Podcasts about builders

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Latest podcast episodes about builders

Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio
Blue Tangerine: How AI is Changing Online Visibility for Builders

Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2026 38:35


Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how buyers find information online and how builders position their websites to stay visible. Greg Bray, president of Blue Tangerine, joins Host Carol Morgan on the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast to discuss how AI is reshaping search engine optimization (SEO), website content and digital marketing strategies for home builders. As AI-powered search tools become more widely used, the way people discover information online is evolving rapidly. Builders now need website content that balances compelling storytelling with clear, structured information. How AI Is Changing the Rules of Search Traditional SEO strategies focused on optimizing entire webpages around specific keywords. AI-driven search tools now analyze content at a deeper level. “We're learning that the way AI tools are using the content on your website has moved down a layer,” Bray said. “The paragraph level or the section level on the page is where they're looking for the data and the answers.” This shift is affecting how brands measure online visibility, and many companies have seen website traffic decline as AI tools become more prevalent. Why SEO Still Matters Although some marketers worry AI could replace traditional search engines, SEO remains essential for digital visibility. AI tools still rely on search engines, but approach queries differently. Instead of a single search, they generate a “query fan out”—multiple related searches that provide broader context and more detailed answers. Websites must contain straightforward, accessible information that AI systems can interpret and connect to buyer questions. Structure and Clarity Matter for AI Visibility Website structure is increasingly important as search evolves. AI systems prioritize clarity and organization, making well-structured content easier to interpret. Short sections, targeted headings and concise explanations help both AI tools and human readers quickly find relevant information. “Clarity wins over clever,” Bray said. “Being very explicit about the idea and breaking those ideas up using section headers makes it easier for AI tools to interpret your content.” Utilizing FAQs to Help AI Understand Content Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are an effective way to structure website content for AI visibility. This format encourages clear questions and concise answers that address common buyer concerns. FAQ sections should focus on information rather than marketing language. Bray recommends making the first sentence of each answer a direct response to the question, followed by two to three sentences providing additional context. The Role of Public Relations for Home Builders Beyond website content, third-party signals—such as media coverage and industry mentions—are increasingly valuable for AI search systems. These external signals reinforce credibility and show that a company is active and trustworthy. “It's not just looking at the results from your website,” Bray said. “It's also looking at how you show up in other places, including social media, videos and PR coverage.” How Builders Can Start Adapting for AI Search Builders can start small when improving digital visibility. Pick a single page and imagine walking a buyer through it. Structure the content as clear questions and answers, so AI tools and visitors alike can quickly find the information they're looking for. Tune in to the full episode to discover how builders can adapt their websites for the future of online search and AI visibility. To learn more about Blue Tangerine, visit https://BlueTangerine.com/. About Blue Tangerine Blue Tangerine is a full-service digital marketing and web design agency that specializes in creating websites and marketing strategies for home builders to drive leads and sales. The company offers services including SEO and geofencing, paid search, social media, email marketing, analytics and interactive digital tools such as site plans and listing feeds. With more than two decades of experience, Blue Tangerine helps builders optimize their online presence to sell more homes and engage buyers effectively. The company also produces educational content, including podcasts and blogs, and hosts the Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit to support professional growth in builder marketing. Podcast Thanks Thank you to Denim Marketing for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Known as a trendsetter, Denim Marketing has been blogging since 2006 and podcasting since 2011. Contact them when you need quality, original content for social media, public relations, blogging, email marketing and promotions. A comfortable fit for companies of all shapes and sizes, Denim Marketing understands marketing strategies are not one-size-fits-all. The agency works with your company to create a perfectly tailored marketing strategy that will suit your needs and niche. Try Denim Marketing on for size by calling 770-383-3360 or by visiting www.DenimMarketing.com. About Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTunes, and if you like this week's show, be sure to rate it. Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio was recently honored on FeedSpot's Top 100 Atlanta Podcasts, ranking 16th overall and number one out of all ranked real estate podcasts. The post Blue Tangerine: How AI is Changing Online Visibility for Builders appeared first on Atlanta Real Estate Forum.

Green Industry Podcast
The Millionaire Next Door: Secrets of America's Hidden Wealth Builders

Green Industry Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2026 32:30


Discover why most millionaires live in ordinary neighborhoods, drive used cars, and never look rich.

Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast
253 – Matthew Stevens

Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2026


253 – Matthew Stevens In episode 253 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist and educator Matthew Stevens. In their conversation Matthew takes us through living in Boston and teaching at Berklee College of Music and he talks about the struggles of playing instrumental jazz music. Matthew discusses his new album “Matthew Stevens” and the personnel and production of the album. Matthew talks about growing up in Toronto and his start on guitar and eventually his introduction to Jazz which led him to Berklee as a student after playing in rock bands in school. Matthew describes working as a guitarist on a cruise ship at the age of 18 to pay for his Berklee education and he tells us about his early jazz influences. Matthew describes going on tour right out school and eventually working with Esperanza Spalding. Matthew talks gear from the beginning until now and his preference of telecasters and VOX amps. Matthew talks tour plans and the expense of touring and touring as a sideman. To find out more about Matthew you can go to his website: mattstevensmusic.com Please subscribe, like, comment, share and review this podcast! #VintageGuitarMagazine #MatthewStevens #Telecasters #Berklee #EsperanzaSpalding #JazzGuitar #VoxAmps #BerkleeCollegeofMusic #JamesPatrickRegan #theDeadlies #haveguitarwilltravelpodcast #HGWT #tourlife https://www.patreon.com/cw/HaveGuitarWillTravelPodcast Please like, comment, and share this podcast! Download Link

Puritan Evangelical Church of America
Behold How You Are All Builders of Christ's Kingdom

Puritan Evangelical Church of America

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2026 53:07


Christ grows and builds His Church through many stages of service by His various saints. Behold How You Are All Builders of Christ's Kingdom.

Beyond Church Podcast
Barn Builders or Seed Sowers - Pastor Luke Main

Beyond Church Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2026


Find more from Beyond Church at www.beyondchurch.org.au

The Power Trip's Initials Game
The 618th Initials Game (F.L.) feat. Belinda Jensen

The Power Trip's Initials Game

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2026 31:13 Transcription Available


Every Friday around 8:15​-8:20 a.m. on KFAN 100.3 the Power Trip Morning show plays the Initials Game presented by Builders & Remodelers!The game involves 12 items people, place, things, phrases or anything as long as they share the same initials. All 12 items share the same initials. The contestants do not know the initials until they are revealed shortly before the game starts. Each item has 6 clues. As soon as the contestants know who or what the host is describing, they yell out their name. Their name is their buzzer. If the contestant gets it right, they get a point. If they get it wrong they are out for just that item. The item does have to be pronounced correctly. It is best out of 12 with tiebreakers if needed. Tiebreaker items have 3 clues.#InitialsGame #ThePowerTrip #KFAN1003FOLLOW The Power Trip on Social Media:► Like the show on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow the show on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow the show on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow Cory Cove on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CoryCove​​► Follow Chris Hawkey on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Chris_Hawkey​​► Follow Meatsauce on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Meatsauce1​► Follow Mark Parrish on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarkDParrish► Follow Marney Gellner on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarneyGellner► Follow Zach Halverson on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ZachHalverson See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast
Productivity Is Ownership: Why Builders Live Differently Than Employees: Productivity with AI Reset Series Part 5 of 5 (RE189)

The Ready Entrepreneur Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2026 17:04


This is episode 5 of 5 in the Productivity with AI Reset Series. In this series, we are resetting our productivity for an AI World, realigning how to do business as an online entrepreneur so we can take advantage of the greatest technology transformation we have ever seen.This is the missing conversation in the productivity discussion, and especially productivity using AI. Why does productivity actually matter? What does productivity do for us?  For aspiring online entrepreneurs, it's about who owns the results of your effort. And once you see productivity through that lens, everything changes. In this episode, Case closes the Productivity with A.I. Reset series by connecting all the previous discussions to one idea: Ownership.The difference between people who feel trapped and people who feel free is not effort.  It's ownership.Your Action Plan:Shift from Productivity to OwnershipAsk yourself:What am I building within my online business that exists without me?What did I create this month that will still matter next month?Where does my effort compound instead of reset?What am I doing purely because it's expected? Am I truly following my Action Plan for the online business I envisionWhat am I doing because it builds ownership?To have an enjoyable life  in our global, advanced tech society, create value.  To have the business, career, finances and lifestyle you desire, follow a proven path that has delivered in good times and bad.  The path of entrepreneurship. And online entrepreneurship is the fast track for aspiring entrepreneurs.Learn the skills, access the resources and be inspired to live the life of your dreams right here on the Ready Entrepreneur podcastTo find more resources, strategies and ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs visit the Ready Entrepreneur website: https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/To download a free guide for Preparing to Become an Online Entrepreneur, click here:  https://www.readyentrepreneur.com/start/You can get an exclusive discount on the ebook and audiobook version of Recast: The Aspiring Entrepreneur's Practical Guide to Getting Started with an Online Business click here: https://www.caselane.net/recastConnect with CaseFacebook: @readyentrepreneurHQ Instagram: @readyentrepreneur Twitter X: @caselaneworld Pinterest @caselane 

Inspired Nonprofit Leadership
Inclusive Strategic Planning with Renee Rubin Ross [Episode 400]

Inspired Nonprofit Leadership

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 37:51


Reflections from host Sarah Olivieri ... Who Builds the Plan Matters When strategic plans fail to achieve lift-off, it's usually because the process that was used to create them was flawed. I recently had a conversation about this with board and strategy expert Dr. Renee Rubin Ross, author of Inclusive Strategic Planning for Nonprofits, and it pushed me to think more deeply about something I see over and over again. Inclusion isn't a value statement. It's a design decision. And it's not optional if you want a great strategy that actually gets executed. The Real Problem Isn't the Plan Let's ask the real question. When a strategic plan stalls out, what's actually broken? Not because people are bad. Not because staff lack commitment. Not because boards don't care. It's usually because the people who are expected to carry out the work weren't meaningfully included in building the vision. Renee said something in our conversation that I think is the heart of it: "Who is involved in building the vision and building the goals really matters." Without the right people in the room, motivation drops. When motivation drops, capacity drops. When capacity drops, implementation stalls. It's not a personality problem. It's a systems problem. And, systems create behavior. Deciders, Builders, and Sharers One of the most useful frameworks Renee shared is her concentric circle model: Deciders – the group ultimately responsible for final decisions Builders – the group that helps create the vision and goals Sharers – stakeholders who provide input and perspective This framing adds clarity. Inclusion does not mean 40 people wordsmithing a sentence. It means being intentional about who participates at each stage AND making that visible. More detail doesn't equal more clarity. Clarity comes from defining roles. And when people understand their role in the process, something powerful happens. They lean in. Process Builds Motivation One of my favorite moments in our conversation was when we talked about why inclusive planning increases energy. Renee said: "If you feel like, wow, someone consulted me on this, I got to weigh in, so I feel more motivated." That's the mechanism. Motivation is not a personality trait. It's a byproduct of meaningful participation. When someone is handed a finished plan, they feel managed. When someone helps build the plan, they feel responsible. That shift alone can change your return per dollar invested in strategic planning. Because here's the truth: You don't need to convince people. Let the process do the convincing! Tell the Story of How You Decided This is the biggest mistake I see. Leaders announce decisions. They rarely explain the process behind the decision. But boards, staff, and stakeholders are not evaluating the decision itself. They're evaluating whether the decision-making process was any good. When people understand: What information was gathered Who was consulted What trade-offs were considered How capacity was evaluated They relax. Even if they disagree with the final outcome. Confidence in process builds trust in results. Three-Year Vision: Bold, Not Delusional I loved Renee's approach to visioning. Not 10 years. Not 20 years. Three years. Enough time to be meaningful. Short enough to be real. Her guided question during retreats: It's three years from now and you're celebrating. What are you celebrating? That question does something subtle but powerful. It moves people from anxiety to ownership. Nonprofit leaders often operate at capacity. Sometimes beyond it. If you ask, "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" You'll get exhaustion. If you ask, "What are we celebrating three years from now?" You'll get direction. Skin in the Game I often think about the idea of skin in the game. The people who experience the consequences of decisions make better decisions. When staff who will execute the plan help build it, they bring constraints, creativity, and operational reality into the room. When new team members sit next to veterans in a facilitated discussion, something happens: Experience meets fresh eyes Caution meets creativity History meets possibility That's how alignment forms. And alignment unlocks capacity. Final Thought Inclusion is not consensus. Inclusion is clarity about participation. When people are clear on their role in shaping the future, motivation rises. When motivation rises, execution improves. When execution improves, opportunity expands. And that's why who builds the plan matters. About the Guest Dr. Renee Rubin Ross is a recognized leader on board and organizational development and strategy and the founder of The Ross Collective, a consulting firm that designs and leads inclusive, participatory processes for social sector boards and staff. Committed to racial equity in the nonprofit sector, Dr. Ross guides leaders and organizations in strategic plans and governance processes that deepen social change, racial justice, stakeholder engagement, and community strength. In addition to her consulting work, Dr. Ross is the Director of the Cal State University East Bay Nonprofit Management Certificate program and teaches Strategic Planning and Board Development for the program. Dr. Ross lives in Northern California. She is a past Board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management and a member of the Technology of Participation facilitator's network. Her Doctorate in Education and Jewish Studies from New York University explored parent participation in schools. Connect with Renee: Website- https://www.therosscollective.com/ Subscribe to our e-list- https://www.therosscollective.com/subscribe LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneerubinross/ Be sure to subscribe to Inspired Nonprofit Leadership so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! Let us know the topics or questions you would like to hear about in a future episode. You can do that and follow us on LinkedIn.

