Podcasts about CRO

⁠Watch Todd's Free Negotiation Masterclass⁠ ⁠Buy 'Four Levers Negotiating' Here⁠ Todd Caponi is a multi time CRO, award winning author, and one of the leading voices on transparency in sales. And these are the three negotiation moments that changed how he sells forever. From a used car purchase that went completely sideways, to a seven figure software deal saved at the last second, to a heated pricing argument with an angry marketer, Todd Caponi shares real stories that prove why honesty beats tactics in negotiation. No gimmicks. No fake leverage. Just clear, human conversations that build trust, reduce discounting, and turn negotiations into collaboration instead of combat. These Courses Will Get You to President's Club:

Kiera takes listeners through specific actions the most successful dentistry minds have incorporated into their day-to-day to stay elevated. She touches on: Planning out an ideal week Reviewing these numbers weekly Fostering problem-solvers And more! Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript:   The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and I hope that you guys are having an amazing day today. I hope you're loving dentistry. I hope you're loving your opportunities. I hope that you are remembering that we have one life and I hope that you're making it the absolute best life you can. There's a song that I recently heard called Time's a Ticken and it's like, so call your mom, love your babies, talk to your friends and...   I just think about it and another thing I saw were like, if your mom and dad are still able to call you, how blessed are we? And I know some people have strained relationships, but I think as much love that we can give and as much as we can foster great relationships in our lives and realize how much goodness we have, I think that's an amazing space for us. just hopefully you know how much I love and appreciate you and how much I'm rooting for you, whether I know you personally or whether...   you are someone in our Dental A Team family, or if you are in our podcast family, or if you're new to this, just know I'm rooting for you. Even if I don't know you personally, ⁓ you're doing better than you think you are today. Guys, it's going to be fun. I want to talk about CEO habits for next level, like what top practice leaders are doing and just some tips for you. As we're rolling into a 2026, I love looking at habits and not necessarily fads, but habits. And so what do things do? And I believe that habits, not just hustle,   are going to help you with success. ⁓ So many times it's like, well, what made the success successful? And it's like really consistency on doing the best things and the highest priority things consistently. And so giving a couple of three core habits that I think growth-minded leaders, practice owners have versus overwhelmed operators. And so really being able to give you that guidance and at Dental A Team we're obsessed with helping dentists become CEOs of their practices and having amazing teams thrive around them and.   ⁓ Giving you guys all of that today is really what it is and we want you guys to feel clarity, confidence and consistency. And I know sometimes when you're in the whirlwind of the day-to-day business, it can feel very hard to have this. But I will say, if you can build these as a building blocks, the noise can lessen. I'm not gonna promise it will go away, but it can definitely lessen and doing it over time. Just like with front office team members were like, I just don't have time, Kiera. And we're like, great, let's put in a power hour. And they're like, it's never enough time.   You're right. Today is not enough time, but if you do one hour a week blocked with no interruptions and you work on the highest level things, I've watched teams over and over and over again, be like, I actually don't need this hour anymore. And we get our recare calls done and we get our unscheduled treatment calls done and we block that and we do it. And office managers, they block that time and billers block the time to do insurance verification. It does not need to be a lot of time, but it does need to be consistent. So with that, you guys, this is going to be something that's a   a habit, ⁓ daily and weekly habits that you can create that you can really just put into your life now. So number one is, this sounds so silly and I do this often, it's creating and committing to an ideal week. ⁓ And so that's being able to have a rhythm and not reaction. so what I noticed and it's crazy because as my company evolves, my life and my business and my schedule needs to evolve as well.   When the business was smaller, I used to be able to run back to back to back to back meetings. There wasn't as much strategy that I needed to think about. There weren't as many hard decisions. There weren't as many like complex decisions that I used to be able to run a week like back to back to back. And then I realized like, I can't run like that anymore. I need to have like on time and off time, on time, off time. And then there's presenting like podcasts. Like you try to put meetings on a podcast day. You guys, am in podcast is creative land and I'm on presenting mode. And I'm like here hanging out with you guys and having a good time.   don't put meetings where I'm trying to like figure out a budget that is such a different mind than a creative mind. And so really being able to block this where we have it and color coding your calendar. What I really do believe is as a CEO of a practice, you're going to have clinician time, right? You're going to have being a dentist. Then you're going to have leader time where you're developing your leaders. And then you're going to have visionary CEO time. And if you can block this in there and you don't have to have it perfect. So do I have   leader time where I'm like developing my leaders and I'm spending time figuring out leadership pieces for them and investing in my leaders and coaching my leaders. Do I have that blocked in there? And then do I have this deep work visionary CEO time where I'm reviewing the financials and I'm answering questions from my office manager and doctors sometimes they even recommend you have another block of am I getting like all the busy work like the labs and the clin checks and the cases and looking at all the scheduling coming up. Do I have time to work on that? And   blocking this and it sounds like, gosh, there's so much and there is, this is why you feel overwhelmed and you feel radical. So having my doctor dentists in time, my leadership development time, my CEO time, and then if you need any other time, great. I also put in my personal time. So am I working out and taking care of my body? And we did this with our mastermind group where I learned a thing called rapid planning method from Tony Robbins and I really enjoyed it. And then I took it of course, ended Kiera spin to it.   But what I really loved is Tony actually had us rename our categories. So instead of saying workout time, it's my honoring my body time. And that was so much more fulfilling for me. And I also have buckets in there that are color coded of date time. Like I call it mine and Jason's forever love story. And what do I put into my calendar that's blocked specifically for that? And what's lovely is when you have colors around it, ⁓ you can actually make it to where you then are working on those specific areas.   and you're able to see them very, very easily. So when we look at this, I think about my colors and my favorite color is pink. So I always have my Kiera section where I'm honoring myself. It's in pink in my calendar. When I'm working on Dental A Team and I used to like call it just Dental A Team. Now it's my passion project and it's blue. Honoring my body is orange. I needed that like vibrant orange, like getting excited about it. And I have that in there.   my leadership visionary time, that's going to be a different color. For me, that's more of this like blue turquoise color. It's more serene, it's calm. So whatever that is for you, just having those color coordinated things and like I popped into my RPM planner. So I have my ⁓ ROASIS ⁓ is our home. And so working on my home, wealth, genius, fun, that's curious thing. And I always make sure I have fun built into my calendar. But I think like you can make it as complex or as simple as you want, but I would really recommend we've got our dentist time.   our leader time, so maybe that's like our give back time or our development time or our like my first team time and then my visionary, my exciting time. What does that look like and really blocking that in your calendar? And so then we audit our week at the end of the week and I remember I was taught like many times like the most productive thing is to go back and look where did I win my week? Where did I like lose the week and what do need to change for this? And   Even me going into a new year, actually have a new EA joining me pretty soon. So that's thrill. If any of you had a personal assistant EA that's been with you for a long time and you're getting a new one, let's ⁓ just say it's a thrill. And I'm really excited for Marissa to join as Shelbi's getting ready to have some life changes. And I'm so, so, so excited for her. ⁓ And going through that and being able to experience it, I realized I needed a different calendar.   What I've been doing is not going to get me to where I need to go. And so we've been working on it and I like built it. You guys, I like to like really mass and like if I'm in podcast mode, I'm in podcast mode. And if I'm in coaching call mode, I'm in coaching call mode. And if I'm in business mode, I'm in business mode. ⁓ but I realized what I was doing is I was business mode. I was coaching call AKA dentists thing that I was in heavy meetings and then I was in podcasting. And I think sometimes when we run that heavy, it's very hard to have like downtime. And so for you looking, you're working as a dentist all four days.   So could we block maybe Wednesday mornings where you have a catch up time or do we have a CEO day where it's a Friday and you actually have that block for four hours and you work on that. I have a dentist, he works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays are always off and he works Friday. And I'm like, that is the weirdest schedule. He's like, Keira, I love it. I get all my admin stuff done when people are still there. I have time to think that's when I'm gonna work on my decisions. And then I go in and have a great Friday where I've got nothing on me and I produce my highest amount. And this doctor is a very high producing doctor but he's very regimented in how he does it.   And that's how he's been operating for the last like 30 years. So when you implement this and you commit, so I'm like, okay, let's break it down. guys know I like to make it easy. I like to make it tactical for you. You got to block these areas. What am I done to seeing? When am I leading? And when am I thinking about the greater big like CEOing of the company? And if I'm only going to do one, I'm going to block a two hour block every single week to work on high level of the business. Just like I recommended for our leaders blocking one hour minimum per week of deep work time.   and doing it at your prime optimal time. For me, it's early mornings. I operate so good from like 6 a.m. lately, it's been like 3 a.m. until about 11 and then like I'm out. I don't want to be thinking heavy. I don't like hard things. That's my operating. Just like I run on protein, Jason runs on carbs. Like it's just operating in how we function, but really making sure you do that. Again, this is a habit. It's a discipline. It's reviewing it. And I had a doctor who was really high level. We coached together for about a year and he said, Kiera, coaching with you was one of the most impactful years of my life.   because you taught me to prioritize my calendar, to review my calendar, to work on my family relationships, to work on my leadership, to delegate, to see what things were in my calendar that I could delegate. And this person has grown and added multi-multi-practices and I'm so proud of him. But truly, this is going to be your best thing. So action on this of getting this habit into place is block two hours as your CEO time, no operations, no calls. You are just fully focused on the business and commit to doing that.   for the next four months. Whoa, four months, can you imagine? Just try it. Test it out, tell me, Kiera, I'm trying the experiment. Email me, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. I'm committed to it and I want you to not break that promise to yourself. You hold it strong. I had a doctor who did this. She put a like sign on her door and she said, do not interrupt me at all. Now you have to hold this strong because if someone's like, hey doc, I just have a quick question. Nope, right now is my time and I need you to respect my time. I'll be available at this time.   You call that one or two times and your team will not interrupt you again because they know you are dead serious on this. So review it. Now you're already doing that. I want you to take it one level further and I want you to add in your date time, your workout time, something that you are also adding in that needs to be blocked. And I want you to ramp it up one more. Okay, that's number one habit. Number two habit is reviewing your KPIs and your financials every single week. And you're making decisions based on data, not on feeling. So we all know that what we measure improves, right? All of that is there.   So what it is is KPIs, you gotta be looking at those, whether you're using dental Intel, we recommend Addit. Practice by numbers, I don't care. All of our clients do get Addit. So if you're like, hey, I'm thinking about consulting, but I'm not sure about cost or guess what, we cover that cost for you and it's free for you and we also have other perks for you. So ⁓ definitely cost savings that way. And we help you build a scorecard and a dashboard and we teach your team to look at this. But you as a CEO of your practice, this is how you become a CEO. CEOs make decisions based on numbers and metrics, not on feeling and gut.   but you have to take time to review the data to sift through the data. We have an amazing CRO on our team that's a chief revenue officer. didn't even know that was a position. And I have been begging our marketing team to go through our podcast data to figure out what did the listeners want? have, guys, oh my gosh, we're moving into, think our, we started in 2019. So this year, seven years on the pod, guys. I cannot believe that. Lucky seven over here. But thinking about it, I was like, go look at the data. want to,   not just what Kiera feels and what I think you guys, are 1,100 episodes in by now. Like we should be able to have great data of what you guys want. And you're gonna hear a change this year because we actually went through Paul kudos to him. He went through and he looked at all the data and he said, all right, Kiera, here are the episodes doing well here. The episodes not doing well. Here are the things that listeners want. Here's how we need to revamp it. And I was so proud of him and so grateful because now we're building content based on what the data is telling us. But you know how long that took him? It took him like three months to go through it all, sift through it all. And for you,   You've got data, you've got case acceptance data, you've got new patient call conversion data, you've got our billing, our AR data, you've got diagnosis of doctors, we've got hygiene period data. That is the stuff you need to be looking at to see how are we doing? You've got how long is it to our next appointment? We see how far out are we booking our new patients? We see how far out are we booking our six month appointments? Are we staying at six months? How much money are we losing? A doctor had me come in and I looked and saw it, you're booking your patients eight months out. It was about a million dollars worth of revenue that they were leaving on the table.   just by not having enough hygiene available. That is gold if you will take the time. So this is another step that we're gonna add in. So you've already got your CEO block. You can add this into it where we commit to reviewing our KPIs and our PNLs every single week and making adjustments to that. Now work in tandem with your office manager. Office managers, should be doing this as well. Every single week, where are we off and what do we need to do next? Every week. And we train our teams to use numbers, not feelings. And this is how we're going to lead.   So team members should be looking at the numbers. They should know their department. Are we on track? Are we off track? We have scorecards every single week. All of our departments are reporting. Where are we on? Where are we off of? Where do we need to pivot? We need lead measures and we need lag measures. We need to make sure we're looking at both of those. And you literally start looking at this. And I just told you like people who do this, I have an office and she was like, Garo, we need to increase. I want to increase it. And I was like, we are profit and production. That's all we're looking at, period. I cut out all the noise.   Profit production, what are the levers that are hitting that? How are we diagnosing? How are we block scheduling? How is our case acceptance? How are our new patients and how are we filling the schedule? Profit production, that's all we're hitting. And guess what? That doctor is the most profitable they have ever been. But it was because we had them laser focus. We focus on these numbers every single week. And this doctor was doing it, but they weren't optimizing and making decisions on where they really needed to go and focus on the most important thing. And I think even though you might look at the KPIs and data, are you focusing on the most important things that are gonna drive and move your practice forward?   So I want you profit and production are the number two that I go after. One and two, you've got to look at those two always. And then you use the other ones to boost those two up. And if you're struggling with that, hi, I'm Kiera. We work at Dental A Team. We're a consulting company committed to making you financially free, blissfully happy in your practice and getting the best life you want. So reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com Okay, so let's have it number two. Habit number three is developing your people to solve problems instead of you always solving them. So.   This is something where it's like, what's leadership versus what's firefighting. And you guys, I'm not perfect at this. I do a lot of firefighting. I do a lot of problem solving for teams. And I'm like, my gosh, I'll just give you the answer. But the goal is we need to fix it. And we need to start asking the question. So I'm like, hey, here's a problem. Instead of being like, here's the answer. Then we train them that we're the person that they come to. Hey, what do you think is a solution? You can roll it out. It's a three solution company. If you've got a problem, you bring me three solutions, one of which does not cost money. We have one-on-ones that focus on development, not just updates.   I need to develop you as a leader. I need to work with you. I need to grow you. Where are we at? This is the things we need. Like, let's work through this. Is this really the best use of our time? Is this really the best KPI for us to be tracking? Is this really how we're gonna lead? You focusing and developing your leaders and coaching them, you don't wait for things to break. So like, let's look at the KPIs. All these, you can tell build upon each other. Let's look at the KPIs. Let's look at what you guys are needing. And then let's coach to that. But truly,   If you will coach your team, there's a practice that I have known for gosh, seven years. The doctors are working in there one day a week and their office manager is running the organization and they have leaders. They have people that are following up on issues. They have the team solving their own problems. They're a solution oriented organization rather than a problem like centric like, Hey, here's your problem. Go fix it. If you need a good book, ⁓ gosh, it's the monkey book. The one minute manager meets the monkey.   It's like a good little fable of don't let people put the monkey, like their monkey on your back and leave it. Another friend described it as a fridge with a magnet and like someone was like, here's this problem, here's this problem. We're like Post-it notes, right? Like they just put it all on you. Tiff and I did a video a long time ago where it's like Post-it notes all over you and you're just drowning in Post-it notes. Well, that's like draining your energy too. And if we can teach our team to solve problems and this is a habit, this is going to be, ⁓ this is going to be something that you work through.   So just letting you know, like, this is where it's at. This is how we do it. These are three habits for you. So how do we take action on this one of developing it is you're going to have monthly coaching one-on-one with each of your leaders and figuring out their gaps of where they need to grow and giving honest feedback to them. ⁓ There's some great things of, you guys know we run on EOS and we absolutely love EOS and there's quarterly conversations that you can have. it's like, how are they on core values? How are they on their position? How are they rating themselves?   ⁓ We are having the conversations and we're being direct with them and we're giving mutual reflection on things and how are we doing on our quarterly pieces and how's our team doing and what are the moving forward actions that we're doing and having these as consistent monthly and quarterly check-ins with our team, but growing them into leaders is going to be critical and pivotal for your team. So these are three, you guys, three quick habits that you can implement now.   If you need to read the book Atomic Habits, how do I stack things? How do I make this easy? Like, okay, I need to block CEO time. So CEO time sounds like C, I'm gonna C on Thursdays or C on Fridays. Like, I don't know, C, maybe at C2, I'm trying to think of like an alliteration for you. I need my CEO time, my power time. There's no P in the alphabet, in the Monday, Tuesday, So maybe it's like top time on Tuesday or Thursday. I'm gonna do my top time Tuesday or Thursday or like Focus Friday.   There you go, there's some alliterations for you, but I'm gonna block this and I'm gonna block my calendar. Then I'm also gonna commit to KPIs or numbers. So winning Wednesdays, that's when I'm always gonna look at my numbers. Or magic Mondays, I'm gonna look at my numbers. Or money Mondays, there you go. Money Mondays, I'm gonna look at my KPIs and I'm gonna make decisions and me and my OM are gonna meet on that. And then I'm going to have leaders that are solution oriented. So we roll that as a culture thing and I'm gonna set it to where once a month I meet with all of my leaders now.   Maybe we work on weekly in the future, ⁓ but I'm gonna make sure that I'm meeting with them once a month and that's where I'm putting my most important time. And I could add that as CEO time, that's fine, because you are working on leadership at that part, but you're gonna commit to one, two or three of these habits and you're gonna hold strong for at least four months and let me know how your life looks. Now, if you're like me, I have to have a gym trainer, otherwise I don't work out. I got all the workouts, I got all the things, I hear it, I see it, I see it on Instagram, I see how to make the good food.   But unless I have it booked, scheduled, and someone's holding me accountable to it, I don't do it. So if you're that person, hi, I'm Kiera. We have the Dental A Team and this is what I'm obsessed with. Second to sending you a carrier pigeon, we make sure that you stay accountable to this. Let's help you do that. Reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com because you deserve to be the CEO and sometimes just being redirected and getting a new habit and a new operating system is going to get you to where you want to be. So reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com and commit to this. I want you guys to act like the CEO of your practice.   and start with these three habits this week. Reach out, we're here to help. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.  

