Podcasts about blue square

The 16:9 PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY SCREENFEED – DIGITAL SIGNAGE CONTENT LED video wall technology is now so pervasive, and there are soooo many vendors, that it is increasingly hard for manufacturers to differentiate and compete. That's compounded by a lot of manufacturers selling on specs like pixel pitch, and the form factor of their products. Very few, however, spend much if any time talking about the why and what of video wall projects - as in why is this project being considered, what's it for, and also what's going to be on the screen when it gets plugged in. So I was intrigued when I was in touch with Chanan Averbuch, a South Florida LED industry vet. I learned he'd left his longtime executive sales gig with an LED display vendor to join a spinout that makes premium LED displays, but leads with creative. The company is called Blue Square X - with the X being short for experience. While most manufacturers just make the stuff, and ship it to integrators, Blue Square plans to bridge a couple of gaps - acting as consultants and producing creative for digital experiences ... with integrator partners doing the final install. Subscribe from wherever you pick up new podcasts. TRANSCRIPT Chanan, thank you for joining me. We've traded messages on LinkedIn and everything else and as we were saying before I turned on the recording, we probably had a brush by, “Hey, how are you doing?” I think at some trade show, but we haven't chatted at length. Can you tell me what your company Blue Square X does, because I'm unfamiliar.  Chanan Averbuch: Sure. Blue Square, I guess you could more or less call it the parent company has been in business for over 10 years. But Blue Sqaure X is a relatively new venture, leveraging more of my background and my partner's background in the space, and inside Blue Sqaure X, I'm focused on the innovation side more so than anything else. So Blue Square X is displays that are 90 inches and larger on the LCD side, and on the LED side, everything from, 110 inches all the way to unlimited sizes. We have projects we're doing that are a hundred-foot-long LED walls and 40 feet high, concave, convex, curved, all that stuff.  But Blue Square X at the end of the day is not another led company. We're focused on the experience first, which means content first, software second, and LED third.  Yeah, which is quite different because, through the years I've had no end of companies, relate stories about how they sold big LED displays, had them installed and then the customer would look at them and say, “This is great, what should we put on the screen?” like an afterthought.  Chanan Averbuch: I've gotten that over the years, time and time again, somebody will have the brain fart of, “Wow, it would be really cool if we did a sports bar instead of a bunch of TVs, let's do LED.” Okay, and then two weeks before the grand opening, “Wait, what are we doing on this thing from 8 am to 4 pm when we're not watching sports games when there's no live sports?” So we did digital art in those spaces.  So you're, the terminology I use is, a solutions provider in that you're not a pure play integrator because an integrator doesn't tend to think about content or experience so much. There's the odd one that does, but for the most part, we put together the projects we deploy, maybe we manage them, but we don't really think that much about what's on the screen. Chanan Averbuch: Spot on. I think one of the key issues that I've experienced over almost the last two decades in the AV industry is that most of the channel has thought about how to move a box and has never really thought about what the client is trying to feel from an emotional perspective in a space.  What are they trying to create when someone walks into a space, when they leave a space, how do they want them to feel? I think in the era now where you're trying to get employees to come back to work, right? It doesn't matter if you're in the US, on the Democratic side or the Republican side, it doesn't make a real difference. If you want employees to come back to work, you have to give them a compelling reason for what it feels like when you come to the office beyond the barista, the coffee bar, and the cereal crap, you gotta have more of an experience too, oh my gosh, I love going to the office. It makes me feel a certain way, and that's where experience matters.  Do you find that many end users have their heads around what they want to do? Because I know from my consulting experience that I will ask customers what they want to do and why, and quite often they'll lean back in their chairs and think, I haven't really thought about that.  Chanan Averbuch: To be brutally honest with you, what was always my struggle for the last 13 years is trying to get people to understand what to try to make a space feel like, and I've been blessed in the early days now in Blue Square X, when we, in a very stealth mode, went to market, our first projects were actually luxury retail and it's not luxury retail where you would historically imagine where they have a big TV or big LED wall. It's now digital art being built. In an immersive space within luxury retail, there are several stores that we're going to be coming to live with soon with some beautiful case studies, very similar to what we're seeing in the real estate market.  We have a bunch of case studies about to come to market now as well for a luxury real estate sales center. So when someone launches a $100M or $2B project, they want to sell units fast. So having a projector in a sales center doesn't quite do it, but having an immersive theater and immersive LED wall with custom content where it looks like the waves are coming at you and things of that nature in a real way, not the 3D naked eye stuff. I'm talking about the real anamorphic content where it feels like you're buying into a lifestyle. When you're able to translate that, condo sales come along with it.  Quite often, I've also found that those customers who understand that kind of thinking, then have their heads snapped back when they start to understand the cost of doing that. Is there a lot of work in getting them over the line or do they just understand that this is a $100M development, yes, we're going to spend $250,000 on content or whatever the number is.  Chanan Averbuch: So it's funny that you say that because I think when I was personally going through my own journey and starting in this space, it was hard for me to explain that value, right? The good thing is, that we've already done in a very short period of time, some of these unique experiences where we're able to talk about the cost of capital, and the return on their capital, because in the world of real estate, for example, it's all about return on your investment. And they have interest payments in addition to principal payments that they owe to the bank. So the faster they sell units. The less they owe the bank.  So because we're focused more on the luxury and premium side, and they, I guess you could say the true experiential environments, the price is not necessarily as much of an issue. As the expression goes, price is only an issue in the absence of value, but because we're not trying to sell an LED screen. We're talking about the experience, we're talking about the content first, the software, how to get it there, and the LEDs, how you display it. It's a different conversation that we're having. We're talking usually to the marketing folks. We're talking to the innovation people. We're talking to the people who say, how am I going to get my ROI? And it's very easy to map that out, and that applies in luxury retail. That applies in real estate, and even because we're focused on the channel still looking with larger AV integrators, we're working with the AV integrators to help translate that value into how it's going to pan out and what it's going to do for their consumer or their buyers, whoever it is in their environments. So when you say you're working with the AV integrators, you wouldn't describe yourself as an integrator that's competing with them for business but as more of a partner?  