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We Like Shooting We Like Shooting - Ep 674 August 3, 2026 Presented by This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: Foxtrot Mike (Code: WLSISLIFE) C&G Holsters (Code: WLSISLIFE) Midwest Industries (Code: WLSISLIFE) Rost Martin (Code: WLSISLIFE) Bowers Group (Code: WLS) Otis Technology (Code: WELIKESHOOTING15) Flatline Fiber Co (Code: WLS15) Giveaways!! GAW   Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 Public   Show Titles   Gear Chat Goals 2026 GOALS 2026 Supplementary Research: Gear Chat segment on Goals 2026. In 2026 the firearms and technical gear industry continues to emphasize modular designs, improved battery life for electronic optics and lights, and integration of suppressors with quick-detach systems across major manufacturers. New product cycles often align with SHOT Show announcements in January, with many items reaching retail availability later in the year. thefirearmblog.com SB Tactical SBA6 Stabilizing Brace SB Tactical is adding another entry to its A-Series lineup with the SBA6, a collaboration with New Hampshire-based Die Free Co designed to expand the minimalist platform that made the SBA3 an industry standard.The SBA6 accepts MIL-SPEC carbine receiver extensions and ships now in black, with Flat Dark Earth and Olive Drab Green following later this year.The design direction is deliberate.Where the SBA3 prioritizes compact dimensions and reduced weight, the SBA6 builds out the platform with a full rubber arm cuff and improved ergonomics. SB Tactical has partnered with Die Free Co, a company founded by veterans known for the Kung Fu Grip, to release the SBA6 stabilizing brace. It expands the minimalist A-Series lineup as a model positioned between the compact SBA3 and the reinforced SBA4, emphasizing improved ergonomics and support while accepting MIL-SPEC carbine buffer tube extensions. The USA-made brace ships immediately in black, with FDE and ODG color options scheduled for Q4 2026. Availability: Ships now in black from SB Tactical dealers nationwide (FDE/ODG in Q4 2026) Special: Full rubber arm cuff, 5-position adjustability, integral ambidextrous QD sling socket, MIL-SPEC carbine extension compatibility Haga Defense (Nick) Saraid Top Notch AR-15 Charging Handle Introducing the Saraid Top Notch — the first vertical charging handle for the AR-15 platform. By relocating the handle to the top, it eliminates side protrusions that cause gear snags, interfere with forward assists, or complicate manipulations near optics and slings. The Saraid Top Notch is a monolithic, latchless vertical charging handle machined from a single piece of 7075-T6 aluminum billet with Type III hard anodizing. It weighs 1.1 oz, is made in the USA, and features spring-ball retention, aggressive grip texture, reduced gear interference, and an unobstructed sight picture. The patent-pending design is receiver-friendly and compatible with iron sights and low-mounted optics. Availability: Add to cart available on hagadefense.com (no explicit stock level, release date or additional retailers stated) Cost: $150.00 Special: Monolithic single-piece 7075-T6 aluminum billet construction with latchless spring-ball retention and patent-pending vertical design DopeSpin (Nick) DopeSpin Ballistic Dial DopeSpin DopeSpin is a pocket-sized standalone ballistic calculator using a point-mass 3DOF solver with G1 and G7 drag models. It accepts standard rifle and ammo inputs (muzzle velocity, BC, zero, sight height, twist, density altitude or full weather) and outputs elevation and wind holds in MIL or MOA, including spin drift, aerodynamic jump, and atmospheric effects. The device features a tactile clicking ring, circular OLED display, Velcro mount, clamshell case, 8+ hour battery with USB-C, unlimited rifle/ammo profiles, and dedicated modes for shooting, competition stage cards, moving targets, and profile management. Availability: Available for purchase on dope-spin.com (add to cart, implies in stock) Cost: $199.95 (sale/regular price listed on product page) Special: Tactile clicking ring input with circular display for ‘Spin to distance, read hold' operation in Shoot, Compete, Mover, and Profiles modes Thefirearmblog Ruger PC Carbine with Custom Walnut Stock and Aimpoint Micro H-2 The post presents a customized Ruger PC Carbine (9mm pistol-caliber carbine) featuring a custom walnut stock by Cinematic Arms paired with an Aimpoint Micro H-2 reflex sight and a Magpul drum magazine. The build demonstrates the platform's integrated Picatinny rail and modular design as an ideal canvas for customization, balancing a classic wood aesthetic with modern functionality. The Aimpoint Micro H-2 is described as a 2 MOA dot sight with 12 brightness settings, long battery life on a CR2032, weighing 3.3 ounces and submersible to 15 feet. Special: Integrated Picatinny rail and modular design enabling custom walnut stock while retaining modern red-dot capability and Magpul drum magazine compatibility thefirearmblog.com Springfield Armory Echelon Alpha An Echelon, but More Affordable?Springfield Armory Unveils the NEW Echelon AlphaThe Springfield Armory Echelon is the pistol of choice for a lot of shooters because of its wide package of accoutrements and modern features.The only gripe that some shooters raise is that the more tricked out variations might be too expensive for their budget. Springfield Armory announced the Echelon Alpha, a 9mm striker-fired pistol built on the Central Operating Group with a serialized stainless steel chassis. It features a recontoured billet machined slide with Melonite finish, 4″ hammer-forged barrel, optics-ready Variable Interface System, and ships with one stainless steel magazine. The design emphasizes purpose-driven ergonomics with a small grip module and reduced overall dimensions compared to the standard Echelon. Availability: Unveiled July 14, 2026; three initial models (standard, low-capacity, CA-compliant) offered directly via Springfield Armory Cost: $599 (standard and low-capacity); $649 (CA-compliant) Special: Variable Interface System for direct optic mounting combined with recontoured slide, captive recoil system, and single stainless steel magazine shipment Bullet Points Guncadindex Weapon Picatinny Camera Optic by @BallOEnergy CAD model set for a 25 mm Picatinny riser and chest-rig assembly that mounts a modified KIRFEIHT industrial borescope camera (Amazon $23.99 with 32 GB card) to allow target identification and engagement around corners or over berms. The riser uses two embedded 5 mm × 25 mm hex bolts with nuts secured by UV epoxy; the chest rig accepts 1.5 mm or 1/16 in wire as a hinge pin. Cable is cut to approximately 4 ft and spliced after feeding the camera backward through the riser; light is permanently disabled by removing the button and cutting the yellow wire. Compatible with example Glock 17 chassis; released 1 Aug 2026 as downloadable STL files. Availability: Home defense or trench warfare for identifying/engaging targets around corners or over berms without exposure Cost: 25 mm riser; accepts 1.5 mm/1/16 in wire hinge pin and two 5 mm × 25 mm hex bolts; uses modified KIRFEIHT borescope camera with ~4 ft cable; STL files total ~2.9 MiB Special: Pro: Low-cost commercial borescope integration ($23.99), fully 3-D printable CAD files. Con: Requires extensive user modification, epoxy, splicing, and centering with tape; does not meet verification standards; no performance data stated GunCAD Index Expansion Chamber Calculator V1.0.0 (Windows) by Practical Tactical This tool is in response to a recent request from @TheNewNewDeal regarding best practices such as suppressor expansion chamber length and others. T… Expansion Chamber Calculator V1.0.0 is a Windows .exe application by Practical Tactical that lets users input variables/parameters to generate suggested lengths for suppressor expansion chambers. It was created in response to a request regarding suppressor best practices and is intended to be expanded with additional tools for baffle spacing and other suppressor design calculations. The tool is provided as a downloadable .zip; after extraction the .exe is run locally. It is described as a muzzle device (suppressor, compensator, or other) that in the US may require ATF Form 1. Availability: Suppressor design / muzzle device calculation for practical shooting, competition, or Form 1 builds (best use case not further specified) Special: Provides suggested expansion chamber lengths from user inputs; expands toward baffle-spacing tools; requires local .exe run after .zip download (no explicit pros/cons listed) Gun Fights Play the best Price Is Right-style GunBroker game on the internet. Gun Fights Live DisplayFollow the game, prices, and reveals as they happen.Open the live display BangRank A live cast ranking segment for anything and everything in the gun world, powered by questionable certainty, strong opinions, and audience voting. BangRank Live VotingScan or open the link to rank along with the show.https://welikeshooting.com/rank   The Agency Brief Agency Update 1. AGENCY BRIEF: STREET SWEEPER / USAS-12 DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE RECLASSIFICATIONWhat this really was: In 1994, ATF took lawfully owned shotguns and shoved them into the NFA “destructive device” category. No vote in Congress. No new statute. Just an agency ruling that turned specific 12-gauge shotguns into the same legal category as grenades. The targets were the Striker-12, the Street Sweeper, and the USAS-12. The Striker and Street Sweeper used revolving cylinders. The USAS-12 was a semi-auto, magazine-fed shotgun. They all fired ordinary 12-gauge shells, the same kind of ammunition people put through hunting pum

Recorded live at FDE's annual staff retreat, host Justin Forman sits down with Mark Grunden and Addison Williams for a rare, on-the-ground look at what happens when entrepreneurs stop doing this alone. Rather than talk theory, the team shares real footage and real voices — from a London entrepreneur now supporting 260 fellow business owners, to a 57-campus church network in Nairobi, Kenya that has built the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Foundation course into its entire discipleship program. This episode unpacks what actually happens inside a Foundation Group, why entrepreneurship carries a unique kind of loneliness that even a great small group at church can't always reach, and why leading one of these groups requires no certification — just a willingness to open a Zoom call, press play on a video, and ask a few honest questions. Whether you're an entrepreneur longing for people who get it, or a pastor wondering how to serve the business leaders already sitting in your church, this conversation offers a simple, tested, ready-to-go path forward.   Key Topics: ●        Why entrepreneurship doesn't have to be a lonely journey — and real stories that prove it ●        On-the-ground FDE Group stories from the UK, Kenya, and across the U.S. ●        What a Faith Driven Foundation Group actually looks like (video + Scripture + honest conversation) ●        Why churches are uniquely positioned to reach entrepreneurs — no certification required ●        The global numbers: 25,000+ entrepreneurs served, 250 partnering churches, and one Kenyan church network with 700+ graduates ●        The simple next step: how anyone can start a group this week   Notable Quotes: "When you get entrepreneurs in a group, community and depth happens really quick." – Justin Forman "That's really where we start to unravel the fear of the enemy is isolation." – Addison Williams "You gotta be faithful rather than willful. You know, you gotta think of yourself as a steward rather than an owner." – Mark Grunden