Todd Caponi, bestselling author of The Transparency Sale and now The Transparent Negotiation, joins to talk about what sellers and leaders are still getting wrong about closing deals. He breaks down the four key levers every negotiation hinges on, and why transparency, when used right, is your strongest closing strategy.From reframing discounts as a payment for revenue predictability to exposing how fake deadlines and end-of-month pressure tactics actually kill pipeline momentum, Todd shares how to negotiate with integrity, speed, and trust. Plus, there are some hilarious history lessons along the way involving sweaters, cheeseburgers, and sales tactics from the 1800s that still (shockingly) show up in boardrooms today.Whether you're a frontline seller tired of price-pushing or a CRO trying to build a high-trust revenue engine, this episode will give you modern, actionable negotiation strategies that actually work.Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/Connect with John on IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-membership?ref=3edab1Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletterConnect with Todd on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddcaponi/Check out Todd's Website: https://toddcaponi.com/Get Todd's Book "Four Levers Negotiating" Here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Four-Levers-Negotiating/Todd-Caponi/9781637748404Visit the "Four Levers Negotiating" Website Here: https://toddcaponi.com/four-levers-negotiating/Check out Todd's Podcast "The Sales History Podcast" Here: https://saleshistory.buzzsprout.com/

We love to hear from our listeners. Send us a message. The Business of Biotech was back in San Francisco for the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (January 12 - 15) and this week we sit down with Marc Salzberg, M.D., CEO, CMO, and Board Chair at Airway Therapeutics, a company developing a recombinant version of human surfactant protein D for several respiratory, inflammatory, and infectious diseases including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is currently in Phase 2b/3 trials. Brian talks about why he selected BPD as a lead clinical indication (a disease primarily affecting preterm infants), what he learned through founding and selling a CRO, how a private biotech funds a pivotal trial across continents, and offers an industry outlook for 2026.   Access this and hundreds of episodes of the Business of Biotech videocast under the Business of Biotech tab at lifescienceleader.com. Subscribe to our monthly Business of Biotech newsletter. Get in touch with guest and topic suggestions: ben.comer@lifescienceleader.comFind Ben Comer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bencomer/

Matt Ezyk has decades of experience building, scaling and leading digital commerce technology and strategy at some of the most innovative companies in the world. Matt serves as Senior Director of Engineering, Ecommerce at Hanna Andersson which is a leading direct-to-consumer premium children's apparel and lifestyle brand. Prior to joining Hanna Andersson, he led digital at Pet Supermarket with oversight of product and engineering. Additionally he served as Director of Functional Architecture and Director of PMO at RafterOne (f/k/a PixelMedia) with operational oversight of teams working with iconic brands like Skechers and LL Bean. Matt also served in progressive leadership roles at Accenture, Merkle (f/k/a LiveArea) and several startups working with hundreds of global brands like Uniqlo, Disney, Revlon, Tapestry and many more. Matt brings to retailers and DTC brands a deep expertise in developing and implementing diverse end-to-end commerce strategies. In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:00] Intro[00:24] Sponsor: Taboola[01:41] Connecting tech decisions to business growth[04:36] Comparing agency and brand-side perspectives[07:24] Sponsor: Next Insurance[08:37] Delivering progress customers can feel[09:58] Choosing platforms based on business maturity[13:03] Callouts[13:13] Auditing tech to recover lost conversions[15:31] Reducing redundancy to improve performance[17:47] Evaluating third-party tools for value[19:36] Sponsor: Electric Eye[20:44] Improving conversion with UX and engineering[22:25] Augmenting team expertise with AI tools[27:46] Balancing speed with long-term scalabilityResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeKids clothes from playtime to bedtime hannaandersson.com/Follow Matt Ezyk linkedin.com/in/mezykReach your best audience at the lowest cost! discover.taboola.com/honest/Easy, affordable coverage that grows with your business nextinsurance.com/honest/Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connectIf you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Scaling often looks like momentum on the surface: more pipeline, more headcount, more pressure from boards and capital. But underneath? Many leaders feel the strain of decisions moving faster than their systems can support. In this conversation, Mark Roberge sits down to unpack why scaling is not a milestone, but a system that must be intentionally designed and continuously recalibrated. Drawing on his experience as HubSpot's founding CRO, a Harvard Business School lecturer, and the author of The Science of Scaling, Mark offers a clear, data-driven perspective on how leaders can move beyond reactive growth and build systems that scale with intention.Mark Roberge is the founding Chief Revenue Officer of HubSpot, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, co-founder of Stage 2 Capital, and the author of The Science of Scaling and The Sales Acceleration Formula. He is widely known for helping companies design go-to-market systems that scale sustainably. Connect with Mark: Stage 2 CapitalResources mentioned:The Science of Scaling by Mark RobergeThe Sales Acceleration Formula by Mark RobergeForce Management resources on scaling predictably:The Predictable Revenue Framework: Guide for LeadersKey takeaways from this episode:04:45 Why scaling too early, often triggered by capital of board pressure, creates more downstream problems than it solves09:20 Why your ideal customer profile is defined by who your sellers actually close, not what's written in your pitch deck12:43 Why revenue is a misleading indicator of product-market fit (and what leaders should pay attention to instead)13:58 The critical difference between product-market fit and go-to-market fit, and why skipping the latter derails scale19:36 How using leading indicators of retention removes guesswork from growth decisions40:02 Why top-down revenue targets fail, and how bottoms-up capacity planning creates sustainable scale53:55 Why Mark chose to donate all book proceeds to mental health, and why leadership conversations must make room for humanity Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