Chanan Averbuch: Correct. So, thank God I've been very blessed with working with the AV channel to do control rooms, do experiential environments. That still has not changed for me. The only real difference in what we're doing in Blue Square X is that we are being engaged directly with the sports teams, we're being engaged directly with the architect or the interior designer, and then they'll say, who can execute this with us in addition to the Blue Square X pro services team, right? We don't run data cables. We don't run power. We don't put pressure on systems. That's not our business. We're not pretending to be an AV integrator. We're still going to be partnering with the AVI SPLs or the AVI Systems or the Diverifieds of the world, et cetera.  Okay. So you would quite possibly maybe own the customer, so to speak, but you're not doing the whole solution stack, you're gonna sub a partner with, I don't know, pull a name out, AVI, SPL, or whoever it may be.  Chanan Averbuch: Yeah, and I think there's a huge value added to that too, because not just because they have 5 employees, it's because, oftentimes when I would historically get a call in, my previous job, it was, “something's not working”. Well, screens are usually pretty dumb, right? If the playback is not working, that may be a different story, or it's often like a hiccup in the crash drone or whatever the control system may be, and having that first line of defense as an integrator who's down the block, perhaps. It's a lot more valuable for me than to ship my team to Brazil, ship my team to Korea, or ship my team to Qatar. You mentioned your previous work and experience and so on. I was aware of you when you were working for an LED company. What is your background in this industry?  Chanan Averbuch: So I really started 13+ years ago with Primeview, and there I started as a Regional Sales Manager, then Business Development Manager, then VP, then SVP, then EVP. I was initially just trying to provide for my family. I guess it was like, it was a trunk slammer or whoever it may be. I tried to do business with you when I first started. I just had to put numbers on, and then as things evolved in 2017 and coming to 2018, I was able to pioneer the all-in-one space back in 2018 out of a sheer lack of resources, to be honest with you, on an engineering side. It was funny how that evolved. But the all-in-one category is something that, I'm very pleased to say, had some of my first, with Microsoft, with Citigroup, and some really substantial clients, and then as that all-in-one category evolved and from indoor to outdoor to 32:9, that's when all of a sudden I started realizing, wait when we get out of the 16:9, what happens to the content? How does that work? And that sort of just blew my mind, this whole content space, and I started developing that further, and that thesis when working closely with digital artists, and I have some amazing projects that are about to go live now within Blue Square X, where a lot of times we're getting pulled into projects where we're not even involved in the LED. We're not even evolving the playback. We're just doing the content, and if I could quote one of my great friends in the industry, Britton Gates from Newcomb and Boyd, he always asked me previously, and we're going to be doing this now: if there are so many people out there that could use help, Even if you're not doing the lead, are you willing to do that? And the short answer is yes. I want to help people create experiences, even if They're not buying our LED today.  Yeah, you could make the argument that the content side of the business is more interesting and easier on a company just because you're not having to worry about shipping and everything else associated with the hard technology. Chanan Averbuch: Oh, a hundred percent. I think the same line of logic would imply that if it's an inferior quality LED, and it's just like another OEM, it could also make my content look bad. So I can take from personal example, I was traveling this past week for a very high-end install that our team was doing, and in part of the travels, I remember going through the journey of talking about what the content is, and once we figured out that it had to be not SDR, but HDR, our team had to get on a frantic and run 32 cables instead of 16, right? So talking through the content strategy early on also impacts infrastructure, not just hardware, really. I anticipate that almost everything that you're going to see from 2024 and beyond is going to be HDR on the experiential side. Everything, because the blacks and the grays, it's day and night.  And what does that mean for existing deployments out there?  Is HDR backward-compatible, so to speak, or do you either have an HDR display or you don't? Chanan Averbuch: Good question. I think when you think back two years ago when people started really talking about HDR on the commercial side, not consumer, but on the commercial side, I think you had people talking about HDR, talking about what they call HDR-ready. This means some of the components can potentially work with HDR, but to go and truly retrofit or change the hardware to now be able to be HDR is not as simple as one may think, even though the marketing materials on that spec may have said previously HDR-ready, it's not truly HDR. So I think in reality, retrofitting certain sites to be HDR is going to be difficult. I think they're gonna have to understand that SDR is what they bought and it's either they upgrade all their hardware to go and be able to truly be compatible with HDR or they're gonna have to just settle and stick to SDR today, as sad as that may be. What would that mean? It's not like SDR is going to look bad. It's just HDR is going to look really good.  Chanan Averbuch: Correct. I think even if you look at consumer playback devices as simple as an Apple TV, right? Even Apple TV today is HDR-ready, and it really can play back HDR, but like we're doing now a significant amount of work in the home theater business, it's not a business that I was actually pursuing, and I'm now seeing these massive home theater projects with commercial integrators. Yes, they're residential integrators, but they're sometimes bigger than commercial projects, these home theaters.  I had to go down the rabbit hole of what a Kaleidoscope is and what real HDR playback is and cinema-quality playback. So really only once you're in this space and focused on delivering the high-end quality do you understand all these little peripheral devices for playback and content are so significant in the ecosystem. But unless you're in it, you don't know it.  One of the things that I concluded walking around ISE at the front of the year, and then Ifocomm again, was that the LED display market has matured to a point where just about everything looks really good. Yes, some companies come over from China with, purposefully, low-cost, material that looks crappy, even when it's optimized on our trade show floor. But in general, the stuff all looks really good. It's all sub one mil now and everything else. Have we hit the peak of this? Where does it go?  Chanan Averbuch: Great question. So I think to your point, I think when you talk about what's market has called mini-LED or COB or some of these more standard technologies today, the COB at a 0.7 look really freaking good. But even within those LEDs, the differentiator between HDR and really great quality scan rates that what I would say is considered broadcast quality or production quality or luxury retail quality, there's a differentiator in the market at that point, because one is good enough, and the other one is truly providing a higher level of experience, and what that means is the quality of the components.  So on a simple level, you have Nova Star, A6, A8, A10, et cetera, right? You have all the different Nova Star receiving cards, for example. The different receiving cards produce different quality results and have a higher level of spec. That's definitely the case for the mass market. I think there are ways to build materials to change things, and then there are also certain instances where having a higher brightness panel or LED bulb is great. Sometimes it's not good. You have to know the real application because it generates different heat. But in that instance, we've gotten certain projects now in the last few months where having a higher nit bulb helped. We have instances where they wanted a lower nit bulb because they wanted to not have to redo their infrastructure and energy and power, right? So they were repurposing LCD and they wanted to stay with LEDs and if they had gone with a higher bulb, they would have had the max power draws where you require more power.  