Double Tap Double Tap - Ep 472 July 27, 2026 Presented by This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: Foxtrot Mike (Code: WLSISLIFE) Gideon Optics (Code: WLSISLIFE) Flatline Fiber Co (Code: WLS15) Second Call Defense Bowers Group (Code: WLS) Giveaways!! GAW   Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 Public   Show Titles   GOA GOALS Aug 1-2 in Iowa. https://goals.goa.org/ Dear WLS Question from Anonymous Coward from NEBRASKA Quick question. From me. With printed holsters thinking of getting one. So which model of bambu should I be looking at? Also do I need AMS? I am cheap so probably only 2 models I am seeing so comes down to do I need or want the enclosed one. Question from Alex W. from Florida Dear WLS: Hey y'all. If all of our hopes and dreams were to come true and we could get mail order machine guns to our doors, what (other than boatloads of fun) do you think the most valid use for civilian full auto is? I was thinking maybe a select fire/burst fire subgun for home defense? Belt feds on pigs? Alex W. Question from Dependable Don from New York Dear Wls Dependable Don Why don't you just invite Lenny on so the Jeremy could just point to him when he he needs the needs a n bomb dropped? Question from Rob K from Connecticut Rob K From ConnecticutDear WLS The State of Connecticut has banned Glock and Glock style pistols starting on October 1st 2026. I don't own one, but now that the state is telling me I can't buy one, I need to spite purchase. I'm interested in picking up 2 Glock models and 2 Glock style pistols. If you were only able to own 2 Glocks, what would your suggestions be for gen and model? Also, what make and model of 2 Glock style pistols. Thanks guys. #stuckbehindenemylines WINNER Question from Travis from ILLINOIS Dear WLS this is Travis from not the people's republic of Illinois. Love the show you and all the content. Shawn over the past few shows you have mentioned your Kelby rifle. What do you like and not like. Would you do anything different. I personally don't know anyone who owns one and looking to purchase one for potential PRS matches. Thanks Travis Question from Anonymous Coward from Florida Dear WLS: Hey y'all. I was thinking, with the growing apparent popularity of “pdw” setups for pistols, I was wondering why no manufacturer seems to produce a factory firearm that fits that sort of form factor (other than sig selling factory 320's already in a raider chassis). The closest things I can think of currently would be the B&T TP9 or their USW. But I'm wondering why no one else is tapping into the whole oversized 9mm pistol with a brace/stock market trend. Has the industry just not caught up or is there a reason companies are not moving in that direction? Gun Industry News Guns CMP to Sell Military Surplus M14 Rifles The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) announced it will sell a limited number of surplus U.S. military M14 rifles (7.62 NATO) produced 1959-1965 by H&R, Springfield Armory, TRW and Winchester. The rifles, from the total production run of 1.38 million, have been permanently modified to semi-automatic configuration to comply with ATF regulations and CMP enabling legislation for .30-caliber rifles. Sales are expected to use a lottery system and begin in late 2026 to early 2027. The Gist: Sales begin late 2026 to early 2027 via lottery system Bottom Line: Limited surplus M14 rifles (7.62 NATO) permanently converted to semi-auto; produced 1959-1965 with total output of 1.38 million; background includes 479,000 demilled and 321,000 provided as military aid Shootingnewsweekly Ramp Payment Processor Shows Inconsistent Policy Toward Gun Industry Payment processor Ramp denied services to Kent Cartridge Company in West Virginia, citing partner risk concerns, as highlighted in an NSSF report on industry discrimination. Simultaneously, Ramp has been actively courting Davidson's Inc. in Arizona with business development emails as recently as July 22, 2026. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey and Attorney General JB McCuskey are investigating, noting potential violations of the state's FIND Act, a Trump executive order on fair access to banking, and OCC/FDIC rules prohibiting discrimination against lawful firearm businesses. The Gist: The Gist: Ramp denied payment processing to Kent Cartridge (WV) after NSSF discrimination report but sent ongoing outreach emails to Davidson's Inc. (AZ) as of July 22, 2026; state officials investigating for violations of WV FIND Act, Trump EO, and federal banking rules. Impact: Market Impact: Affects firearm and ammunition manufacturers and retailers seeking reliable payment processing; creates uncertainty for gun industry businesses in states with protective laws. Bottom Line: The Bottom Line: Demonstrates ongoing de-banking pressures on the firearms sector despite legal protections designed to ensure equal access to financial services for lawful industries. Breitbart Dan Wesson DWX Compact 9mm Pistol The Dan Wesson DWX Compact is a metal-framed 9mm pistol that blends design aspects of the CZ 75 and the venerable 3631. It features an aluminum frame, optics-ready slide, AmeriGlo tritium front sight with black rear, aluminum grips, accessory rail (available with or without), and ships with 10- and 15-round magazines. The article highlights its smooth action, excellent trigger, tight groups, and suitability as a real-world everyday carry self-defense pistol after testing over 1,100 rounds. Bottom Line: Key specs/features: 9mm caliber; 10- and 15-round magazines; aluminum frame providing heft; optics-ready; AmeriGlo tritium front sight, black rear sight; accessory rail (optional); aluminum grips; smooth DA/SA action with superb trigger; blends CZ 75 and 3631 characteristics for precision and durability Thefirearmblog Smith & Wesson M&P15 AXE Pistol and SBR in .300 Blackout Smith & Wesson has expanded its M&P15 line with the M&P15 AXE Pistol and corresponding SBR variant chambered in .300 Blackout. Both models feature an 8″ 5R rifled barrel with Armornite finish, GVAC direct impingement gas system optimized for suppressed shooting, 7″ Midwest Industries M-LOK handguard, enhanced BCG, Radian Raptor ambidextrous charging handle, and full ambidextrous controls. The pistol uses a Magpul BTR arm brace while the SBR includes a Magpul CTR stock and Williams folding sights. The Gist: Announced July 21, 2026; availability not explicitly stated beyond launch Bottom Line: Caliber .300 BLK, 8″ barrel (1:7.5 twist, 5/8×24 threaded), GVAC gas system, Midwest Industries 7″ M-LOK handguard, enhanced BCG, Radian Raptor CH, ambidextrous controls, M&P grip with interchangeable backstraps, Magpul BTR brace (pistol) or CTR stock (SBR) Xtechtactical XTech Tactical X-Flare Digital Mil-Spec Magwell BLK AR-15 / M4 The X-Flare Digital Mil-Spec Magwell is an injection-molded polymer flared magazine well designed to fit true mil-spec AR-15/M4 lowers without removing any parts. It creates a 1.75x larger funnel opening compared to a standard mil-spec magwell, features metal threaded sonic-welded inserts with included steel bolts, and adds only 28.5 grams of weight. Available in Black (with FDE and Grey color options), it installs in minutes and carries a lifetime warranty. The Gist: Available for immediate purchase from xtechtactical.com in single, two-pack or five-pack quantities Impact: $39.95 (single unit) Bottom Line: Injection molded glass-filled Super Tough Nylon; 1.75x larger funnel; fits all true mil-spec AR-15/M4 lowers (not billet/non-mil-spec); 6 × 4 × 1 in dimensions; 28.5 g weight; sonic-welded steel-threaded inserts Guns B&T Partners with Rare Breed for FRT-Equipped SPC9 and GHM9 B&T USA has partnered with Rare Breed Triggers to offer factory-integrated FRT-SG3 triggers in its 9mm SPC9 and GHM9 platforms. The guns are assembled and tested at B&T's facility prior to shipping as a complete, validated system. The FRT-SG3 features a three-position ambidextrous safety (safe, semi, FRT). The Gist: Factory-assembled and tested at B&T USA production facility before shipping Bottom Line: FRT-SG3 three-position ambidextrous safety (safe/semi/FRT); first factory-built FRT-equipped duty platforms from B&T Xtechtactical X Flare Digital Magwell Mil Spec Blk Ar 15 M4 Magwell https://pew.report/c/dTR56i Before we let you go – Join Gun Owners of America We'd love if you supported the show, join Agency 171 at agency171.com. Lot's of prizes, rewards and kick ass swag. No matter how tough your battle is today, we want you here fight with us tomorrow. Don't struggle in silence, you can contact the suicide prevention line by dialing 988 from your phone. Remember – Always prefer Dangerous Freedom over peaceful slavery. We'll see you next time! Nick – @busbuiltsystems | Bus Built Systems Jeremy – @ret_actual | Rivers Edge Tactical Aaron – @machinegun_moses Savage – @savage1r Shawn – @dangerousfreedomyt | @camorado.cam | Camorado

We Like Shooting We Like Shooting - Ep 673 July 27, 2026 Presented by This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: Foxtrot Mike (Code: WLSISLIFE) C&G Holsters (Code: WLSISLIFE) Midwest Industries (Code: WLSISLIFE) Blue Alpha Night Fision (Code: WLSISLIFE) Rost Martin (Code: WLSISLIFE) Otis Technology (Code: WELIKESHOOTING15) Giveaways!! GAW   Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 Public   Show Titles   GOA GOALS Aug 1-2 in Iowa. https://goals.goa.org/ Gear Chat Akos Arms – Discover Akos Arms, where modern craftsmanship meets historical inspiration. Explore the Baza, a unique blend of classic design and modern functionality. Akos Arms Baza Rifle .45 ACP The Baza rifle in .45 ACP. Straight pull bolt action. Designed for quiet shooting and low recoil. The Baza Rifle is a straight-pull bolt-action firearm chambered in .45 ACP that uses Glock-pattern full-size magazines. It features a 16.25″ threaded alloy steel barrel, six-position collapsible stock, AR-style ergonomics, 10″ M-LOK free-float handguard, full-length Picatinny rail, CNC-milled billet aluminum receivers, and a nickel Teflon coated match-grade trigger. Overall length is 31.75″, weight is 5 lb 10 oz, with 1:16 RH twist and rated for SAAMI-spec +P ammunition. Availability: In stock, available for direct purchase from Akos Arms website Cost: $1,779.00 – $1,859.00 Special: Straight-pull bolt action design with threaded .578″-28 barrel, accepts Glock full-size magazines, AR-compatible ergonomics and six-position adjustable stock Thefirearmblog Folding To 10 Inches Keltec Shrinks The Sub2000 Platform Again 44829634 https://pew.report/c/6wkaHx Outdoorhub Colorado Lowers Furbearer Bag Limits Bobcats Foxes Raccoons https://pew.report/c/WHVugi Auto-Ordnance | Original manufacturer of the world famous "Tommy Gun" (Nick) M1 Carbine Sbr OVERVIEW: AUTO-ORDNANCE M1 CARBINE SBR OVERVIEW: AUTO-ORDNANCE M1 CARBINE SBR Auto-Ordnance is proud to announce the latest evolution of a classic American firearm with the introduction of the new suppressor ready, M1 Carbine Short Barreled Rifle (SBR). Chambered in the traditional .30 Caliber, this compact powerhouse blends historical heritage with… Note Best can for my ps-90? Bullet Points Thefirearmblog 1791 Industries LiteRaider MMC Receivers 1791 Industries introduces LiteRaider MMC (Metal Matrix Composite) AR-15/M4 receivers made from a composite of pure metals and ceramic nanoparticles. They achieve 33% weight reduction versus standard aluminum while matching the strength of 7075-T6 aluminum, with Mil-Spec tolerances, anodized or Cerakoted finishes in Black or FDE. A matching lightweight accessory ecosystem including handguards is also offered. Availability: Military, law enforcement duty use and civilian lightweight fighting rifles (range, competition, hunting, EDC) Cost: Stripped upper 4.8 oz, stripped lower 6.2 oz (combined ~3.2 oz / 91 g reduction vs aluminum); compatible with AR-15/M4 platforms and MMC accessory line Special: Pro: 33% lighter with equivalent strength and durability; Con: Long-term recoil/vibration performance untested (monitor zero retention and group sizes) Recoilweb Kimber Warrior 1911 Optimized for Duty Use The article details the optimization of a used Kimber Warrior .45 ACP 1911, a commercial homage to the MCSOCOM Det 1 ICQBP sidearm. Upgrades include a Wolff Gunsprings 18.5 lb variable recoil spring, Nighthawk Custom one-piece magwell with lanyard loop, Nighthawk drop-in trigger pack (3.75-4 lb pull), 10-8 Performance flat trigger shoe, and VZ Simonich Gunner grips. The result is a reliable, enhanced single-stack 5-inch 1911 for duty/LE or armed citizen carry at a total cost of approximately $1,500. Availability: Duty use (LE, armed citizen, bedside/survival carry); reliable duty holster sidearm and last-resort pistol, homage to MCSOCOM ICQBP Cost: 5-inch barrel, single-stack narrow frame, 7-round capacity; compatible with duty holsters; weight not numerically stated (stock ~2 lbs implied) Special: Pro: Reduced recoil, crisp 3.75-4 lb trigger with short reset, faster reloads, solid grip, cost-effective reliability. Con: Requires gunsmith fitting for trigger shoe and possible safety mods; not fully plug-and-play Inside Safariland Top 7 Common Sense Ar 15 Upgrades https://pew.report/c/A4ksrC Thefirearmblog Colt Optics LP5X-P LE-Only Multi-Emitter Aiming Laser The Colt Optics LP5X-P, developed in partnership with Brolis Defence, is a NATO-standardized, weapon-mounted aiming laser restricted to law enforcement and military use. It integrates four co-aligned emitters in a compact polymer housing: a 26 mW visible green pointer, IR pointer, electronically adjustable IR illuminator, and VCSEL IR flood illuminator, all zeroing to the same point with minimal bore offset. Powered by a single CR123A battery, it features an IP68 seal, integral flip-up backup iron