Tech Talk Y'all
AI Builders, Battery Breakthroughs, and the Death of SaaS

Tech Talk Y'all

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 36:43


Brought to you by TogetherLetters & Edgewise!In this episode: Several Meta employees have started calling themselves 'AI builders'Lovable-hosted app littered with basic flaws exposed 18K users, researcher claimsForget solid-state batteries – researchers have made a lithium-ion breakthrough that could boost range and drastically lower costsUber acquiring parking app SpotHero as it moves beyond ride-hailing and food deliveryHow a doomsday AI blog post wiped out billionsThis App Warns You if Someone Is Wearing Smart Glasses NearbyHands on: I'm super impressed with the Galaxy S26 Ultra's new Privacy DisplayTesla touts California robotaxis but does nothing to get permitsFedEx will refund customers for Trump's tariffs — if there ever are any refundsAndroid's Find Hub adds iPhone-like luggage tracking linksAnother Oracle outage is messing up US TikTokTech Rec:Sanjay - TogetherLettersAdam - Wisper FlowFind us here:sanjayparekh.com & adamjwalker.comTech Talk Y'all is a proud production of Edgewise.Media.

Entrebrewer
The Stress, Loneliness, and Sacrifices Nobody Warns You About as An Entrepreneur

Entrebrewer

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 23:37


In this solo episode of the Builders of Authority Podcast, I share some real thoughts on entrepreneurship, leadership, and the journey of building a business.If you're a contractor or home service business owner working to grow your company: whether you're in roofing, HVAC, plumbing, remodeling, or another trade,  this is a conversation that will likely resonate with you. Building a business, leading a team, and continuing to push for growth comes with challenges that most people never see from the outside.This episode is an honest reflection on what it really takes to keep moving forward, keep improving, and keep building something meaningful, even when the pressure is high.If you're serious about growing your contracting business and becoming an authority in your market, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.

The Euro Legions Podcast
153. Legion Builders the perfect recipe for your RPG Characters

The Euro Legions Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026 99:38


Legion builders are a huge part of the Mythic Legions line. They are also the perfect base figure for customising your own character. Here we run through the legion builders produced so far and find out how many Rich has of each in his collection. There's also all your latest RPG news of course. We are now on the slow and steady march to 1 million dollars. Support us! https://www.patreon.com/TheEuroLegionsPodcasthttps://linktr.ee/theeurolegionspodcastOur favourite retailer: https://figurenlager.de/collections/four-horsemen-studiosOur favourite custom parts: https://calvocustomcreations.com/mythic legions toy collecting fantasy cosmic legions

rich recipes rpg legion builders mythic legions rpg characters
Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast
252 - Nili Brosh (solo, Danny Elfman, Cirque du Soleil, Dethklok)

Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2026


252 - Nili Brosh (solo, Danny Elfman, Cirque du Soleil, Dethklok) In episode 252 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Nili Brosh. In their conversation Nili discusses going to school at Berklee School of Music in Boston and she describes the lack of gigs in Boston. Nili tells us about her new album “Eventide” and the personnel on the album. She also talks about her work and touring with Danny Elfman, Cirque du Soleil and Dethklok. Nili tells us about her relationship with Ibanez guitars and her signature model she also takes us through her amps and she tells us about the gear for the Cirque gig. Nili takes us through her musical history after Berklee playing with the Iron Maidens opposite Nita Strauss and she tells us about her early guitar heros. Nili talks a little about her guitarist brother Ethan and what he's up too. Nili tells us about tour plans for her in Europe and rhythm sections she uses in Europe and the east and west coast in the US. To find out more about Nili you can go to her website: nilibrosh.com and she's very active on the socials. Please subscribe, like, comment, share and review this podcast! #VintageGuitarMagazine #NiliBrosh #IbanezGuitars #Berklee #DethKlok #Eventide #DannyElfman #BerkleeCollegeofMusic #JamesPatrickRegan #theDeadlies #haveguitarwilltravelpodcast #HGWT #tourlife https://www.patreon.com/cw/HaveGuitarWillTravelPodcast Please like, comment, and share this podcast! Download Link

Improv Tabletop
The Tension Builders 16—For We Are Many

Improv Tabletop

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 47:20


The influence of the Sgwozniak is spreading, and the Bean has spoiled. Mayor Brickus declares himself king of the camp. Oleg prepares a royal entrance. Master Brickithon spouts Tolkien lore (again). Pilfer blows up obstacles. • • • Patreon: patreon.com/improvtabletop Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @ImprovTabletop Email: ImprovTabletop@gmail.com Donations: ko-fi.com/improvtabletop • • • Audio Credits The theme song for The Tension Builders is "Melodic Marauders Scared Stupid" by Ned Wilcock. The following songs also by Ned Wilcock. “I've Got Sixpence (Traditional)” “Fuguenchillen” The following songs are from tabletopaudio.com. All of the 10 minute ambiences on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). “Myconid Colony” The following songs are used courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library License. “Birdseye Blues” by Chris Haugen Spooky Ride by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/250/spooky-ride Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org The Curtain Rises by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5007-the-curtain-rises License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license • • • This actual play episode uses the Bump in the Dark RPG rules by Jex Thomas and Last Pine Press. This is a fanmade work of parody. Improv Tabletop is not affiliated with the LEGO brand or its owner The LEGO Group.

Builder Stories
Make Marketing Your Competitive Edge | Adam McChesney of Builders of Authority

Builder Stories

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 62:40


Adam McChesney shares how he founded Builders of Authority after creating more than 200 websites to master digital marketing. He explains why many contractors grow during high demand seasons yet struggle when the market tightens. Adam also reveals how to build a personal brand and why that accelerates visibility and attracts inbound leads faster than relying on company branding alone. Learn the difference between mindset and a tactical approach and why both are crucial for growth. In this episode, you will learn: Why mindset determines long term marketing success What separates a strong brand from a price driven company The biggest mistake contractors make on social media How often you should post to build real authority When it makes sense to hire a marketing agency Listen to the episode to learn more. Resources: Learn more about Builders of Authority here.

The Empire Builders Podcast
#246: Firestone & Goodyear – Innovation By Competition