But on the evolution of LED itself, COG, chip on glass, that's something that's going to be coming out soon. There are some other new things within the LED world we're about to be launching a product that's almost like an x-ray where you're able to print patterns on an LED and shine through it, but at a high resolution, not low resolution like you see on the market today. So there are definitely innovative ways of producing technology where just imagine a Calcutta marble, finish backdrop, and we print that Calcutta marble on a physical LED, and you're able to still protrude through it with a high brightness bulb LED. So there's a lot of these technologies that are about to come to market that we're working on, but it's from an innovative standpoint, not everyone else is doing it. How do we just be cheaper? It's what's the experience that we're trying to create, and then how do we solve that in a way that has never been done before. So when you talk about chip on glass, are you talking about micro LEDs?  Chanan Averbuch: Correct.  That is a horribly abused and misused term.  Chanan Averbuch: Yep. I try to shy away from the specifics of talking about COB GOB or SMD. I honestly try to focus on what's your environment, what are you trying to do? I'm fixing other people's problems now, just not on the content, but where someone sold SMD in a public space that should have been COB and in other environments where it should have been GOB to pretty protective solution. Like I just saw a curved LED that was so chewed up, I told the end user, you may consider replacing it completely. And he goes, with what? I said with a glue-on-board version, because otherwise you have to protect this thing, because it'll look like crap.  Through the years, I have seen some SMD stuff in public spaces and I thought, what in God's name were you thinking? Did you somehow magically believe that nobody was going to scrape this thing?  Chanan Averbuch: But in truth, it's not just about specifying the wrong technology. A lot of things that we're doing now at Blue Square X is because we realize other people didn't do it, and it's not just about the content or the software side. It's also about the trim kit the cladding and the framing. For example, one of my friends I was talking to at Leon Speakers, where we talked about the idea of hashtag framing every TV.  The idea of framing every TV is not just so that it looks aesthetically pleasing in a residential environment or in your conference room. It's also to protect it to a large extent. So when I think about framing, there was a project recently, it was comical that we recently lost ironically. And I thought it was great that we lost it. My partner was like, what do you mean we've lost it? I said I'm so happy we lost it. He goes, why? I said because the other guy is putting a product that's going to get destroyed in this environment because there are no protective elements in the backside, and it's IP-65 front-rated. IP-54 in the back and they're putting this in the harshest environment, humanly possible. I'm happy that my name's not on that. So framing every TV, trim kit, cladding, mounting, and protecting the LED is equally as important as the technology that you're going to use. But people don't think about those things. I want to get the project. I want the box. That's not smart business  I wonder if the market is now at a point where it's like buying a high-end vehicle in that the salesperson can go on and on about what's under the hood and the typical buyer just doesn't care and in the same way, they don't care really whether it's COB or what controller is used or any of that stuff.  They just want to know how good is it going to look, does it suits my needs and what's the budget.  Chanan Averbuch: So I think you're definitely getting more to the commoditized point of the marketplace, which is where I think you're going to see several players disappear. It's already starting to happen. Hence the reason why I've always focused more on what it's supposed to create and what it's supposed to feel like, how much you're supposed to be immersed, which is why it's content first, software second, LED third in our world, and then trim kit, cladding, framing to follow for that same reason. It really comes down to how do you not just differentiate yourself, but how do you actually demonstrate that difference. Having the right content obviously helps, having the right software helps, having the right LED helps, but one of the things that we're going to be investing heavily in on a national level to start within the US with Miami, then New York, then Chicago, Austin, then LA is physical experience centers throughout the US and that will be going global as well in the near future.  What I'd like to do is when a client from a sports team a luxury retailer or a real estate developer, whatever it may be, wants to see the product, Yes, I could do a Zoom. I can do a Microsoft team, whatever it may be, but I will, on my dime, fly you into one of my experience centers on my dime and I am a hundred percent confident that the tech stack between the content, the software, and the lead will be noticeably different when you come to the experience centers, noticeably, it'll be a finished product, a true turnkey, a real solution.  Now, the devil's advocate side of that, if I'm a buyer, this is a highly controlled environment where you're able to think about everything ahead of my visit and optimize the whole nine yards versus operating in the real world where power can be shaky. There's public, there's ambient lighting, and everything else that can play into it. How do you counterbalance people like me who walk in and say, yeah, but…  Chanan Averbuch: Great example, I just spent $20,000 to do a massive outdoor demo for one of our clients, and we did the demo at one o'clock in the afternoon at the harshest moment, exactly where the sun was hitting strongest. And you explained that?  Chanan Averbuch: Oh yeah, and he intentionally chose the spot, that was the harshest spot, where it's direct sunlight. I'm like, gentlemen, how do you think this looks? And they told me how it looked and they were pleased, obviously, I said, this is the worst it's ever going to look. He goes, what? He didn't understand what I meant. I'm like, you chose the most sun exposure, like the worst. If you think this looks good, it only gets better from here, and I explained to them why, and they're like, got it. But I spent $20,000 on that demo to do it the right way. So I agree with your thesis and what you're saying about that in a controlled environment, but with that said, in our experience centers in our showrooms, we have a complete AV system, multiple sources, multiple HDR sources, and multiple cable TV boxes. I could show four cable TV boxes. So if a Sports Park comes in here, like Dave and Busters, I could demonstrate that. If it's a home theater, I could show it with surround sound, Dolby quality, as well as HDR with the collide escape. I could show. Exactly in an indoor environment. Yes, but outdoors? Absolutely. There are environments where you have to put it outdoors and do the real stress test. No question.  So if you're going to market as an LED manufacturer and your marketing focus is on: here are all of our technical specs for all of our different pixel pitches and this and that, and basically blind the person at the other end, the buyer with all of this flurry of buzzwords and jargon, does that work anymore? It strikes me that the LED market is now somewhat commoditized.  Chanan Averbuch: So frankly, you're a hundred percent correct. I'm not focused on the tech specs of the LED whatever.  Does the customer care about it?  Chanan Averbuch: I think there are some exceptions in the market. There's an artist that I'm working with who really understands the technical spectrum. They understand color parameters. They understand DCI like some of them understand this stuff, but that's like the 1%. But the 1%loves us because we're able to produce, and deliver those exact results.  