sight, gloved-hand controls, and MIL-STD-1913/STANAG 4694 rail compatibility, indicating a trend toward multi-spectrum, all-in-one aiming devices for tactical operators. Availability: Best Use Case: Law enforcement and military operations (daylight visible green pointer, night vision IR pointer/illuminator/flood) Cost: Size/Weight/Compatibility: 185 grams with single CR123A battery; mounts to MIL-STD-1913 or STANAG 4694 Picatinny rails; operates -32°C to +71°C; IP68 sealed Special: Quick Pro/Con: Pro – Four co-aligned emitters (visible green 26mW, IR pointer, adjustable IR illuminator, VCSEL flood) in one NATO-fielded unit with minimal POI offset and backup iron sight; Con – Restricted to LE/military sales only (approx. $2800 MSRP noted in comments), high cost may not justify for civilian multi-emitter use over simpler setups Note Historical documentaries on Netflix, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln, Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Grant, FDR, sitting bull, Thefirearmblog STINC o”ST”-14 Groza Kit The STINC o”ST”-14 Groza Kit is a drop-in bullpup conversion for PSA Krink (AK-74U pattern) pistols that approximates the Russian OTs-14 Groza. It includes an iconic carry handle with adjustable rear sight (notch/post or peep aperture for 100 and 200 yards) and a forward grip module containing the trigger and trigger guard. The kit uses all-metal construction with black phosphate finish and simplified machining for dimensional accuracy; compatible with 300 BLK, 7.62×39, and 5.56 Krink variants (fitting may be required on other AK platforms). No weight, dimensions, or price are stated. Availability: Range/competition/practical shooting conversion of short AK pistol to bullpup configuration Cost: Drop-in kit for PSA Krink variants (300 BLK, 7.62×39, 5.56); all-metal black phosphate; carry handle with adjustable rear sight (100/200 yd); forward grip with integrated trigger; no weight or OAL stated Special: Pro: Dimensionally accurate Groza look on affordable Krink platform; Con: Potential fitting on non-Krink AKs, forward grip may expose hand to heat/blast (per article comments) Soldiersystems Hrt Tactical Gear Releases The Hrt Holster Adapter A Semi Flexible Mounting Platform That Moves With You Not Hinders You https://pew.report/c/6Um14L Outdoorhub FALCO Holsters Minimalist Leather EDC Tray (O206) FALCO Holsters expands its concealed-carry ecosystem with a handcrafted leather EDC tray designed for organized storage of wallet, keys, headphones, and pocket items on a nightstand or entryway. Made from premium full-grain Italian leather with hand-painted edges and reinforced stitching in the same Slovakian workshop as their holsters. Part of a minimalist lineup including wallets and card holders, available in four colors with lifetime warranty and 30-day buyback guarantee. Availability: Best Use Case: Everyday carry (EDC) organization for keys, wallet, and pocket items; nightstand or entryway tray Palmettostatearmory Palmetto State Armory Top 5 Best-Selling Handguns of 2026 So Far Based on PSA sales data, the top five handguns are the Glock 19 Gen 6, Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 .380 ACP, Ruger MK IV .22 LR, Taurus TX22 .22 LR, and PSA Dagger Full Size 9mm. The article highlights their reliability, value, capacity, and versatility for defense, carry, plinking, and range use. Rankings reflect a balance of established brands and affordable American-made options; they may shift later in the year. Availability: Best Use Case: Glock 19 Gen 6 – versatile defense, competition, plinking; Bodyguard 2.0 – everyday concealed carry; Ruger MK IV & Taurus TX22 – plinking and skill building; PSA Dagger – duty, home defense, range Cost: Size/Weight/Compatibility: Glock 19 Gen 6 – mid-size polymer, 15+1 9mm (up to 50-rd mags), extensive aftermarket; Bodyguard 2.0 – subcompact, 10+1/12+1 .380 ACP, lightweight; Ruger MK IV – .22 LR, optics ready; Taurus TX22 – 10+1/22+1 .22 LR; PSA Dagger – full-size, 17-rd 9mm, Glock Gen3 compatible, optics-ready Special: Quick Pro/Con: Glock 19 – Pro: unmatched reliability/versatility, Con: boxy grip; Bodyguard 2.0 – Pro: excellent ergonomics/low recoil for size; Ruger MK IV – Pro: extreme accuracy/ergonomics; Taurus TX22 – Pro: high capacity/value; PSA Dagger – Pro: feature-rich under $400, modular; overall no major cons listed Thearmorylife M41A Pulse Rifle from Aliens (Prop Replica) The M41A Pulse Rifle is the standard-issue weapon of the US Colonial Marines in the 1986 film Aliens. It is a fictional firearm manufactured by Armat Battlefield Systems that fires 10x24mm explosive-tipped caseless rounds from a 99-round magazine (typically downloaded to 95) with an under-barrel 4-shot 30mm pump-action grenade launcher....

There are roughly 100x more people who use code than who can write code. As code that “just works” becomes easier to generate, this group may be the biggest prize of all — if you can get the agentic interface right.A key trend we have been tracking over at AINews is the absolute explosion in Codex usage this year, with MAU now up >10x from Jan 2026. Less than two weeks after their July 9th launch, OpenAI said ChatGPT Work and Codex had reached 10M users combined (as we cover in the pod, Codex now powers ChatGPT Work, so all ChatGPT Work users are now users of the Codex harness, even if they aren't traditional engineers) — showing the early innings of what happens when you graduate from coding agents to knowledge work agents:We've been calling out how coding agents are “breaking containment” to do everything else this year to power every other part of knowledge work - and it started with the org chart, with a major reorg last month that amounted to two of Codex's most prominent leaders, Greg and Tibo, taking responsibility over product and ChatGPT specifically, completing a “Superapp” consolidation cycle first discussed in March.With these updates Codex is no longer just a coding tool. In June, OpenAI said knowledge workers already accounting for roughly 20% of Codex's user base and growing more than 3x as quickly as developers. A product dedicated for knowledge workers was being pulled out of the Codex team.However, knowledge work has a different set of problems and environments than coding. For decades, knowledge work has been scattered across different primitives like documents for writing, spreadsheets for analysis, slide decks for communication, and specialized applications for everything else. ChatGPT Work now enables users to work across every primitive with agents. Instead of opening an application and manually operating its features, the user can describe an outcome and collaborates with an agent that can assemble the tools, context, and artifact needed to reach it.From building no-code products at Airtable to leading Productivity Engineering at OpenAI, Akshay Nathan has spent much of his career trying to make the power of software accessible to people who do not write code. In this episode, Akshay joins swyx and Vibhu to unpack the launch of ChatGPT Work, why Codex unexpectedly took off among non-developers inside OpenAI, and the company's broader plan to bring useful agents from software engineers to knowledge workers and eventually everyone.We go deep on the shared agent harness behind Codex and ChatGPT Work, why OpenAI brought the experiences together without making them identical, and how persistent computers, artifacts, Sites, plugins, memory, and sub-agents are changing what people can delegate to AI. Akshay explains why some teams are replacing decks and spreadsheets with interactive websites, how agents can gather context across code, Slack, documents, and local files, and what OpenAI learned from personal-agent products like OpenClaw.Side note: also don't miss Abhihek's sandbox track keynote at AIE, which now powers a lot of the sandboxing for ChatGPT Work… and yes was also broken by an unreleased OpenAI model in the recent HuggingFace incident.Akshay also reflects on how AI is transforming product development itself: why more people will become generalists with a specialty, why ideas and taste become the bottlenecks when almost anyone can build, why LLMs still struggle to generate genuinely grounded new ideas, and why teams must distinguish increased motion from actual progress.We discuss:* Why Codex unexpectedly took off among non-developers inside OpenAI* Why employees felt like using Codex gave them a new superpower* The product insight that led OpenAI to build ChatGPT Work* Why Codex and ChatGPT Work share the same underlying agent harness* How their UX, Git visibility, artifacts, and sandboxing defaults differ* Why OpenAI merged its agent experiences instead of building separate products* How AI is blurring the boundaries between engineering, design, strategy, and operations* Why OpenAI wants the default model configuration to work for most users* When power users should use deeper reasoning, Ultra, or multi-agent modes* Artifacts, agentic spreadsheets, and creating high-fidelity work products* Why interactive Sites may replace decks and spreadsheets* The challenge of designing a simple interface for an agent that can build almost anything* Why users should retry tasks that models could not handle three or six months ago* How AI can gather context for performance reviews without replacing human judgment* The OpenAI automation that turns internal Slack and document activity into memes* What reaching ten million ChatGPT Work and Codex users means for the product* How OpenClaw inspired persistent environments, scheduled tasks, and personal agents* Using ChatGPT for financial planning, budgeting, workouts, meals, and household management* The design tradeoffs behind sub-agents and how much of their work users should see* ChatGPT memory, Chronicle, and long-term context* Why AI may make more people generalists with deep specialties* Why ideas and taste become more important when almost anyone can build* Why LLMs still struggle with the instruction “bring me new ideas”* Measuring productivity through quality at-bats instead of commits, tokens, or pull requests* The critical difference between AI-generated motion and meaningful progressAkshay Nathan* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akshaynathan/* X: https://x.com/akshaynathan_Timestamps00:00:00 Introduction and Bringing the Power of Code to Everyone00:01:33 Joining OpenAI and Preserving a Startup Culture00:02:40 What OpenAI Learned from Enterprise AI Adoption00:05:28 Why OpenAI Built ChatGPT Work00:07:17 Codex vs. ChatGPT Work and the Shared Agent Harness00:12:07 Why OpenAI Merged Its Agent Experiences00:16:24 Models, Reasoning Levels, and Choosing the Right Default00:20:26 Artifacts, Agentic Spreadsheets, and Model–Product Collaboration00:24:22 Why Sites Could Replace Decks and Spreadsheets00:30:08 Designing an Agent That Can Build Almost Anything00:34:28 From Developer Agents to Knowledge Work—and Everyone00:36:07 Power-User Advice and AI-Assisted Performance Reviews00:40:41 OpenAI's Internal AI Memes and the Ten-Million-User Launch00:44:39 OpenClaw, Personal Agents, and ChatGPT as an Operating System00:50:24 Sub-Agents, Ultra Mode, and How Much Control Users Need00:54:39 ChatGPT Memory, Personalization, and Chronicle01:00:19 How AI Is Reshaping Product Development and Tech Roles01:03:15 Ideas, Taste, and Why LLMs Struggle to Generate New Ideas01:04:42 Measuring Productivity, Quality At-Bats, and Motion vs. ProgressTranscriptIntroduction: Akshay Nathan, ChatGPT Work, and the No-Code ArcSwyx [00:00:00]: We're here in the studio with Akshay from OpenAI. Welcome.Akshay Nathan [00:00:07]: Thank you.Swyx [00:00:08]: And with our trusty co-host, Vibhu. So you recently launched ChatGPT Work. You lead Core Product Engineering. It's been a long journey, into all this. I find it very interesting that you started with no code or low code, with Walrus and Airtable. And to some extent, ChatGPT Work is like the super app of super apps of, well, here is the ultimate no code. You just write a prompt.Akshay Nathan [00:00:32]: Yeah. It's funny how things come, full circle. I think for a long time in my career, I started my career working consumer fintech, but then after that, like, there's this hypothesis that, the things that we were able to do with code, like, as engineers, like, if we could bring that to many more people in a more, accessible way, then that would be truly magical. We were working on a startup. It's funny, like, before LLMs, before vision LLMs, on how to do automated testing with AI. It was just kinda jank, back then, but doing what we can, and then worked at Airtable for a while on the same thesis that, like, if we can bring a database or the primitives behind a database to people, that'd be really useful to them. But once