The Empire Builders Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 21:54


Two start-ups a couple of years apart became the inspiration for each other to get better and better and better. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from Mom-and-Pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector and storyteller. I’m Steven’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it’s us. But we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients, so here’s one of those. [AirVantage Heating & Cooling Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the … Wait, what? Gosh, you told me the title, and I have some thoughts, and I forgot the name of the podcast there for a second. Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. Stephen Semple: We’re doing two together here, Dave, Firestone and Goodyear. Dave Young: Stephen Semple’s over there. I’m Dave Young. And this morning we’re talking about Goodyear and Firestone, both? Stephen Semple: Yes, together. Dave Young: Because it’s kind of one thing now, right? Stephen Semple: No, they are separate. Dave Young: Was it? Stephen Semple: They’re separate. Dave Young: No, they’re separate. Stephen Semple: The story is so intertwined between the two of them. I couldn’t figure out a way to break it. But it’s almost kind of like when we did Hertz Avis, like they’re so interlinked. Dave Young: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So we’re doing it as a single podcast, the two of them. Dave Young: All right. Where do we start? Stephen Semple: Well, what’s interesting is they were both started within two years of each other, both in Akron, Ohio. So Goodyear was founded on August 28th, 1898 in Akron, Ohio by Frank Seiberling. And today they’re the third-largest tire maker in the world with about 18 billion in sales. And Firestone was founded in August, two years later by Harvey Firestone in Akron, Ohio. And in 1988, Firestone was purchased by Bridgestone for $2.6 billion. Dave Young: That’s the one. That’s the one I was [inaudible 00:02:51] yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah, and Bridgestone today is number two behind Michelin with Goodyear being number three. So both really, really big, really big companies. Dave Young: And in 18 when? Stephen Semple: So 1898 was Goodyear, and 1900 was Firestone. Dave Young: And this is before, this is before mass production of automobiles. Stephen Semple: Yes. Yes. Because if you go back to Episode 35 where we talk about Ford, 1908 is the Model T. So it’s pre-model T. Dave Young: Yeah. So which came first, the tire or the car? Stephen Semple: Well, because there were tires on carriages. Dave Young: No, that’s true. All right. Stephen Semple: And today Michelin is the largest in the world. So if you want to learn about Michelin, go back to Episode 27, because it’s also really interesting how Michelin grew their business. But so we’re dealing with Goodyear and Firestone. Dave Young: All right. So Goodyear- Stephen Semple: And if you think about it, you’re right. Most of the transportation at this time when these companies started were either horse-and-carriage or bicycles. That’s what basically people were using. And Harvey Firestone, he grew up on a farm and went to a business school and was a carriage salesman in Detroit. And at this time, the use of natural rubber is expanding due to vulcanization being created. Because before vulcanization, natural rubber was not very durable. It would crack and all these other things. And carriage wheels were basically a wood wheel with a metal rim around it, no give, a hard ride. Dave Young: Right. Yeah, yeah. I mean, even a rim made of rubber would be better than a rim made of steel. Stephen Semple: Right. So basically he’s a carriage salesman. What he realizes is that what we should do is we should put rubber, instead of steel around the wheel, and that would make a smoother ride. So he leaves Detroit, moves to Akron, Ohio, because Akron, Ohio at the time is the center of the rubber industry. Dave Young: Okay. Why is that? Stephen Semple: I think it had to do with just the fact there was a couple of companies that sprung up in the area. There was the resources in terms of water and a few things along that lines. Dave Young: And the rubber barons came in [inaudible 00:04:56]. Stephen Semple: But there was a lot of that that was happening with … Look, you see it in technology. A couple of companies happen and then … Dave Young: Yeah, there’s this- Stephen Semple: It attracts the talent, it attracts the people, it attracts the investment. Dave Young: There’s this synergy that happens. It was before the word existed. Stephen Semple: Yeah, basically. So he creates and starts selling a wagon wheel that has a solid rubber tire. And so he’s doing these solid tires, and he starts seeing the market shifting to a pneumatic tire. So a tire with a tube in it. Dave Young: With the air inside it. Yeah. Stephen Semple: And he’s also starting to see car sales increasing so he decides to do that. Because even though it’s a niche, he’s seeing it as growing, and he didn’t really get great traction on the wagon tire. But the first pneumatic auto tire is this thing called a Clincher. The tire is attached to the rim by these metal hooks, but these metal hooks can kind of become a bit of a problem. They can tear the tire, things along that lines. So he decides to make, Firestone decides to make a superior car tire, and he creates this new rim and tire system that’s basically better than the Clincher tire. But the problem, at this point, is the rim is part of the car. Basically, it’s hard to change all that. So who’s willing to- Dave Young: Every car has a different one and … Yeah. Stephen Semple: Right. So what he does is, is he approaches Henry Ford because he hears the Model T is coming out, and Firestone undercuts the Clincher to get a foothold in the industry. He says, “Look, I’m just going to come in with a really cheap price. That’s how I’m going to get into there.” And he gets an order for 2,000 units, $110,000 order, and he’s basically betting everything on the ability to deliver on this order. Okay? Dave Young: Wow. Okay. Stephen Semple: Now, enter Goodyear, a little bit of Goodyear history. So I mentioned Goodyear was founded by Frank Seiberling, and Frank had tried several businesses with no success, but he saw the rubber industry as an area for growth. Younger brother joins, and they need a name, and what the inventor of vulcanized rubber was Charles Goodyear. So they decided to call the tire company Goodyear after Charles Goodyear. Dave Young: Just associate yourself with that. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Now- Dave Young: Did Charles, was he in on it, or did they just named it after? Stephen Semple: They just named it Goodyear. Dave Young: Okay. You can do that, huh? Stephen Semple: I guess. They were able to. Dave Young: All right. Stephen Semple: So they’re buried in debt, things aren’t going so great, but what they wanted to do is the big growth around this time was bicycles. So they create a vision to create a new type of tire for the bicycle, because it’s a huge craze at the turn of the century, turn of a couple of centuries ago. So there’s like 300 manufacturers of bicycles in the United States, including the Wright Brothers. Dave Young: Right. Yeah. Stephen Semple: But again, they were solid tires. And what these guys created was a pneumatic tire, what Goodyear has created was a pneumatic tire for bicycles because it’s way more comfortable than a solid tire, right? Dave Young: Way more comfortable. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So they’re all in and this has to work, but here’s the problem. Bicycle sales stop because, essentially, everyone who wants one has one. So bicycle sales kind of collapsed. And so they’re struggling here, and what they decide to do is they look at the auto business, and they go, “Hey, the auto business is going over there, and we could create a better tire than a Clincher.” Dave Young: Yeah. [inaudible 00:08:24] Stephen Semple: Great. And so who do they decide to approach? They decide to approach Henry Ford because they hear about this Model T coming out. But Ford has already done a deal with Firestone, right? But Goodyear says, “We got an advantage. Here’s the problem. Their tire, the Goodyear tire, Clincher tires will also work on a Goodyear rim. Clincher tires will not work on a Firestone rim.” And here’s what Goodyear says to Ford, says, “You got a problem. Because if somebody needs a new tire, not everywhere had access to Firestone tires, but everybody has access to Clincher tires. So, therefore, our solution is better.” So basically, Ford cancels the deal with Firestone and goes with Goodyear. Dave Young: Oh, no. Stephen Semple: And basically says to Firestone, “I need you to make Clincher tires, which has almost no money in it for Firestone because they got to pay a licensing deal with Clincher. Isn’t it interesting in all of this, Clincher clearly didn’t innovate because we’ve never heard of Clincher before this moment? Dave Young: Oh, right. Yeah. I mean, terrible name, but- Stephen Semple: Clearly didn’t innovate. Dave Young: Right, didn’t figure out that we don’t need these metal things. Stephen Semple: Because they’re clearly the leader at the time, and we don’t hear them any longer. Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. So they had a lead in the market, but … Stephen Semple: So 1908 comes out, the Model T comes out. It’s Goodyear tires on the Model T, Episode 35, go back and learn about the Model T, and Goodyear takes out ads that Goodyear tire is better. By 1909, all GM cars are Goodyear tires. By 1910, Goodyear is doing like four million in sales, which is like 30 million today. Firestone is not done. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: So back to Firestone, they see these Goodyear ads, and they figure we’ve got to get a competitive advantage over Goodyear. We’re going to go back to 1908, go back a couple years. The auto industry, tire industry is exploding. The streets are getting clogged with cars, lots of dust, no rules, chaos, and tires are completely smooth. There’s no tread. Dave Young: Okay. Yeah. That’s … Stephen Semple: And they’ve been all sorts of thing people are putting rivets in, metal, all this other stuff to try to create some sort of traction on these tires, right? Especially as the speed of the cars are getting faster. And what Firestone did, they did a lot of research to make traction. And what they discover is let’s do raised sections. Let’s put treads on the tire. Dave Young: Right. Okay. Well, I mean, there you go. Stephen Semple: Works way better. And what they decide to do, they call it the Firestone Non-skid- Dave Young: Stay tuned, and we’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell Ad] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off and, trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: And what they decide to do, they call it the Firestone Non-skid, and they put that as the pattern on the tread. So if you look down onto a muddy road, what you would read is Firestone Non-skid. Isn’t that awesome? Dave Young: That’s so smart. I love that. Stephen Semple: So basically the ad is on the ground. They sell- Dave Young: Yeah, because it’s written in the mud. It’s written in the snow. Stephen Semple: It’s written in the mud, written in the snow, written on the ground, right? So they sell like 40,000 units in the first year. And now Goodyear starts to feel the pressure from Firestone on the non-skid tire. So they’re like, okay, what are we going to do here? So what Goodyear comes out with is a diamond pattern because it actually has better grip than letters. And at the same time, it’s still unique because they’re the only ones that have a diamond pattern. And they market it as, and I thought this … You know how we always love this whole idea of attaching the familiar to the unfamiliar? They market it as the first all-weather tire. Dave Young: All weather. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Right? Goodyear then, who was ahead of Firestone with this tire, and at this time, all the tire manufacturers are targeting the manufacturers. They’re trying to get in with the manufacturers. Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: And it’s 1910. Firestone’s doing three million in sales compared to Goodyear’s four million. But what about consumers and replacement? What would make their lives better? This is the question Firestone starts to ask because it was really hard to change the tire at that time because early tires were attached to the rim, and the rims were permanently attached to the axle. So you couldn’t just remove the wheel and replace it with another wheel. What Firestone creates is a rim called a demountable rim. It’s this novel idea that you could just take the rim off. Dave Young: Wow. Okay. That’s great. Stephen Semple: And risk of tire failure was high. So guess what this created? The whole idea of a spare, and now anyone can change a tire- Dave Young: Nice, yeah. Stephen Semple: … because you’ve got an extra tire. You could just take the rim off, put the new rim on, and you’re all good to go. And this gets so popular that car companies are now creating ways to carry a spare, a rim and a pump, because now anyone can change tire by themselves. By the end of the decade, all Model Ts have a spare. And guess what? Imitators, including Goodyear, jump onto this idea. It’s 1916. Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: Firestone’s selling $44 million. Goodyear is 100 million and now the largest company in the world. So Firestone is still trailing Goodyear. World War I happens. April 1917, this huge mobilization campaign happens. Goodyear and Firestone have to pivot to wartime production. Firestone’s doing rubber boots and all these other things. Goodyear has been pulled into this top secret plan. They’re going to create an aircraft called a blimp. Dave Young: The blimp? Ooh, okay. Stephen Semple: And you know what’s funny? I always wondered, why does Goodyear have a blimp? Because Goodyear was involved in the crating of the blimp. Isn’t that cool? Dave Young: Right. Yeah, that’s good to know. Stephen Semple: So they’re both making lots of money. The blimp is the Goodyear blimp. We now still see it at football games and all this other stuff, right? And Goodyear’s expanding like crazy because of the war effort, and November 11th, 1918, the war suddenly ends. The war ending in World War I hurt a lot of businesses like Indian motorcycles, Goodyear, because what a lot of people don’t realize, unless you look back into history, that the war ended really abruptly. So much so that even the Allies, if you go back and read the history about World War I, we’re unsure whether to accept the surrender of Germany. No battle in World War I happened on German soil. It all happened in France. And how World War I ended is Germany basically did this one final assault where they threw everything at it and was basically it didn’t work, and they surrendered. And everyone was like, “What do you mean the war’s over?” But the problem is Goodyear thought the war was going to continue for a while longer and had a lot of debt and had done lots of expansion and were in serious trouble. In 1921, Goodyear had 85 million in debt. And so they had to bring in somebody to help refinance the business and part of the refinancing included Frank and his brother being removed from running the business. So in May 13th, 1921, they both resigned, the businesses gone to others. Firestone, they still remain involved with the business. By the 1920s, cars are going faster, and Firestone does one more really big innovation. And that’s the balloon tire, which is a wider, bigger tire, flatter tire, lower pressure, smoother ride. Six months, they sell 25,000 tires a week, and that’s really the precursor to the modern tire. Dave Young: The radial-type tire. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Yeah. That’s really cool. Yeah, war does weird things. I mean, in addition to blowing things up. Stephen Semple: Yeah, it does weird things. But the thing is, when I looked at Firestone and Goodyear, to me, what was really interesting was there’s no way you could kind of talk about one without the other because it really is a story of innovation, innovation, innovation. Dave Young: It really is a case of your competition makes you better, right? Because it went back and forth with both of them. Stephen Semple: It did go back and forth with both of them. Dave Young: Right? And the one that lost out was Clinker because they thought they didn’t need to innovate. Stephen Semple: Right. Right. They were the one that’s been lost to history as these two … Because they had, they were the market leader, and then these two coming along out-innovating each other, totally, like I had never even heard of them as a tire company. Lost to history. Dave Young: Me, neither. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Clincher. Dave Young: Clincher. It sounds medical. It’s such a cool story. I have one experience with Goodyear to tell you about. Stephen Semple: Sure. Dave Young: Back 2020 or so. Gosh, has it been that long? Really has. 20 years ago or so, I was in the motor press guild, automotive journalist, and auto manufacturers and tire manufacturers would take journalists on these trips, these junkets. And I got to go on one for Goodyear. They flew us down to Dallas and then flew us out to San Angelo on Mark Cuban’s 757. San Angelo, Texas is where the Goodyear proving ground is. So they have one of these big 10-acre, five-acre lakes that’s only a quarter of an inch deep or half in it. They can control it. It’s just a giant bed of asphalt that they can control the depth of the water. So we got to drive … We probably compared Goodyear to Firestone tires. Stephen Semple: Probably. Dave Young: You drive this pickup on a slalom course on the water with the new Goodyear tire, and then drive it with the competitor’s tire. It’s like, oh boy, the difference. But it was a fun trip. I also got to drive that same day out on the Goodyear proving grounds. They had one of those mining haul trucks. Stephen Semple: Oh, wow. Yep. Dave Young: Right. The three-story tall mining haul truck, and I got to drive that thing. Stephen Semple: I was going to say, did you get to do a 180 on it? Did you get it to do a 360? Dave Young: No, they didn’t let us drive that out onto the wet track, but that was fun. I mean, there’s a big tire. I think at the time, that tire weighed 20,000 pounds and cost $20,000. That’s what I remember about it. Stephen Semple: And it’s interesting when you think about tires because tread pattern and rubber compound and things like that are all the things that really impact performance. And yet the world’s largest manufacturer of tires became famous with an ad where they put a baby in the tire along with the slogan, So Much Rides on Your Tires, right? Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: But coming back to one of the ones I love with the whole Firestone thing was putting the name in the tread pattern. I thought that was just … Dave Young: Yeah, I think it’s great. It’s really smart and innovative from an advertising point of view, but as Goodyear proved, easy to knock down. It’s like, well, obviously a proper tread pattern- Stephen Semple: Is better? Dave Young: … is better than the word Firestone for keeping your car on the road. But- Stephen Semple: But again, it was so interesting because Firestone then, or sorry, Goodyear then even recognized by the diamond pattern, they still became unique because they were the first one with the diamond pattern. So it was this very interesting back and forth between these two companies. Dave Young: They were like the cartoon, the sheepdog and the coyote. They’d clock in and fight all day, and then clock out. And I would guess that the Goodyear and the Firestone, there were probably people going back and forth between one company and the other. They probably had the top secret. We hate each other, but the investors, whole different story. Stephen Semple: Well, it was funny. There was one thing I read about where basically if you were in the Firestone offices or foundry or whatever, you were not allowed to say the word Goodyear. And when you were in the Goodyear one, you were not allowed to say the word Firestone. Like it would’ve really been a massive rivalry when you consider the two companies, like how remarkable is this that two companies found within two years of each other, like almost exactly two years of each other in the same city- Dave Young: And then live in the same city. Stephen Semple: … went on to become number two and number three in the tire business. The one that became number one- Dave Young: Kellogg’s and Post. Stephen Semple: … was across the pond in Europe, right? Completely separated from this battle. Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for this tiring story. Stephen Semple: You had to go there, didn’t you? Dave Young: Oh, gosh, I shouldn’t have done that, but I did. I did do it. I’m looking forward to the next episode of the Empire Builders Podcast, Stephen. Stephen Semple: All right. Dave Young: Thank you. Stephen Semple: Okay. Thanks, David. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us, subscribe on your favorite podcast app and leave us a big, fat, juicy five-star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute Empire Building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

Category Visionaries
How Sola Insurance built a referral engine with insurance agents | Wesley Pergament

Category Visionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 22:09


Hail has officially surpassed hurricanes and wildfires as the costliest natural disaster in the U.S. over the last 25 years—a shift that became visible three years ago and created a massive market opportunity. Wesley Pergament recognized this trend early and built Sola Insurance around it, transforming how homeowners protect their properties by eliminating the subjective claims process that's plagued the industry. After closing their Series A, Sola has cracked the code on hail insurance: using parametric weather data triggers to reduce claim resolution from months to days, cutting fraud that was driving $15,000-$20,000 deductibles, and building a 100% referral-driven distribution engine through independent insurance agencies. In this episode of BUILDERS, Wesley reveals how they pivoted from tornado to hail coverage in month two, why they've run zero outbound for 18 months while scaling exponentially, and how they're rebuilding policy forms and modeling from scratch to become the go-to natural disaster insurance provider.Topics Discussed: The data signals that showed hail crossing over as the #1 costliest natural disaster Rebuilding insurance policy forms and modeling around objective weather data vs. indemnity claims How wind and hail deductibles exploded from $1,000 to $15,000-$20,000, effectively excluding roof coverage Why independent agencies are multi-generational businesses where reputation is everything The mechanics of building a pure referral engine that eliminated all outbound for 18 months Creating complementary coverage that's becoming fundamental infrastructure in home insurance packages Using hail diameter, storm duration, and damage indicators to create parametric triggers The strategic sequencing of sales-first, then product, now marketing investments post-Series A Why addressing the fraud problem first unlocked both pricing and claims experience advantagesGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Invest disproportionately in first-call onboarding when entering regulated channelsUse regional conference immersion for channel insight, not lead generationDesign systematic referral prompts at trust milestonesSequence GTM investment around validated constraint-breaking, not best practicesRebuild the broken process structurally, don't optimize it incrementally// Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.ioThe 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

Category Visionaries
How Cassidy achieved 90% content performance consistency across TikTok and Instagram | Justin Fineberg

Category Visionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 15:47


Justin Fineberg built a 500,000+ follower audience on TikTok and Instagram before launching Cassidy, an AI automation platform for non-technical users. By consistently creating content about AI and technology, he turned inbound interest into his initial customer base and market validation. In this episode of BUILDERS, Justin breaks down how he leveraged short-form video to identify product opportunities, the mechanics of maintaining authentic audience relationships while monetizing, and how to transition from social-led distribution to scalable B2B SaaS go-to-market.Topics Discussed:Leveraging ChatGPT's launch as an inflection point to ride mainstream AI interestConverting consultant requests into product insights and early customer signalsThe platform mechanics of TikTok vs Instagram for B2B contentTransitioning from 100% social-sourced revenue to multi-channel B2B salesBuilding repeatable content systems that survive founder time constraintsTesting product messaging and features through content before formal launchGTM Lessons For B2B Founders:Timing content focus with market inflection points compounds growthInbound consulting requests are product requirement documents in disguiseContent systems must be friction-free or they'll die under operational loadGood content transcends platform-specific algorithm hackingSocial distribution creates unfair launch advantages, not permanent moats//Sponsors:Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.ioThe 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 HireSenior 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