But to your point, the conversations we're having are very different in the sense that for example, we just closed a deal with a major sports team. They originally wanted a 3:3 LCD. I said to them, I'll work with you on pricing to get you to the LED world. Because I know for a fact, the LCD is the wrong approach for your application. You're going to be doing spreadsheets, and you have a bezel in between, and now bear in mind, that Blue Square, the parent company, has a ton of LCD business that we do with Samsung, right? On Blue Square X, we want to make sure that if the requirement is there to do an LED, then it should be there, and the reason why we're able to successfully take a 3:3 or 4:4 and turn it into a lead project is that we're asking the right questions. We're educating, not just the marketing person, not just the facilities director, not just the branding team, but everyone along the way is saying: Where's your seat? Where's the closest viewer? What's your content strategy? We're not asking about the LED. We're talking about what the actual application is. Because you're right, in a commoditized environment, what's the difference between the first 30 Google searches they come up with an LED? It's hard to differentiate. But those other 30 companies are not asking those questions. They don't want to. They just want to move boxes.  Yeah, they just want to know how much wall space there is. Chanan Averbuch: That's it. But they're not asking about content playback. They're not asking if have you partnered with Novari, or do you have experience with with Samsung's MagicInfo. They're not asking the right questions because that requires education and training, that requires industry experience.  Now with Blue Square X, do you have preferred manufacturing partners or are you getting your own led custom manufactured by white label or how does that end of it work?  Chanan Averbuch: Great question. So we are day one, day two, and day a hundred, and from here on out, focus on the premium side. So nothing that's off the shelf in the market is of interest to us. Nothing that exists today on the LED production line is of interest whatsoever.  We are designing specs for the higher end of the spectrum. That's where we want to be. So our LED partners are not people I've worked with in my previous role or others, it's, I would say, the higher-end side of specs and therefore we are designing to our needs from day one. So it's definitely custom spec to something that's not available to the mass market.  So does that mean you're doing the technical design over in the United States and then getting it a contract manufactured by a high-end production line, probably in China or Taiwan? Chanan Averbuch: And Mexico as well. Yeah.  Oh really, in Mexico?  Chanan Averbuch: For TAE purposes. It is a market for governments as well.  Interesting, and on the Mexico side, is it final assembly or are they manufacturing the LED?  Chanan Averbuch: So there is some manufacturing done here, and assembly. So there are certain components, obviously, that don't make financial sense to do complete production here. It really depends on what the next president of the United States looks like because I think that'll determine some of the taxation side of things and how tariffs come into play. So we're just ultimately preparing for the doomsday scenario and the ideal scenario simultaneously. How do you deal with the cost end of it? It sounds like you're going after premium clients, is cost not as big an issue if you can, as you said much earlier on, really go after the ROI model and what the real benefits are?  Chanan Averbuch: While I definitely believe in my heart of hearts, price is only an issue in the absence of value, at the end of the day, the clients that we're talking to understand that there's a way to hit something that should be a $100 and pay $60, and there's a way that if you get the $60 solution, it's not going to look or perform like a $100 product either. We communicate the values of both extremes. Like we'll go and say to the customer, if you want to get this $100 solution, I don't feel comfortable giving you the $60 solution. But if you only have the $60 solutions, this is what it looks like, and what we'll try to do is we'll offer the financing option as an OPEX model so that they don't have to get to that, I don't want to say it, but the crappier option, the lesser quality. We'll gladly take the OPEX model and work with them so that way it fits within their budget because I wouldn't want a lesser experience for myself. Why would I want that for my clients?  Is that an increasing demand these days? Can you help with the financing on this?  Chanan Averbuch: So, I think it's coming up more. Is it actually translating to the numbers or percentages that I thought? No, they're not, but it's evolving and growing in the markets. I'll give you an example. If someone is in the car wash industry, okay, and they're used to doing static signage, and now they're trying digital to jump from zero digital CapEx expense to spending half a million dollars. It's hard to get approvals for, but now if you break that down to $5,000 a month or $8,000 a month over three years, whatever it may be, all of a sudden it looks a lot more palatable.  So I think it depends where the organization, where the institution, and where the non-profit is in their experience with digital and how their internal approval process works. Now there's a harsh environment, car washes.  Chanan Averbuch: Oh, it's so much fun. So much fun. We went to the car wash show in Nashville and I'll tell you the most amazing thing that I discovered. There's people like you alluded to that get it and they realize it, and there's people that don't. The ones that get it realize I can't buy crap, right? I can't buy inferior quality. The ones that don't get it, get burnt usually. So I wish them only the best.  Tell me about the company. Where is it based?  Chanan Averbuch: Blue Square X is based in South Florida. Home of no state income tax here in Miami, and the market is actually a bit on fire here on a regional level where others say the real estate markets are slowing down, Central Florida, Northern Florida, and South Florida has not slowed down just even a bit. Velocity here is amazing. This is our home base for us but we're about to finalize a few other locations here in the US as we speak.  What's the size of the company, both, Parent and, just the X side? Chanan Averbuch: Under 20 employees currently at this moment, but we're hiring and growing rapidly.  For Blue Square X?  Chanan Averbuch: Yep. And for Blue Square itself?  Chanan Averbuch: So it's hard to say right now because some of the resources are shared at the moment. But that's obviously been a change from the install professional services and the creative side, again, we're very focused on the creative side more so than anything else.  But one of the partners also is very strong in the rental and staging business and has a whole plethora of warehousing and service support models throughout the US so we have that extra tier of support from one of the partners. All right, and where can they find the company online?  Chanan Averbuch: Great question. If someone wants to reach out to me directly, you could definitely reach out to me on LinkedIn. As for the latest to the company, it's bluesqx.com and you'll be seeing some of the press releases coming up about it I really look forward to engaging with customers. I know people get scared a little bit when we talk about premium, they assume it's price. It's all about the experience, and if you work your way backward through the experience, then everything else that seemingly doesn't matter matters now.  And the clientele you're going after would tend to understand that more than maybe a certain car wash operator. Chanan Averbuch: Oh yeah. But as you alluded to, the ROI is there if you're trying to evoke an emotion or an experience, that's what we care about. We want people to walk away from a retail experience, from a school, from a broadcast studio, from a control room, from a real estate and say, holy cow, how did you see that? It has to be Instagrammable. It has to be something that creates that wow moment. We want to create those wow moments.  All right. Thank you for having the time or taking the time to chat with me.  Chanan Averbuch: Absolutely. God bless, and thanks again for your time as well.