LLMs came onto the scene, it became clear that, this was the missing piece, like, the missing technology required to, like, bring the magic of code to everyone without them having to know what's going on underneath the hood. And so, like, I think this launch and a lot of the stuff that we've been up to is, like, the manifestation of that.From Walrus and Airtable to OpenAIVibhu [00:01:33]: How was stuff when you joined? So you joined OpenAI 2023. Now we've got, so much more stuff, so ChatGPT, Codex app, ChatGPT Work. Have things changed?Joining OpenAI and What Hasn't ChangedAkshay Nathan [00:01:44]: I think the more interesting thing is how things haven't changed. Like, one, I joined I remember when I joined, it was, like, five hundred people. One thing I was worried about was, like, I was looking for something, more early stage and, like, was it gonna feel startup enough? And I joined, and I was like, “This feels even more startup-y than I could ever imagine.” And, like, that really hasn't changed even till now. I think the, like, level of, like, bottoms-up ambition and, like, the ability of anyone to, like, do anything or have an idea and ship it is really cool. But on the, like, mission side, I think what was really compelling to me is this mission of, bringing frontier intelligence to everyone. Like, building AGI and then bringing it to everyone. And, I think acknowledging back then that, like, that vision is gonna, not be a linear progression. Like, we're probably gonna, like, try different products and have different things that succeed and don't. But the vision has stayed the same, and the mission has stayed the same, and we're starting to see the pieces, fall together, and that's really cool.Enterprise Lessons: No One-Size-Fits-All AISwyx [00:02:40]: You worked on Enterprise. What A lot of people never touch ChatGPT Enterprise. What is something that you learned from there that you're bringing into your work now?Akshay Nathan [00:02:52]: I think how there's no one-size-fits-all solution in Enterprise. I remember in the early days of ChatGPT Enterprise, like, when we talked to customers and, like, everyone. That was, like, when I think it was a year after ChatGPT was released, and everyone was so excited to bring, AI into their enterprise. And, there were all these teams being stood up. It was, like, the AI deployment team with, like, these enormous budgets. And if you asked anyone, like, what were they excited about? Like, what were they excited about solving? Like, at first, you'd get, like, kinda like the baseline answers of, like, “Yeah, we have all this context and data and all this stuff.” But then if you ask them, like, “What was, like, a discrete use case that, like, they want AI to enable in their workplace?” You get such a different, like, variance, like, explosion of, different types of answers. And it's interesting, like, you using, like, these models and these products, you have this box, and you can say anything to it, which is the magic. But it'on the flip side, it also means that, like, you don't know what to do with it. And in Enterprise, I think a big part of that is, like, meeting the users where they are, like, what use case were they trying to solve, and then teaching them how they can use AI to, like, gain leverage there.Swyx [00:03:56]: Do you meaningfully differentiate that from forward-deployed engineering?Akshay Nathan [00:04:01]: I think there is the go-to-market side of it and then there is the product side of it. I think you need someone on the product side. And I think, like, however good we get at FDE motion, like, I think at the end of the day, if we have a user who's, like, looking at their computer or looking at their phone, like, it's our job in the product to, like, be enabling them and showing them where to go. So we're really excited about that.Vibhu [00:04:24]: Do you think there's been changes, over the past three years of adoption? So there have been, step function changes. You have reasoning models and whatnot. Is there still the same problems of Enterprise has black box, don't know what to do with it, or have things changed?Adoption, Agents, and the Next 10x MarketAkshay Nathan [00:04:39]: We're seeing now that, like, there's this huge uptake, right? Everyone is extremely excited about it. It feels like, many people are, millions, hundreds of millions of people are using ChatGPT. They understand, like, how generally to work with AI. But then, like, every time, like, a new capability gets unlocked, so now, like, we're seeing with agents, like, there is probably a contingent of, like, early adopters still who, truly get it, who are like, “ we you can do anything. You just have to make sure the right context is there, it's connected to the right tools, and that you are supervising it, but, like, anything is possible.” But then there's, like, this, like, 10x or 100x bigger market where, like, they don't yet get that, or they don't yet see that. And so I think that's the next stage here. So to answer your question, like, I think the adoption is there and growing fast, but I think the opportunity is, like, far bigger than that. That's where we wanna play, especially with ChatGPT Work.ChatGPT Work, Codex, and the Super App MergeSwyx [00:05:27]: Yeah. well, let's, let's skip ahead to ChatGPT Work. only, like, a month ago or so, announced. what was the decision process that led into it? there was this, overall merging of the super app. Is that what we're officially calling it? you deprecated the browser as well. Just, summarize your last, like, couple months of working on this thing.Akshay Nathan [00:05:50]: Yeah. It feels like forever now, but it's only been a few months. I think maybe the one, impetus that, like- Is most salient is when we release Codex, or even internally had Codex, like, it was really surprising to us, I think we recently put out some stats on this, that there was this, like, real inflection of, like, adoption among non-developers at OpenAI. And, I, through this product development process, like, would go to, like, these UXR sessions to talk to people internally. And the thing that stuck out to me is, like, one, like, you go talk to, like, strategic finance or marketing or whatever, and they're all using Codex for, their use cases. That part's cool, but the thing that really stuck out to me is how proud people were that they were using Codex. Like, how, likeSwyx [00:06:34]: It's like, “I'm not supposed to be using it, but I am.”Akshay Nathan [00:06:36]: It was that. It was, like, that they were, early to this, like, new thing, but it was also this thing of, like, they felt like they had a superpower, right? And, what we recognized then is that, like, the power of Codex, the power of agents, like, we already had this massive distribution base of people who have, come to know and love ChatGPT. Like, how do we show that to them? Like, how do we bring it to them? Which is, like, a hard product problem, and it's, like, a tricky thing, right? There's many ways you can go about it. And so that's what we called the Merge and the Super App over time, and ultimately launched it in ChatGPT Work, is how do we do that? But it came from that initial realization that, like, the power was not only for developers, like, much earlier than probably even we thought. Like, it could be extended to everyone.Swyx [00:07:17]: How do you see the products differently? So, like, who is it for, right? So Codex started out even CLI, then app. Now there's a merge of ChatGPT Codex and ChatGPT Work, so is it the opening for the average user, for enterprise, for work? How do you position it?Akshay Nathan [00:07:36]: I think we want to get it to position it for if you're doing work-related things, for lack of a better word, right?Who ChatGPT Work Is ForAkshay Nathan [00:07:42]: I think productivity is what, like, the pillar that I support. Like, that's the name of the team. And the reason for that, the reason we call it productivity and not, like, enterprise or, like, work or something like that, is because there's also personal productivity, right? And, like, I think ChatGPT Work is I've seen people do things in their personal lives that you wouldn't classify as, like, work technically, but, like, these agents are, super capable for. Like, one recent example that someone posted about, on our Slack is, like, someone had, like, a missed package, like they didn't receive it, and then they got, like, the picture of it, from Amazon or whoever the courier was, and they, like, asked ChatGPT Work to, like, find out where that package is. And, like, the agent, is extremely tenacious and, like, took the image and, like, looked at a bunch of, like, listings around their neighborhood and figured out exactly the apartment complex in which the package was, like, gave them some information. And so, like, I think there's all these things that, like, you, work-related or productivity-related things, I think that's what we want the product to be. You asked about Codex. I think we think Codex is, a durable brand, but we have a principle that, like, the user we don't want a user to get stuck in a tab or an experience where they don't get the power of the product. And so, like, everything that you can do, in the Codex portion of the product on desktop, you can do in ChatGPT Work and vice versa. But we made some opinionated product decisions on, like, how much of the Git state, if you're in a Git repo, do we wanna expose to the end user? Or how much do we wanna make the experience of seeing the agents thinking, like, diff forward so that you get exposed to the diffs out of the box. And then, like, on the safety side, like, how do we wanna think about, like, sandboxing and making sure that we have the right defaults in one state versus the other? So, there's, like, some opinions that go behind that, but we do want We don't want the user to need to choose which experience they're in.Swyx [00:09:26]: That is a good goal for AGI, right? Like, people don't want, like, to hide to choose what version of AGI they want. They just want the AGI to decide for them. can I get an answer or, like It's not super clear to me. Is the Codex harness and the ChatGPT Work harness the same? Is it just UI affordances, or are there prompt level or even deeper differences?Shared Harness, Different UX: Codex vs. WorkAkshay Nathan [00:09:49]: So the harness is the same. The harness is shared. on In both of the products, we made improvements to the harness to make it good for knowledge work, especially as it relates to plug-ins or computer use or artifacts. You get that power regardless of which experience you're in. On the UX side, there's opinionated takes that we have when you're in Codex mode, what the UX should be how the UX should behave, and some stuff around the sandbox like I mentioned, but the underlying harness and capabilities should be the same.Swyx [00:10:16]: I'm just kinda curious. Maybe we can, -- Is there a query that we can run that would look different in the two modes?Akshay Nathan [00:10:23]: Yeah. I tried to create, like ask it to create, like, a retirement calculator spreadsheet or something, in both modes. And then in Codex mode, you might have to be in a repo for this, but you'll see, like, the diffs of, like, the sheet that it's creating and stuff like that, and the file edits. But in Work you won't be able to see that.Swyx [00:10:42]: I think that's, that's super clear. And then also the other thing I wanted to dive into was your, the productivity team. what else is there? first of all, what are the top-level teams other than productivity? Isn't productivity everything?Productivity Teams and Core ChatAkshay Nathan [00:10:55]: SoSwyx [00:10:55]: Science?Akshay Nathan [00:10:55]: We have a team focused on ChatGPT. Like, the core chat experience, for consumer, which is like, not, I think all productivity. Like, there'People are using ChatGPT every day for search to, figure out how to write messages to loved ones, to think about, how to, like, learn a new topic, et cetera. And so there's so much more inside to create images. And there's so much more in chat that, the hundreds of millions of users are using that warrants, like, a very dedicated effort. And there's teams focused on enterprise and infrastructure and API and stuff like that, so.Swyx [00:11:33]: I will bring it up.Retirement Calculator Demo and Git-First UXSwyx [00:11:34]: Yeah. So I have them both running. This is ChatGPT Work. There's a Codex version here. I picked “Five Little Ducks” song, so this will take a while.Akshay Nathan [00:11:43]: Huh.Swyx [00:11:43]: I think we'll just keep it in the background and, as they finish, we'll look into some of the differences.Akshay Nathan [00:11:48]: Yeah. But immediately, I think if you