Kiera joins Jill Simonds, founder of Savvy Strategic Partners, to talk about all things leadership mindset, including what to do when you feel trapped by your business (Kiera gets personal on this one!), the ebb and flow of motivation, psychology of ownership, and a ton, ton more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript:   The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera And today it's a special podcast. I was so lucky to be featured on a podcast with Savvy. They are actually a fractional company and we have hired them to get different team members on our team and their founder, Jill Simonds and I got on the podcast and talked about all things from founder mindset to guilt of being an owner to how we stay trapped in businesses. And I just felt that this is such a   poignant and pertinent podcast for all of you. So I hope you all enjoy this episode. I hope you learn a lot. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.   The Dental A Team (00:37) Welcome everyone to vision untethered conversations with inspirational leaders. My name is Jill Simonds, founder of Savvy Strategic Partners. We are a dedicated leadership team of fractional executives. I am so thrilled to introduce my special guest today, Kiera Dent, the dynamic founder of the Dental A Team, a consulting firm dedicated to helping dental practices simplify operations, strengthen leadership and elevate patient care.   With her unique background as both a dental clinician and business owner, brings a powerful blend of insight and business strategy to every practice she partners with. Her and her team have worked with hundreds of practices nationwide to build systems that reduce stress, increase efficiency, and foster long-term success. Kiera, I'm so excited to have you here. Thank you, Jill. Thank you. I'm so excited and honored to be here.   It's fun. love what you're doing out there. I love these kinds of conversations and wow, it's always fun to sit back and hear your own bio. So thanks. It feels, feels a good way to kick off the podcast. Let's hope I deliver up to that, but truly just honored to be here. Super excited and just love what you're doing for all the founders out there like myself. Just helping us get to that executive level that we need when we maybe aren't quite large enough to bring on all these amazing players full time into our company. So just super jazz and excited to be here with you today.   Yeah, me too. I'm excited to get into it. I don't actually think I know your full story and inspiration behind Dental A Team and your purpose and passion. So let's start there. What inspired your journey and how does your purpose align with the unique challenges that you face in scaling a business today? Yeah, well,   Dentistry was never meant to be in my blood. I just happened to be in high school and saw a really fast path to wearing scrubs. thought I can be a dental assistant or I can be a nurse. I don't want to learn the whole body. That's disgusting. Mouth, I could probably handle. So that's honestly what kicked this off. So was in high school. It was a random career. And then everybody kind of teases me because my last name is Dent. It's not a stage name. And I make the joke that's real life. I just had to get three fiancees to get that last name.   That was really what got me into it. I love dentistry. It turned out to be a perfect career for me. And so I did it in high school and then I went to college and college. I actually did an undergrad in marriage and family therapy. I was planning to be a therapist and I remember being, I was interviewing in Oklahoma for grad school and I remember sitting in the interview and I was thinking like, I wonder how that like filling's going. I wonder how that crown prep's going.   And I thought, gosh, this is going to be such a weird world. Like I am trying to like pitch myself to this future college. but I'm thinking about how much fun I had back in the office and how my patients were doing. And so I got a full ride scholarship and I decided to put it on pause. went to, pharmacy school with my husband. and we went out there and we decided we'll put this on pause. We'll see if we can both get into the same school.   But I just realized my heart, my soul, my passion is in dentistry. I'd been a dental assistant, a treatment coordinator, a scheduler, a biller, an office manager, all the pieces. And so when we went to pharmacy school, decided, you know what, I'm going to call around to all of his schools and I'm going to see if we can get a spouse discount if I work at the college. Because some schools, and man, pharmacy school was not for the faint of heart. So I called around and luckily Arizona, they did and Jason got accepted to it. So I was like, all right, sights are on.   I've always been a little hustler. I'm like, sites are on, I'm to get a job at this college. And I just felt truly, truly blessed. So many people tried to get jobs there. All my friends were trying to get jobs there. And I randomly was talking to this lady in the pool at our complex and she says she has nothing to do with me getting the job there. But I fully believe that Laura had a lot of, a lot of strings behind the scenes to get me the job at Midwestern in Arizona. So I a discount on the tuition, which was great.   Um, but I was able to then work at the dental college and that truly is what kicked off this Dental A Team consulting company because I worked at the college for three years, got the, got the discount. And then while my husband was doing his residency, one of the students actually asked me to come and start a practice with her in Colorado. And I thought, Oh my gosh, like good thing I said no to the marriage and family therapy. Like let's go from dental assistant to practice owner three years. Like, let's do this. So   actually helped start a practice in Colorado. ⁓ took our first office from 500,000 to 2.4 million in nine months, opened a second location and I was like hooked on this adrenaline junkie of business ownership. But at the same time, just like we were drinking from a fire hose. My marriage was almost in shambles. I was in shambles. Like I'm 5'8". I was 98 pounds. I was not sleeping. I was up at 2 a.m. staying like up till 10 p.m. Like just it was an exhausting road.   drain, everything was falling apart. And so when I split from that partnership, ⁓ I sat there and I remember just sitting, I didn't know what to do. Like I'd lost my marriage practically. I'd lost my identity. I was like on death row in lots of different facets. And I remember just thinking like, I don't even know who Kiera Dent is anymore. And so I sat there and I was like, well,   I'm going to start a consulting company. Like I love dentistry. If I could help her, I could probably help more people. And I think that this is the fuel of founders where when we're at rock bottom, we've got to have something that builds us into our next version. And that's what Dental A Team was for me. So Dental A Team, say, was built from like the ashes of my life. Like it feels like the Phoenix rising for me. And so I started a company. Like I just, I didn't even know what I was doing. Had no background in it.   And I went and consulted my friend and I was like, I just need to practice on you. I don't even know what I'm doing. And we took his practice and we grew it tremendously. He then introduced me to a consultant overnight. had 50 clients. I started like just making things up as I went. And it was really like an overnight success, but I went from like rookie don't know what I'm doing to this. I know that I can help practices and I want to serve. And I've got all these dentists that are just like these little babies that are going to get.   ripped apart in the industry, there's gotta be a way. And so it's always said, like I always said, I wanted to positively impact the wealth of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And that's what I've said since day one, that's how it is. And now I realize that life is my passion, dentistry is my platform, but changing people's lives, helping them live their best lives. And it's wild that we're even talking Jill, because what you do for me and my business is what I do for dentists. And so it's this weird annoyance to me that I'm like, I can be a miracle grow.   and I can grow dental practices and it can be so fun. But yeah, I have no idea how to do that in a corporate world. And so learning it and evolving, and that's actually how you and I even got together was I needed someone but not a consultant. I was like, listen, I know what consultants do. I am a consultant. Like I need, I need someone with me. So that's how we got here and that's how my passion's been. I don't get to wear scrubs. That's the only bummer. Like the whole story started with scrubs and now you like wear clothes.   ⁓ You can make some really stylish scrubs as part of the entire. I would love to, but I do joke. like, took my marriage and found my therapy background, tethered it with my passion of dentistry and created a company from like just true passion and love. man, it's just been a, I think it's good. We don't know the end from the beginning. So many people want to know that. I don't think knowing what I know now I would have ever started, but I think I needed that as a person.   to build, execute. And I think that that's how founders are. We're just meant to build, we're meant to create, we're to be these creators. And so to build something that's just been magical and changed so many lives, like, gosh, the joy it's brought me has been like a hundredfold beyond anything I could have imagined. ⁓ beautiful story. And yeah, quite funny too, the path ⁓ and steps that you took to get here, but wait a listen. mean, just listen to your intuition.   And it sounds like you have some of those key core memories along the way of like your thought process sitting in scenarios where you're like, wait, is this me? Is this even what I want? And acting on it and taking that initiative and to where it's got you. That's a beautiful story. Thank you. Yeah. Can you share a specific experience from this where you have felt trapped by your business? Every day,   What strategies have you implemented or are you to create space for true growth and scalability? Yes. This is such a good and I hope like listeners, they're probably like, I don't know. I just hope that what I share is making you not feel alone. I think is probably the biggest piece because I hear this from dentists. I'm like, I know I'm not alone and I joined a bunch of groups for it. But ⁓ I say that Dental A Team is a dragon that never sleeps. Like this thing just is a crying baby of   breathing dragon that just never ever stops. And I think that there have been times, so especially last year, last year was like my rock bottom. So technically we're eight years into the company, but like I was partnered with that other guy for five, for four years. So I feel like I'm like five years in on my own trying to do this, even though I know it's like just had a funny path. But last year I hit rock bottom.   Like I went cold turkey. I checked out of work. I remember just being like, I am sick. Like not physically sick, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually, like I'm apathetic to life. Like things just need to shut down. and I'm sure a lot of founders get to this level where you just, you're doing everything. Like the whole company is riding on you and you are so rad that you built this company, but it's outgrown you and you don't know how to shed that and to build and to create and to evolve. And so my, ⁓   And I think it was, I feel like I tell myself lies all the times, which I'm sure most people can relate to of, okay, care, just push through like three more months and we're going to be better. Like three more months, we got to hire three. So you're always in this like, okay, it's going to get better at three months. And then you're like, well, shoot, like this person didn't work out. So I got to keep doing sales or, this didn't work out. So I've got to keep doing this aspect of the business. that could be a me that could be not me, but last year my strategy was like completely checked out of life. I,   came back from a conference, I was so exhausted, so burnout that I just called my executive team and said, all right, you guys have it. Like, I don't want to hear from anybody. Like I put all the things like, here's a lawyer, here's the CPA here. Of course, I'm not just going to let this thing fail, but I needed a complete shut off reset and I slept for 17 hours a day for an entire month. Like it was every day just exhausted. felt numb. felt like I lost like,   The way to best describe it is I felt like I was watching a movie in color that went black and white and that was my life. Like there was no color, there was no emotion. There was no, I feel like I lost feeling to life. And I think that was just coping mechanism to get through. We did a lot of therapy, like lots of different pieces. And I realized like, okay, we got to take care of Kiera first and then we have to get to these spaces. So when you say like, do you ever feel trapped by your business? Yes. Cause it's like, what do you do?   This is a company that's a consulting company built on Kiera. That's Kiera Dent. That's her face. Like, how do you even sell this type of a B2B business to somebody? So I did meet with people. did find two potential buyers. I was like, I need a way out. I need to figure out how do I get rid of this crying baby? Like it's got to just stop, like make the crying stop. ⁓ And then that's where we actually pulled in a traction coach. So Rick, we hired Rick. I was like,   I need someone who's outside of this company who can see it that can also be the motivating voice for my team and help them see like, Kiera can't keep carrying all this. So I will say like Rick was a huge blessing. He came from a great network of people and then the leadership team. was like, we had to have a complete reset of everything's not on Kiera's plate, but I don't think it was all leadership team. think that there's a lot of pieces of Kiera perfection that my ego.   needed to feel important and to be able to let that go. Things aren't going to be perfect, Jill. I still stress like my, I have a little bracelet on that says trust and flow. And that's this year's theme of like, here, you got to trust people and you've got to go with the flow more than trying to curate and force because that's always going to be the hardest path. So, and then we obviously hired you. We hired Jenna who's been a phenomenal fractional. we brought on a CRO.   who's helping in the sales and marketing department. But I also think that businesses when they hit a certain level, they finally have the cash to be able to hire the expertise that you need to bring on. But before that, I was so cash flow scared that I think I maybe held on to profitability too hard rather than hiring help sooner that could have probably prevented it getting that low. So now it's like mandatory, I go to the gym.   three times a week, non-negotiable. have sets time, like we shut off from work every single day at five o'clock. My husband has alarm that goes off and like, we don't talk work. We hot tub every night. Like, I don't think I realized the mental bandwidth that being a founder, operator, doer requires to recharge. And now I'm just like really pro like, no, no, no guys, I don't care what goes on. Like if these things don't happen, I'll fall apart. And that's just, I don't show up the best for anybody on the team. So.   Yes, I still feel trapped. I still wish that some days I could quit my own job. But I think the fact that you can't quit is also a really beautiful blessing because it forces innovation and creation. ⁓ So well said. the help and the support and leaning on others in your circle, finding your people who you can trust.   That's the first step for sure. You're not alone. And the second we realized that, I mean, this it's lonely. It's lonely at the top. And even with a dynamic team, nobody else wears the pressure, the weight, the risk involved like you have to, you know, but knowing that you're not alone and you have a team that you can lean on, the more you can lean into that, grow that, expand that.   It's a give and take and an ebb and flow for sure. It's not linear, but. Yeah. You made me think about my brother-in-law has a very, very, very successful high end builds these beautiful custom homes in Utah. Like one of the top builders he's been on Netflix. Like he just has this very, very incredible company. And I remember when my husband, got married where ⁓ my husband's eight years younger than him. I was like, he's always so grumpy. Like this man is so angry all the time.   And then I realized he's a business owner and he's at the spot that I'm at right now. And I'm like, I am always just like in this space of anger and frustration. And he's actually been this really randomly. He was the one I didn't like. I like, had like clashes when we first got married. I feel like I understand him on an entirely different level now. And I'm like, I get it. Like, I see, I see why you were the way you were. Like it makes so much more sense to me, but he told me, he said, Kiera, the day you become free is the day that you stopped caring so much about.   Like in the day you realize that nobody can take anything from you. Like that is such a freeing moment. So if you do get sued or if you have a teammate that like writes, like last year it was like, we got reviews galore and it's crazy. You can't take those down because if you are a CEO executive, you are no longer a human and that doesn't matter. And I think just like the bullets, we had like a pending lawsuit. We had people writing awful things about me. Like it just felt like it was just this tumultuous tumbleweed.   But I think you go through that and you do build that. I don't want to say it's a calloused soul because for me, feel like becoming angry or bitter is never going to serve. think it's an internal knowing that you have the confidence and the certainty in yourself that no matter what bullets come your way, you are capable of solving anything and everything that comes. I think when you can... Yeah.   navigate enough storms to have that confidence. I think there is so much more freedom in there. And I just think about him, he's so much happier, but he's like, I'm not reliant on anybody for my happiness. No one can take anything away from me. And I'm not dependent on anybody for like this success. And I think that's a, it's a certainty. It's not an air of ego. And I think it could be possibly taken that way. It's an air of confidence and certainty within you that I think then the highs and lows are not as turbulent. And I think that that was   similar to what we were saying, it just becomes a, I think, an evolution of you as a person. And I think that that's ultimately why we all become business owners is for that evolution of soul that we are seeking, that maybe we don't want to go through the process to get there. But on the other side, it's a beautiful version of yourself that's far grander, far more beautiful, far stronger, far more confident than you ever could have imagined yourself being. Yeah. Well said.   That freedom point too is it's almost like a stance of serenity too, because, and if you know, you know, the serenity prayer, it's, is the, the acknowledgement of what we can or cannot control what is outside of us. And when we finally let go of people's perception, what they're going to, what they even think, right? We cannot.   even control as good as of work as we can put forward and as best as we can show up. We can't control others perceptions of us, what they're going to say, what they're going to do with that. And so that level of understanding and acceptance and wisdom to know this is mine, this isn't mine and let go of everything that we carry that, you know, we think we have some control over.   letting that go is ultimate freedom, I think, when we can see, be in that confidence and in a state of serenity. Yeah, the more you let go of that and just lean into what's within our realm and our controllables is the best you can do. And we show up better. Absolutely. That's the trust and flow mindset mantra for this year of   Yeah, there is no pain in change. There's pain in the like resistance to it. And so like you said, it's a surrendering. It's a surrendering of   I think just acknowledging that this is life, this is who you are, this is what you can control. And I never thought that you could really come back from being so low. But you hear it, like you see people, like you hear media talk about it. But I think business owners, someone said once, business is such a spiritual journey. And I was like, how? I don't get it, ⁓ but I do get it.   It's such a spiritual journey. It's such an evolution of soul. It's a surrendering. It's a give. It's a take. It's a beautiful blessing. It's a call. There's so much beauty in it. then I think like, turn it into a puzzle, turn it into a game, turn it into like, how can we make this into more fun? So I started just adding more fun too. was like, why do I need to always be the gladiator? Why don't we just have like a good time and like giggle about all these things?   But I think that that's truly an evolution of you as a person too. I don't think that that is not an overnight sensation. Anyone who tells you it is like, good luck. think that that is, that's a crafted, it's an evolution and it's a beautiful surrender like you said, and grace for yourself and for others. But I feel like the person you become through it is there's so much empathy, there's so much love, there's so much compassion for others that I don't think you get there any other way.   Yeah, that's so true. Having it for ourselves first is so much harder than having that for others. So the compassion and care and giving love of ourselves and acceptance, that's the only way to give it outside of ourselves. So good. What are what are some common psychological barriers either for you or that you see show up? You work with a ton of business owners in very specific industry, too. So   What are some of those barriers you see that prevent owners from stepping back and not being so tethered, you know, to their business? What contributes to that? What are some of the psychological factors, beliefs maybe that we carry that keep us stuck? Yes. And you're right. Like I've coached hundreds and thousands of offices. That's where it's so like.   so aggravating to me to be like, Jill, need help. Like I know how to do this for someone else, but I don't want to do it for my own. I think that there's beliefs of because you're a business owner, you have to know it all. I know that that's like a big one of there's humility, but at the same time you're like, well, I'm in this, I have to figure it out. I think one of my psychological ones that I know dentists have as well is in B2B when you are the service provider, it's,   It's a psychological belief of if you are the product and you step back, how does your business continue? And it's odd because as random as it is, I was able to give up consulting much faster and delegate that, which is shocking to me. think about it often, like you give that up, but you don't give up sales and marketing and reputation. Like it's fascinating to me that I'm like the biggest portion of it and like dentists, they'll hire an associate dentist. But to me, I think those are possibly easier skillsets because I   I have that skillset that I know I can look for it and I can train that and can evolve it versus like sales and marketing in different places. Like, I don't know if I'm trying to figure it out. How am I supposed to coach this up? So I think those keep us stuck. I think there's a, I think there's a, I don't know. I don't know what it is. I feel like it's societal. But I think I'm with this like asking for help or I don't know. Is this weird? Like for me,   I feel like I'm a very highly high capable human. Like we were talking the other day and it was, on client escalations, like it's either the CEO, the salesperson or the consultant, whoever knows them best. I was like, cool. I'm a trifecta. Like no wonder I'm good at this. Like I'm the CEO, I am the salesperson and I am a consultant that I think that there's sometimes this like this weird, because I'm so high functioning and so capable that I should be able to do this and I should be able to continue carrying all these pieces.   Why am I tired? Like get it together girl. And just like, keep moving on. I think that keeps you so bound in. And then truly when I even say that out loud, I'm like, it's just your ego screaming at you, wanting you to feel important. And if you step back at all, I know what I think about stepping back. A lot of my team is the same age as me too. And I sometimes feel very awkward about like, so I'm going to have a CEO lifestyle and not be eight to five with you guys because the business never stops crying.   But it's as weird. Like sometimes I also think I'm tethered and a lot of my doctors are because like same age, same demographic, same, like you feel so similar and so close that it's almost like, why are you better than them? It's so awkward. hate it. Like you can even see I'm like playing with my hair more than I should be like, that's the stress of like, I know what I need to be doing, but I feel like I need to be sitting at the table with them every day and in the trenches with them, but they're not sitting up on the, on the hill looking down the line.   but you feel like you've got to do both. it's this weird, like I said, I don't know if it's societal, I don't know if it's female, I don't know if it's ego. I think it's probably a combination of all, but those are psychological traps. And when I see it in a client, I'm like, all right, great, you need to delegate and we need to like take these things off your plate. But I think when you're a founder living through it or the business owner, I think sometimes it's very hard to even see that ego showing up around you or see where you should let go of things.   And then I think it's a lack of trust. Like I've delegated some of these things out. We've hired, like we have paid, last year was a $300,000 oops. And I hired really great people, but like it just didn't pan. So I think that there's also that like, well, how much do you want to throw at this problem to make it go away versus just continuing to carry the torch? So it's like this ball and chain you get out of it and you get back in it. It's like this weird, awkward relationship with yourself and your business that I think is slightly toxic.   but also very addicting, which is probably why it's so toxic on certain levels. So those are mine. I know that was like a very jumbled thought, but those I think are some of the psychological ones that I've seen personally and professionally that keep people very tethered. But I will say, I like boil it down, it's always ego. Always that keeps us tied in because who are we if we don't have all this busyness badge? think that that feels like a deep hollow dark hole for me anytime I think about it.   So I know that I haven't quite grown enough to see that there's a path out. But I think is also maturity and letting go of the ego. Absolutely. Well, and it's so common. It's really what would I kind of boil down oftentimes to founders guilt, owners guilt, right? You're the hero in a lot of situations or can come in and swoop in and help and   There's an identity crisis piece of it to that ego that's like, well, if I'm not doing all these, if I'm not still holding this, who am I for one? And maybe, maybe internally we have this perception of, and you know, we've, we've grown or we've healed in ways that we know, no, I like, I know I am worthy and valued and valuable outside of what I contribute here. But like, what about what everyone else thinks? Then it's this perception of.   Well, if I'm not doing all these things, what does my team think of me? And are they going to think I'm just off on an island somewhere slacking off when I don't deserve that? Or right, like all these, these guilt trips that founders often carry because we can do all these things. So there's, there's no excuse why we shouldn't or couldn't if we can, therefore we should do them. Right. So we just continue to hold and carry that.   but yeah, guilt, ego, those are definitely some, some key pointers that we see a lot. So, as you said, Jill, it just made me think about like, but why, like, where does this stem from? Because we all feel it like I do. And then I'm like, what, does it matter? So then you justify and you rationalize and you hang out in this other Island. And then it's like, I'm going on vacation because I worked like 50,000 hours. And it's like, there comes a line where I think that that   that serenity, that like, I remember there was a day I had to Google, what does a CEO do? Like, I didn't even know. I was like, what do you, like, what do you, if I'm not doing all the things, like, what am I even supposed to do? But I think when you can, when you realize that your company needs a captain, the company needs somebody looking down the line, you start to shift and change and realize that you've got to start shedding off a lot of these things.   and I think you, you feel the guilt and do it anyway, I think has been my mantra to, don't think it will ever be easy. I think you feel the guilt and do it anyway. For sure. Because that guilt is typically self-inflicted for the most part. If you have the right team around you and in the business that care about and are aligned with the division that you've crafted, that you've put forth, they need that from you.   just as much, right? You stepping away, you coming and showing up refreshed, aware, whole, right? Those fragmented pieces of us when we're scrambling to try to just uphold and keep all the plates up in the air is not the best version of ourselves. And so when we realize that too, and the more the team can even vocalize like, yes, like we need this of you and look at   look at all the places that a visionary needs to show up looking down the line, what's ahead, looking outward and not down and in is that pulls the rest of the energy and the rest of that, you know, that perspective for the rest of the team to see that more and more clearly if that's where your focus is. So you're doing them a favor, you're doing a service. ⁓   Cause every, yeah, every successful business needs someone charting that vision. And that is where your eyes are focused. That is where your pull is going toward that. That is what grows the I think that because it feels like it's just this like vision that's not tangible, I think for me at least, and for other people that often can keep us tethered into the company because it doesn't, there's no way to put on a KPI scorecard that I did my visioning.   for the day. It's like, do I even know that I'm showing up and having that as a checklist? But I think when you really are solid in it and you watch a team who has a vision versus a team who doesn't have a vision, you see the intangible, like it's a subconscious push. It's the wind behind the sails. You can see a sail, can't see the wind, but the wind is ultimately what makes it go. And I think when visionaries realize that you are an invisible, very tangible, intangible part,   I think it becomes much more clear of like, no, I need the white noise space. Like I need these things because ultimately it's my job. And I've got to be able to show up as that wind to push this boat in the direction it needs to truly go. I love that. I'm going to use that analogy. That's so well put. That's a good one. Well, to finalize the conversation today, what steps would you suggest to founders struggling to   let go, delegate, while also maintaining alignment with their vision.   That's a great question, Jill. I feel like such an Oreo. I've got a white side of me and it's a black and white in me. Because I'm like, what would I tell my clients? I would tell clients, the way you are able to step back is we set these pieces and we do all this. And then I'm like, well, let's speak from Kiera's perspective of, I've done this. This is where I'm at.   to step back and what I also watched. So I think they do actually go like, I'm like, okay, I'm not an Oreo. Like I've got both parts of the cookie on. Like I brought it together for everybody here. I think both sides, my side and client side would be, I think having a vision for yourself. When I got crystal clear of where I really wanted to go personally and professionally in the next one, three, 10 years, like I grabbed a big sticky pad. It was written out and I stick it in front of me every single day. So I'm looking at that.   that became a lot more clear. My decisions became much cleaner. So I think it would even tie to the book. Like 10 X is easier than two X when you have this big audacious vision, the path becomes so much cleaner and easier than when you're trying to just do a two X move. So I would say for visionaries who feel stuck, that is ultimately where you're at. If I get your 10 X vision, where is that going? Clean up the paths and stay laser focused on that. And then get your team rally behind it.   They get excited. They get the joy behind it. And I think like, even when I say that, I'm like, the 10X path is just so much easier. It's so much cleaner. It's so much more freeing. And then I think like, again, it's hard, but do it anyway. Right now it's a stripping down of letting go of clients for me. And I feel like such an awkward identity. I'm like, if I'm not a consultant, am I going to lose my edge? And it's like, but I'm so clear on the 10X, the 10 year vision.   that that part has to sheath off in order for me to progress and to grow. And I think when you are aligned, also be really careful not to lose that vision. I lost my leg last year. Like it was still there, but I buried it. think keeping that radiant, keeping that vibrant, keeping that like for me, it's a post-it note on the wall, like a giant one. Like this is where I'm headed. This is where the boat's going. This is where the wind needs to push me and the company. I think that that can help you stay true to you.   It can say true and it makes all the other decisions so much easier because then it's a yes or a no. And if you can get that black and white crystal clear and then truly trust and empower your team, that to me is like, I recognize it's a let go of control. It's a surrender like we discussed earlier and belief in your team that they're going to crush it. And if these aren't the right people, right seat, you're going to find them, you're going to grow, you're going to evolve. But the 10X vision is a non-negotiable.   But it's a 10X vision that makes you happy, fulfilled and not like exhausted, out at the end of the finish line. I think I used to feel it was a muscle through rather than a joyous journey. That 10X vision needs to be joyous journey. And who am I at the vibrant self at the end of it? I'm not going to muscle through anymore. I'm going to gracefully navigate. So I've got energy for me, energy for team, energy for family. because I think if we're not thriving in our businesses, we might as well just go get a job from someone else.   You don't want to have a worse job with you as the boss than you would somewhere else. So hopefully that, but I think it's just crystal clear on where you're enjoy that. ⁓ Kiera, thank you so much for your insights, your wisdom and sharing your heart. just truly and authentically it's beautiful. Thank you, Jill. Appreciate being here. Really, really appreciate what you're doing too. Well, thank you so much.   If anyone wants to learn more about you, Dental A Team and expertise of your team, where's the best place to find you and information or get connected? Yeah. We have a podcast, the Dental A Team podcast. So come on over. We'd love to have you there. Tips for teams and for owners. And then also Hello@TheDentalATeam.com or online, like social, we're on Instagram. Dental A Team would be great. But yeah, love to just share, inspire, help.   because I believe like all of us succeeding together is what this journey is about, but succeeding and being fulfilled. It's not, life should be fun. Owning a business should be fun. It does not need to be hard. So let's make it easy and fun together. ⁓ I love that. Well, thank you everyone for listening. Kiera, thank you again for being here and we'll see everyone next time.