Category Visionaries
How Podero avoids "pilot purgatory" | Chris Bernkopf

Category Visionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 16:55


Podero builds software that enables European utilities to trade device flexibility—EVs, heat pumps, and batteries—on energy markets, generating trading revenues while reducing consumer bills by 20-30%. The company navigates a uniquely complex B2B motion: they must sell utilities, secure API access from device OEMs, and ensure utilities successfully roll out consumer-facing products—all simultaneously. In this episode of BUILDERS, Chris Bernkopf, Co-Founder and CEO of Podero, breaks down how they escaped pilot purgatory with innovation departments, built a "10x better than doing nothing" business case that reaches commercial stakeholders, and why their 2026 strategy centers on radical simplification through deletion.Topics DiscussedOrigin story: from Raspberry Pi heat pump experiment to YC-backed utility infrastructure softwareThe "three miracle problem" go-to-market challenge and how they de-risked all three dimensions in parallelSales cycle mechanics: 6-12 month closes, avoiding innovation department traps, and multi-stakeholder orchestrationMarket structure: 2,000 addressable utilities in Europe, 120 customers required for unicorn trajectoryChannel strategy evolution: cold outreach to re-engagement focus in a contained prospect universe2026 GTM thesis: simplifying value propositions by deleting products and messagingHow YC learnings posted on bathroom doors maintain organizational disciplineThe grid capacity fork in the road: expensive scarcity vs. cheap abundant renewable energy

Techish
If AI Keeps Getting Better Every Month What Happens to Work? - Techish Live 2026

Techish

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2026 24:20


A part of the Techish Live Show that happened in London, 25TH March 2026.Exploring the future of AI, market disruptions, and strategies for navigating the evolving tech landscape. Insights range from market predictions to practical tips for builders and entrepreneurs.Chapters00:00 Introduction: Exploring AI's Future Impact00:25 Fictional Memo from 2028: A Workforce Apocalypse00:54 Market Cap Losses and AI's Disruptive Power01:18 Rational Agents and Transactional Shifts in Payment Systems01:48 Stock Market Predictions and Investor Sentiment02:03 The Hysteria Around Market Predictions02:29 The Role of Journalism and Fiction in Market Perceptions02:51 Long-term Investment Strategies and Index Funds03:40 Consumer Economy and AI Automation's Limits03:47 Universal Basic Income and AI's Economic Impact04:14 Global South Economies and AI Transformation04:32 The Fantasy of Building Personal Software05:03 Corporate Software Development and CTO Decisions05:44 The Reality of Enterprise Software Procurement06:55 Legacy Languages and AI Compatibility07:42 AI and Military/Surveillance Use Cases08:34 The Disruption of Entry-Level Jobs and Education09:22 Unemployment Trends in Hospitality and Retail10:30 AI's Role in Workplace Disillusionment and Diversity11:38 Changing Company Structures and Skill Requirements12:24 Automation and Talent Demand in Small Businesses13:32 Global Political Instability and Corporate Risk Management14:11 The Remote Work Hustler and Ethical Questions15:21 The Rise of Multi-Job Hustlers and Ethical Concerns16:07 Full Stack Builder: A New Role for Product Managers16:47 Security Risks of Agentic AI and OpenClaw18:00 Practical AI Tools for Builders and Entrepreneurs19:01 Opportunity in AI: Accelerated Development or Capitalism?19:45 Human Creativity vs Capitalistic AI Tools20:37 The Shift in Young Adults' Social and Career Habits21:35 Tychogenic Lifestyle: Increasing Luck and OpportunitiesThe Path to ExitFounders—thinking of selling or raising capital? Here's what you should know... Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showJoin our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/Advertise on Techish: https://goo.gl/forms/MY0F79gkRG6Jp8dJ2———————————————————— Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techishhttps://www.instagram.com/techishpod/https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/https://www.instagram.com/michaelberhane_/ Email us at techishpod@gmail.com

Crafted
Dead as a Dodo? Maybe Not! Colossal's Beth Shapiro on the Science of De-Extinction — and Moonshots

Crafted

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2026 33:11


So, there are dire wolves living on Earth again. They were “de-extincted” by Colossal Biosciences. And today on the show their Chief Science Officer joins me to share her view on why the de-extinction matters — not as a science project, but because it will help solve problems that threaten every species on earth, including us. Beth Shapiro is the Chief Science Officer at Colossal Biosciences, and she helped to bring back the dire wolf or, as others call it, a gray wolf with 20 genetic edits. There is a fierce debate about what de-extinction even means, and we discuss that, but whatever you call them, there are now three big wolves living in an undisclosed location and they wouldn't be there if not for the DNA that Beth and her team edited. Colossal is also working to bring back the wooly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo and other animals that have long been extinct. Why? Listen to find out… Chapters:(01:19) - The Most Oprah Question Beth's Ever Been Asked (03:04) - Moonshots Require You to Create a Giant List of Problems (04:19) - The Things We'll Solve Along the Way, a la the Original Moonshot… to the Moon (05:57) - Beth's Journey: From Broadcast Journalism to Ancient DNA (09:13) - How a Sediment Core Solved a Mammoth Mystery (11:36) - Why Charismatic Animals Matter (a.k.a. Why Riz Is Everything) (12:38) - What's Up With Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi? (14:19) - But Are They Really “Dire Wolves”? The Controversy Over 20 Genetic Edits (21:45) - Should We Do This? Beth's Ethics Framework for Builders (23:51) - Advice for Moonshot Builders (25:10) - Why We Want Dodos, Mammoths, and Thylacines Back Links & Resources:Colossal BiosciencesBeth ShapiroPopTech -- a conference I love!  Support Future Around & Find OutFollow Dan on LinkedInGet the free Future Around & Find Out newsletterBecome a paid subscriber and help future proof the podcast!Sponsor the show? Are you looking to reach an audience of senior technologists and decision-makers? Email me: dan@modernproductminds.com---Music by Jonathan Zalben

Dare Great Things
DGT Episode 346 - Temple Builders - King Solomon Part 3

Dare Great Things

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2026 27:30


The life of King Solomon was truly extraordinary.  Gifted with outstanding wisdom, King Solomon's wisdom blessed Israel with outstanding abundance.  And even though everything in his life was not worthy of imitation, the Bible is careful to record that he used his gifts to build the temple of God.  This might surprise us.  Why would God want his leader to dedicate himself to building a temple?  It's a question that opens us to a deeper understanding of our own leadership today.

The Archaeology Podcast Network Feed
Tombs of the Tomb Builders Part 2: Deir el-Medina - TPM 32

The Archaeology Podcast Network Feed

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2026 26:05


In this episode, step inside Deir el-Medina, the remarkably well-preserved village of the artisans who built the royal tombs of ancient Egypt. Known in antiquity as Pa Demi or “the village”, this desert settlement near Thebes (modern Luxor) was home to the skilled workers of the Set Maat, the “Place of Truth,” where pharaohs like Tutankhamun, Ramesses II, Nefertari, and Hatshepsut were laid to rest. Through tomb art, legal documents, and everyday texts, Deir el-Medina offers one of the most intimate portraits of non-elite life in ancient Egypt. Explore the lives of three individuals whose stories survive in astonishing detail. Meet Ramose, the wealthiest man in the village, whose decorated tombs and appeals to fertility goddesses reveal private hopes for an heir. Follow his adopted successor, Qenherkhepeshef, a prolific scribe whose tomb preserved the famous “Book of Dreams,” a guide to omens written in red and black ink. Finally, Naunakhte, whose surviving will shows that women in the New Kingdom owned property and controlled how it was inherited. Offline Sources Cited: Blerk, Nicolaas J. 2021. The Contribution of Papyrus Ashmolean Museum 1945.97 (“Naunakht's Will & Related Documents”) to Our Understanding of The Ancient Egyptian Testamentary Disposition and Succession Law. Fundamina 2021:101–142. Cerny, Jaroslav. 1945. The Will of Naunakhte and the Related Documents. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 31:29–53. Davies, Benedict. 1999. Who's Who at Deir El-Medina: A Prosopographic Study of The Royal Workman's Community. Egyptologische Uitgaven No. 13. Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, Leiden. Dorn, Andreas. 2022. Tagging in the Valley of the Kings around 1200–1150 BC. Social practices and personal habits. TAG: Name Writing in Public Space. A Reader of the 2017 Conference about Tagging at Freie Universität Berlin, Edited by E. Birzin, J. Abarca and M. Hübner, Berlin 2022, 96–103. Links See photos related to episode topics on Instagram Loving the macabre lore? Treat your host to a coffee! Website | The Will of Naunakhte at the Ashmolean Museum Website | The Book of Dreams at the British Museum Website | More Info About the latest Deir el-Medina Excavations led by IFAO Website | Dig Diaries from the 2026 Workers Cemetery Excavations led by the Museo Egizio Transcripts For transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/32 ArchPodNet APN Website: https://www.archpodnet.com APN on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archpodnet APN on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/archpodnet APN on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archpodnet APN Shop Affiliates Motion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Truth From God's Word
Church Builders

Truth From God's Word

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2026 29:28


Pastor John teaches how and why tongues and prophecy can be used during church service

The Power Trip's Initials Game
The 617th Initials Game (A.D.) feat. Cory Provus

The Power Trip's Initials Game

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 32:11 Transcription Available


Every Friday around 8:15​-8:20 a.m. on KFAN 100.3 the Power Trip Morning show plays the Initials Game presented by Builders & Remodelers!The game involves 12 items people, place, things, phrases or anything as long as they share the same initials. All 12 items share the same initials. The contestants do not know the initials until they are revealed shortly before the game starts. Each item has 6 clues. As soon as the contestants know who or what the host is describing, they yell out their name. Their name is their buzzer. If the contestant gets it right, they get a point. If they get it wrong they are out for just that item. The item does have to be pronounced correctly. It is best out of 12 with tiebreakers if needed. Tiebreaker items have 3 clues.#InitialsGame #ThePowerTrip #KFAN1003FOLLOW The Power Trip on Social Media:► Like the show on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow the show on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow the show on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow Cory Cove on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CoryCove​​► Follow Chris Hawkey on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Chris_Hawkey​​► Follow Meatsauce on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Meatsauce1​► Follow Mark Parrish on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarkDParrish► Follow Marney Gellner on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarneyGellner► Follow Zach Halverson on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ZachHalversonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your Project Shepherd Construction Podcast
TAB Contracts Explained: Why Texas Builders Should Be Using Them

Your Project Shepherd Construction Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 67:48


Are you using the right contract for your building projects in Texas?In this episode of the Your Project Shepherd Podcast, Curtis Lawson sits down with three industry leaders to unpack the value, structure, and legal protection behind TAB Contracts:Frances Blake – General Counsel & VP of Regulatory Affairs, Texas Association of BuildersAdam Aschmann – Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Tilson HomesDonald Shelton – Attorney/Shareholder, Bush Rudnicki Shelton, PCTAB (Texas Association of Builders) contracts are specifically written for residential construction in Texas — and they're designed to protect builders operating under Texas law.In this conversation, we cover:Why TAB contracts exist and how they differ from generic templatesCommon contract mistakes that expose builders to unnecessary legal riskHow properly structured agreements protect both builders and homeownersThe role contracts play in dispute prevention and risk managementWhy professional builders should treat contracts as a strategic tool — not just paperworkIf you're a custom home builder, remodeler, or residential contractor in Texas, this episode will help you better understand how to protect your business and operate more professionally.Contracts aren't just legal documents — they set expectations, define relationships, and can determine whether a project ends in success or in court.Listen in and learn why TAB contracts may be one of the most important investments you make in your business.

Category Visionaries
Why organic referrals drive 80% of Clockwise's growth after a decade of marketing experiments | Matt Martin

Category Visionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2026 26:01


Clockwise is pioneering intelligent time management for knowledge workers, addressing the fundamental constraint that limits all knowledge work organizations: how teams allocate their most finite resource. Founded in 2016, the company has spent a decade solving the problem of calendar inefficiency and meeting overload that fragments productive time. In a recent episode of BUILDERS, we sat down with Matt Martin, Co-Founder & CEO of Clockwise, to learn about the company's journey from a three-year build cycle to serving major software organizations through a product-led growth motion, the strategic decisions behind targeting software engineers as their wedge market, and why the time management problem remains largely unsolved despite being obvious to anyone who's worked in a large organization.Topics DiscussedWhy time remains the primary economic constraint in knowledge work despite a decade of tooling evolutionThe three-year pre-launch build period and deliberate four-year path to monetizationTargeting software engineers as the wedge: ROI clarity in heads-down time versus meeting-heavy rolesThe graveyard of calendar productivity startups: UI-focused plays, consumer pivots, and buyer/user misalignmentTransitioning from pure PLG to blended motion with enterprise inbound and pilot programsThe stubborn reality of organic growth: why referrals dominate despite extensive channel experimentationBuilding toward AI-powered personalized time agents that embrace individual complexity//Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.ioThe 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

Gut + Science
Addicted to Betterment: Courage Builders, Not Courage Killers

Gut + Science

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 38:06


What if courage wasn't something you either had or didn't, but something you could build? Nikki and David open up about the real journey of courage, not as a Hollywood moment, but as a daily practice. From David's vulnerability in asking for help after a major injury, to Nikki's story of taking the stage during the emotional turbulence of divorce, they strip courage down to its core. The duo introduces a four-step framework rooted in faith, values, support systems, and taking action, even when it's scary. This episode is a call to action for anyone stuck in self-doubt or fear of failure. Whether you're facing a personal crossroads or seeking to lead others with more heart, you'll walk away inspired to become a courage builder, not a courage killer.   Additional Resources: Follow Addicted to Betterment wherever you listen to podcasts! Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn Connect with David on LinkedIn Watch Gut + Science (and more) on YouTube! Connect with Nikki on LinkedIn Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn Learn more about PeopleForward Network   Key Takeaways: Courage starts with knowing you're not alone. Core values anchor brave decisions and actions. Borrowed belief powers you through tough times. Trying new things builds your courage muscle. Be a courage builder, not a courage killer.  