flip back to the Codex version you'll see that,Swyx [00:11:53]: That it assumesAkshay Nathan [00:11:54]: Like theSwyx [00:11:54]: It assumes Git. Yeah. Yeah.Akshay Nathan [00:11:56]: The, like, dynamic island assumes that you're in a Git repo. And you might miss some stuff because some of it is, like, in the actual chain of thought with those changes and how we display that, but yeah.Swyx [00:12:07]: Is there an unintuitive like, is there a thing that you wanted to ship and then you got feedback, and you were like, “No, let's not do it?” Like, what's the thinking behind that?Why Merge the ExperiencesAkshay Nathan [00:12:14]: In, ChatGPT Work?Akshay Nathan [00:12:17]: I think one direction we could have gone with this is, like, keeping the experiences, like, completely separate. So it's like, whySwyx [00:12:22]: Different apps.Akshay Nathan [00:12:23]: Exactly, like different apps or even in the same app, like different, completely different experiences. Like, why merge it all? Like, what is. Codex, people love. Like, why bring these products together? And I think the intuition here is that, like, all of our jobs are, like, changing dramatically with AI. Like, for, like, every few months, like, I feel like I wake up, and I'm, like, doing a completely different thing than I was doing a few months ago. And my hypothesis here is that, or I should say our hypothesis is that, like, part of what we're, we're building, this technology is giving people leverage. Like, the things, maybe it's the more mundane parts of your job or parts that, like, if you were able to automate, you'd be able to share more ideas faster or whatever, like, you're able to do now. And because of that, like, that might blur the lines between someone who's, like, only writing code or creating strategy docs or, planning events or, helping with marketing or doing podcasts or whatever, right? And so, like, these things are gonna get blurred over time. And so, like, trying to draw a hard boundary based on, like, the who you are is gonna be, is gonna be tough. And, like, we should enable users to choose, but we shouldn't box them in. And so a lot of the work that went in here, like, keeping the primitives the same, like for example, plugins are, like, unified across, this product and ChatGPT and the cloud, was because of that. It's this thesis that, like, eventually things are gonna come together and we don't wanna be Like, we wanna be prescriptive about when to be in either experience, but we don't want to box anyone in.Swyx [00:13:45]: I wonder if there's users who are very tuned to the old ChatGPT harness that is effectively now replaced by the Codex harness. I can't imagine what that was, but maybe they're more the more conversational side. Can you compare and contrast the two harnesses? ‘Cause only you've seen it.Akshay Nathan [00:14:02]: Yeah. I think ChatGPT, the existing harness, like, still exists today. Like, it exists in this app,Harness Engineering: ChatGPT vs. CodexSwyx [00:14:08]: The classic, right?Akshay Nathan [00:14:09]: TheVibhu [00:14:09]: You just start a new chat, and you don't go under Work, right?Akshay Nathan [00:14:13]: Yeah. If you startVibhu [00:14:13]: SoAkshay Nathan [00:14:14]: A new chat and go to chat, then you're, you're talking to ChatGPT with the instant model.Vibhu [00:14:16]: Oh, we can technically do another. But on instant.Swyx [00:14:21]: Yeah. So this one's not gonna code or it's gonna be in line. It's on a in line in a sandbox.Akshay Nathan [00:14:26]: It'llVibhu [00:14:27]: Oh, that's coolAkshay Nathan [00:14:27]: We try to push you to go to Work if you're creating a spreadsheet. Yeah, but this isSwyx [00:14:30]: And this is a router decision? Sorry. Is it a router decision?Akshay Nathan [00:14:34]: This is the decision that, the model is making, and then, like it sees that you're able to. or you're trying to do something that would be better served in Work mode. But I think your question was like, what are the advantages of, like, the chat, like ChatGPT chat harness?Swyx [00:14:48]: It's more broadly, like, I wanna, do an oral history of harness engineering. Right? the ChatGPT harness lasted us from, let's call it the ‘01 era, until now, and now it's being replaced by the Codex harness effectively. And they're, they're overlapping somewhat, but I'm curious what changed if there is.Akshay Nathan [00:15:10]: My perspective on this is, like, there's, there's, there's there's like a constant process of, like, divergence, convergence, divergence, convergence. And in chat, like, many of the use cases I was talking about before, like, search or learning, I think we're, we're really optimizing for latency and optimizing for personality and, like, different things that, over time, like the product The reason people love ChatGPT is because we've been optimizing for those things and working on them for so long. Codex, what we learned was that, like, if you give the agent access to this infinitely flexible environment as a computer, it can do really powerful things. And so when we think about, like, okay, well, for knowledge work, like, what is which mode should we choose? It was like it felt more natural to us to bring that to this, like, computer environment and, maybe abstract some of the details of this computer away from users who might not be used to that, but, like, give them that same power. But ultimately, I think that we want the power in all places, right? We wanna meet people where they are. So I'm sure there'll be work down the road in order to get things to be, equivalently capable in all scenarios. But it's just a question of, like, what we've been focusing on the product on historically and what we're focusing on now.Models, Defaults, and the Reasoning SliderVibhu [00:16:24]: I think alongside that, outside of just harness and when to use Codex, ChatGPT, or Work, there's also the new models you've released, right? any guidance there? So people love to min-max what to use, like only use Terra on high reasoning versus, for this, you wanna use Sol here, ignore all theseAkshay Nathan [00:16:44]: There's 32 options.Vibhu [00:16:46]: But, that being said, for people that are expanding, so, productivity trying stuff for work that don't have the breakdown of what all this is what's, what's the advice, right?Akshay Nathan [00:16:59]: Well, I think before the advice, like the first thing is, like, none of this would be possible without these models. Like, the, I think you asked earlier, like, what was, like, the inspiration for work and, like, early on, like I mentioned, like, what we were seeing with Codex, but that was also because the models were getting infinitely more capable. That's happening again. I think it's like another step function jump now. And to answer the question on advice, like we want this default to be the best possible. Like, we wanna be opinionated about the default, and so we've we've chosen a default that we think is gonna be the best for everyone. And, we have for power users options under the hood. We could One could argue that there might be too many right now, and we're, working on simplifying it. But you can extend, the reasoning level, and you can change between the different model classes if you need to, but the default should be the best for most use cases. So my advice to most people would be to stick to that. And then, if you reach a situation in which you think that you could, you wanna try, a different configuration, if you're not seeing either the efficiency on the cost side or the quality on the intelligence side, then you can change the defaults and see if you can get something better. But we think that the default should be good enough.Swyx [00:18:09]: I have, I'm just gonna run something by you since you have way more experience than me. I've recently been doing Sol Lite but with goal, with the idea that the goal augments the reasoning effort, but with more terminations and turns.Swyx [00:18:24]: Is that a good way to think about it as opposed to Sol Ultra or Sol, Extra High?Akshay Nathan [00:18:29]: Yeah. It's hard to say becauseSwyx [00:18:31]: Yeah. It's like an interaction effect.Akshay Nathan [00:18:33]: exactly. It's like there's a preference on, for you as an individual, like how do you like to collaborate with the models? Like how many of those like terminations, as you call them, do you want where, you can steer or make sure that it's doing the right thing?Akshay Nathan [00:18:46]: I think generally people should try whatever works for them. I think that like using Ultra or the like multi-agent setups are best for like when you have like tasks that are either incredibly complicated, like open explorations or very paralyzable. I think even for tasks using goal, I think is best for tasks that you'll be able to make consistent progress in a way that's verifiable over time. But I think for most tasks, they don't fall into either of those buckets. And so like at least when they're starting, and so that's why I think the best first step is like trying it with the default configuration and then seeing like where you wanna go from there.Swyx [00:19:29]: Right. You guys worked on a slider, which is super helpful for reducing the amount of panic.Vibhu [00:19:36]: It's nice on mobile at least. There's a nice slider there.Swyx [00:19:38]: It's nicer.Vibhu [00:19:39]: I haven't tried it.Swyx [00:19:40]: So you have the advanced view there, but if you click advanced view. Yeah.Vibhu [00:19:44]: Ooh, it's just a nice slider. Yeah.Swyx [00:19:46]: Very pretty, very colorful.Akshay Nathan [00:19:48]: Yeah. The idea was here was like reduce it to like one dimension even though there's multiple dimensions, right? Try to project it onto a single dimension for the user. Like, something from that represents like, speed and efficiency on one side and then like quality and thoroughness on the other side.Artifacts, Spreadsheets, and the Work LaunchSwyx [00:20:04]: I am just puzzled that it uses Sol so much, like the lowerVibhu [00:20:07]: NoSwyx [00:20:07]: Grounds I would've usedVibhu [00:20:08]: I think the slider, if I'm not mistaken, isSwyx [00:20:09]: Terra.Vibhu [00:20:10]: Oh, it is.Swyx [00:20:11]: Yeah. See? So they preset Terra to only be the light one. But like I think a lot of people would more people should use Terra. One, because Sol keeps running out of capacity.Vibhu [00:20:22]: I'm the reason. Here's ten minutes of ourSwyx [00:20:24]: There you goVibhu [00:20:25]: Retirement calculator.Swyx [00:20:26]: Oh, that's the Excel thing working for you.Vibhu [00:20:28]: This is,Swyx [00:20:28]: Oh my God. Look at thatVibhu [00:20:28]: This is work, and then Codex is still cooking, so we'll get back into it. I think it'll be interesting to see the thought process, the reasoning, and also, this is eight minutes on work. Codex is still cooking.Swyx [00:20:41]: Yeah. And by the way, so I've, do Gabriel Chua? He's part of the OpenAI Singapore team. He showed me this, and I was like pretty shocked that this looks like Excel. It edits Excel files. You never paid an Excel license, right? Like, but somehow this is like workable and it's agentic Excel.Akshay Nathan [00:21:01]: Yeah. one of the big like pushes that we made for this launch was like artifacts, right?Akshay Nathan [00:21:05]: Like both on the model side, like I think if you compare this with GPT-5.5 and GPT-5.4 before that, you'll see that there's been pretty dramatic improvements in the quality of these artifacts and then also on the product side.Vibhu [00:21:16]: The UX side is also crazy, like hosted sites and whatnot. No longer needing to host your own little webpage, like itSwyx [00:21:23]: Oh, I have a story about that. I can do, a separate thing. I'll need to take the visuals here, but we-we'll, we'll cut to that later. Was there co-training, because you were moving making this big move and you launched GPT-5.6 on the same day as ChatGPT Work? Was there influence between the model training teams and the harness teams, or did they did the launch dates just happen to line up the same day?Akshay Nathan [00:21:46]: I think the we collaborate heavily with the research teams, and I think that's like one of the most magical parts of the job, like the most fun parts of the job. But yeah, just using artifacts as an example. Like, a lot of what you're seeing, like underneath the hood, there's a lot of work that went into making sure that like, we had the right infra to be able to train the models to get better at this. And then on the product side, like had the right experience for users to be able to collaborate with the model on an artifact like this. In fact, like this whole viewer, like the intuition here is that like, it's not necessarily that you wouldn't need an Excel license. This is stage one, right? Like, this