Ander Tallet, co-founder and COO of Dash Bio and CEO of DigitalRadius, joins Ross Katz to discuss transforming the traditional CRO model through automation, transparency, and productization. Drawing on deep experience from Moderna, Science Exchange, and his leadership roles in digital transformation, Ander shares how Dash Bio is slashing turnaround times, improving data quality, and simplifying procurement for biotech companies. This episode unpacks the future of CRO services, strategic procurement, and the power of operational innovation in biotech. What you'll learn in this episode: >> Why traditional CRO models hinder speed and transparency in biotech >> How Dash Bio delivers 90% faster turnaround through automation >> What productizing CRO services really means for the customer experience >> How regulatory requirements shape innovation in clinical bioanalysis >> Why investor buy-in requires solving real, painful problems in biotech Meet our guest Ander Tallett is the co-founder and COO of Dash Bio and the CEO of DigitalRadius, where he leads digital transformation initiatives as one of the largest Smartsheet partners in the ecosystem. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer at Science Exchange and co-founded Block Mill Capital, a B2B SaaS-focused investment fund shaped by his experience evaluating and implementing more than 100 SaaS platforms.  About the host Ross Katz is Principal and Data Science Lead at CorrDyn. Ross specializes in building intelligent data systems that empower biotech and healthcare organizations to extract insights and drive innovation. Connect with our guest: Sponsor: CorrDyn, a data consultancyConnect with Ander Tallet on LinkedIn  Connect with us: Follow the podcast for more insightful discussions on the latest in biotech and data science.Subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode!Connect with Ross Katz on LinkedIn Sponsored by… This episode is brought to you by CorrDyn, the leader in data-driven solutions for biotech and healthcare. Discover how CorrDyn is helping organizations turn data into breakthroughs at CorrDyn.

We're back and better than ever. Season 4 of Absolute Gene-ius is officially here, and this teaser gives you a front-row seat to what's coming. From scientific puns to sneak peeks of the upcoming guest lineup, co-hosts Jordan Ruggieri and new addition Lisa Crawford set the tone for another season of engaging, educational, and entertaining molecular biology content.This season, the show expands its scope beyond digital PCR to include real-time PCR and other tools that are working together to move research forward in fields like oncology, agriculture, behavioral psychiatry, and more. Lisa brings a non-scientist's view to the show along with a deep passion for translating complex science into compelling stories. Whether it's microvesicles, stem cells, or high-containment biosafety labs, the upcoming episodes promise to be both technically informative and very human.And in classic Absolute Gene-ius fashion, we keep it fun. From how guests got into science, to what thy love most about it, and lab fail stories, the Career Corner returns with fresh energy and laughs. Expect bad puns, big discoveries, and the beautiful chaos of real-world research. Visit the Absolute Gene-ius page to learn more about the guests, the hosts, and the science we explore. Discover the Applied Biosystems QuantStudio Digital and Real-Time PCR Systems powering real-world research across neuroscience, oncology, agriculture, and more.