The Business Couch with Dr. Yishai
Why Founders Struggle to Let Go (AJ Cassata) | 375

The Business Couch with Dr. Yishai

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 44:41


You built the team.You hired well.You know you should step out of the day-to-day.But every time you look closer… you find something missed.So you step back in.It feels responsible. It feels like leadership.And slowly, the business learns to depend on the very habit that keeps it from growing.Nothing breaks. Clients stay happy.Yet growth feels slower than it should.In this conversation, AJ Cassata and Dr. Yishai explore the moment founders discover that responsibility and personal involvement quietly stop meaning the same thing.About AJAJ Cassata is founder of Revenue Boost, helping B2B companies build outbound systems that keep businesses alive through consistent pipeline and growth.INSIDE THE EPISODE• Why founders still feel the urge to double-check work they've already delegated• How catching small mistakes quietly reinforces staying involved• What keeps pulling leaders back in during high-stakes moments• How teams unintentionally learn to escalate back to the founderTHIS EPISODE IS FOR• Founders stuck between operator and leader• Leaders whose standards keep pulling them back in• High performers still acting as the safety net• Owners whose business works but growth feels constrained• Builders beginning to suspect they may be the bottleneckWHAT TO DO NEXTSharewith a founder who keeps stepping back into the weeds. They'll feel seen. And know you understand what leadership actually costs – and what it takes to level up.Connectwith Dr. Yishai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dryishai/ Let's ChatBook your free Ceiling Break Session on his LinkedIn page to get the shift yourself. ABOUT THE PODCAST You were built for speed.But right now you feel slower than you look on paper.Most founders try to outwork that slow-down.It only burns them out.Your mind is the only machine your company doesn't upgrade.So leaders keep pushing against the wrong thing.Hosted by doctor of psychology and executive coach Dr Yishai Barkhordari. DISCLAIMER This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical, psychological, legal, or financial advice. It is not therapy, clinical advice, or coaching guidance. All examples and stories are illustrative. Some examples or stories are composites. Results vary based on personal effort, context, and market conditions.Always consult qualified professionals before making decisions that impact your business, health, or well-being. © 2026 Yishai Barkhordari. All rights reserved.

Entrebrewer
Why Going Into Business With Family and Friends Isn't Always a Mistake | Sam Chapman

Entrebrewer

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 44:22


In Episode 208, I'm joined by Sam Chapman to talk about building businesses with family and long time partners and what that actually looks like behind the scenes.Sam lives in Northern Virginia and has spent the last 10+ years growing companies in the construction and insurance restoration space. After beginning his career in commercial real estate, he partnered with his brother to build Caseco into a general contracting company and later launched Merit Restorations, which now operates in multiple markets across the U.S.This episode is centered around entrepreneurial leadership.We talk about:What it really takes to build with family and friendsHow radical transparency keeps partnerships healthyThe difference between loyalty and accountabilityCulture breakdowns and the cost of avoiding hard decisionsDiversification as a long term growth strategyWhy you can't shortcut the early stages of buildingLearning to say no and protect your commitmentsSam shares openly about seasons where culture wasn't strong, where leadership decisions were delayed, and how stepping into accountability changed the trajectory of the business. If you're thinking about scale, legacy, and building something that lasts beyond you, this conversation will challenge you in the right way.Connect with Sam and his companies:Caseco Homes: https://caseco.net/ Merit Restorations: https://meritrestorations.com/Sam's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samchapmanco/Sam's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samcprojects/Connect with Builders of Authority:Website: https://buildauthority.com/FREE Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/7685392924809322GoHighLevel Extended 30-day Free Trial w/TONS of Personal Branding Bonuses: http://gohighlevel.com/adammcchesney

The Empire Builders Podcast
#245: Gymboree – A 1.8 Billion Dollar Empire

The Empire Builders Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 22:41


Joan Barnes wanted to meet new moms and that was the inspiration for a place for moms to hang out with other moms. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is… Well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. Here’s one of those. [Tommy Cool Plumbing, Cooling & Heating Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast, Dave Young here with Stephen Semple, and we’re talking about empires. Stephen just whispered the name of the topic into my headphones, and I recognize it, but I don’t recognize it. I don’t have any direct experience with this other than when I was a little kid watching Romper Room, but I don’t think it’s the same thing. The topic is Gymboree, but it sounds like it’s probably related, but I doubt that it is. Stephen Semple: Gymboree is not big any longer. There’s a bit of a sad story on that. Dave Young: It was a place though, wasn’t it? Stephen Semple: Right, it was, and it was huge at one point. It was part of the culture and it was mentioned in movies. It was a really, really big deal at one point. Dave Young: Yeah, here’s the issue. Here’s why I don’t remember it. I didn’t grow up in a place. It wasn’t the kind of place it would have a thing. I think I told you I drove 100 miles on our first date to go to Starbucks at a Barnes and Noble. Stephen Semple: It wasn’t even a real Starbucks. Dave Young: No, it wasn’t even a standalone Starbucks. Stephen Semple: Well, to give you an idea how big it got in 2010, Bain bought the company for $1.8 billion, 1.8 billion, and seven years later it went bankrupt. Dave Young: Oh, boy. That’s a bigger story than Gymboree if we wanted to go there. But let’s go go with building the empire. Stephen Semple: Let’s go with the building of the empire. Dave Young: How many buyout people does it take to ruin a company? Not many. Stephen Semple: But here’s the thing that’s interesting about this story. We often talk about this whole idea of unleveraged assets, and unleveraged assets becomes a very, very big part of this story. It’s very, very cool. The business was founded by Joan Barnes in 1976. She grew up outside of Chicago, studied dance and English in college, and got married. They moved to the West Coast. She’s this new mom in this new area looking for connections, and she started to host these get togethers with parents and kids at a local Jewish center. Joe Barnes, her husband, was a journalist. This journalist background becomes important a little bit later. As I mentioned, they grew up outside of Chicago and they picked up and moved and landed in San Francisco, where he got a job. And then they moved out to a suburb in 1973. She was basically lonely. 1973 was actually one of the lowest birth years in a long time, and so she was looking for people who had kids. Both of their families, both her family and his family, were back on the East Coast, and so she wanted to meet other moms. At this point, this whole idea of play groups didn’t exist. It was this new idea. And so she was in this dance company and had a friend in the company, and this friend had been offered a job to run activities for kids in a local community center. She was nervous to do it. Joan suggests, “Why don’t we share this idea?” And so it was a preschool after school programs. Joan went to a local YMCA that had this gym that they had set up called Kindergym, and she went and she checked it out. Everything there was this full-sized gym equipment and they modified how it was being used, but it was like full sized trampolines and full sized this and full sized that. As soon as she saw it, she had this vision of what it could be. Dave Young: I mean, there’s nothing funnier than a five-year-old on the uneven bars. Stephen Semple: Yeah, there you go. Dave Young: I’m just saying. But go ahead. Stephen Semple: So she had this vision: scale down the equipment, make it colorful, add music, lively teacher. This could be something really special, and maybe this is what could be done at the Jewish center. Now, some of the things were available it turns out she found out for special needs kids and the rest needed to be built, so she started to do that. But here’s the other thing. She knew how to get press to promote this. She had learned from her husband. She created a story of what the plan would be like, and she managed to get this big full page feature article in the local newspaper. In 1976, they opened this Kindergym in the JCC, and it’s immediately this huge success. It’s oversold. They hire preschool teachers to run the program. The goal was for the kids to have fun and let moms connect with other moms. That was the goal. It’s so successful they open another one in a center close by, and at this point they get approached by an entrepreneur, Max Shapiro, to put up some money. Basically the idea was, let’s do more of these. I’ll put up the money, you run them. Max Shapiro had run a basketball camp with Rick Barry, who was an ex-basketball player, that he had sold. He had some money kicking around to do this. They went down to San Montejo and they opened a Kindergym in a temple there, and they hired someone of the preschool background to run it and did the same idea. Joe went and got a story in a local paper, big story in a local paper. Basically it filled up, and she was running it almost like a franchise. They expand to five or six locations, and at this point she buys out Max and she makes the people that are running these couple of locations partners. It’s 1976, and there’s nine locations in California. They’re making a little bit of money. Joan decides she’s going to get a license to open franchise. Here’s the thing, she didn’t get any legal advice on setting any of this stuff up. She tries to trademark Kindergym, and she’s running this for a couple of years as a franchise until she discovers you can’t franchise Kindergym. It’s too generic a name- Dave Young: Oh, because kindergarten, kinder… Stephen Semple: But she’s already got these franchises isn’t been operating under the name Kindergym. They’re trying to think of different names, trying to think of different names. One day, one of the names sticks. Her husband even calls and the says, “Gymboree, Gymboree, Gymboree.” What a great name, Gymboree. They decide to set it up as Gymboree, and she decides to do it right this time. She goes out and gets some advice, a guy by the name of Bud Jacob, who has experience in franchising, likes the idea, likes her, and decides to help her out. It’s 1982 and they need to raise some money, and Bud introduces her to Stuart Muldaw, who invests. Now at this point, they’re still renting church halls. This is how they’re doing it. They’re going and renting church halls. It’s no leases, none of this other stuff. It’s handshake agreements. He invests $300,000 into the business for 30%. Here’s what they’re looking for. They’re looking for women that were just like Joan when she started this. They’re looking for women in their late 20s, early 30s who are raising families but wanted to do something, wanted to do something more, wanted to bring some extra income into the household. Their strategy is they’ll create a PR strategy in every community that they’re thinking about going to, so just replicating the idea. Again, remember Joe knows how to create this because of her husband, and also was very successful. But here’s another idea that they created. They also did advertorials in the Wall Street Journal. For those who don’t know what advertorials are, their advertisements that look like an editorial. Dave Young: Yeah, you write your own news report, news story, and then pay to have it placed in the paper. Stephen Semple: Right, and this speaks to how well she understands influencers. Because what she was looking at when she created these advertorials, they were not written to the women. They were written to the husbands. The whole idea is the father would read this article in the Wall Street Journal, this advertorial, and think to themselves, “This would be perfect for my wife,” which is really interesting because so many people would want to target the buyer instead of targeting the influencer. Dave Young: We call it indirect targeting. You write an ad that’s ostensibly an employment ad for your company. But when you talk about the kind of people you want to hire, you’re really talking to every consumer out there saying, “No, this is the kind of people that we are.” I love that, I love that. Stephen Semple: But today, so few people think that way. It’s all about target, got a target. But here she was purposely targeting the influencer, targeting the father who would read it, this be perfect for my wife. Now, here’s one of the things they were really picky on. Fit was one of the biggest things. If they didn’t think there was a good fit, they didn’t offer the person the franchise, and they focused on the East Coast. At this point, they’re focusing because they didn’t need help on the West Coast. LA was exploding. A lot of the people that they had focusing in on already understood press and media because they were actors on the side and all this other stuff. The West Coast was growing organically, so they were focusing these advertorials and whatnot on the East Coast. Here’s how much it was growing. By 1986, they have 400 centers. They’re doing 15 million in sales in 400 centers. But here’s where the problem happened. Audio: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell Ad] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off. Trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: Here’s how much it was growing. By 1986, they have 400 centers. They’re doing 15 million in sales in 400 centers. But here’s where the problem happened. Joan realized the franchising model was flawed. It was never going to work. The franchisees could not pay enough money to pay for the support that head office was providing because they were all like these really tiny businesses. They felt like they couldn’t charge much more because there was competitors popping up because it didn’t cost a lot to get these things started. They couldn’t reduce the service they were supporting. Here’s this business, 400 units, all looking great. It’s being mentioned in press and all this other stuff. But the business side is failing, so they needed to figure out another way to make money because the investors needed to get repaid, right? They thought, “Hey, maybe here’s what we could do. Maybe we do licensing because everybody knows the Gymboree name.” Dave Young: Merch. Merch. Stephen Semple: Yeah, so they go out and they get a whole pile of great licenses. But guess what? After about a year, almost all of them dropped them because the products didn’t sell. Hasbro then looks at doing an acquisition event, so they think, “Okay, great.” It felt like a bailout for Joan and a lifeline. Literally, they’re at the stage. Joan and her lawyer and the senior management team have flown to New York to sign the deal with Hasbro. She’s in the hotel and she gets a telephone call from one of the VPs of Hasbro who says the deal’s off. Dave Young: The deal’s off. Just like that? Stephen Semple: Just like that. Her team is there, the investors are there, her lawyer’s there, and they’re supposed to meet the next day, and the deal is off. She’s devastated because she now has to go back and tell everyone that this is off. She’s so completely spent this point she says she’s got to go for the weekend to her cabin in the Sierras. She basically looks at her team and says, “You got to think of another plan. You got to think of another plan. This franchising isn’t working. The Hasbro’s deal’s off. We need another plan.” Guess what? what’s the unleveraged asset that they have, Dave? Dave Young: Well, their name. I mean, we’ve got all these kids in there. Stephen Semple: Yeah, so she comes back because they have this great brand, but they have a business that can’t make money. She comes back and sitting on her desk is a sketch of a play center right next to a retail store. Dave Young: There you go. Stephen Semple: Actually, what they end up doing was putting the play center at the back of the store. Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: What’s the asset that they have? Moms coming in to drop their kids off, parents coming in to drop their kids off. And what are they going to do when their kids are playing? Dave Young: Walk clear through the store. Stephen Semple: Clear through the store. It’s like having the gift shop at the back of the museum. When you leave the museum, you got to walk through the gift shop. Dave Young: It’s the milk and eggs back in the back of the grocery store. Stephen Semple: Exactly, unleveraged asset. And so here’s what they decide to do. They’re going to sell their own apparel, sell, play equipment, toys, all that stuff. They’re going to do as much as they can, where they’re going to brand it all themselves. Basically you got to walk through the gift shop, and the gift shop is what’s going to make the money. The play center is the draw that brings people in. They went back to the board to ask for money to invest, and they agree to do a test store. That then for a whole bunch of reasons, ends up becoming two test stores. One of the things that freaked Joan out at the time was one of the people on the board was very close to the folks at Gap. She gets a meeting with Gap, and Gap says to them, “We love the idea so much. We’re launching Gap Kids in a few months.” Dave Young: Oh, great. Thank you, we’re stealing the idea. Stephen Semple: It was one that was so far along she’d even say it wasn’t that because they were like, “Literally, we’re opening in four months Gap Kids.” Dave Young: They already were watching and saw that this paying attention to little kids can pay off. Stephen Semple: Yeah. But anyway, they launched in 1987. I want you to go back to 1987 because in 1987, malls were really big, and getting into a mall… You couldn’t just get into a mall. Malls had to approve you. They were very picky, right? Now, it’s still that way for really high-end luxury malls today. But you couldn’t just pick up the phone and say, “Hey, I wanted to open in a mall.” But what Joan was able to do is the Gymboree name was so well-known she was able to leverage the name. She was able to leverage the idea that parents will be coming in, dropping their kids off, and wandering around. She got into a couple of really great malls, and here’s what ended up happening. That Christmas, her two locations were the highest dollar per square foot sales in the entire mall. Dave Young: In the mall? Okay. Stephen Semple: So that huge success, huge success. Based upon that success, she was able to go out and raise $6 million to expand the business. 17 years later, Bain comes along and buys the business for $1.8 billion and then bankrupts eight, seven years later. Dave Young: I wonder how much of the equity she still owned. Stephen Semple: I don’t know because one of the things that happened- Dave Young: I mean, she sold that 30% chunk and that early guy… I hope she did well. Stephen Semple: One of the things is she did well, but she was completely uninvolved with the company by the time Bain bought the company, she recognized when it was growing that it was beyond her abilities. But she also had some real health issues with some eating disorders and things along that lines, and so there was a certain point after the raise of $6 million and they were doing the really rapid expansion that she actually left the company. She had a whole pile of health issues that she went, “You know what? I’ve got to deal with all of this. I actually need to step back and step away from the business.” I didn’t want to explore all of that. What I wanted to explore was the success that she had of building this business and this whole idea of… To me, it was really interesting. You and I often talk on this podcast, what are the unleveraged assets of the business? They had it there in front of them, and they were forced to look for it when all of a sudden it was, this franchise model cannot make money. They explored every possible way, and there was no way for it to make money. The sale falls through and suddenly it’s like, well, what do we do? The unleveraged asset was we have all these people coming to our locations. We have all these kids- Dave Young: All we got to do is find a location that wants this traffic. Stephen Semple: Yeah, all these kids are coming. Dave Young: They’ll want us if they want the traffic. Stephen Semple: Right? It’s like the whole movie theater. Again, when movie theaters were much bigger than they are today, you would have a mall where you put a movie theater. And then that would attract all sorts of restaurants around it because the movie theater brings people to the location. The anchor tenant back in the day. We had the anchor tenant in the mall. That brought people to the mall. They had that asset there and were not leveraging it. Dave Young: I mean, to have that designation of the highest dollars per square foot in the mall, that was before at Apple Stores, but she held that position for a bit, right? That’s pretty cool. Stephen Semple: Yeah, and it was all from, okay, we’ve got these people coming in. It’s no easy task, no easy task. People coming in, we should sell them stuff. They love Gymboree, so let’s sell them branded Gymboree apparel, branded Gymboree toys, and all that other… Dave Young: And the brand just doesn’t exist anymore? They bankrupted it and… Stephen Semple: Still a few around. I think there’s a company that now that’s trying to revive it and things along that line. I didn’t look too far after the whole Bain thing was like- Dave Young: Yeah, in my mind I’m thinking, okay, well, she did all this before social media, too. That’s pretty amazing. Stephen Semple: But what she leveraged was and what she knew was how to create PR. Dave Young: Yeah, I love videos of kids falling off playground equipment for some reason. Or there’s one where you’ve probably seen the meme of the perfect job doesn’t exist. Oh wait, it’s a guy on a skating rink throwing a big ball at kids and knocking them over. I’m like, “Okay, yeah, sign me up.” Well, that’s a cool story. There’s several reasons I didn’t really know much about it. I was born at the wrong time when she was up and running big. I was a young guy in his 20s without any kids living in a town that didn’t have a mall and blissfully unaware of all the things that were affecting us. But what a cool story, and good for her for building it up and making a nice, big, juicy exit. Stephen Semple: When I heard it just jumped out at me just because of it being such a good example of an unleveraged asset that they were forced to find because of all these other challenges. That’s often the thing that we’re doing when we’re going and visiting businesses is that whole, what are the assets? Is it a story? Is it thing? Is it- Dave Young: Oh, absolutely. It’s fun. To me, that’s the fun of the one-day sessions that we do, which is you start pulling at threads looking for those. They don’t even realize it, but that’s really what you’re looking for. What do you have that we can leverage in a good way that people just don’t understand that you do or that you have or where you are or who you are? Those kinds of things. Stephen Semple: They didn’t realize they had it until they were forced to look for it. Dave Young: Great fun. Well, is there a Gymboree for old men? I should probably go. Stephen Semple: There’s a business opportunity. Dave Young: We just go in and play around on equipment. Not serious weightlifting, but you’d get some work in. Stephen Semple: There you are. Dave Young: I can, probably. Thank you for bringing the Gymboree story. Stephen Semple: All right, thanks, David. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a big, fat, juicy five-star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. If you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute Empire Building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