is probably not what you meant when you're like making a retirement calculator.Vibhu [00:22:24]: Yeah, you can iterate very easily. Yeah.Akshay Nathan [00:22:24]: You wanna iterate and like when you're seeing it, and if this thing is high fidelity to like what you would see in or what your coworkers would see if you were to send this to Sean, like that I think makes it so easier and makes you trust the product in terms of iteration.Vibhu [00:22:39]: When you say coworkers would see, do you see a multiplayer, multi-team collaboration with artifacts? Any things you guys think about that?Multiplayer Artifacts and CollaborationSwyx [00:22:46]: You can already share it, right?Akshay Nathan [00:22:48]: Yeah. It's inter It's something that, we're actively thinking about. one thing that, we've noticed internally without talking too much about the roadmap is that like there's many times when someone will ping me about something, and I will ask ChatGPT Work the question, and then I'll ping them back the answer.Akshay Nathan [00:23:04]: And then I'll be thinking likeVibhu [00:23:04]: Like the simplest would be, the three of us are just all on one hosted.Akshay Nathan [00:23:07]: Exactly. And I'll think about like was I required in this loop or and then maybe it was, rephrase like what they were asking or pulled from certain context or whatever. But like, when I gave them back the answer, that process was also lossy, right? Like I gave them just like my interpretation of what ChatGPT Work cooked up. But like underneath the hood, there's so much context like in the rollout and stuff that could be interesting.Vibhu [00:23:28]: Yeah, it'sSwyx [00:23:28]: So like the answer was preemptively respond to every inbound request?Akshay Nathan [00:23:33]: No, it was just like literally like this is what I do sometimes as my job.Swyx [00:23:36]: I know you copy-paste and then you're just a message forwarding serviceAkshay Nathan [00:23:39]: Yeah. Yeah, exactlySwyx [00:23:39]: From AI to AI.Vibhu [00:23:40]: But I think it's interesting, right? It helps people understand the capability of what you can ask and delegate that oftentimes people don't realize until they try or someone shows you, and then you're like, “Oh, okay. Okay, I see.”Swyx [00:23:52]: I think it's als there's also like a, light security issue, where like you're the permissions layer. Like yes, I could query everything that you query, and I could get an automated response, but maybe I'm not supposed to see it. And that there's no way I would know because I'm not supposed to know what I don't know.Akshay Nathan [00:24:07]: Especially as like, with ChatGPT Work, we're, we're asking you to connect your plug-ins and, it's pulling from your local files and stuff like that. Like the amount of context that the agent has access to is like- Deeply personal and like that's something I think we need to preserve, so that'll be definitely a challenge.Swyx [00:24:22]: There's Excel, there's PowerPoint, there's Docs, the, grand trio of work. What other formats of work do you think about? like you worked on Airtable. Is there a future where there's like OpenAI Airtable? Like what does that look like if you ever ended up doing it?Akshay Nathan [00:24:41]: It's a really good question. I think,Formats of Work: Sites as Knowledge ArtifactsAkshay Nathan [00:24:43]: one that you didn't bring up was Sites, and I think that wasSwyx [00:24:46]: SitesAkshay Nathan [00:24:46]: A core part of this launch. There's one side of Sites that I think people commonly talk about, especially on Twitter and stuff or X, of like, this like prototyping tool. And like we saw that happen with this launch even. The model slider that you guys were referencing earlier, like that was developed almost fully in a Site. Like, the collaboration between design and engineering and product on that was like on a site where we play with, the affordance and figure out how it feels and all of that. But the other aspect that I think is a little bit less talked about is like Sites as like an artifact for knowledge work. I was talking to someone the other day who's on like our corporate finance team, and like we were mentioning how like now when they have these reports that they're, they're working on as a team month to month, historically those things were in slide decks and in spreadsheets, and now they're just in Sites. And like Sites is the mechanism that they collaborate across the team. And the reason is ‘cause it's like, it's like somewhat higher bandwidth. Like, at these tools like PowerPoint and Excel are like infinitely flexible, but at some point you reach the boundary of like either as a human you may not know how to use some feature or something, or the product itself doesn't support it. But with a site you can do anything. You ask for anything and you can get that. once people see that magic, I think it's been really valuable.Swyx [00:26:02]: Yeah, let me show you my case study. this involves all the hot topics including ChatGPT Work, but also GPT-5.6 token billionaires and token maxing and Sites and auto research. I'm a fan of this game called Strata. It's, it's like a little board game that youSites, Auto Research, and Research DashboardsSwyx [00:26:17]: That you play with, physical blocks, that come on top of it like that. So over the weekend I took like thirty photos and just threw into ChatGPT. one point seven billion tokens later, out comes this site with a fully playable thingAkshay Nathan [00:26:32]: WowSwyx [00:26:32]: With 3D, block placement and everything. Because it requires physical blocks and I needed friends to train on it so they can get better, so I can play against them. But also, I could also, do things like train an AI on it and that's, thatAkshay Nathan [00:26:45]: That's your auto researchSwyx [00:26:46]: That gets into auto research. So, you want to train your own AIs, and then make sure they self-play against, each other. I need to set both AIs. So this is AI versus AI, and they're, they're gonna self-play. the AIs start out bad and then you want to define a loss function and get good. I wasn't gonna supervise all this. I was at, I was down in San Mateo, attending a conference. What I ended up doing was, auto researching and on this and creating benchmarks and that there was just way too many parameters for me to read. So I started asking it for a site, and it's created this lab, panel. Where is there a, is there a shortcut for a site that is created?Akshay Nathan [00:27:28]: You should be able to go in the sidebar to Sites, top of the sidebar. The left sidebar.Swyx [00:27:33]: This one? Oh, left?Akshay Nathan [00:27:35]: Yeah. Just scroll all the way to the top.Swyx [00:27:36]: Oh. Oh, it says Sites. Oh, there you go. Yeah.Akshay Nathan [00:27:39]: Ooh.Swyx [00:27:40]: So it create, it creates the sites. I don't, I don't think this is, it is exactly what I wanted, but let me show you what it popped up, right? Like I think as a research artifact, it is very important to communicate, exactly, what is being done. Outputs this thing which I eventually started publishing. So I moved it off of Sites because I wanted more, database and infrastructure than Sites afforded me. But this is like a research output that you can start to mess with and like try to think about like what hyperparameters are you tuning for training AIs. And like I was trying to make like scaling laws and everything and doing all sorts of like game optimization stuff. And the fact that you can just throw this up as a research artifact, like I no longer need to read ChatGPT output. I read Site output. But then there's also a huge sprawl. Like look at how long this thing is. There's so many numbers. It is pretty overwhelming, so then I have to start pruning it from there. But, it's an interesting transition from Markdown effectively that you're putting out to, you're putting out a whole functional site.Akshay Nathan [00:28:41]: I think Markdown just isn't that optimal for people to read, right? Might as well just write HTML website and I don't know. I think you can do a lot with customizing this, right? You have your skills that explain what you want. Like I noticed they're quite verbose. I don't need a lot of this information.Swyx [00:28:57]: It's very verbose.Akshay Nathan [00:28:58]: So and then the nice thing of having a site side by side is, you just iterate on what you want and what you don't, right?Swyx [00:29:05]: Yeah. I don't know if, any that triggers any stories for you of how it's run internally. Am I doing this right?Akshay Nathan [00:29:11]: Yeah. I think that this is like a workflow that we're seeing like all different types of teams use, where like the canonical artifact that was previously a deck or something is now becoming a site. And like with a site you, because it's just HTML, you can like. It's infinitely flexible. And so, if you want to give more prominence to a certain thing that like in a slide deck would, feel like it was buried, like you can do that. You can have it be like the hero image, right? And so I think that like, people are starting to see that. There's more work to be done to make these things like much more easier, easy to collaborate on. You mentioned that they're very, they're long and verbose, could be broken up. I'm sure that there's still something to do there.Swyx [00:29:53]: They're super long. Yeah.Akshay Nathan [00:29:54]: Yeah. But I think we're starting to see that like there is this aspect of this is a really interesting, format, for people to use, that's like much more flexible than what they ever had before.Swyx [00:30:07]: I think your job also comes becomes meta. You're not designing the products. You're designing a product to make products, and I'm curious how you manage that.Designing a Product That Makes ProductsAkshay Nathan [00:30:18]: I think one thing that we've been Like when we look at the UX, like that we've been thinking a lot about is how can we balance like simplicity with capability? Like if we're designing a product, like you said, that like is made to make up build other things, right? You can build so many different things. But we can't put that all in front of you because you'll get overwhelmed.Vibhu [00:30:41]: Yes.Akshay Nathan [00:30:41]: And so we had similar problem or similar challenges even Chat-with ChatGPT, but especially now, like when there's so much that can be done, I think the balance that we're constantly trying to strike is like, how can we give the user enough of a UI surface where, they can be expressive, they can tell the agent what they need, they can verify that it's using the right tools, it's pulling from the right sources, et cetera, but then it gets out of the way. And then how can we build the right system such that we can show them instead of telling them what can be done? Because so much of this is gonna be like, how do they discover the next use case and the next one after that if they really want to be super powered by the AI.Games, Private Evals, and Show-Don'TellVibhu [00:31:19]: Yeah. It's interesting. I feel like everyone also just has a different way to do it, right? I made a similar version of this same game. I didn't take any pictures of board or rule game. I threw in at goal eighteen minutes, fifty-three seconds later, a lot of tokens later, I've got a similar version. not with all the auto research and whatnot, butAkshay Nathan [00:31:39]: You gotta do all the latest trends.Vibhu [00:31:40]: And yeah, I did it with, did it with Codex, not Work, but it's interesting, right?Akshay Nathan [00:31:45]: Yeah. And this is GPT Image generating the pro avatars. Very good for game design. LikeVibhu [00:31:51]: AndAkshay Nathan [00:31:52]: A lot of game designers were like really into GPT Image for assets.Vibhu [00:31:54]: I will say like the broader takeaway probably is the reason that we do this is more so just to test the tools, right? Like, this was also a test for GPT-5.6 came out. I had done the game on GPT-5.5, right? The ability for me to no longer need it to. I had to feed it the rules. It's, it's a pretty niche game. It couldn't find how to do this on its own.Akshay Nathan [00:32:15]: Oh, yeah.Vibhu [00:32:15]: GPT-5.6Akshay Nathan [00:32:16]: It is out-of-distribution, which is why I was also very keen on testing the GPT-5.6 capability.Vibhu [00:32:21]: But, this is just as work comes out, as new things come out, these are just our side ways to test things, right?Akshay Nathan [00:32:27]: Yeah. It's some private eval. That is not this private.Vibhu [00:32:31]: But also valuable because now you can send this to your friends and I learned about this game through seeing this.Akshay Nathan [00:32:36]: It's a hard game. He's very good.Vibhu [00:32:39]: It's good to when no one is competing with