Join us on the AdTechGod Pod as we dive into an inspiring conversation with Julie Van Ullen, President and CRO at iSpot. Discover her journey through leadership roles at IAB, OpenX, Freewheel, Rakuten Advertising, and Rakuten Rewards. Julie shares her insights on maintaining authenticity, the importance of mentorship, and navigating the evolving landscape of digital advertising. Tune in to learn from her experiences and gain valuable advice for aspiring leaders. Takeaways Julie's career has been fueled by authenticity and mentorship. Trust is essential in leadership and team dynamics. Change is a constant in the tech industry, requiring adaptability. Measurement in advertising must evolve to keep pace with consumer behavior. The future of advertising is promising, with a focus on data-driven insights. Women in tech face unique challenges but can overcome them with support. Mentorship is crucial for personal and professional development. Authenticity in leadership fosters a positive work environment. The advertising industry is ripe for innovation and change. Building trust with teams leads to better outcomes. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Julie Van Ullen 01:04 Julie's Career Journey and Mentorship 04:01 The Importance of Authenticity in Leadership 08:38 Transitioning from Traditional to Connected Television 11:37 The Role of Measurement in Advertising 14:05 Positive Outlook for the Future of Advertising 15:33 Navigating Gender Dynamics in Ad Tech 19:55 The Power of Mentorship and Support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Right now, while you're listening to this, one of your sales reps is pasting customer data into ChatGPT. Your marketing manager just uploaded strategic memos to Claude. And your IT department has no idea. Welcome to Shadow AI. Research shows that while only 40% of companies have official enterprise AI licenses, 90% of employees are using AI tools through personal accounts. Your team isn't trying to sabotage you - they're trying to survive the "Admin Drag" we discussed in Episode 01. The question isn't whether they're using AI. They are. The question is: Are you going to hide from it, or are you going to lead it? In this episode, Mike Allton tackles the biggest obstacle standing between you and effective AI implementation: governance. He breaks down why the typical corporate response - the "ban hammer" - doesn't just fail, it makes the problem worse by driving AI usage completely underground where you have zero visibility. You'll discover: Why 90% of employees are "Shadow Users" leveraging personal AI accounts to hit their goals The three scenarios currently creating data leaks in most revenue organizations (PII in free tools, unreleased product details in public galleries, customer records in unsecured platforms) Why your team isn't being malicious - they're being desperate (and what that tells you about your tech stack) The "Traffic Light System": A simple 3-tier framework (Green/Yellow/Red) that employees actually remember How to launch a 30-Day Amnesty Program that brings Shadow AI into the light without creating a witch hunt The 7-day implementation roadmap to go from "Shadow Risk" to "Sanctioned Speed" This isn't about punishing innovation. It's about governing it. Because when you sanction Shadow AI, you don't just reduce risk - you unlock velocity. Mike walks you through the exact email templates, survey questions, and policy frameworks you need to turn your biggest security vulnerability into a competitive advantage. Featured Framework: The 30-Day Amnesty Program - discover what tools your team is actually using (and why your official stack is failing them) Featured Resource: The Shadow AI Governance Launchpad - includes the Traffic Light cheat sheet, amnesty email script, and AI Use Policy template ready for Legal review Download here: https://theaihat.com/the-executive-guide-to-shadow-ai-from-security-risk-to-competitive-advantage/ Next Episode: We move from governance to implementation. You'll learn how to hire your first Digital Crew member - a Sales Prep Agent that researches prospects 15 minutes before every call and delivers a Battle Card to your rep's inbox. If you're a VP of Sales, CRO, or RevOps Director who needs to secure your team while enabling them to move faster, this is your playbook. Episode Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Shadow AI 00:26 The Reality of Unapproved AI Usage 02:21 The Risks of Shadow AI 03:55 The Ineffectiveness of Banning AI 07:21 Sanctioning AI for Safety and Efficiency 08:35 Implementing the Traffic Light System 10:25 Rolling Out the AI Amnesty Program 13:08 Final Thoughts and Next Steps 14:52 Conclusion and Wrap-Up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Glean has grown into a $7.2B company by giving employees AI assistants and agents that extend their capabilities.CEO Arvind Jain is back on Grit alongside Joubin Mirzadegan. Here's what stood out:“My mindset by default is that if you build something last year, that it's got to be obsolete. There has to be a new way to do that thing better today. If not, then it's just lack of imagination.”“I have no doubts that AI capabilities are just going to increase more and more over the next few years. But even more important is this concept of how much are we even leveraging what AI can do today? I would say that we've not even used 1% of current capabilities of these models”“If you're trying to be everything to everyone, then you just cannot compete with somebody who's focused on a smaller problem and going deep into that.”You can also listen to Arvind's earlier episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIH0Qp6d6bg&list=PLRiWZFltuYPF8A6UGm74K2q29UwU-Kk9k&index=96Guest: Arvind Jain, founder and CEO, Glean​Connect with Arvind JainX: https://x.com/jainarvindLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jain-arvind/Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGrit​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

We dig into why traffic is fragmenting, why single-channel expertise won't cut it, and how expert generalists, stronger offers, and brand strategy are now the true growth levers. We share a practical path from productized “done-for-you” to higher-margin “done-with-you,” plus frameworks for attribution, remote team performance, and human-in-the-loop AI.• AI-driven traffic shifts and platform changes• Generalists with deep skills as the new edge• Offers, positioning, and CRO over channel tricks• Human-in-the-loop standards to avoid AI slop• Done-with-you consulting to expand TAM and margin• Retainers, value pricing, and capacity planning• Attribution redesign and qualification signals• Objectives, metrics, KPIs, and NPS for retentionGuest Contact Information: Website: agencyacquisitions.ioLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nickavariaTwitter/X: x.com/Nick_AvariaYouTube: youtube.com/@AgencyAcquisitionsInstagram: instagram.com/nick_avariaMore from EWR and Matthew:Leave us a review wherever you listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Amazon PodcastFree SEO Consultation: www.ewrdigital.com/discovery-callWith over 5 million downloads, The Best SEO Podcast has been the go-to show for digital marketers, business owners, and entrepreneurs wanting real-world strategies to grow online. Now, host Matthew Bertram — creator of LLM Visibility™ and the LLM Visibility Stack™, and Lead Strategist at EWR Digital — takes the conversation beyond traditional SEO into the AI era of discoverability. Each week, Matthew dives into the tactics, frameworks, and insights that matter most in a world where search engines, large language models, and answer engines are reshaping how people find, trust, and choose businesses. From SEO and AI-driven marketing to executive-level growth strategy, you'll hear expert interviews, deep-dive discussions, and actionable strategies to help you stay ahead of the curve. Find more episodes here: youtube.com/@BestSEOPodcastbestseopodcast.combestseopodcast.buzzsprout.comFollow us on:Facebook: @bestseopodcastInstagram: @thebestseopodcastTiktok: @bestseopodcastLinkedIn: @bestseopodcastConnect With Matthew Bertram: Website: www.matthewbertram.comInstagram: @matt_bertram_liveLinkedIn: @mattbertramlivePowered by: ewrdigital.comSupport the show

Podcast del programa Imagen Empresarial transmitido originalmente el 12 de enero del 2026. Conduce Rodrigo Pacheco. Los entrevistados de hoy: Entrevista; Samy Abuyaghi, CRO y Vicepresidente de ventas, marketing y servicio al cliente de AT&T Tema: Registro de líneas de celular Entrevista: maría Teresa Arnal, empresaria y fundadora del Movimiento Mujeres por la Democracia Tema: Situación en Venezuela

In this episode of The SaaS Revolution Show, Alex Theuma is joined by Nick Turner, CEO of Dreamdata, to discuss the journey from CRO to CEO and what it really takes to scale a B2B SaaS company in the age of AI. Nick shares lessons from Dreamdata's growth journey, including the company's $55M Series B, and explains why trust and accuracy matter more than hype when building AI products. He breaks down the risks of applying generative AI and agents to complex revenue and attribution data and what SaaS leaders should consider before putting AI in front of customers, boards, or finance teams. Alex and Nick also discuss: - Nick's transition from CRO to CEO and what changed at the leadership level. - How Dreamdata approaches AI as a system of context, not just automation. - Why reliable attribution and data integrity are critical for modern GTM teams. - How investors evaluate AI, retention, and fundamentals at growth stage. - Practical advice for founders building sustainable, predictable SaaS businesses into 2026.       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

In this episode of From Lab To Launch, Meg is joined by Dr. Les Enterline, Senior VP and Global Head of Functional Service Partnerships at PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific.With decades of experience across clinical research, Les is helping redefine how biopharma companies structure and scale their development teams through what's known as the FSP model: a flexible outsourcing approach that's gaining traction as sponsors face increasing pressure to deliver trials faster, more efficiently, and with more adaptive designs.As clinical complexity grows and internal teams get stretched thin, FSPs are helping organizations scale specialized expertise while maintaining oversight, quality, and operational control. Under Les' leadership, PPD has become one of the industry leaders in offering hybrid and fit-for-purpose models that blend the best of traditional CRO services with strategic resourcing.In today's conversation, we'll explore how functional partnerships are evolving, how sponsors are rethinking outsourcing to meet modern challenges, and where the future of trial delivery is headed. Qualio website:https://www.qualio.com/ Previous episodes:https://www.qualio.com/from-lab-to-launch-podcast Apply to be on the show:https://forms.gle/uUH2YtCFxJHrVGeL8 Music by keldez

Nine years in. 500 episodes later. Hundreds of CMOs on the mic. A deep well of marketing wisdom for anyone brave enough to draw from it. This milestone episode is a celebration of the bold B2B ideas, experiments, and hard-earned lessons that have filled the show from day one. Thank-you to every marketer who has listened, shared, and dared to try something new because of what they heard here.    Recorded live at the 2025 Super Huddle, Drew's conversations with Udi Ledergor, Denise Persson and Chris Degnan, and Carilu Dietrich anchor this milestone episode.  In this episode:  Udi shares how Gong pulled off a Super Bowl spot on a regional budget, aimed it at VPs of Sales, and tracked impact in traffic, conversations, and pipeline.  Denise and Chris explain how a CMO and CRO stayed aligned through four CEOs at Snowflake and evolved the story from "cloud data warehouse" to "data cloud," all in lockstep.  Carilu shows how Lovable is building a movement with real users as influencers, a CEO who lives on social, and a speed-first mindset tuned to the pace of AI and customer buzz.  Plus:  Why a "crazy ideas" budget creates room for standout plays that still satisfy the CFO  How empathy for sales and shared ownership of the number strengthen CRO-CMO alignment  How CEO-led social, customer stories, and edutainment power modern B2B brands  What it takes to move at AI speed while keeping product value and customer love at the center If you want a concentrated hit of CMO-level courage, alignment, and playmaking, this milestone episode is your highlight reel.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

In this episode, the conversation covers Brandan Tobin's summers selling books, the people he learned from, and the experiences that shaped how he approaches sales and leadership today. Brandan talks about starting out skeptical of the program, thinking it might be a scam, and showing up to Nashville realizing it was very real and very serious.He shares stories from the field, including recruiting challenges, managing a large group early in his career, and learning how confidence, persistence, and systems affect performance. The discussion moves into how he tracked referrals using a handwritten notebook, how that system worked for him, and why building something you understand matters more than using a tool you don't.The episode also explores Brandan's work building CRM systems, what differentiates their approach from platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce, and why follow-up systems often matter more than lead quality. He explains how automations, voicemail drops, texting, and consistent follow-up impact conversion rates.Along the way, there are memorable field stories, including bike crashes, host families, nurses who bought books, and moments where persistence paid off in unexpected ways. The conversation wraps with reflections on faith, alignment with business partners, and why being on the same page matters regardless of belief.00:01:53 – Early connections, sales school, and shared experiences00:02:22 – Introduction to Brandan Tobin and background00:03:45 – Growth awards, leadership roles, and early success00:13:03 – Using CRM systems to manage buyers and follow-up00:18:00 – Building CRM tools to help small businesses compete00:21:47 – Why follow-up systems outperform lead quality00:29:18 – Helping business owners define their sales process00:33:37 – Pivoting from consulting to software development00:35:32 – Using voicemail drops and reminders to drive action00:45:08 – Recruiting stories and standout leaders01:10:29 – Host families, delivery challenges, and field logistics01:11:22 – Managing a large organization with limited experience01:21:18 – Tracking referrals with a handwritten system01:36:33 – Memorable field stories and “sit-downs”01:37:26 – Bike crash story and persistence in the field01:51:46 – Lessons on treating strangers and people skills01:52:43 – Meeting a famous athlete in the field02:06:26 – Faith, relationships, and being aligned with partners02:07:16 – Closing thoughts and how to connect after the episodeBrandan Tobin is a believer in Christ and a humble salesman. His mission is to expand God's kingdom by helping good people grow great businesses and increase their charitable giving.As the CRO with Knowledge Gap Consulting, Brandan leads the sales team and is still in the field, helping salespeople and entrepreneurs convert more leads in less time with custom built, AI-powered, CRM solutions. Over his nearly 20 year career in sales and business, Brandan built sales teams and sold for a variety of industries, including mortgage, real estate, solar, SaaS software and of course, books.He hit the double growth award his 2nd summer, and the quadruple growth award his 3rd summer, delivering over 8,000 units after hitting Mort, Chairman's and PC several times. As a 19 year old sophomore and B manager, Brandan helped lead a group of 22 first years and only 3 other managers, also on their B summers….and not a single person quit.Brandan went on to close more than $7,000,000 of annually recurring revenue as an account executive for various tech companies until partnering with Joe Ignace, another SW alum, to sell their own software, Velocity 360.None of it came easily or naturally and Brandan will be the first to tell you, none of it would'vebeen possible without the grace of God, being coachable, and really great mentors.

My first interview with Shuo Wang, Co-Founder & CRO of Deel.