CIO Classified
From Technical Debt to 4x Engineering Velocity with Gayatri Narayan of Builders FirstSource

CIO Classified

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 22:44


Two words that make most engineers shudder: code refactoring. Now raise the stakes — refactoring decades of legacy systems inside a large enterprise. A tech debt-heavy project of this scale needs a leader who has driven complex digital transformations, like Gayatri Narayan (formerly PepsiCo, Microsoft, Amazon). Now, as President of Technology at Builders FirstSource, Gayatri Narayan is achieving a 3–4x increase in engineering velocity since joining less than a year ago.  Gayatri joins host Yousuf Khan to unpack the strategy behind those results, including how to deploy AI across the SDLC, how to rigorously evaluate ROI on AI investments, and how to lead change across complex enterprise tech stacks.Key Moments: 01:30 – Why Construction Technology Is Ready for Transformation 04:05 – AI Strategy: Elevating UX and Customer Experience 08:20 – Evaluating AI Investments: ROI, NPV, and Operating Costs 12:45 – Achieving 3–4x Engineering Velocity 16:05 – Humans in the Loop: Craft, Code Review, and AI Amplification 18:35 – Where the Industry Gets AI Adoption Wrong 20:30 – Leadership Advice: Start with the Customer About Gayatri: Gayatri Narayan is a general management executive with more than 15 years of experience leading product, engineering, data science, and operations across global enterprises, with full P&L responsibility and a track record of driving profitable growth through digital transformation.  She currently serves as President of Technology at Builders FirstSource, where she leads enterprise technology strategy, modernizes legacy systems, and embeds AI into the software development lifecycle to accelerate innovation across the residential construction value chain.  Previously, she served as Senior Vice President of Digital Products and Services at PepsiCo and held multiple general management roles at Microsoft, including leading Product and Engineering for Intelligent Communications across Teams and Skype as well as Enterprise PaaS and SaaS businesses; she also held leadership roles at Amazon spanning Marketplace Transportation and Logistics and several major retail categories. Guest Highlights: “We've seen a three to four times increase in engineering velocity — especially in refactoring legacy systems where historically there was very little knowledge of how the system actually worked.” “With generative AI, companies that have existed for 20 or 30 years don't have to get bogged down by legacy stacks. They can embrace emerging technologies without spending 18 to 24 months just refactoring.” “It really comes down to efficiency of time. The developer's surface area of impact expands dramatically — it's not just about writing code anymore, it's about delivering business value faster.” Visit ciopod.com for more episodes. Subscribe on YouTube or follow on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss a conversation with today's top technology leaders. Our 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.

Category Visionaries
How hema.to uses clinical evidence as their core marketing strategy in healthcare AI | Karsten Miermans

Category Visionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 18:56


hema.to is building AI-powered diagnostic infrastructure for cytometry—a specialized area of laboratory medicine analyzing immune system data to detect blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma. Unlike radiology or pathology where AI solutions are abundant, cytometry has remained largely untouched by the AI wave, creating both opportunity and isolation for the Munich-based company. In a recent episode of BUILDERS, we sat down with Karsten Miermans, CEO at hema.to GmbH, to discuss why they're deliberately keeping sales founder-led despite having paying customers, how South America became an unexpected beachhead market, and what it actually means to build infrastructure versus point solutions in healthcare. Topics Discussed:  From consulting project to venture-backed company: recognizing scalability in hindsight  The workflow integration problem killing healthcare AI implementations  Infrastructure versus technology: why healthcare AI isn't just about the algorithm  Learning ideal customer profile after 18 months of being "all over the place"  Why South America's governance structure enables faster adoption than the US  Resisting the urge to hire sales before achieving true repeatability  The 10-year vision: shifting from "watch and wait" to "predict and prevent" in immune disease GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Pattern matching fails when you're an outsider—budget 18+ months to find your beachhead: Karsten assumed every application of their diagnostic method was the same and spent a year and a half "blue eyed" (naively optimistic) before identifying their true ICP. The outsider advantage lets you reimagine workflows insiders can't, but you'll incorrectly assume transferability across use cases. Don't expect repeatability in year one when entering regulated, workflow-dependent markets. Infrastructure requires multi-stakeholder orchestration—resource for enterprise complexity from day one: Karsten distinguishes technology (point solutions, single users) from infrastructure (shared resources requiring data exchange and workflow integration). In healthcare, this means integration into hospital systems, databases, and electronic health records across multiple stakeholders. "Every sale becomes enterprise sales" even for individual labs because of this infrastructure requirement. Founders building horizontal platforms should model sales cycles and resource requirements as enterprise from the start, regardless of deal size. Your ICP is cognitively overloaded—they won't understand your category innovation: Doctors are "under so much pressure that they just don't have any cognitive capacity left" to philosophically evaluate why AI might be difficult to implement or how infrastructure differs from technology. They need problems solved within their existing mental models. Skip the category education. Frame everything as workflow enhancement, not innovation. Let sophistication emerge through implementation, not pitch decks. Revenue doesn't equal repeatability—know when you're still in discovery mode: Despite having paying customers, Karsten explicitly states "we're not at product-market fit yet" because they're "discovering and learning things with every new laboratory hospital" around data privacy, integration, and AI deployment. The PMF signal isn't customer count or revenue—it's when the process becomes predictable, customers refer others, and you stop discovering new requirements. Hiring sales before this point scales complexity, not revenue. Regulatory friction determines market sequencing, not just market size: US governance complexity turns every deal into heavy enterprise sales with "many stakeholders," while South America proved "much more willing to move with fewer processes," making them "just much faster to adopt innovative technology." This wasn't strategy—Karsten's CTO speaks Spanish through a personal connection. But the lesson transfers: for infrastructure plays in regulated markets, test adoption velocity in lower-governance environments first to build proof points, even if TAM looks smaller on paper. In healthcare, marketing is clinical evidence—customer success creates your GTM flywheel: Karsten spends minimal time on marketing because beyond the first 5-10 users, doctors "want to see clinical evidence, they want to see papers, they want to see maybe that a friend of theirs is using it." Marketing in healthcare isn't content or demand gen—it's peer validation and published proof. Founders should structure early customer engagements to generate this evidence, not just revenue. The "marketing sales flywheel really does kick in much more once you have product market fit" because PMF enables the evidence generation required for credibility. // 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

Future of UX
#145 From Pixels to Power: Why Designers Must Become Builders with Morten Rand-Hendriksen