In this podcast episode, Bruce Irving interviews Troy from Blue Square Pizza, a pizza dough expert. They discuss Troy's journey in the pizza industry, his passion for dough, and the evolution of his pizza-making process. Troy shares how he creates three different styles of pizza using one dough recipe and the importance of studying bread making in pizza making.  Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Troy's Pizza Journey 07:31 Creating Three Styles of Pizza with One Dough Recipe 11:40 The Influence of Bread Making in Pizza Making 24:00 Experimenting with Flour Blends for Pizza Dough 25:22 Matching Flour and Oven to Pizza Styles 26:14 The Flavorful Transition: From Commercial Yeast to Sourdough 34:38 Streamlining Operations with Technology: AI Ordering Systems and Inventory Management MY OTHER SOCIALS:

Guest Matthew E. Berger is executive director of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. He oversees the foundation's programs to raise awareness about hatred against Jews and to monitor and analyze antisemitism on social media. As executive director, Berger is leading FCAS' launch of “Stand Up to Jewish Hate,” a multi-platform advertising campaign to educate non-Jews about modern antisemitism and empower them to address hate in their communities. The campaign has introduced the Blue Square emoji as the national symbol for addressing antisemitism, encouraging people everywhere to speak out against intolerance. Summary In this episode, Matthew discusses the work performed by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), which Robert Kraft launched in 2019. FCAS aims to raise awareness about antisemitism and build alliances to fight Jewish hate. We explored various strategies, including advertising, education, and symbolizing support through the Blue Square campaign. Points of discussion • The importance of recognizing and building partnerships to address all forms of hate. • The importance of uniting Jewish groups and building partnerships with other communities to address anti-Semitism and hate. • How to sustain interest and concern beyond Pride Month and how to increase the impact of the foundation's message. • Ways to combat anti-Semitism, including demystifying the Jewish community, education, and addressing anti-Semitism with the same vigor as other forms of hate and injustice. • The issue of increasing levels of hatred and anti-Semitism in society and the need to build a society that values quality and tolerance. • The role of social media in amplifying extremist views and the importance of addressing anti-Semitism as part of a broader societal problem. Social Media / References Facebook, Instagram and TikTok Twitter Website

As a financial professional, are you working in your business, or are you working on your business?  Today we are joined again by renowned professional coach and author, Duncan McPherson.  Chapter Past Presidents Brad Wright & Chris Boyd discuss with Duncan some of the powerful insights from the book, The Blue Square Method, which he co-authored with Chris Jeppesen.  The Blue Square Method is about building a business and a life … finding that balance and developing a business that serves clients effectively, efficiently, and compellingly so that they become raving fans with branded processes, all while building a business that serves your life well.  Additionally, Duncan shares about the virtues of professional coaching services for financial advisors and his team at Pareto Systems.  Okay, let's get started and learn more about the Blue Square Method!   https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanmacpherson/ https://www.thebluesquaremethod.com/ https://www.paretosystems.com/  

Anita is a confounder of Blue Square Collective. She is a very highly regarded expert in social selling. At Blue Square, she helps companies master digital and social selling. Before founding, Blue Square was a Customer Sucess leader with LinkedIn in Europe. In this episode, Anita covers the following: - What is social selling - How companies can excel at and scale social selling - How to structure a social and digital selling program - What are the steps to social selling excellence - What makes someone a superstar social seller - What are the biggest mistakes made in social selling You can reach Anita here https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-windisman/

Join us for our first real meetup in NYC, May 8th! Details in the episode.For more info: Sign up for our Substack newsletter askajew.substack.com, and email us at askajewpod@gmail.com*The rebranding of Antisemitism https://nypost.com/2023/04/28/nyc-council-progressives-vote-no-from-end-jew-hatred-day/*Guess who leads the hate crimes chart?? That's right baby.*Whine smarter, not harder*We discuss which of our friends and non-Jewish guests would hide us in the event of a holocaust, and the answers may surprise you! We even ran a poll on our instagram @askajewpod*Armenians are so dope*We would kill for a Kardashian!*Israeli Memorial Day vs. Tisha B'Av*Fruit roll-ups are worth their weight in gold in Israel* G-d wants you to pull your head out of your A_s