you. But yes, it's a classic RL problem of like self-play, bootstrapping your game AI. yeah, you see how easily work becomes personal and personal becomes work because the thing I do for personal, it directly informs people I work with because I showed it to them. They were like, “Oh, you can do that with GPT?” Which like I imagine is the growth strategy.Akshay Nathan [00:33:02]: Yeah. The show not tell is a big piece that, I think we've we're not still not fully cracked of like, showing people all the things that they can do with the product versus like trying to teach that to them through like, articles or onboarding or whatever.Akshay Nathan [00:33:18]: So meeting them in the moment.Vibhu [00:33:19]: It's a career risk for me, because I used to be in developer relations, right? Where your job is to show, and then you're like, “What do you mean? You don't, you don't need.” your job is to tell. And then. But the product people are like, “Well, we don't need you if our product is intuitive enough.” SoAkshay Nathan [00:33:37]: Yeah. that's the magic of the models. So you can tailor the telling or the showing to like specifically what the user needs, like what they care about, what they've done in the past, exactly where they are on the adoption journey. So I think that's like gonna be a super big opportunity.Vibhu [00:33:50]: Seems easier and easier now to tailor custom showing, right? People have different use cases. As much as you said you don't wanna segment different people into different buckets, right? It's also not that hard to for people that are in different categories. But the question, is you said your team is more broadly on. What was the term you used? Productivity?From Developers to Knowledge Work to EveryoneAkshay Nathan [00:34:12]: Productivity.Vibhu [00:34:12]: Productivity. So howAkshay Nathan [00:34:12]: Which is now work.Vibhu [00:34:14]: Is it work? Is there another distribution that we're not hitting? Is there a group of people that will have something different than ChatGPT, Codex or Work? Is there more that the mass isn't targeting?Akshay Nathan [00:34:28]: I see it as like a sequencing, like. The vision is like bring useful agents to everyone. We started with like developers. Like developers historically are like early adopters that are willing to put up with more friction, set things up, et cetera. Like that's where, Codex started. I think the next opportunity is like what we call general knowledge work, all the other functions around developers. I think when you go from developers to this segment, like there's inherent challenges with like, this show not tell thing that we're talking about, making the product more understandable, bringing in new capabilities that matter more for this cohort than matter for developers, things like artifacts, things like computer use, et cetera. And then I think like the same learnings, like similarly how we took the learnings from developers and brought it to, general knowledge work, the next stage will be like taking the learnings from general knowledge work and bringing it to everyone no matter what they're doing in their lives. And we're already seeing that a little bit. Like this game example that you have is, something that's like on the border of like fun and personal life to, your professional life. I use ChatGPT Work full-time at home for everything, like for whatever I'm doing. I used it the other day to come up with a meal plan and like, save that on the like computer environment that it has and something that I can continue going back to. Like is everyone doing that yet? Probably not because the thing says work on it, but eventually, we wanna get people there.Vibhu [00:35:51]: ChatGPT life.Akshay Nathan [00:35:52]: Yeah, exactly. ChatGPT cooking. But I think there's a lot of, there's a lot of opportunity there, but I see it as like, we're, we're built we built a foundation in software engineering, and we're gonna take the same learnings that we take from software engineering to knowledge work to everyone.Vibhu [00:36:07]: Do you have any power user advice? I feel like, there's a group of people that will live it, use it for everything, stay on it twenty four-seven. And then there's a bit of a gap between that crew and people that, okay, I use it for work. I use it occasionally. Sometimes I type questions. any advice, any learnings, anything you recommend or just, takeaways that you've found that help bridge that gap?Power User Advice: Push the Frontier of ImaginationAkshay Nathan [00:36:30]: I think a couple things that I've seen is like, one, that it really helps to broaden your imagination of what's possible, and this has been a learning even for me. Like, the technology has progressed so fast that, something that, like, even three months ago, like, no way the models can do this. Like, now it's like, wow, it's like it can. Like,Swyx [00:36:52]: Give an exampleAkshay Nathan [00:36:52]: We're going through right now our, like, review cycle internally, and, people always talked about this as, like, a thing that the models are good at and like, there's a cliché of like: Okay, like, no one wants to be writing reviews and, like, we just use AI to do it. But in all seriousnessSwyx [00:37:09]: And it can evaluate it as well.Akshay Nathan [00:37:10]: Yeah, exactly. In all seriousness, before it was, like, just, like, slop and, like, I think it was helpful, but, not super productive. Now I've found that, like, the model can do a much better job than me, especially in this environment of, like, pulling context on, like, what people are up to, how they've like the things that they've done to make a difference, highlighting like, wins that they've had that, like, I might may not even have seen. It has access to, like, everything, right? Like the code, like, things that they've caught, reviews, Slack, everything. And so it's, like, incredibly powerful in that domain and, like, just like six months ago, the last time we did this cycle, like, I didn't even I tried using it, but it was not at all helpful. And this time it's been, like, incredibly helpful and, like, so I think continuing to push the frontier of imagination of what's possible, even if you tried something before, I think is maybe the my biggest piece of advice. The other, thing is, like, the more you put in, especially in this environment where, like, the model has access to everything on your computer or in ChatGPT Work, like you can create, artifacts over time and save them in your library and, like, the model will continue having access to those. Like, the more information you give it about whatever domain you're in, whether it's your life or your work, the more valuable it becomes, and it'll become valuable in, like, ways that might surprise you. Like, it might pull from context in a way that, may be proactive and that you might not even have thought about. But it needs to have access to those, to that those tools or that context first.Reviews, Agentic Search, and Context GatheringSwyx [00:38:27]: One thing I just wanna talk about the review stuff because I'm still that's a very sensitive thing and you're, you're a founder, you've managed people, you've hired people. As manager myself, I'm very reticent to put out any LLM-generated things especially when it comes to people, ‘cause it feels like you don't care.Swyx [00:38:46]: Presumably at OpenAI, people are more open to being eval rated by GPT. But are there any unofficial rules around this? Like, what's the etiquette?Akshay Nathan [00:38:57]: Oh, I think the etiquette is that, like, I would never write something via, like, well, solely via AI and, like, present it as, like, a review for someone. What I was talking about is more, like, gathering context. That's the place where it's incredibly helpful.Swyx [00:39:08]: So it's just search.Akshay Nathan [00:39:09]: Yeah, exactly.Swyx [00:39:09]: It's agentic search. Yeah.Akshay Nathan [00:39:10]: It's like agentic search, but, that you can tailor and steer much more capably than you could before, ‘cause, like, the thing is it's all there's a flywheel happening, right? Because of Codex, people are able to do, and because of ChatGPT, people are able to do so much more now than ever before. And if you're able to do so much more, it's easy to miss things as well. And so, like, I think we need to use these same tools to keep up with all the impact that people are having and understand, where we can be helpful.Swyx [00:39:39]: I think the thing, like, I run a small company, so easy to search, but at the scale of OpenAI with the amount of messages that you guys put in Slack, do you think that it misses things?Remembering What Humans MissAkshay Nathan [00:39:50]: Probably, but I think that I also miss things.Swyx [00:39:52]: Like, it doesn't matter, right?Vibhu [00:39:53]: I think sometimes it'sSwyx [00:39:53]: Like it's, as it needs to be human-levelAkshay Nathan [00:39:54]: It's all relative, right? Yeah.Vibhu [00:39:56]: Sometimes it's nice when it finds things you wouldn't, right? Like right now, my Codex system prompts, they're set up in such a way that every project I have has a secret- separate, notes MD, and it just writes learnings to there. And then the global one can pull from all these. So sometimes it'll be like: Oh, there's this project you did like four months ago. Here's a note that we had, and it randomly pulls it back into context that I would never do, I haven't thought about.Vibhu [00:40:20]: And I'm like, okay, this is quite superhuman, right? Like, stuff that would. And, it'll save like hours on chunking of stuff or find something that's already been done. I'm like, as much as it might miss stuff, I would too, but it's very useful when it finds stuff. And I have like a very, non-super engineered solution to this. It's just marked down files that get pulled whenever they want.Akshay Nathan [00:40:41]: Yeah. I have a funny anecdote about this. Like, recently gearing up to this launch, the team has been, really cooking on it for a couple months, and over that time, like there's so much conversation and chatter going on in Slack and Docs and elsewhere. And, one of the members of the team set up this, scheduled tasks, like automation to like look at everything that's going on and, like, come up with the best memes and then post it in one of our shared channels. And like, there are two cool things about this. Like, the first is, like, I think the models are, over time, like starting to become like funny.Swyx [00:41:13]: Funny. Nice.Akshay Nathan [00:41:13]: Whereas like, a year ago, like that was not at all the case. The second is, it was what you were saying, like they find things that in surprising ways that you may not have thought of and like create connections that you may not have thought of. And that really helps with like the meme generation because then you can see something that, genuinely surprises you and, is funny in that way. So yeah, that's like not like the most productive, use of this the technology, but it does it does uncover this, like this capability that's emerging, which is just like to find information that you otherwise would not know of.Launch Momentum and the 10 Million User MilestoneSwyx [00:41:43]: Talking about the launch, I think, I have pretty much said this is the most successful launch in a long time. I think even more successful personally than 5.0, and they're announcing ten million users. Does it feel different? You've been through a lot of launches.Akshay Nathan [00:41:58]: I think it feels like a culmination. Well, I think two things. One, it feels like a culmination, like I was mentioning earlier, like this like vision mission that we've been on for a long time. Like I said, we saw the magic of Codex internally, and then we're like extremely excited to bring this to many more people and to see it working, to like see us reach, the distribution goal, numbers that you mentioned, like I think that's like huge and super exciting. The flip side of that is like, there's so much more to do too. Like, that's also really exciting. Like, ChatGPT as a whole, like the this product that, everyone almost equates to AI and like loves, has hundreds of millions of users. And so like ten million is really cool, but like we need to get this to everyone. Like, we need everyone to feel this magic. And so that's the next step from here. But yeah, I think extremely pumped about how it's going so far and the opportunities.Swyx [00:42:46]: Awesome. I did want to also Because I've, I've, I've been tracking the number closely, it transitioned at some point from just Codex users to Codex plus ChatGPT Work, because they're same harness. The whole point is that you don't, you can't, count them separately. Do you have roughly a billion, ChatGPT users? Why did it