Future of UX

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 68:55


What if the future of UX isn't about better interfaces — but about moving beyond interfaces altogether?In this episode, I'm joined by Morten Rand-Hendriksen, Principal Instructor at LinkedIn Learning, to talk about where design is really heading in the age of AI.Morten has a background in web development, UX, and interaction design, and over the last years has gone deep into AI and product thinking. We've met at conferences like Future Product Days and had several conversations before — and every time, he brings a perspective that challenges assumptions in the best possible way.This episode is not about tools.It's about responsibility, agency, power shifts — and what it really means to be a designer today.We talk about:• Why technology is always a choice — even when it feels inevitable• What happens when users bypass interfaces completely• Why designing for screens might already be outdated• How AI agents change the balance between automation and control• Why service design is becoming more important than ever• Why designers now have an advantage over engineers• And what junior and mid-level designers should focus on todayOne of my favorite moments:“You didn't become a designer to move pixels. You became a designer because you saw how the world could be better.”This conversation goes deep. It touches capitalism, automation, AI agents, product moats disappearing, and why the future belongs to people who understand systems — not just surfaces.If you're feeling excited, overwhelmed, curious, or slightly uncomfortable about where AI is taking design — this episode is for you.Find Morten:LinkedinMorten's Ted talk AI for Designers: 5-week Bootcamp

Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast

251 - Ben Brandt In episode 251 of “Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host, James Patrick Regan speaks with guitarist Ben Brandt. In their conversation Ben tells us about his 1962 ES 335 and his recent move to Nashville from Pennsylvania after commuting for a few years. Ben discusses his previous band “Soul Miners Union” and working with guitarist Josh Smith. Ben talks us about his new album “Solid Ground” which will be released March 20th, that was produced by J.D. Simo who also plays on the album. Ben describes learning guitar from his father early on and playing in bands starting at age 10 and moving to drums and bass before returning to guitar. Ben takes us through his gear amps pedals and guitars both on the new album and his live rig. Ben describes his plans for touring in the summer and fall and his love of guitar shows. To find out more about Ben you can go to his website: benjbrandt.com Please subscribe, like, comment, share and review this podcast! #VintageGuitarMagazine #BenBrandt #JoshSmith #JDSimo #SoulMinersUnion #SolidGround #Nashville #ElderlyInstruments #GibsonGuitar #JamesPatrickRegan #theDeadlies #DRZamps#haveguitarwilltravelpodcast #HGWT #tourlife https://www.patreon.com/cw/HaveGuitarWillTravelPodcast Please like, comment, and share this podcast! Download Link

Category Visionaries
How Empathy landed 9 of the top 10 US life insurance carriers | Ron Gura

Category Visionaries

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 15:50


Empathy is pioneering bereavement care as an enterprise benefit, transforming how employers and financial institutions support employees during life's most challenging transitions. Working with 9 of the top 10 life insurance carriers in the US and Canada—covering over 40 million people—Empathy created a new category by combining grief support with practical logistics like probate navigation, account deactivation, and estate settlement. In a recent episode of BUILDERS, we sat down with Ron Gura, Co-Founder & CEO of Empathy, to learn how the company went from testing five verticals simultaneously to dominating life insurance, then leveraged the group life/employer overlap to expand into employee benefits. Topics Discussed: Testing five enterprise verticals simultaneously to find product-market fit Landing New York Life through their venture arm and innovation team Why life insurance carriers need to be risk-averse (and how to work with that reality) The strategic overlap between group life insurance and employee benefits Investing in brand at seed stage when your barrier to entry is psychological aversion Navigating dual audiences: decision-makers in their workday versus end users in crisis Expanding from loss to adjacent life transitions like disability leave and estate planning GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Run parallel vertical tests with focus constraints, not sequential exploration: Ron identified 10+ potential verticals but intentionally tested exactly five simultaneously—hospices, funeral homes, employers, and two others before life insurance emerged as the winner at position five. This parallel testing with artificial constraints forces prioritization while dramatically compressing time-to-insight. Sequential testing would have meant potentially cycling through five failed pilots before discovering their strongest market. B2B founders with horizontal platforms should pick their top 3-5 verticals and run focused pilots in parallel, accepting that this burns more resources upfront but eliminates the risk of quitting before finding your wedge. Map the ecosystem overlap between buyer personas before choosing your wedge: Empathy's expansion from life insurance to employers wasn't growth strategy—it was recognizing an architectural reality. Half their carriers sell group life, meaning MetLife doesn't sell to consumers at metlife.com but exclusively to employer groups. When Amanda at Paramount loses her sister (not covered by insurance), she calls Paramount HR. When her husband dies (covered by MetLife group policy), the beneficiary calls MetLife. Same end user, two different enterprise entry points into the same moment. B2B founders should map these triangular relationships before choosing their wedge vertical. The question isn't just "who has budget?" but "who else touches this user in adjacent contexts?" Brand investment at seed stage is product strategy when fighting cognitive aversion: Ron's insight: "The barrier to entry isn't regulatory and isn't technology. It's us humans trying really hard not to think about our own mortality." This isn't a marketing problem—it's a fundamental go-to-market blocker. The company made what most would consider Series A investments (premium domain, design system, tone/voice framework) at seed stage specifically because brand reduces psychological friction to adoption. Contrast this with Monday.com starting as "daPulse" and rebranding years into success. B2B founders addressing taboo topics (death, mental health, financial distress, relationship issues) should model brand as a core distribution lever, not post-PMF polish. In deeply human categories, buyer's lived experience is your demo: Enterprise buyers at Citibank, MetLife, or Google aren't experiencing crisis during the sales cycle—they're evaluating ROI in their normal workday. But as Ron noted, "Everyone we're talking to...they're humans. They have parents, they had loss, they went through probate." The most common response after seeing the product: "Damn, I wish you called me a few months ago. I needed this a year ago with my mom." This turns product demo into personal recognition. B2B founders in universal human experience categories (caregiving, bereavement, parental leave, financial stress) should structure discovery and demo to activate buyer's memory of their own experience, not just their budget authority. Category creation is a resource-attraction strategy that trades speed for competitive exposure: Ron explicitly acknowledged: "There's pros and cons to defining a category. It's helpful when you attract resources, talent, capital. It also creates very fertile ground for a number two sympathy.com to come along and learn from this podcast...what to go after." Category leadership accelerates recruiting and fundraising by providing narrative clarity, but it simultaneously publishes your playbook. Every hiring blog post, podcast appearance, and positioning document teaches future competitors which verticals to target and which to avoid. B2B founders should treat category creation as a conscious bet: trade competitive opacity for talent/capital velocity. If you're not ready to defend your position, stay in stealth longer. Bridge new categories to existing budget lines through analogous benefits: When entering new verticals beyond life insurance, Ron doesn't educate from zero. With employers, he positions bereavement care alongside caregiving solutions, fertility programs, and parental leave: "This is a life transition happening in my own intimate house. Just like a new baby. I have new duties now." This isn't metaphor—it's budget mapping. Bereavement care gets evaluated against existing family benefits spending, not created from scratch. B2B founders in new categories should identify which existing line item their solution logically extends, then structure ROI narratives around reallocation, not net-new budget creation. // 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

Oh F*ck Yeah with Ruan Willow
Servicing the College Fence Builders Excerpt, An Age Gap Hotwife Novella

Oh F*ck Yeah with Ruan Willow

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 22:42


Season 6, Episode 720: Servicing the College Fence Builders Excerpt, An Age Gap Hotwife Novella, written and narrated by podcast host Ruan Willow. Blurb: In this MMMMMF, John continues to lead his wife through sharing events with work men who come to the house, and the big surprise of the day is she's helping the work men work this time! She gets a special 'uniform', which is skimpier than one would expect anyone to do work in, but that's not the biggest shocker of the day. When the workers arrive, Laney's jaw drops as she had expected one man, but it's a crew! Not just any crew, this is a band of five sexy strong male college students who build, repair, and paint fences. As John dictates the rules for the day, and for the spicy event that will be the hot delicious finale, all the men and Laney are ready to tear into the day with lusty excited hopes. They are all ecstatic about all the potential dreamy flirty pitstops along the way as they do their duty to get the fence job done, but with much more salacious edging than any of them had expected. Being the female in the group, Laney is looking forward to so many high riding peaks, her highest count ever will surely be achieved with a full beefy crew like this. John's certainly not left out of the fun though! He has outdone himself this time in delivering a scheme for one of Laney's topmost unmet fantasies, and his beaming smile tells all. He's not only overindulgent with his wife, but he's going to reap all the steamy benefits once the guys head home, and for years and years to come thereafter. He's no dummy! Novella 5 in the Servicing the Work Men, My Filthy Hotwife Adventures Series. This contains affiliate links. Get the novella: https://books.ruanwillowauthor.com/servicingthecollegefencebuildersanagegaphotwifestory Get the FULL book: https://books.ruanwillowauthor.com/servicingtheworkmenherfilthyhotwifeadventures Ruan's Links, Newsletter Signup, Affiliate links and Deals:  PodNation Podcast Affiliate link, Get 15% OFF with code podna15 on Ryze Coffee at ⁠https://www.ryzesuperfoods.com/⁠ ⁠Support the show and get exclusive content⁠ Sign up for Ruan's Newsletters ⁠https://subscribepage.io/ruanwillow Get 10% OFF ENTIRE ORDER (min. purchase $69, no usage limits) with code RUANWILLOW10 on pleasure sex toys at https://www.kiiroo.com/ https://offers.feeliate.com/to92wTJh Strokers for men: https://offers.feeliate.com/?lp=5&offer=1&uid=019bea75-2e7d-75cf-a618-850a2d3e8d59 "I especially love my pearl toys from Kiiroo!"says RUAN. Toys with responsive touch are best! See them here: https://www.kiiroo.com/products/pearl3-for-performers All Ruan's links and books: ⁠https://linktr.ee/RuanWillow⁠ Affiliate link, collect your body's health and sexual health info with a wearable device for men from Firm Tech 15% OFF with code ruan15 ⁠https://myfirmtech.com/ruanwillow⁠ BeeDee app. Enter the code ohfuckyeah on the Whips ('superlikes') page to get 1 free Whip, use my affiliate link to check out this app at ⁠https://beedee.app/?r=ohfuckyeah⁠ The Fantasy Box, where you can try out a similar fantasy in a box, or find a theme you like! (affiliate link) ⁠https://thefantasybox.sjv.io/c/6250602/2141126/26423⁠ ⁠Copyright 2026 Pink Infinity Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

The Daily Crunch – Spoken Edition
OpenAI COO says ads will be ‘an iterative process'; plus, OpenClaw's creator has some advice for AI builders

The Daily Crunch – Spoken Edition

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 5:48


OpenAI introduced ads to ChatGPT earlier this month Also, Peter Steinberger talks about the creation of his viral AI agent OpenClaw and how being more "playful" makes for a better way to learn AI coding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Texas Tribune TribCast
TribCast Live: Previewing the 2026 Texas Primary

Texas Tribune TribCast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2026 55:41 Transcription Available


The Texas Tribune is grateful for the support of our sponsors. Presenting sponsor for this TribCast Live event is Builders. Major sponsors for the program are Texas Matters and Raise Your Hand Texas. Please note that while sponsorship provides critical support for the Tribune, sponsors play no role in programming or the line of questioning for Tribune events.The 2026 Texas primary elections mark a pivotal moment in a state where many races are effectively decided long before Election Day. There are more than 18 statewide elected officials up for election, along with Texas' members of Congress, state legislators, district-based judges and local elected officials.Leading up to March 3rd's primary election, join TribCast hosts Matthew Watkins and Eleanor Klibanoff, along with a panel of experts, for a discussion of where the state's most consequential races stand and what their outcomes could mean for Texas.

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast
This Is How We Do It Builders: Leading Clients With a Proven Process | EP 432

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2026 30:18


☎️Schedule a Business Evaluation Call with The Construction Leading Edge Team HERE – EPISODE 432: What if the reason your team is stressed, your projects feel harder than they should, and your profits aren't where they should be has nothing to do with labor shortages, material pricing, the market, your subcontractors, or even your clients?  What if the real issue is that you've been letting your clients run your business and, without meaning to, have adopted what I call the Burger King philosophy? In this episode of The Construction Leading Edge Podcast, I break down why letting clients run your business is costing you big time, and how to take back control without losing the relationships you value. You'll learn a clear framework to set boundaries that protect your time and profit, and build a rhythm where clients follow your proven process instead of running your schedule. 

Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast
250 - Luke Winslow-King

Have Guitar Will Travel Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2026


250 - Luke Winslow-King In episode 250 of Have Guitar Will Travel”, presented by Vintage Guitar Magazine, host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer/songwriter Luke Winslow-King. Luke joins us from his home in Spain. In their conversation Luke shares with us what life is like in Spain and he tells us about his experiences busking in Europe and dealing with Gypsies and his experiences with his band in Europe. Luke talks about living in New Orleans previously and going to the university of New Orleans and busking there as well with a group of musicians known as the “Loose Marbles” that eventually became Tuna Skinny, Hooray for the Riff Raff as well as members of Luke's band. Luke describes his gear including a resonator that he's had since 2001 and the rest of his gear and a shoutout to his home music store Elderly Instruments. Luke discusses his early touring experiences with a group of friends following a book by Pete Seeger of Woody Guthrie songs called “California to the New York Islands” Luke describes his current tour schedule traveling throughout Europe and the US and talks about his band, both in Europe and the US and he gives us insight into booking in Europe. Luke tells us about his new record “Coast of Light” his ninth album and he describes his musical education. Luke discusses his future, recording an album with “Little Freddie King” and another album for himself. To find out more about Luke you can go to his website: lukewinslowking.com Please subscribe, like, comment, share and review this podcast! #VintageGuitarMagazine #LukeWinslowKing #LittleFreddieKing #CoastofLight #BuskinginEurope #NewOrleans #TubaSkinny #hoorayfortheriffraff #ElderlyInstruments #resonatorguitars #GibsonGuitar #JamesPatrickRegan #theDeadlies #haveguitarwilltravelpodcast #HGWT #tourlife https://www.patreon.com/cw/HaveGuitarWillTravelPodcast Please like, comment, and share this podcast! Download Link

Builder Funnel Radio
291 - 3 Areas Remodelers and Builders Should Focus Their AI Efforts

Builder Funnel Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2026 37:07


In this episode of AI Marketing for Remodelers, Kai Biami and Spencer Powell discuss the overwhelming landscape of AI for builders and remodelers. They emphasize the importance of focusing on key areas for AI implementation, including establishing systems and SOPs, leveraging data analysis, and exploring vibe coding. The hosts provide actionable insights on how to effectively learn and implement AI tools, advocating for a shift from passive learning to active implementation. They also highlight the evolving nature of software development in the age of AI, encouraging listeners to adapt and innovate in their businesses.

The Power Trip's Initials Game
The 616th Initials Game (P.C.) feat. Alexis Huss

The Power Trip's Initials Game

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2026 36:33 Transcription Available


Every Friday around 8:15​-8:20 a.m. on KFAN 100.3 the Power Trip Morning show plays the Initials Game presented by Builders & Remodelers!The game involves 12 items people, place, things, phrases or anything as long as they share the same initials. All 12 items share the same initials. The contestants do not know the initials until they are revealed shortly before the game starts. Each item has 6 clues. As soon as the contestants know who or what the host is describing, they yell out their name. Their name is their buzzer. If the contestant gets it right, they get a point. If they get it wrong they are out for just that item. The item does have to be pronounced correctly. It is best out of 12 with tiebreakers if needed. Tiebreaker items have 3 clues.#InitialsGame #ThePowerTrip #KFAN1003FOLLOW The Power Trip on Social Media:► Like the show on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow the show on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow the show on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PowerTripKFAN​​► Follow Cory Cove on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CoryCove​​► Follow Chris Hawkey on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Chris_Hawkey​​► Follow Meatsauce on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Meatsauce1​► Follow Mark Parrish on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarkDParrish► Follow Marney Gellner on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarneyGellner► Follow Zach Halverson on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ZachHalversonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Syndication Made Easy with Vinney (Smile) Chopra
The ONE Decision That Separates Wealth Builders From Everyone Else | Abundance Mindset

Syndication Made Easy with Vinney (Smile) Chopra

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 26:29


Most people don't fail because they lack opportunity. They fail because they never fix their purpose.   In this powerful episode of The Abundance Mindset, Vinney (Smile) Chopra and Gualter Amarelo break down one of the most misunderstood — yet life-changing — principles from Think and Grow Rich: Fixity of Purpose.   Vinney shares his personal journey from arriving in the U.S. with just $7 to building a billion-dollar real estate portfolio, and why deciding once — and refusing to turn back — made all the difference.   This episode dives deep into:

Entrebrewer
He Quit His Job During the Pandemic to Become a Realtor (Interview with Jaden Barr)

Entrebrewer

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 35:30


If you're building a business while trying to be a present leader, spouse, or parent, this episode is going to resonate with you. In this conversation, I sit down with Jaden Barr to talk about what really builds authority over time. We go beyond tactics and dive into identity, discipline, leadership, leverage, and community.Jaden is a St. Louis-based real estate business owner, former college quarterback at Truman State, and father of two. He left corporate during the pandemic to build his business from scratch in a new market, and his story is rooted in discipline, faith, family, and long-term thinking.We break down how athlete-level habits translate into business, why honoring your calendar matters more than motivation, and how systems create freedom instead of burnout.Here's what we cover:Why personal branding starts with identity, not strategyHow discipline compounds over timeThe role community plays in long-term authorityLeveraging systems to buy back timeBalancing entrepreneurship with marriage and fatherhoodIf you're trying to build something sustainable, not just successful, this conversation will give you perspective.Connect with Jaden BarrInstagram: Instagraminstagram.com/jbarr_realtorFacebook: Facebookfacebook.com/jaden.barr.96Website: Kwjadenbarr.kw.comLinkedIn: Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/jaden-barr-12462610bYouTube: YoutubeJaden BarrConnect with Builders of AuthorityWebsite: BuildauthorityDigital Marketing Agency St Louis | Builders of AuthorityFree Facebook Group: FacebookLog in or sign up to viewGoHighLevel Extended 30-day Free Trial w/TONS of Personal Branding Bonuses: Gohighlevelgohighlevel.com/adammcchesney

BE THAT LAWYER
Evelyn Ackah: Creating A Team of Dream Builders

BE THAT LAWYER

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2026 32:30


In this episode, Steve Fretzin and Evelyn Ackah discuss:Reframing challenges as opportunitiesBuilding security through owning your book of businessDesigning a firm around delegation and technologyProtecting culture by hiring and leading with intention Key Takeaways:Success begins with asking whether challenges are happening to you or for you. A growth-oriented mindset is not optional for entrepreneurs and rainmakers. Those who thrive train themselves to see obstacles as openings, not endings.Relying solely on servicing others' clients limits mobility and control. Developing your own clients creates long-term security and professional freedom. Rainmaking is a learnable skill built through systems, discipline, and study.High-value leaders focus only on work they alone can do. Everything else can be delegated, automated, or systemized through tools and virtual teams. Intentional tech stacks and strong delegation enable autonomy, even four-day workweeks.Skills can be trained, but values and attitude determine long-term fit. Toxic hires damage momentum and must be addressed quickly. Great leaders invest in coaches, mentors, and team development to sustain growth. "Your staff are your dream builders. They help you create your dream. And so you want to invest in them just as much as they're investing in your success." — Evelyn Ackah Check out my new show, Be That Lawyer Coaches Corner, and get the strategies I use with my clients to win more business and love your career again. Ready to go from good to GOAT in your legal marketing game? Don't miss PIMCON—where the brightest minds in professional services gather to share what really works. Lock in your spot now: https://www.pimcon.org/ Thank you to our Sponsor!Rankings.io: https://rankings.io/Lawyer.com: https://www.lawyer.com/ Ready to grow your law practice without selling or chasing? Book your free 30-minute strategy session now—let's make this your breakout year: https://fretzin.com/ About Evelyn Ackah: Evelyn Ackah is the Founder and CEO of Ackah Business Immigration Law, a cross-border firm representing corporations and professionals in Canadian and U.S. immigration matters. With more than 25 years of experience—including leadership roles in Big Law and at Ernst & Young—she delivers strategic, business-focused immigration solutions tailored to her clients' goals.Originally from Ghana and raised in Canada, Evelyn brings both personal insight and professional depth to her work in global mobility. She is passionate about legal entrepreneurship, leveraging technology and innovative systems to build a scalable, client-centered practice.Evelyn is also the host of the Ask Evelyn Ackah Immigration Lawyer podcast, where she interviews industry leaders on immigration and related business topics. Connect with Evelyn Ackah: Website: https://www.ackahlaw.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AckahBusinessImmigrationLaw/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ackahlaw/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ackah-business-immigration-law/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelynackah/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ackahlaw/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw7M2pQKwsRteq-nThuaELQ   Connect with Steve Fretzin:LinkedIn: Steve FretzinTwitter: @stevefretzinInstagram: @fretzinsteveFacebook: Fretzin, Inc.Website: Fretzin.comEmail: Steve@Fretzin.comBook: Legal Business Development Isn't Rocket Science and more!YouTube: Steve FretzinCall Steve directly at 847-602-6911 Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.

Improv Tabletop
The Tension Builders 15—The One Where Downtime Also Manages to Go Off the Rails

Improv Tabletop

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 55:12


Are you supposed to be able to mark doom during the part of the game that's all about relaxing and resetting? Dunno if it's rules-as-written, but it happened. Pilfer cooks up a staff stew. Master Brickithon finds out where his palantir went. Oleg gets a new son. • • • Patreon: patreon.com/improvtabletop Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @ImprovTabletop Email: ImprovTabletop@gmail.com Donations: ko-fi.com/improvtabletop • • • Audio Credits The theme song for The Tension Builders is "Melodic Marauders Scared Stupid" by Ned Wilcock. The following songs also by Ned Wilcock. “Fuguenchillen” The following songs are from tabletopaudio.com. All of the 10 minute ambiences on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). “Dark City” “Arcane Athenaeum” The following songs are used courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library License. “Birdseye Blues” by Chris Haugen “Nicolas MF Cage” by Ezra Lipp Professor Umlaut by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4243-professor-umlaut License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license • • • This actual play episode uses the Bump in the Dark RPG rules by Jex Thomas and Last Pine Press. This is a fanmade work of parody. Improv Tabletop is not affiliated with the LEGO brand or its owner The LEGO Group.

Contractor Growth Tips
#479 How NS Builders Built a Massive Following While Building Luxury Homes

Contractor Growth Tips

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 43:23


Logan sits down with Nick Schiffer, founder of NS Builders, to unpack what it really takes to build a brand so strong that clients wait five years to hire you. With over 400,000 followers across platforms, NS Builders is widely recognized for high-end craftsmanship and polished content—but this conversation goes far beyond Instagram. Nick shares how intentionality drives everything: from floor transition details and branded clothing to proposal books, employee handbooks, and long-term trust with clients. If you want to understand how brand, systems, communication, and consistency compound over time to create real market leverage, this episode is a masterclass.

The Most Dwanderful Real Estate Podcast Ever!
Wall Street Needs Houses, You Sell Them Dirt

The Most Dwanderful Real Estate Podcast Ever!

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 46:13 Transcription Available


Send a textWe break down how to turn raw land into builder-ready communities while reducing risk by securing the buyer first. Brandon shares the three-phase model, the biggest mistakes to avoid, and why the right city partners and civil engineer change everything.• buyer-led land targeting and concept planning• securing city buy-in before heavy spend• locking a national builder during due diligence• three phases: entitlement, horizontal, exit• multiple exits to fit the market cycle• designing lots to match builder product lines• choosing developer-friendly states and cities• costly pitfalls from poor engineering and approvals• investor options: passive capital or mastermind coaching• community impact: rooftops, retail, tax baseGive us a five-star review, write something nice, subscribe, follow, all of the things because podcasts, you know, we do these for you to help you learn, educate, and help you become a better real estate investor Support the showThanks again for listening. Don't forget to subscribe, share, and leave a FIVE-STAR review.Head to Dwanderful right now to claim your free real estate investing kit. And follow:http://www.Dwanderful.comhttp://www.facebook.com/Dwanderfulhttp://www.Instagram.com/Dwanderful http://www.youtube.com/DwanderfulRealEstateInvestingChannelMake it a Dwanderful Day!

Integrative Life Coach Training for Health and Wellness Practitioners
Do Your Best Employees Leave and Take Your Clients? What to Do About It

Integrative Life Coach Training for Health and Wellness Practitioners

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2026 19:00


Tired of watching your best practitioners walk out the door with your hard-earned client list? Here's the truth bomb you need: they're not leaving to steal from you—they're leaving because you haven't given them a reason to stay. In this episode, Kim breaks down the three-tier system that transforms your business from a revolving door of resentful employees into a thriving company where top talent fights to stay. What You'll Learn: 1️⃣ Why most employees aren't business-minded (and what that means for your hiring strategy) 2️⃣ The difference between building a personal brand vs. building a scalable company 3️⃣ How to create a development culture that makes leaving feel like a downgrade 4️⃣ The 3-tier structure: Visionaries, Builders, and Integrators—and why you need all three 5️⃣ Why "fairness" in the workplace isn't optional if you want to keep good people 6️⃣ The real reason your star performers are eyeing the exit (hint: it's not about money) I took notes for you: Download the worksheet here > https://link.kimguillory.com/widget/form/YuJ4m69dvSzmXnt7ggbI  Ready to become the leader who can hold space for bigger success? This episode will challenge you to look in the mirror and ask: Am I creating a workplace worth staying for? Resources Mentioned: Want help becoming the visionary leader your team needs? Email Kim or reply wherever you're listening to explore working together. support@kimguillory.com If this episode resonated, please: Share it with a salon, spa, or wellness business owner who's struggling with turnover Leave a rating and review to help us reach more business owners Send Kim your topic requests for future episodes Full show notes: https://kimguillory.com/podcast/stop-employees-from-leaving 

ShopTalk » Podcast Feed
702: Lit-HTML, Implied Target for Popover, and Website Builders

ShopTalk » Podcast Feed

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2026 49:24


Show DescriptionChris has opinions about being sick, implied target for popovers, should Apple provide cross platform virtual machine images for Safari testing, what tips are there for beginners to HTML and CSS, which website builder CMS's do we recommend, and a Chipotle hack for your lunch plans. Listen on WebsiteWatch on YouTubeLinks The Missing Link for Web Components – Frontend Masters Blog Better defaults for popovers - Manuel Matuzovic 346: With Ben Evans – CodePen Ben Evans on CodePen Pure CSS Only Portrait - Isla Pure CSS Still Life - Water and Lemons A Single Div Webflow Craft CMS Sanity Contentful