Greg and Justin sit down with JMax General Manager Mike Rynne.The three look back on their recent experience at the Western Pool and Spa Show in Long Beach and compare the event with the Vegas trade show, discuss the changes they want to see when it comes to pool cleaning tech, and talk about the most exciting new products revealed at the recent show.They vent their frustrations around A&A's logistical issues and general lack of attention around customer experience and feedback, and offer their thoughts on how the company can improve. They also touch on Weld-On and Christy's 2019 acquisition by IPS (pitting the two adhesive companies against each other in the process), as well as Orenda's recent acquisition by HASA.Switching gears, they go back to the topic of the Long Beach show, with Greg giving his thoughts on the folks he met at the event, including PoolPro's Megan Kendrick and Joe Mischik of Painless Pool Care. He also shares what he learned about Pentair's exciting pool builder software.Finally, Greg, Justin, and Mike reflect on the Western Pool and Spa Show in Los Angeles, capping off the conversation with their quick takes on Gen Z and the AI revolution.Topics Discussed:[00:45] Wrenhouse beer choice of the week[02:59] Brandon w/ Pool_Volution call[03:55] Justin's Sedona car rally fun[07:55] Chasing CM600 robotic cleaner[09:29] Testing Solar Breeze in Justin's pool[10:28] Vac cleaners in luxury pools[11:04] Large pool w/ two cleaners doesn't work[11:56] AJ Grucky gives tour of products[12:49] Blue Square[13:26] Disappointed in A&A[15:48] The difficulty of completing pools w/ no parts[22:53] Pentair warranty claims[23:31] Weldon & Christy's glue[26:02] Alien Tape[26:50] Megan & Pool Pro Magazine[27:35] Pentair Pool Builder software[30:22] Lil Algy?[31:11] All these cameras and no video [31:47] Joe Mischik of Painless Pool Care[34:11] Hasa buys Orenda[39:27] Long Beach Swim School EQ Room[40:18] JMax Update[41:09] Work leads from lunch [45:43] AI tech is scaryConnect with Pool Chasers:Website - https://poolchasers20.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/poolchasers/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/poolchasers/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXIcnqHms_PEu8AAPafxdVATwitter - https://twitter.com/poolchasersPinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/poolchaserspodcast/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@poolchasersPatreon - https://www.patreon.com/poolchasers

New shoes & new music from Childish Gambino, anklet poetry, LED installation, and The Nuisance is back. #57 tommywaite.com/podcast/itwt7 

Andrew Leaver who is CEO of Brand Partnership Group, a business dedicated to accelerating growth for Brand Partners in an ever-connected world.  It is made up of three businesses: the brand engagement agency, Blue Square,   Creative Monster which connects and engages audiences through digital, social and event experiences whether that's virtual, physical or hybrid – and The Pulse Agency that enables marketers and businesses to truly understand their consumers.  Andrew has been doing all of this for over 20 years, for some of the most iconic companies in the world including Unilever, The Coca-Cola Company and Samsung. When doing my research on Andrew and the businesses within the Brand Partnership Group, I kept reading about values, culture and creating an organisation that nobody wants to leave. As such, this conversation focuses in on the real value of company values. We spoke at length about how to move values from a set of meaningless words on the wall or corporate website, to something that makes a real difference to the organisations performance and the people who work there. But before we get into this episode, please visit http://www.ben-morton.com (www.ben-morton.com) to subscribe to my newsletter to get a two-weekly round-up of the latest episodes, plus loads of additional leadership development resources. Get In Touch Whether it's a leadership question for Ben, some feedback on the show, or a guest suggestion, we'd love to hear from you. Whatever the reason for getting in touch, you can easily do it by clicking the link below that Ben will personally review. https://www.ben-morton.com/feedback/ (https://www.ben-morton.com/feedback/)   You can also use this link if you'd like to come on the show for 5 minutes to talk about your favorite episode; we love having listeners on the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: 10-4-10 Mini Course: https://mailchi.mp/b3d5c50adb91/10_4_10 (https://mailchi.mp/b3d5c50adb91/10_4_10)    Ben's Website: https://bit.ly/BenMortonLeadership (https://bit.ly/BenMortonLeadership) Brand Partnership Group: https://brandpartnershipgroup.com (https://brandpartnershipgroup.com)   Jack Parsons & The Youth Group: https://www.theyouthgroup.com (https://www.theyouthgroup.com)   Duvet Flip Podcast with Jack Parsons: https://www.youtube.com/c/JackParsonsceo (https://www.youtube.com/c/JackParsonsceo)   Shoedog: https://amzn.to/3QJWIym (https://amzn.to/3QJWIym) 

#BettingPeople: Conor Grant is the outgoing chief executive of Flutter's UK and Ireland business – having led the Paddy Power, Sky Betting and Gaming, Betfair and Tombola brands in the UK and Ireland during his time at the company. One of the top leaders in the industry, Conor began his career working at Paddy Power's Dial-A-Bet division, before spells with Blue Square and BoyleSports, where he was head of online operations. He then moved to Sky Betting & Gaming 12 years ago, playing a crucial role in overseeing their sale to The Stars Group (TSG) and then leading the consolidation of Flutter's UK and Ireland division following a 2020 merger between the two. As he leaves for a career break, Conor sits down for a Betting People interview with William Kedjanyi to discuss his rise through the ranks and the future of the betting industry. Meeting Conor Grant with William Kedjanyi.

To commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May 2022, we discuss 2 works of fiction by celebrated Asian authors in another books episode of The Korea Herald podcast. Copy editors Beth Eunhee Hong and Naomi Ng discuss books that shaped their worldview and sense of identity as third culture kids with roots in Seoul and Hong Kong. Beth's pick is “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning,” a 2020 autobiographical book of 7 essays by Korean American author Cathy Park Hong. The essays center on what it's like to grow up Asian American in a Western capitalist society. Naomi's pick is “Everything I Never Told You,” the 2014 debut novel by Chinese American author Celeste Ng. The novel is about a mixed-race Chinese-American family whose middle daughter Lydia is found drowned in a nearby lake. Her death unravels the family's web of secrets and pasts. The YouTube version of this podcast also features a bonus new segment in which we ask readers in Korea: “What book would you recommend?” We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, or suggestions for other Korean books you'd like us to review or discuss. Tweet us (Beth @_paperfetishist / Naomi @ngnaomi) or leave a message on The Korea Herald's Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram page. You can also email us at bethhong@heraldcorp.com or ngnaomi@heraldcorp.com. More book picks for AAPI month: 1. “Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid” by Evelyn Lau https://bit.ly/3Nmtjcj 2. “On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong https://bit.ly/3wDjLTA 3. “Love in a Fallen City” by Eileen Chang https://bit.ly/3yF5hF4 4. “The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir” by Karen Cheung https://bit.ly/3wjbZyY Special thanks to Book Park Lounge, Blue Square https://bit.ly/3FPb2lk Linktree: https://linktr.ee/khbookspodcast Intro: ♪ Onion (Prod. by Lukrembo) Outro: ♪ Wine (Prod. by Lukrembo)

2022년 5월 아시아·태평양 섬나라 유산의 달 (AAPI Heritage Month)을 기념하기 위해, “북톡” 편을 기획했습니다. 카피 에디터 Beth Eunhee Hong와 Naomi Ng가 서울과 홍콩에 뿌리를 둔 제3의 문화아이로서 자신들의 세계관과 정체감을 형성한 책에 대해 토론합니다. Beth의 pick: 한국계 미국 작가 Cathy Park Hong의 “마이너 필링스: 이 감정들은 사소하지 않다.” 2020년에 자전적 에세이 7권입니다. 서구 자본주의 사회에서 아시아계 미국인으로 성장하는 것이 어떤지에 대한 에세이집 입니다.Naomi의 pick: 중국계 미국인 작가 Celeste Ng의 2014년 데뷔 소설인 "내가 너에게 절대로 말하지 않는 것들"이다. 이 소설은 한 혼혈 중국계 미국인 가족에 대한 이야기로, 그의 둘째 딸 Lydia가 근처 호수에서 익사한 채 발견되었다. 그녀의 죽음은 그 가족의 비밀과 과거의 거미줄을 풀어놓습니다.이번 팟캐스트의 YouTube 버전은 한국에 거주하는 독자들에게 "어떤 책을 추천하겠습니까?"라고 묻는 새 코너가 포함되어 있습니다.이 에피소드에 대한 여러분의 의견이나, 토론을 원하는 다른 한국 책이 있으면 알려주세요. 트위터 주소 ( @_paperfetishist 혹은 @ngnaomi ) 으로 트위터를 남겨 주시거나 코리아 헤럴드의 페이스북, 유튜브, 인스타그램 페이지에 댓글을 남겨주세요. bethhong@heraldcorp.com 또는 ngnaomi@heraldcorp.com으로 이메일을 보내셔도 됩니다. AAPI Heritage Month기념 으로 추가 추천하는 도서:1. Evelyn Lau의 "가출: 어느 거리 소녀의 일기" https://bit.ly/3Nmtjcj2. Ocean Vuong의 "지상에서 우리는 잠시 매혹적이다" https://bit.ly/3wDjLTA 3. Eileen Chang의 "경성지련" https://bit.ly/3yF5hF4 4. Karen Cheung의 "The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir" https://bit.ly/3wjbZyy 블루스퀘어 북파크 라운지에 특별한 감사를 드립니다. https://bit.ly/3FPb2lk [Books Episode] To all the Asian books we've lovedTo commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May 2022, we discuss 2 works of fiction by celebrated Asian authors in another books episode of The Korea Herald podcast.Copy editors Beth Eunhee Hong and Naomi Ng discuss books that shaped their worldview and sense of identity as third culture kids with roots in Seoul and Hong Kong. Beth's pick is “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning,” a 2020 autobiographical book of 7 essays by Korean American author Cathy Park Hong. The essays center on what it's like to grow up Asian American in a Western capitalist society. Naomi's pick is “Everything I Never Told You,” the 2014 debut novel by Chinese American author Celeste Ng. The novel is about a mixed-race Chinese-American family whose middle daughter Lydia is found drowned in a nearby lake. Her death unravels the family's web of secrets and pasts.The YouTube version of this podcast also features a bonus new segment in which we ask readers in Korea: “What book would you recommend?”We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, or suggestions for other Korean books you'd like us to review or discuss. Tweet us (Beth @_paperfetishist / Naomi @ngnaomi) or leave a message on The Korea Herald's Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram page. You can also email us at bethhong@heraldcorp.com or ngnaomi@heraldcorp.com. More book picks for AAPI month:1. “Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid” by Evelyn Lau https://bit.ly/3Nmtjcj 2. “On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong https://bit.ly/3wDjLTA 3. “Love in a Fallen City” by Eileen Chang https://bit.ly/3yF5hF4 4. “The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir” by Karen Cheung https://bit.ly/3wjbZyY Special thanks to Book Park Lounge, Blue Square https://bit.ly/3FPb2lkLinktree: https://linktr.ee/khbookspodcast Intro: ♪ Onion (Prod. by Lukrembo)Outro: ♪ Wine (Prod. by Lukrembo)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An episode with TWO fight card recaps AND the 2021 Battlebots Bracket Reveal? There's only 2 special guests out there that can handle that much robot combat talk!David Eaton of Rusty and the long awaited debut of Martin Mason from Mad Catter!

Today we celebrate a special occasion on RSBS.Not one but TWO first time guests to the squares, as I welcome Brandon Zalinsky of P1 and Will Bales of Hypershock!Enjoy!