SaaStr 836: The Step-By-Step Playbook for Building AI-Powered GTM Teams with Personio's CRO Philip Lacor, CRO of Personio, shares his company's journey to building an AI-powered go-to-market motion, including 5 critical lessons learned and 4 real-world use cases delivering measurable results. In this podcast, Philip breaks down: ✅ The 5 lessons for AI transformation: top-down + bottom-up motion, cross-functional teams, prioritization frameworks, building AI culture, and combining great stack with context  ✅ How to build AI-powered workflows that actually work (not just more tools to test)  ✅ Real use cases: Win/loss analysis, expansion SDR assistants, intent scoring, and AI chat ✅ Why their expansion SDRs went from 2 hours of research per day to 15 minutes while doubling pipeline per rep ✅ The truth about AI ROI: where it shows up and how long it takes  ✅ How to get your team excited about AI (not scared of it) Philip doesn't hold back on what's working, what's failed, and what questions they still haven't answered. If you're a CRO, founder, or GTM leader trying to figure out how to actually implement AI beyond the hype, this is the playbook.  --------------------- This episode is Sponsored in part by HappyFox: Imagine having AI agents for every support task — one that triages tickets, another that catches duplicates, one that spots churn risks. That'd be pretty amazing, right? HappyFox just made it real with Autopilot. These pre-built AI agents deploy in about 60 seconds and run for as low as 2 cents per successful action. All of it sits inside the HappyFox omnichannel, AI-first support stack — Chatbot, Copilot, and Autopilot working as one. Check them out at happyfox.com/saastr   ---------------------   Hey everybody, the biggest B2B + AI event of the year will be back - SaaStr AI in the SF Bay Area, aka the SaaStr Annual, will be back in May 2026.    With 68% VP-level and above, 36% CEOs and founders and a growing 25% AI-first professional, this is the very best of the best S-tier attendees and decision makers that come to SaaStr each year.     But here's the reality, folks: the longer you wait, the higher ticket prices can get. Early bird tickets are available now, but once they're gone, you'll pay hundreds more so don't wait.    Lock in your spot today by going to podcast.saastrannual.com to get my exclusive discount SaaStr AI SF 2026. We'll see you there. --------------------- More from SaaStr: https://www.saastr.com

In this episode, we welcome Steve Rog, CRO at Cyera, one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world. Steve opens up about his journey from a technical networking background to becoming a high-impact leader in cybersecurity. We unpick how he landed one of the industry's most sought-after CRO roles and why Cyera's culture of humility and teamwork keeps them winning. Steve shares profound lessons on seeking out mentors, the critical importance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in delivery, and why he views leadership as a responsibility to help others reach their "ceiling".

Boost Your E-commerce with AI-Powered Conversion Tools from Optimonk Optimonk.com About the Guest(s): Krisztian Kiraly is a seasoned Senior E-commerce Growth Strategist and CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) expert with over ten years of experience in digital marketing. He specializes in helping Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands increase revenue by optimizing their full sales funnels. His expertise has delivered impressive results, including a remarkable 86% conversion rate lift in a single month. Currently, Krisztian Kiraly is affiliated with OptiMonk, a leading B2B SaaS company that provides AI-driven CRO tools for enhancing e-commerce performance. Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Voss Show, Chris engages in a riveting conversation with Krisztian Kiraly, a leader in the e-commerce optimization space, where they delve into conversion rate optimization (CRO) techniques and tools crucial for modern online businesses. As Krisztian Kiraly articulates why CRO is becoming pivotal in the digital marketing domain due to ever-rising ad costs and heightened customer expectations, listeners will gain invaluable insights into improving online sales performance. This episode promises to unravel data-driven strategies, addressing the challenges Digital Commerce faces amidst increasing competition. Krisztian Kiraly further discusses the transformative role of AI in e-commerce optimization, specifically through their SaaS offering, OptiMonk. The podcast explores how OptiMonk’s AI-powered tools assist businesses in reducing cart abandonment, enhancing product visual appeal, and personalizing direct marketing outreach. This episode also dives deep into the importance of implementing systematic processes over isolated tactics in digital marketing, providing a comprehensive overview of how to effectively leverage technology to achieve more significant business outcomes. Key Takeaways: Conversion rate optimization is essential due to increasing online competition and rising advertising costs. OptiMonk’s AI-based tools offer solutions to enhance CRO by providing personalized and targeted customer experiences. For an e-commerce site to effectively use OptiMonk, it should have a substantial visitor flow to leverage the tool's full potential. AI can dynamically generate more compelling product images and descriptions, potentially transforming visitor interactions and increasing sales. Hyper-personalization in digital marketing campaigns can lead to enhanced customer experiences, crucial in earning robust ROI from ad spend. Notable Quotes: “I call it the hope marketing, which means I do some tactics without measuring anything, and I hope to get results.” “Conversion rate optimization will be one of the most important areas of digital marketing in the future.” “With OptiMonk, it’s possible to rescue the cart abandoners on-site, which is much more effective than just a normal automated email.” “AI does the heavy lifting, but you are in control.” “The future is in segmentation and hyper-personalization, creating a tailored customer experience from beginning to end.”

Send me a text (I will personally respond)Are you struggling to transition from founder-led sales to a scalable sales-led model in your cybersecurity startup? Wondering if hiring a team of reps is really the fastest way to drive growth, or if there's a better approach? Curious how senior sales leadership involvement early on might speed up your journey to true product-market fit? If so, this episode is packed with insights for you.In this conversation, we discuss:

Your sales team is brilliant. But they're spending 70% of their week doing work a robot could do in 10 minutes. And you're paying them six figures to do it. Welcome to the "Year of Reckoning." Your board is demanding AI automation. They want results. But recent research shows that 95% of enterprise AI pilots represent zero P&L impact. In this episode, Mike Allton breaks down exactly why those pilots are failing - and it's not the technology. It's something he calls "Admin Drag" - the invisible productivity killer that turns your thoroughbred sales talent into data entry clerks. You'll discover: Why layering AI on top of broken workflows just accelerates failure The "GenAI Divide": What separates the 5% of Future-Built companies from the 95% stuck in Pilot Purgatory How to navigate board pressure to cut headcount while scaling revenue (without replacing your A-players with chatbots) The "Admin Audit" framework: A tactical exercise to identify which tasks are bleeding hours from your revenue engine Why automating the OUTPUT (customer conversations) is killing your pipeline - and what to automate instead This isn't theory. Mike is the Director of Partner-led Growth at Agorapulse and has been architecting AI workflows for revenue teams since 2024. He's a practitioner who carries quota pressure - not a futurist selling science fiction. If you're a VP of Sales, CRO, or Agency Owner tired of AI tools that promise magic but deliver busywork, this is your operational playbook. Featured Framework: The Admin Audit - identify the "robot work" killing your team's capacity Next Episode: We tackle Shadow AI - the unsanctioned tools your team is already using, and how to govern them before they become a data leak. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: The Talent Crisis in Sales 02:10 The AI HAT Podcast: What to Expect 03:05 The Reality of AI in 2026 05:55 The Gen AI Divide: 95% vs. 5% 10:23 The Efficiency Paradox and Admin Drag 11:55 Your Homework: Conduct an Admin Audit 13:29 Conclusion: Architecting for Revenue Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The car talk continues with Jay Leno as Tim confidently proves he knows his way around an engine, going toe-to-toe on Cadillacs and car culture with one of the ultimate automotive experts. From horsepower to history, it’s peak gearhead energy.Then Tim drops a casual mind-blower, explaining that we’re technically living in an ice age—and somehow no one ever mentions it. The show lightens up with Tim and Cro swapping classic Costco adventures, from impulse buys to warehouse chaos. And to wrap it up, Tim and Mark trade unforgettable travel stories, sharing the misadventures, mishaps, and unexpected moments that only happen on the road.Cars, climate curveballs, bulk shopping, and travel tales—this Best Of keeps the laughs rolling into the New Year.

The laughs keep coming as Cro looks back on his early days in L.A., sharing stories about getting hit on and revealing a surprisingly stylish, fashion-forward side the crew didn’t see coming. Tim then breaks down the meaning behind “You’re Cute Jeans,” a phrase made famous by a Kardashian, and explains how it somehow became part of modern vocabulary.Things escalate when the conversation turns to yelling—specifically, how much of it any of us would tolerate if the paycheck was big enough. And to close it out, the show takes off with a classic Brian Regan stand-up bit, skewering the everyday absurdities of flying in a way only he can.Fashion, flirting, money, and airplane misery—this Best Of is the perfect sendoff for the year.

In this episode of One Sharp Sword, Dr. Wayne Purnell sits down with Michael Roth, serial entrepreneur and Chief Revenue Officer at InvestCloud, to explore leadership, culture transformation, personal values, and the power of consistency in creating success. Michael shares his unexpected journey from startup founder to CRO, lessons learned from major organizational transitions, and how empathy—and not IQ alone—is becoming the defining leadership skill in an AI-driven world. He also reveals deeply personal stories from his upbringing as a pastor's kid, his mother's remarkable resilience through cancer, and how those early lessons shaped his leadership philosophy and decision-making. This conversation is a masterclass in authentic leadership, psychological safety, and intentional living. Michael Roth is the Chief Revenue Officer at InvestCloud, a global financial technology company. A former derivatives trader turned entrepreneur, he co-founded and led a retirement-technology startup before it was acquired by InvestCloud. Known for his thoughtful leadership, cultural insight, and empathy-driven approach to business, Michael writes extensively about leadership on LinkedIn and speaks frequently about character, consistency, and intentional living.

In this recap episode, we highlight the best moments from our 2025 interviews and reflect on the ideas that defined the year.Featuring:David Rubenstein (co-founder of Carlyle) - From White House to Wall Street: David RubensteinYamini Rangan (CEO of HubSpot) - HubSpot CEO on the Future of SaaS, AI, & Leading Through ChangeBen Chestnut (co-founder of Mailchimp) - Bootstrapped to 12B: Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut on Life After the ExitWinston Weinberg (co-founder and CEO of Harvey) - I Raised $300M To Bring AI To Laywers | Winston Weinberg & HarveyGarrett Lord (co-founder of Handshake) - The Expert Network Behind Handshake AI's Model Training w/ Garrett Lord & Mamoon HamidAidan Gomez (co-founder and CEO of Cohere) - Synthetic Data and the Future of AI | Cohere CEO Aidan GomezMichelle Zatlyn (co-founder of Cloudflare) - Building Cloudflare for the Next 50 Years | Co-founder Cloudflare Michelle ZatlynEvan Spiegel (co-founder and CEO of Snap) - How Snap Plans to Win the AR Race | Evan Spiegel on SpectaclesConnect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGrit​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Let's be honest — this sounds like a boring topic. AI overviews,search results, and how Google decides what shows up at the top of the page?Yeah… not exactly thrilling. But here's the thing: it's important. Like,super important. In this episode of Mostly Marketing with Matt Wilson, Matt isjoined by Chad Graves, CRO at Reunion Marketing, to break down whatthose new AI summaries at the top of Google searches actually are, how they'redifferent from traditional SEO, and why showing up there is becoming a bigdeal. No jargon-heavy explanations — just a practical, real-world conversation abouthow search is changing, why it's happening, and what businesses should at leastbe paying attention to right now.Mostly Marketing with Matt Wilson is a bi-weekly-ish podcast all about marketing…mostly. You can listen and download on all major podcast platforms, includingApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor.

Can you bring humanity back into AI-driven selling? Mark sits down with Paul Fuller, CRO of Membrain, for a conversation that unpacks the accelerated pace of change in sales and leadership brought on by AI. Paul brings his unique perspective on blending technology with the foundational elements of leadership, service, and creativity—urging listeners to define their North Star as sales evolves at unprecedented speed. Together, they dig deep into why the human element can't be allowed to exit the stage even as automation and AI tools become more sophisticated. The episode explores how sales organizations risk becoming too mechanical, losing sight of relationship-building and problem-solving in their quest for efficiency.   

There's a moment every entrepreneur hits where working harder stops working and the answer isn't more hustle, more ads, or more leads. It's realizing that real growth comes from serving better, not shouting louder. That's exactly where this conversation with Brett Fairall landed for me, and it's why I couldn't wait to share it with you.In this episode of The Happy Hustle Podcast, I sit down with Brett Fairall, the creator and visionary behind Warehouse Bob, an AI-powered commerce engine that helps brands convert more, communicate better, and scale without chaos. Brett is a world-class conversion strategist with over 15 years of experience in direct response marketing, CRO, copywriting, and AOV engineering. He's worked behind the scenes with some of the biggest supplement, e-commerce, and coaching brands in the world. But beyond the credentials, Brett is a husband, father, man of faith, and someone deeply committed to helping founders build businesses that actually serve people.This episode matters because it challenges one of the biggest lies in entrepreneurship: that growth comes from constantly chasing new customers. Brett pulls back the curtain on how most businesses are unknowingly sitting on massive amounts of “found money” revenue that's already there but leaking out through poor systems, missed follow-ups, and friction-filled customer journeys. Instead of obsessing over more traffic, he shows how to create better experiences for the people who already trust you.One of the biggest takeaways is that most businesses don't have a lead problem, they have a conversion problem. Brett explains how brands often miss 60–70% of inbound opportunities simply because they lack systems to follow up consistently. When you focus on serving the people already raising their hands, revenue increases without burning more cash on ads.Another powerful lesson is that modern conversion optimization isn't about button colors or flashy hacks. It's about behavior, timing, and psychology. Brett breaks down how subtle shifts—like how and when you communicate can unlock six or seven figures in additional revenue. The goal isn't to sell harder; it's to remove friction and make buying feel effortless.We also dive deep into how automation and AI can actually make businesses feel more human, not less. When used correctly, AI allows founders to scale trust, responsiveness, and personalization without scaling stress or headcount. Brett shares how systems like conversational SMS and email follow-ups can feel personal while working 24/7 behind the scenes.Another key lesson is around building before you sell. Brett is clear: stop creating products without an audience. The fastest path to sustainable success is partnering with trust, listening deeply to customers, and building offers that solve real problems people already have. When trust leads, sales follow.Finally, this episode is a reminder that alignment matters. Brett talks openly about integrity, sobriety, faith, and designing businesses that support life, not consume it. Systems should give you more presence, not less. When your business works without you being glued to it, you win at both impact and freedom.If you're an entrepreneur who wants to grow smarter, serve deeper, and stop leaving money on the table, this conversation is packed with insights you can apply immediately. Listen to the full episode now and start building systems that work for you so you can keep Happy Hustlin a life you actually love.What does Happy Hustlin mean to you?Brett says it's leading with integrity, but it's more importantly, finding ways to serve others, serving in ways that nobody really can expect, while also providing for your family and being the man that you should step up to be. Connect with Bretthttps://www.instagram.com/btothefairall/ Find Brett on this website: Warehousebob.com Connect with Cary!https://www.instagram.com/caryjack/https://www.facebook.com/SirCaryJackhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cary-jack-kendzior/https://twitter.com/thehappyhustlehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDNsD59tLxv2JfEuSsNMOQ/featured Get a free copy of his new book, The Happy Hustle, 10 Alignments to Avoid Burnout & Achieve Blissful Balance https://www.thehappyhustle.com/bookSign up for The Journey: 10 Days To Become a Happy Hustler Online Coursehttps://thehappyhustle.com/thejourney/Apply to the Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventurehttps://thehappyhustle.com/mastermind/“It's time to Happy Hustle, a blissfully balanced life you love, full of passion, purpose, and positive impact!”Episode Sponsors:If you're feeling stressed, not sleeping great, or your energy's been kinda meh lately—let me put you on to something that's been a total game-changer for me: Magnesium Breakthrough by BiOptimizers. This ain't your average magnesium—it's got all 7 essential forms that your body needs to chill out, sleep deeper, and feel more balanced. I take it every night and legit notice the difference the next day. No more waking up groggy or tossing and turning all nightIf you're ready to sleep like a baby, calm your nervous system, and optimize your recovery, go grab yours now at bioptimizers.com/happy and use code HAPPY10 for 10% OFF.

