And also a bigger business. Because I know you are ambitious and I love that. I think it's really good for people to be ambitious. Joanna: Oh, I do have another question. Do you have more sympathy for traditional publishing at this point? Sacha: How dare you? Unfortunately, yeah. I really have learnt the hard way why traditional publishers need the timelines that they need. This latest release was probably the biggest that — so this latest release, which was called Architecting, is the reason that I did the podcast episode, because I learned so many lessons. And in particular about timelines and how tight things get, and it's just not realistic when you are doing this physical business. So that's another thing if you are listening and you are like, oh no, no, no, I like the immediacy of being able to finish, get it back from the editor and hit publish — this ain't for you, honey. This is not for you. Joanna: Yeah. No, that's fantastic. Where to Find Sacha and Ruby Roe Joanna: So where can people find you and your books online? Sacha: For the Ruby Empire, it's RubyRoe.co.uk and RubyRoeAuthor on TikTok if you'd like to see me dancing like a wally. And then Instagram, I'm back as @SachaBlackAuthor on Instagram. Joanna: Brilliant. Thanks so much for your time, Sacha. That was great. Sacha: Thank you for having me.The post Two Different Approaches To Selling Books Direct With Sacha Black And Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

As agentic AI becomes a defining force in enterprise innovation, infrastructure has moved from a back-office concern to the beating heart of business transformation. On today's episode of the 'AI in Business' podcast, Ranjan Sinha, IBM Fellow, Vice President, and Chief Technology Officer for watsonx and IBM Research, joins Emerj Editorial Director Matthew DeMello to discuss the future of scalable AI infrastructure — from neuromorphic and quantum processing to open-source AI platforms built for trust and governance. Ranjan explains how enterprises are transitioning from isolated experiments to mission-critical AI applications, revealing why today's Fortune 500 leaders must reimagine compute, governance, and data pipelines to sustain automation and reliability at scale. He details IBM's breakthroughs in specialized processors, including the NorthPole neuromorphic chip and the company's roadmap for fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2029. Want to share your AI adoption story with executive peers? Click emerj.com/expert2 for more information and to be a potential future guest on the 'AI in Business' podcast! If you've enjoyed or benefited from some of the insights of this episode, consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and let us know what you learned, found helpful, or liked most about this show! Watch Matthew and Ranjan's conversation on our new YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@EmerjAIResearch.

What if the setback you're cursing right now is the exact detour you needed? In this episode of Architecting, I flip the script on failure. When the universe pulls the rug out, it's not rejection—it's redirection. Learn how to take the opportunity to rebrand, define success on your own terms, and stop tolerating what never served you. This is your permission slip to rethink what you've been settling for and reclaim your career as something that actually fits. What you thought you wanted might not be aligned with your actually purpose, which may be what's blocking you from making the moves that would bring it in.  Look for the "something better." Sometimes we need the experience of what we don't like or want to better understand what we do. Look for hidden takeaways from setbacks such as soft skills gained, or experience in areas that might seem like they are tangential to your main job.  Look retrospectively for how these things differentiate you in a way that showcases your authentic self. Your next opportunity shouldn't be a “bounce back” but a bold pivot forward

In this episode, Alexa welcomes Swagat Kulkarni, a Senior Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, to discuss the intersection of AI, cloud innovation, and enterprise reality. Swagat shares his experience guiding large-scale digital transformations, emphasizing that success often hinges on people and culture, not just technology. They explore the rise of agentic AI, the challenges of moving from proof-of-concept to production , and the surprisingly crucial skill every tech leader needs: storytelling. Tune in to find out more about how to architect resilient systems that balance innovation with reality and why the future of tech depends on our ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn.You can also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexa_griffithAnd listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1tnV8Qk6SEw1Dr9Tqikr0H?si=ecU279HXTSa9issXm1jVmQLinksLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swagat-kulkarni/Blog: https://builder.aws.com/content/2eYN4c5L59qvGZY65RBcdoVtN4t/envoy-ai-gateway-with-amazon-bedrock-getting-started-guideKeywordsAI, digital transformation, cloud computing, agentic AI, storytelling, solutions architect, AWS, technology adoption, open source, innovationTakeawaysDigital transformation is about creating agility in organizations.Storytelling is crucial for conveying technical concepts to customers.AI adoption requires a clear understanding of the problems to solve.Simplicity in architecture leads to better outcomes.Cultural shifts are essential for successful digital transformation.Open source technologies can accelerate innovation.Customer feedback drives AWS's service development.Continuous learning is vital in the tech industry.Data readiness is critical for AI success.Leadership buy-in is necessary for transformation projects.Chapters00:00 Introduction to AI and Digital Transformation02:26 Swagat Kulkarni's Journey in Tech05:24 Role of a Solutions Architect at AWS08:13 The Importance of Storytelling in Tech11:10 Understanding Digital Transformation15:05 Successful Transformation Projects17:09 Agentic AI and Its Real-World Applications20:13 Challenges in Adopting Agentic AI24:05 Customer Feedback and AWS's Approach29:59 Success Factors in Digital Transformation32:53 Embracing a Technology Mindset34:31 The Role of Leadership in Innovation35:40 Surprises in Customer Awareness37:52 Knowledge Sharing Dynamics in Organizations39:26 Cultural Shifts in Knowledge Sharing40:33 Exciting Tools for Developer Efficiency42:48 Misconceptions in AI Adoption44:33 Designing Resilient Architectures47:27 Feedback Loops and Continuous Improvement49:03 The Value of Open Source51:11 The Importance of Documentation in Open Source52:37 The Power of Storytelling in Tech57:12 Quickfire Questions and Final Thoughts01:00:21 general_outro.wav