Cats, Bots, and a lot of laughs!Logan Davis of Sub Zero and Jonathan Schultz of HUGE, return to the squares to talk flips, controversy, and how to get into the tournament of 32.All that and more on #RedSquareBlueSquare!

It's "Ladies Night" on an all new RSBS!Featuring Jen Herchenroeder of HiJinx and "Bunny" Sauriol of Malice!Enjoy.

Back from my trip to Boise, we've got plenty to catch up on and talk about!What better way to do that than to welcome one of the nicest guys in combat robotics, Zach Lytle of Skorpios, and everyones favorite Villain, Jake Ewert of Hydra!This episode is a 2-for-1 as we recap episodes 4 AND 5 of BattleBots Season 6!

Craig Danby of Slammo and "The Bot Whisperer" Peter Abrahamson!Thats it.Thats the show.Enjoy!

Episode 2 of Season 2 welcomes back another pair of fan favorites, as Matt Spurk (Kraken) and Ricky Willems (Mammoth) return for some bot talk!The 2nd fight card of season 6 didn't pull any punches, featuring 5 K.O.'s, 2 unanimous decisions, and one stoppage.We unpack an episode that was all about unique bots and why we love them so much. Plus, who surprised us the most, sibling rivalry, out of context post fight comments, and more!

It's back for another round!THE go-to for Battlebots recap and reaction returns for another season.This, is Red Square/Blue Square!Season 2 kicks off with 2 of the biggest names in combat robotics as I welcome Jamison Go of SawBlaze and Ray Billings of Tombstone!We dive into the new season of #Battlebots breaking down the hits, misses, and upsets!Who impressed us most on the first fight card and who has some explaining to do already?That and more on #RSBS

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Brands Hatch Race 3 - 24th October 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Brands Hatch Free Practice 23rd October 2021

Marketing is what you say, branding is what they hear. Join Duncan in this episode of the Blue Square Series as he discusses how your value is more often bought than sold and how branding ultimately impacts someone's ability to come to their own conclusions about the alignment between what you provide and what it is they want. We work our Blue Square clients to help them turn the current market volatility into refer-ability. See if you are a fit for Blue Square: https://www.paretosystems.com/blue-square.html

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - 2021 BTCC Title Contender

Are you ready for a Renaissance? In this session Duncan MacPherson discusses the major opportunity we have right now for up-market growth for those professionals not misled with complacency or struggling under capacity limits.

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Donington Park Race 3 - 10th October 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Donington Park Preview 8th October 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Silverstone Race 3 26th September 2021

Ollie Jackson - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Silverstone Preview 24th September 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Silverstone Preview 24th September 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Croft Race 2 - 19th September 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Croft Race 1 - 19th September 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Croft Qualifying 18th September 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Thruxton Race 1 - 29th August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Thruxton Race 2 - 29th August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Thruxton Race 3 - 29th August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Thruxton Qualifying 28th August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Thruxton Free Practice 28th August 2021

Guest ProfileName:Uti Gabriella ElluWhat They do:  The Head of Experience Design & Execution at Sterling Bank. Sterling Bank Plc “Your one-customer bank” is a full-service national commercial bank in Nigeria that has evolved from the nation's pre-eminent investment banking institution to a fully-fledged commercial bank. Sterling Bank prides itself in its purpose to ‘Enrich Lives', and reflects its overall business aspirations in its vision to ‘be the financial institution of choice'.Company:Sterling Bank PlcNoteworthy: As a seasoned executive, Kuda has served in progressive corporate leadership roles to improve quality customer engagements across various interaction channels and locations in public and private sectors across two continents.BioAlways passionate about her home country Nigeria, Uti returned after 16 years in the UK. Since her return, Uti continued to work as a customer experience professional in the financial services sector. She also continued to follow her passion for the media as a co-anchor on a primetime TV talk show #WAYS where she lends her voice and talent to the topical issues affecting Nigeria. Uti strives to show the world the beauty of Nigeria and her people especially in the city of Lagos.With experience in various disciplines including customer experience, customer service, customer loyalty, digital marketing, strategy, content development, and training, both in the public and private sector across 2 continents, Uti Ellu has been exposed to varied business styles, strategies, and approaches.As the Head of Customer Engagement at Allianz, Uti is responsible for quality customer engagements across various interaction channels and locations. I lead a customer-centric team that delivers efficient and effective solutions to customer issues ensuring that we meet and exceed customer expectations.Uti also worked with these brands - Marks & Spencers, Evans, Blue Square (now BetFair), Virgin Media and Edexcel. Connect with Uti Ellu! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsyvanti/?hl=enTwitter:https://twitter.com/iamsyvanti?lang=enLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/uti-gabriella-ellu-15872082/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uti.ellu

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Knockhill Race 2 - 15th August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Knockhill Race 1 - 15th August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Knockhill Qualifying 14th August 2021

Elevate the client experience by transitioning to a process driven environment and shift from organic to scalable growth. In this episode, Duncan provides valuable insight into overcoming the 'red-zone' of scalable growth to building a truly franchise ready business.

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Race 2 Oulton Park - 1st August 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Oulton Park Free Practice - 31st July 2021

Ollie Jackson - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Free Practice 31st July 2021

In this episode, Duncan discusses the importance and usefulness that video can have in your business. Video acts as an initial connection point to get to know you better and helps to address and answer the sort of unspoken questions that viewers may have. Looking to incorporate high quality video into your practice? Check out our friends at Idea Decanter who can help you prepare, shoot and edit video to professionally convey your messaging: www.ideadecanter.com

Focus on 'what could be' rather than dwell on 'what could have been.' In this episode, Duncan discusses how, during times of turbulence and volatility, the art and science of being a Financial Advisor is revealed as this isn't just about wealth management, it's more about relationship management.

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Brands Hatch Race 1 - 27th June 2021

Jake Hill - MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square - Brands Hatch Free Qualifying 26th June 2021