#725 What if the fastest way to grow your e-commerce revenue isn't more traffic — but fixing what happens after customers land on your site? In this episode, host Kirsten Tyrrel sits down with Matthew Stafford, founder of Build Grow Scale, to unpack why most e-commerce businesses don't actually have a traffic problem — they have a conversion problem. Matthew shares how his journey from concrete work to building multi-million-dollar online stores led him to obsess over data, customer experience, and small optimization “hinges” that swing big revenue doors. The conversation dives into practical CRO insights like website speed, checkout optimization, micro-copy, and working backward through the funnel — while also exploring the often-overlooked role emotional intelligence plays in entrepreneurship, leadership, and decision-making. If you want to increase sales without chasing vanity metrics and build a business that works better for both you and your customers, this episode is packed with powerful takeaways! What we discuss with Matthew: + Traffic vs. conversion problem + Optimizing existing visitors + Website speed & load time + Data-driven CRO decisions + Checkout page optimization + Micro-copy that converts + Working backward through funnels + Customer psychology & trust + Emotional intelligence in business + Removing ego from decisions Thank you, Matthew! Check out Build Grow Scale at BuildGrowScale.com. Follow Matthew on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CFOs: The True Decision-Maker in Today's Buying Cycle Lightning Round: Top 10 Things You Need to Do Now to Start 2026 Strong Question: From Chris in London asks, "I have been selling pharmaceuticals for years, and I have ridden economic ups and downs, but I have never in all my career made so many sales presentations where the CFO is in the room. I know how to sell to a CRO, I know how to sell to a CEO, but how do I sell to a CFO?" Book: The Value Sale by Ian Altman 

What happens when AI becomes your most influential referrer?As consumers turn to ChatGPT for answers, James Cadwallader and his team at Profound help brands like Eight Sleep and MongoDB gain visibility and leverage inside AI models.On this episode of Grit, he explains why brand narrative has shifted away from content, and why Profound is scaling globally ahead of traditional SaaS timelines.Guest: James Cadwallader, co-founder and CEO of Profound and Ilya Fushman, partner at Kleiner PerkinsConnect with James CadwalladerX: https://x.com/thejamescad?lang=enLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca/​Connect with Ilya FushmanX: https://x.com/ilyafLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilyafushman/Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGrit​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins: https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face. In this episode, Chad Cannon joins Bradley to talk about the reality of entrepreneurial setbacks and what separates business owners who make it from those who don't. Chad shares frameworks from his 20+ year career working behind the scenes with companies like Michael Hyatt & Co. and StoryBrand, plus raw stories from his own recent challenges with clients.This episode is a recast from our 2 Day MBA virtual event held in August 2025, focused on the mindset pillar of building a sustainable business.About Chad CannonChad Cannon is a business growth strategist and co-founder of Zenith Labs, an innovation studio helping founder-led companies scale faster and smarter. He spent nearly a decade with Michael Hyatt & Co., where he helped scale the business from $1.5M to mid-8 figures as employee #3. He also worked with Donald Miller at StoryBrand before launching his consulting practice.Chad now works as a fractional CRO for 7- and 8-figure businesses, specializing in the intersection of marketing and sales. He's the creator of two proprietary frameworks - FOUNDER and FLIP - designed to help business owners sell more effectively and eventually step out of day-to-day sales.When he's not helping business owners scale, you'll find Chad on the golf course in Nashville with his two adopted kids.Join Us at the 2026 Above The Business Event SeriesWant to experience more transformational content like this? Join us for the 2026 Above The Business event series where we'll dive deep into the strategies, systems, and mindset shifts that help you move from Rainmaker to Architect.Get above the daily grind and design a business that can run and grow without you.Learn more at blueprintos.comThanks to our sponsors...Coach P found great success as an insurance agent and agency owner. He leads a large, stable team of professionals who are at the top of their game year after year. Now he shares the systems, processes, delegation, and specialization he developed along the way. Gain access to weekly training calls and mentoring at www.coachpconsulting.com. Be sure to mention the Above The Business Podcast when you get in touch.Club Capital is the ultimate partner for financial management and marketing services, designed specifically for insurance agencies, fitness franchises, and youth soccer organizations. As the nation's largest accounting and financial advisory firm for insurance agencies, Club Capital proudly serves over 1,000 agency locations across the country—and we're just getting started. With Club Capital, you get more than just services; you get a dedicated account manager backed by a team of specialists committed to your success. From monthly accounting and tax preparation to CFO services and innovative digital marketing, we've got you covered. Ready to experience the transformative power of Club Capital? Schedule your free demo today at club.capital and see the difference firsthand. Make sure you mention you heard about us on the Above The Business podcast to get 50% off your one time onboarding fee!Autopilot Recruiting helps small business owners solve their staffing challenges by taking the stress out of hiring. Their dedicated recruiters work on your behalf every single business day - optimizing your applicant tracking system, posting job listings, and sourcing candidates through social media and local communities. With their continuous, hands-off recruiting approach, you can save time, reduce hiring costs, and receive pre-screened candidates, all without paying any hiring fees or commissions.More money & more freedom: that's what Autopilot Recruiting help business owners achieve. Visit https://www.autopilotrecruiting.com/ and don't forget to mention you heard about us on the Above The Business podcast.Direct Clicks is built is by...

In this episode of Data in Biotech, Ross Katz sits down with Callie Celichowski and Isa Kupke from Veloxity Labs to discuss how their CRO leverages speed, precision, and innovation to support drug development. Learn how they use mass spectrometry, cloud-based infrastructure, and hands-on client partnerships to drive rapid, high-quality bioanalytical insights that support everything from preclinical studies to FDA submissions. What you'll learn in this episode: >> Why "speed with purpose" is essential for bioanalytical CROs supporting biotech and pharma clients >> The benefits and challenges of working with peptides and GLP-1 receptor agonists >> How the SCIEX 8600 enhances detection of low-concentration analytes Meet our guests Isa Kupke is Scientist II at Veloxity Labs, where she specializes in mass spectrometry and method development for preclinical and regulated bioanalytical programs. She also co-founded Blyde Botanics, bridging plant-based science and product development. Callie Celichowski is Senior Director of Business Development at Veloxity Labs, with over two decades in the pharmaceutical and CRO space. She's recognized for building strategic client partnerships and driving rapid, data-driven decision-making. About the host Ross Katz is Principal and Data Science Lead at CorrDyn. Ross specializes in building intelligent data systems that empower biotech and healthcare organizations to extract insights and drive innovation. Connect with Our Guest: Sponsor: CorrDyn, a data consultancyConnect with Isa Kupke on LinkedIn Connect with Callie Celichowski on LinkedIn  Connect with Us: Follow the podcast for more insightful discussions on the latest in biotech and data science.Subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode!Connect with Ross Katz on LinkedIn Sponsored by… This episode is brought to you by CorrDyn, the leader in data-driven solutions for biotech and healthcare. Discover how CorrDyn is helping organizations turn data into breakthroughs at CorrDyn.

Máire Uí Neachtain, Croílíne Chois Fharraige ag labhairt faoin rith/siúlóid 5km a bhéas acu idir dhá Nollaig.

Marketing for Ecommerce is dead. Long live Found Revenue. Welcome to the new era of the show. After a hiatus, I'm back—but the generic marketing advice is gone. In this short announcement episode, I explain exactly why I killed the old show and what you can expect from Found Revenue moving forward. This isn't about Amazon tips, Etsy hacks, or chasing the latest TikTok algorithm. This is for Shopify founders who want to build a serious, predictable sales channel—not just a pretty website. In this episode: The Pivot: Why broad e-commerce advice fails and why we are going all-in on Shopify growth. The "Found Revenue" Philosophy: How to find the hidden money leaking out of your business before you spend another dollar on ads. What to Expect: Weekly episodes on offer creation, conversion rate optimization (CRO), unit economics, and building systems that scale without the rollercoaster. I'm Bryan Bowman—former consulting actuary and founder of FoundRev.com. My brain lives in risk, return, and data, not hype. If you are ready to stop guessing and start engineering growth based on math and metrics, you're in the right place. Subscribe now to catch the first official episode dropping soon. Mentioned in this episode: FoundRev.com

Slobodan Manić and Shiva Manjunath join another episode of #CRO after dark to discuss their trends in 2026, what will die, what will live, and how Better Call Saul is definitely better than Breaking BadGo check out his second best podcast No Hacks (https://www.nohackspod.com/)

Jason Eubanks on Building Oracel: Raising $30M in 28 Hours to Disrupt the $236B Go-To-Market Tooling Market with AI-Native Sales AutomationJason Eubanks, CEO and Co-founder of Oracel, discusses how the company raised $30 million in just 28 hours—oversubscribed at $40 million—by solving a critical problem in the go-to-market industry. With a $236 billion market opportunity and only a "desert of innovation" since the late 1990s, Aurasell is building an AI-native platform to intelligently automate sales workflows and consolidate the 12-15 fragmented tools that plague modern sales teams. Jason shares how his experience scaling revenue from $1M to $100M+ across five startups—including Twilio (IPO), Meraki (acquired by Cisco for $1.2B), and Harness—directly informed the founding vision of AurasellEpisode Timestamps- 00:00 - Introduction and Jason Eubanks joins the podcast- 00:26 - Why Oracel raised $30M in 28 hours despite initial $40M oversubscription- 01:24 - The "desert of innovation" in go-to-market tooling since the late 90s- 01:42 - History of CRM evolution from mainframe to cloud to niche products- 03:12 - Founding vision: One intelligent GTM sales platform to replace them all- 03:39 - How pain as a CRO across five startups led to Oracel's creation- 05:58 - The X-Ray productivity assessment revealing tool sprawl inefficiencies- 07:59 - Sellers spending 28% of time selling and 70% on manual tasks- 09:03 - First principles AI-native approach with whiteboards in the kitchen- 09:29 - Five key personas: SDR, seller, IC manager, executive, ops team- 12:18 - AI-native architecture: multimodal interface, lakehouse, and 10,000 agents- 14:39 - Unified data model importance for contextualized AI automation- 15:45 - Current hat wearing: product focus and 50% building go-to-market engine- 18:43 - Platform features and customer experience design philosophy- 19:05 - Three wow moments per persona as success metric- 20:39 - Onboarding experience: automatic territory building and customer choice- 21:40 - 10,000 agents discovering ICP, personas, and competitors automatically- 24:07 - Automated account research and value hypothesis creation- 25:34 - Outbound prospecting content generation with propensity scoring- 26:32 - Outbound sequencer integration and email platform plugins- 27:00 - AI voice dialer coming in three weeks with closed-loop automation- 28:47 - What's missing: deep marketing and customer success automation- 30:49 - Ideal customer profiles: startups and enterprises with tool sprawl- 31:30 - Solution for heavily customized legacy systems coming in December- 34:24 - Dynamic change detection layer solving technical debt- 36:23 - Jason's career arc from BMC Software through Harness- 37:09 - Why: helping go-to-market operators solve problems he experienced- 39:55 - Meraki's disruptive cloud-managed network architecture- 41:51 - Three constants: great product builders, important problems, massive markets- 43:22 - Intrinsic motivation as foundation for hiring and culture- 45:31 - Hiring from first job onward to assess character and values- 51:24 - Understanding why someone wanted to work at 14 years old- 53:21 - Importance of formative years for work ethic and intelligence- 55:46 - AI adoption culture: using own product and building agents internally- 56:36 - All employees use AI daily across PMs, engineers, and operations- 59:25 - Ask AI features: analytics dashboards, data enrichment, natural language-