On this special *double feature* listen to our interview with Angela Mazzi, then head over to the Architecting Podcast to hear Angela interview Caitlin!Today's guest, Angela Mazzi is dedicated to enhancing quality of life through the built environment. Her research on salutogenesis, equity, and socio-cultural contexts illuminates how design impacts well-being and the ways the design process impacts designers.  It's her mission as a firm principal at GBBN, industry leader, and mentor with the AIA NAC/FAIA Mentoring Program, and AIA Align Mentoring program to advocate for healthy innovation-focused practice models.  She founded Architecting, a community consisting of an award-winning podcast, classes in stress management and high performance to explore and eradicate systemic codependency in the AEC industry.  She is the author of two books, Career Crisis and Time Builder and is currently writing a third: The Design Ecosystem.Angela is Past President of the American College of Healthcare Architects, Past President of AIA Cincinnati, and Secretary of AIA Ohio. She is a peer reviewer for Health Environment Research and Design (HERD) Journal, 2022 recipient of the HCD10 Top Architect Award, and 2024 recipient of the AIA Ohio Gold Medal.We talk about:- Angela explains how adopting a mindset of “ask forgiveness, not permission” opened doors to leadership and long-term professional influence. She reflects on how her involvement with the AIA expanded her understanding of architecture's role beyond buildings.- We next discuss the concept of salutogenesis and Angela outlines how salutogenic design improves outcomes for patients, families, and clinical staff during moments of stress.- We also talk about Angela's prolific podcast, Architecting, where she addresses burnout, disillusionment, and strategies for building a meaningful, resilient career in AEC.- Angela discusses the importance of setting stretch goals such as the Nobel Peace Prize and why she encourages architects to shift their mindset, question systemic norms in the profession, and embrace the power of design to influence health, equity, and social change.>>>Thank you to our sponsor:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arcol⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a collaborative building design tool built for modern teams. Arcol streamlines your design process by keeping your model, data and presentations in sync enabling your team to work together seamlessly.- Website:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Arcol.io⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/arcol-tech⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- Twitter/ X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://x.com/ArcolTech⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>>>Connect with Angela: https://architectingpodcast.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/architectingcoach/https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelamazzi/https://www.instagram.com/architectingpodcast/https://www.youtube.com/@architectingpodcastX: @AngelaMazzihttps://www.gbbn.com/>>>Connect with Architectette:- Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.architectette.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Learn more)- Instagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @architectette⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (See more)- Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.architectette.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Behind the Scenes Content)- LinkedIn:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Architectette Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Page and/or⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Caitlin Brady⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>>>Music by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Send us a textWhat if buildings could heal communities? In this captivating conversation, architect Davielle Phillips reveals how his journey from Chicago's South Side to Omaha is reshaping urban spaces and mindsets.When young Davielle asked his mother who decides what buildings look like, her simple response—"Google it"—sparked a lifelong mission. Growing up surrounded by boarded-up houses and neighborhood decline, Phillips discovered architecture as a powerful tool for community transformation. Now armed with dual master's degrees in architecture and business administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he's bringing both creative vision and practical implementation to North Omaha's revitalization.Phillips offers fascinating insights into the "broken window theory," explaining how physical deterioration perpetuates cycles of neglect in communities. Rather than seeing decay, he recognizes opportunities for intervention and renewal. Through his work with the Omaha Inland Port Authority and projects like the Great Plains Black History Museum renovation, he's creating spaces that inspire pride and possibility.Beyond professional accomplishments, Phillips shares the personal philosophy that drives him: "faith, consistency, and hard work." He speaks candidly about moments of doubt, as often the only Black professional in academic and workplace settings, finding strength in the pioneering Black architects who came before him without mentors or representation.For aspiring architects and critical thinkers, Phillips offers this advice: be curious, ask "why," and have the courage to raise your hand. His vision extends beyond individual buildings to creating cohesive environments where people can thrive—truly architecting dreams that transform communities from the ground up.Connect with Davielle Phillips on LinkedIn and Instagram @dreams2live4 and discover how architecture can become a framework for solving community challenges.Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!

Mentioned in the episode:Smidge- Magnesium Supplements for a Good Night's Sleep | Smidge® Code- GOLDIVY10 for a 10% discount at checkoutCaraway- https://rstr.co/caraway/22693 Code- GOLDIVY for a 10% discount at checkoutAll Things Elderberry- www.allthingselderberry.com Code- GOLDIVY at checkout for 15% off your first orderSafeSleeve- safesleevecases.com/collections Code- GOLDIVY for a 15% discount at checkoutGuest: Emily NicholsInstagram: Emily's InstagramPodcast: Habit Hack Your Health PodcastWho needs a habit upgrade? Emily Nichols, host of the Habit Hack Your Health Podcast, is here to break it all down so we can build our habits back up! We wanted to hear about how motivation, environment, menstrual cycles, time of year, and so much more affect our ability to set and maintain our goals and Emily DELIVERED. You'll leave this episode feeling more aligned with what you want and how to get it as you habit hack your way to an unstoppable you!*Additionally, we want to remind you that this podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. We are not licensed therapists, and this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.*Find Andrea & Brooke as @goldivyhealthco on Instagram: Brooke Herbert | Andrea Herbert (@goldivyhealthco) • Instagram photos and videos#mentalhealth #habithacks #habits #mindset #habitstacking #healthandwellnesspodcast #ivyunleashedpodcastSupport the show