A escassez de profissionais qualificados em tecnologia segue como um dos principais desafios do mercado brasileiro. Ao mesmo tempo, milhares de pessoas buscam uma oportunidade real de entrar ou migrar para essa área. Em meio a esse cenário, iniciativas de formação em cloud têm se mostrado um caminho concreto para ampliar o acesso à tecnologia e gerar mobilidade social. No novo episódio do Podcast Canaltech, Fernanda Santos conversa com Ana Letícia, CRO da Escola da Nuvem, organização sem fins lucrativos que oferece formação gratuita em computação em nuvem e acompanha os alunos ao longo de toda a jornada de empregabilidade. A conversa aborda os dados de impacto da iniciativa, que já formou milhares de alunos e conectou novos profissionais ao mercado de tecnologia. O episódio também discute os desafios da qualificação no Brasil, a distância entre as vagas de entrada e as exigências do mercado, o papel das empresas na formação de talentos e como a inteligência artificial tem mudado o perfil do profissional de cloud. Além dos dados e da visão de mercado, a entrevista traz histórias reais de transformação. Um dos destaques é o caso de uma aluna que, após perder a memória em um acidente, encontrou na formação técnica, na mentoria de carreira e no apoio humano da Escola da Nuvem um caminho para reconstruir sua trajetória profissional e pessoal. A conversa reforça que capacitação em tecnologia vai além do ensino técnico: envolve orientação de carreira, desenvolvimento humano e oportunidades reais de entrada e permanência no mercado de trabalho. Você também vai conferir: carro avaliado em R$ 18 milhões lidera ranking do IPVA em São Paulo, recurso muito pedido pode chegar ao iPhone 17e MSC proíbe óculos inteligentes em áreas públicas dos cruzeiros. Este podcast foi roteirizado e apresentado por Fernada Santos e contou com reportagens de Paulo Amaral,Vinicius Moschen e Nathan Vieira, sob coordenação de Anaísa Catucci. A trilha sonora é de Guilherme Zomer, a edição de Jully Cruz e a arte da capa é de Erick Teixeira.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week I had the chance to sit down with two fascinating guests who are at the forefront of bridging the worlds of digital performance marketing and traditional television advertising. Nick Fairbairn, VP of Growth Marketing at Chime, and Andy Schonfeld, CRO at Tatari, walked me through how they've transformed Chime from a pure digital-first, DTC neobank brand built on social and search into a sophisticated advertiser that runs television campaigns with the same performance mindset they apply to Meta and Google. Their partnership has evolved from small linear TV tests six years ago to a comprehensive full-funnel TV strategy that blends brand building with direct response metrics.Nick and Andy shared incredible insights into the evolution of performance TV, from navigating the COVID-era inventory opportunities to understanding why linear TV still matters even as streaming dominates the conversation. They explained how Chime approaches television with a portfolio strategy, balancing premium reach moments like live sports with more targeted direct response placements, and why creative and media planning have become the "new targeting" in a world where precise one-to-one identification remains expensive and imperfect. We also dove into the challenges of measuring TV in a fragmented landscape, the role of AI-driven creative, and whether shoppable TV will actually move the needle or remain a marginal innovation. Key HighlightsHere's a shorter version:

A CMO Confidential Interview with Tom Stein, the Chairman and founder of Stein and Jann Schwarz, Senior Director of Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn and founder of Think tank, The B2B Institute, who join us to discuss the 2025 Brand-to- Demand Maturity and the B2B Buyability studies. Tom and Jann share results showing the need to integrate brand and performance marketing in an era when the marketing funnel has collapsed needs fundamental re-thinking and Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) are still a key measure (in spite of data showing they've lost their usefulness). Tom and Jann explain why nearly all survey respondents acknowledge a problem but only 20% are taking action. Key topics include: why a good product or service are now "table stakes”; how buyer confidence, human connection and customer experience have become key Buyability differentiators; and the belief that B2B creative is way behind B2C on average. Tune in to hear why “demand-focused marketing" was one of the greatest brand misdirects of all time and a fabulous story of an alter boy accidentally dropping the Baby Jesus. The Truth Behind the Curtain in B2B: Brand + Demand, MQLs, and “Buyability” with Tom Stein & Jan SchwartzDescription:Mike Linton sits down with Tom Stein (Stein) and Jan Schwartz (LinkedIn's B2B Institute) to unpack new ANA research on brand–demand maturity and a bold operating model they call “buyability.” They cover why 80% of marketers say integration matters but aren't doing it, why MQLs are failing modern buying groups, how to financialize creative and brand, and what CEOs/boards should actually measure to accelerate revenue. Chapters:00:00 Intro & guest setup02:36 Why a brand–demand maturity study now05:36 The 80% integration gap07:17 Org design: why teams move slowly09:36 MQLs under fire (and better alternatives)10:45 Creative quality in B2B: reality check13:34 ServiceNow, Idris Elba, and distinctive assets15:01 The CEO/CFO/Board disconnect19:00 “Buyability” explained: becoming easier to buy22:12 Brand as a full-funnel commercial driver23:40 The funnel is broken; AI ups the stakes26:59 Playing offense: fewer, better buyer-group leads28:20 Financializing the case for change29:56 The budget stat that shocked everyone31:41 What to do now: category fame, trust, real metrics34:41 Funniest stories and practical parting advice37:35 Wrap & where to find more episodesTags:B2B marketing,brand and demand,buyability,MQL,pipeline velocity,CMO Confidential,Mike Linton,Tom Stein,Jan Schwartz,LinkedIn B2B Institute,ANA,B2B brand,B2B demand gen,marketing measurement,go to market,Salesforce,ServiceNow,Idris Elba,B2B creative,category fame,board metrics,CFO,CEO,CRO,sales alignment,MarTech,lead gen,buyer groups,brand strategy,revenue growthSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Turning down a $3B offer from Facebook is a bold move for any young CEO.Evan Spiegel shares how Snap's early dream was to stay independent and give its community an authentic voice, a bet that proved right.He also explains why they are now doubling down on AR glasses and why the anxiety around AI deserves far more attention from tech leaders.Guest: Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. and Bing Gordon, Advisor at Kleiner Perkins​Connect with Evan SpiegelX:https://x.com/evanspiegel?lang=enLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-spiegel/​Connect with Bing GordonX: https://x.com/bingfish LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/binggordon/Connect with JoubinX: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/ 

In this episode of the Clinical Trial Podcast, host Kunal Sampat sits down with Dr. Philip Räth, Managing Director of Palleos Healthcare, to discuss leading Clinical Research Organization (CRO) in the European Union (EU). Managing a Clinical Research Organization is far more than project oversight. CRO leaders juggle sponsor expectations, site relationships, internal talent, regulatory demands, and profitability. A strong CRO partner can jumpstart a clinical trial for industry or academic sponsors that have limited infrastructure. A mismatched CRO, on the other hand, can derail timelines, add cost, and create friction you don't need.   About Today's Guest: Dr. Philip Räth Dr. Räth brings 15 years of experience in the medical product industry and currently leads Palleos Healthcare, a central European full-service CRO supporting pre-clinical consulting through large-scale clinical trials. Operations in 19 countries 336+ projects delivered Expertise across 23 therapeutic areas   In this episode, you'll learn: What makes a CRO truly sponsor-ready Where CRO selection often goes wrong How digital transformation and AI are reshaping CRO operations Insights from Palleos' work across Europe and diverse therapeutic areas The future of full-service clinical trials from a CRO leader's perspective

Glean started as a Kleiner Perkins incubation and is now a $7B, $200m ARR Enterprise AI leader. Now KP has tapped its own podcaster to lead it's next big swing. From building go-to-market the hard way in startups (and scaling Palo Alto Networks' public cloud business) to joining Kleiner Perkins to help technical founders turn product edge into repeatable revenue, Joubin Mirzadegan has spent the last decade obsessing over one thing: distribution and how ideas actually spread, sell, and compound. That obsession took him from launching the CRO-only podcast Grit (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRiWZFltuYPF8A6UGm74K2q29UwU-Kk9k) as a hiring wedge, to working alongside breakout companies like Glean and Windsurf, to now incubating Roadrunner which is an AI-native rethink of CPQ and quoting workflows as pricing models collapse from “seats” into consumption, bundles, renewals, and SKU sprawl. We sat down with Joubin to dig into the real mechanics of making conversations feel human (rolling early, never sending questions, temperature + lighting hacks), what Windsurf got right about “Google-class product and Salesforce-class distribution,” how to hire early sales leaders without getting fooled by shiny logos, why CPQ is quietly breaking the back of modern revenue teams, and his thesis for his new company and KP incubation Roadrunner (https://www.roadrunner.ai/): rebuild the data model from the ground up, co-develop with the hairiest design partners, and eventually use LLMs to recommend deal structures the way the best reps do without the Slack-channel chaos of deal desk. We discuss: How to make guests instantly comfortable: rolling early, no “are you ready?”, temperature, lighting, and room dynamics Why Joubin refuses to send questions in advance (and when you might have to anyway) The origin of the CRO-only podcast: using media as a hiring wedge and relationship engine The “commit to 100 episodes” mindset: why most shows die before they find their voice Founder vs exec interviews: why CEOs can speak more freely (and what it unlocks in conversation) What Glean taught him about enterprise AI: permissions, trust, and overcoming “category is dead” skepticism Design partners as the real unlock: why early believers matter and how co-development actually works Windsurf's breakout: what it means to be serious about “Google-class product + Salesforce-class distribution” Why technical founders struggle with GTM and how KP built a team around sales, customer access, and demand gen Hiring early sales leaders: anti-patterns (logos), what to screen for (motivation), and why stage-fit is everything The CPQ problem & Roadrunner's thesis: rebuilding CPQ/quoting from the data model up for modern complexity How “rules + SKUs + approvals” create a brittle graph and what it takes to model it without tipping over The two-year window: incumbents rebuilding slowly vs startups out-sprinting with AI-native architecture Where AI actually helps: quote generation, policy enforcement, approval routing, and deal recommendation loops — Joubin X: https://x.com/Joubinmir LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/ Where to find Latent Space X: https://x.com/latentspacepod Substack: https://www.latent.space/ Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction and the Zuck Interview Experience 00:03:26 The Genesis of the Grit Podcast: Hiring CROs Through Content 00:13:20 Podcast Philosophy: Creating Authentic Conversations 00:15:44 Working with Arvind at Glean: The Enterprise Search Breakthrough 00:26:20 Windsurf's Sales Machine: Google-Class Product Meets Salesforce-Class Distribution 00:30:28 Hiring Sales Leaders: Anti-Patterns and First Principles 00:39:02 The CPQ Problem: Why Salesforce and Legacy Tools Are Breaking 00:43:40 Introducing Roadrunner: Solving Enterprise Pricing with AI 00:49:19 Building Roadrunner: Team, Design Partners, and Data Model Challenges 00:59:35 High Performance Philosophy: Working Out Every Day and Reducing Friction 01:06:28 Defining Grit: Passion Plus Perseverance

What if a single platform could turn any online store into a self-optimizing growth engine? In this podcast hosted by Products That Count CEO Hoda Mehr, Moonshot AI Co-Founder and CEO Aviv Frenkel will be speaking on how AI-driven experimentation is transforming conversion optimization for ecommerce brands. Drawing from his founder journey, he explores what it takes to automate CRO, build user trust in AI-generated decisions, and scale a product that continuously learns. He also shares the broader vision for applying autonomous optimization across all digital experiences and the mindset required to build in today's AI-driven market.

What does it take to go from advising founders to becoming one?On this week's special Reverse Grit episode, we flip the script and put our Grit podcast host Joubin Mirzadegan in the guest seat.Joubin recently founded Roadrunner, where he is now co-founder & CEO. Roadrunner is building an AI‑native CPQ to modernize the quote‑to‑cash stack, drawing on years of conversations he's had with enterprise revenue leaders.Stepping into the host role, Mamoon Hamid joins Joubin to talk about his transition from sales leader to founder, how Roadrunner came together, and why it became our first incubation since Glean.Roadrunner is hiring! Check them out: https://www.roadrunner.ai/Guest: Joubin Mirzadegan, Partner, Kleiner Perkins​Connect with MamoonXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

If you want to squeeze more revenue out of your existing traffic, this week's podcast episode is a must-listen. We're diving deep into one of the most misunderstood, yet most profitable, parts of ecommerce growth: conversion rate optimization. CRO expert Jasper De Munyk joins Greg to break down the fundamentals of Shopify CRO, including what a healthy optimization process actually looks like and why it's far more than "changing button colors." If you're wondering where to even begin, we cover what to tackle first when doing CRO, plus the stage of growth when investing in CRO makes the biggest impact. We explore the biggest CRO mistakes and misconceptions that cause businesses to waste time, chase vanity metrics, or ignore easy wins hiding in plain sight. We also dig into the future, discussing how AI is reshaping CRO, from rapid data analysis to automated testing, and where human judgment still plays an essential role.  If you're serious about growing your ecommerce business sustainably, without simply spending more on ads, this episode will be your new playbook. Topics Discussed in this episode: The fundamentals of eCommerce CRO (05:59) Common CRO mistakes and misconceptions (11:21) What to tackle first when doing CRO (14:31) What stage of growth should you be at when investing in CRO? (20:03) How AI is changing CRO (28:26) Exploring the mechanical side of CRO (33:56) How to turn customer data into actionable insights (39:18) How to make CRO a routine part of your business (42:17) How often businesses should revisit their CRO (46:14) Mentions:  Empire Flippers Podcasts Empire Flippers Marketplace Create an Empire Flippers account Subscribe to our newsletter Golden Web Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to unlock rapid growth through conversation rate optimization!  

What if the most dreaded part of your customer's journey: the return, was actually your biggest untapped opportunity for growth?Agility requires brands to re-examine every part of the customer journey, especially the challenging post-purchase phase, and find hidden opportunities to adapt and strengthen customer relationships. It demands we turn operational liabilities into strategic assets. Today, we're going to talk about something that many retailers see as a pure cost center: customer returns. Instead, we'll explore how a smart, data-driven post-purchase strategy can actually become a powerful engine for customer retention and lifetime value. We'll look at the data trends shaping retail, how to navigate the complex pressures on merchants today, and why this often-overlooked part of the business might be the key to unlocking future growth. Joining me to discuss this is Laura Huddle, CRO at Seel. This show is sponsored by Seel, the AI-powered post-purchase platform that helps retailers turn returns into revenue while giving shoppers a more seamless, trusted experience. For more information, go to ⁠www.seel.com⁠. About Laura Huddle Laura Huddle is the CRO of Seel, a Lightspeed Ventures and Foundation Capital backed startup that is creating the next generation e-commerce insurance experience. Previously, she led world-class sales, marketing, and account management teams across the globe at tech industry disruptors Eventbrite's (NYSE: EB), Deliveroo (LSE: ROO), Smartcar (a16z, NEA, Energize Capital) and Belong . She was one of the first employees at Eventbrite and was a lot of "firsts": first product manager, first product marketer, first category marketer, first Head of APAC Sales, etc. In addition, she taught product management at UC Berkeley, founded her own consultancy, and helped grow Myspace into the world's most popular website.,Yes,This will be completed shortly Laura Huddle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurahuddle/ Resources Learn more about Seel: https://www.seel.com Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company