just jump to one billion right away? Like, isn't that the default on ChatGPT or no?Codex, ChatGPT Work, and the Developer BrandAkshay Nathan [00:43:11]: We don't default you into ChatGPT Work if you're on ChatGPTSwyx [00:43:14]: If you're free. YeahAkshay Nathan [00:43:15]: It's also only available to paid users right now. And I think there's like a process of, educating users of what is the value of this product, having them try it, learning from their feedback, and making it better over time. But the goal is to, get as many of the people who love ChatGPT today to like feel the power of ChatGPT Work. But I think it'll be a journey.Swyx [00:43:36]: Yeah. And Codex will still be alive as a brand for the foreseeable future. And we'll just toggle between them as needed for UI stuff.Akshay Nathan [00:43:44]: Yeah, I think it's even stronger point than that. Like, I think we fully intend to like, treat developer. Like, developers have been, a core market for us for so long, and like there's, there's so much more that we can do to make Codex great specifically for, software development, and we'll continue to do that. This doesn't take away from that at all. If anything, it should increase the utility of something like Codex, because now you can move seamlessly between writing a diff to creating an artifact or, doing a search over your factor.Swyx [00:44:11]: I do wonder how much this terminology leaks to the non-technical user. Like, do they have to learn to say artifact if I want artifact? Or.Akshay Nathan [00:44:20]: It's funny, like we call it artifacts internally ‘cause that's what the teams call it.Swyx [00:44:23]: It's nice. Yeah.Akshay Nathan [00:44:23]: But like externally, like no one says that, no one calls it an artifact. But I think that people like often, like describe things, whatever they're used to, right? So if, ChatGPT Work is good at creating slides, they'll say ChatGPT Work is good at creating slides, and that's what we want.OpenClaw, Personal OS, and Persistent ComputersSwyx [00:44:38]: One big Another, it's July of twenty-six. One big thing that also happens in, for OpenAI was OpenClaw, and that's I think a lot of people's first time really maxing a agent for personal stuff, but also crossing over to work in essence same way. As far as I understand, OpenClaw is still independent, but did you go through your own OpenClaw moments? Were there any lessons you took from OpenClaw to Codex or back? Whatever.Akshay Nathan [00:45:06]: I think there's a lot of inspiration. I did go through my own OpenClaw moment. I,Swyx [00:45:10]: Yeah, tell the storyAkshay Nathan [00:45:10]: Me and my wife like set up an OpenClaw to like try to manage everything in our house. Not that there's like a ton, but it was like quite useful. We gave it a calendar. It started, creating events for us and stuff. At some point, the laptop that we were running on, it died and never got a chance to pick it back up. But there was a lot of inspiration there, like, in ChatGPT Work, in web and mobile, like you get access to this like persistent computer environment where, you can store files, and those files stay around between sessions. And the idea is to be able to enable use cases like this. one of the members of our team uses ChatGPT Work for what they used OpenClaw from before, and then feel like it has like completely transitioned, which is like, workout planning and like meal tracking. which again, it's like a work-related thing, right? It's like not work necessarily, but it's like in personal productivity space. But it has all the same primitives. So it has scheduled tasks. It has the ability to store files on a file system. It has the ability to like reference those things over time. And so you start to see the same types of use cases emerge, which has been really cool.Swyx [00:46:14]: Is there a point that ChatGPT Work completely replaces OpenClaw? they're independent, so.Akshay Nathan [00:46:20]: Yeah, I'm, I'm not close to it, so I can't speak to the OpenClaw roadmap, but I don't think so. I think that there's gonna be, there's always a need for like this like incredible, like open source technology that team has built. And I think that we can draw inspiration, in the product and, ChatGPT, I think many more people have like heard about and used ChatGPT than have used OpenClaw. And if we can take the magic from OpenClaw and bring it to them, I think that'll be a success. I think that like one thing on the ChatGPT Work side that we feel strongly about is that like the core experience is that you come to this product and you have a conversation, start a session, whatever you wanna call it, with this agent. And the magic of the product is that you can do anything in that moment. And we would like to create a product where you don't have to click a button or to go to a different place, whatever, and you can get whatever functionality exists in, your finances app or where or any other product like in this one place. And so that's the goal. It's like it we want an extensible system with plugins where you can connect to the tools that you need in order to be able to accomplish like a financial task, where you can, if you're doing like science work, like we have an ability to like extend the system in such that you can like write the tech and it performs well. There'll always be like products that we support that are best in class at those things, but we want as much of the magic as possible in that core experience.Swyx [00:47:45]: Yeah. Do you think that you can do everything you used to do with Wealthfront in ChatGPT Finance?Finance, Data Access, and Centralized ContextAkshay Nathan [00:47:50]: I tried it. like ChatGPT doesn't yet custody, cash and assets for me. So that part, no, not yet. But I, there was like a whole component of like retirement planning and, like financial planning and budgeting and stuff that, we were looking into when I was there. And like with the finances plugin, like that's all possible with ChatGPT today. So, I feel

Recruiters often think they need more cold calls to grow their desk—but Jamie Lupo argues they're overlooking the biggest revenue opportunities already built into their workflow.In this FDE+ episode, Kortney Harmon sits down with Jamie Lupo, Founder of Lupo Advisory, to explore how reference checks and quality control calls can uncover hidden job orders, strengthen client relationships, and generate new business without adding extra activities to your day. Jamie shares practical word tracks, proven frameworks, and simple strategies recruiters can implement immediately to increase fill ratios and grow revenue naturally.Discover how to turn everyday recruiter conversations into long-term business growth.________________Follow Jamie Lupo on LinkedIn: LinkedIn | JamieFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: CrelateWant to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereSubscribe to our newsletter: The Full Desk Experience

We Like Shooting We Like Shooting - Ep 672 July 20, 2026 Presented by This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: Foxtrot Mike (Code: WLSISLIFE) C&G Holsters (Code: WLSISLIFE) Midwest Industries (Code: WLSISLIFE) Blue Alpha Night Fision (Code: WLSISLIFE) Bowers Group (Code: WLS) Second Call Defense Giveaways!! GAW   Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 Public   Show Titles   GOA GOALS Aug 1-2 in Iowa. https://goals.goa.org/ Gear Chat Instagram (Savage) Da6kzNIulLc 36 likes, 17 comments – savage1r on July 17, 2026: "When you absolutely, positively, obsessively do not want to smell the smoke in your house during fire season. #airpurifier #air #fans #filter". https://www.instagram.com/reel/Da6kzNIulLc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Note Tacticaltoggle.com thefirearmblog.com Springfield Armory Echelon Alpha An Echelon, but More Affordable?Springfield Armory Unveils the NEW Echelon AlphaThe Springfield Armory Echelon is the pistol of choice for a lot of shooters because of its wide package of accoutrements and modern features.The only gripe that some shooters raise is that the more tricked out variations might be too expensive for their budget. Springfield Armory announced the Echelon Alpha, a 9mm striker-fired pistol built on the Central Operating Group with a serialized stainless steel chassis. It features a recontoured billet machined slide with Melonite finish, 4″ hammer-forged barrel, optics-ready Variable Interface System, and ships with one stainless steel magazine. The design emphasizes purpose-driven ergonomics with a small grip module and reduced overall dimensions compared to the standard Echelon. Availability: Unveiled July 14, 2026; three initial models (standard, low-capacity, CA-compliant) offered directly via Springfield Armory Cost: $599 (standard and low-capacity); $649 (CA-compliant) Special: Variable Interface System for direct optic mounting combined with recontoured slide, captive recoil system, and single stainless steel magazine shipment EnVeeGee 2.0 DIY Night Vision 1078126 Enveegee 2 0 Diy Night Vision Download this free 3D print file designed by horizonalt.  Please notify me if anything is missing.The EnVeeGee is a digital-only refinement of the PVS-69 created by VonScherfArms. Using the technology available, a more purpose-built version of Vaughn's “Alpha” was designed and built to use only Amazon, Ebay, and Aliexpress hardware. No custom electronics were used to keep this build as accessible as possible. Odysee MMMIIT V1:7 Presenting the MMMIIT, or better known as the Monolithic Monocular Mx9644 Image Intensifier Tube Note Best can for my ps-90? Bullet Points Guncadindex Tritschi 60 Seconds Timer for Shooting Range A self-built horizontal hourglass-style mechanical countdown timer using a stepper motor, GT2 belt, Nema17, Arduino Nano, and 3D-printed parts. It provides a large 160 cm x 90 mm visual window that transitions from white to red over exactly 60 seconds for timing K20-K23 handgun events in DSU disciplines, with startup red LED/beeper sequence, green LED indicator, optional beeper, and planned light-sensor start. Powered by 3S Li-Ion with BMS; designed in TinkerCad and printed on Prusa MK4/Sovol SV08. Availability: Best Use Case: Competition (K20-K23 handgun events in German DSU shooting sports; helps pace 18 shots in 60 seconds without digital distractions or crowd noise) Special: Quick Pro/Con: Pro – Large peripheral-vision mechanical analog display improves focus and timing accuracy; Con – Self-built (requires 3D printing, electronics assembly, partial BOM only; no pre-built unit or price listed) Thefirearmblog 1791 Industries LiteRaider MMC Receivers 1791 Industries introduces LiteRaider MMC (Metal Matrix Composite) AR-15/M4 receivers made from a composite of pure metals and ceramic nanoparticles. They achieve 33% weight reduction versus standard aluminum while matching the strength of 7075-T6 aluminum, with Mil-Spec tolerances, anodized or Cerakoted finishes in Black or FDE. A matching lightweight accessory ecosystem including handguards is also offered. Availability: Military, law enforcement duty use and civilian lightweight fighting rifles (range, competition, hunting, EDC) Cost: Stripped upper 4.8 oz, stripped lower 6.2 oz (combined ~3.2 oz / 91 g reduction vs aluminum); compatible with AR-15/M4 platforms and MMC accessory line Special: Pro: 33% lighter with equivalent strength and durability; Con: Long-term recoil/vibration performance untested (monitor zero retention and group sizes) Guncadindex GRIP DEEZ (Printable AK Grip Nuts) by Haymarket Customs Printable AKM grip nut designed for fastening a pistol grip to the receiver. Prints without supports in under 30 minutes using PA6-GF/CF at 100% infill for less than $1 in materials. Requires 1x M6 jam/lock nut and 1x M6 screw (length varies by grip). Availability: Best Use Case: AKM rifle pistol grip installation (home-printed accessory) Recoilweb Kimber Warrior 1911 Optimized for Duty Use The article details the optimization of a used Kimber Warrior .45 ACP 1911, a commercial homage to the MCSOCOM Det 1 ICQBP sidearm. Upgrades include a Wolff Gunsprings 18.5 lb variable recoil spring, Nighthawk Custom one-piece magwell with lanyard loop, Nighthawk drop-in trigger pack (3.75-4 lb pull), 10-8 Performance flat trigger shoe, and VZ Simonich Gunner grips. The result is a reliable, enhanced single-stack 5-inch 1911 for duty/LE or armed citizen carry at a total cost of approximately $1,500. Availability: Duty use (LE, armed citizen, bedside/survival carry); reliable duty holster sidearm and last-resort pistol, homage to MCSOCOM ICQBP Cost: 5-inch barrel, single-stack narrow frame, 7-round capacity; compatible with duty holsters; weight not numerically stated (stock ~2 lbs implied) Special: Pro: Reduced recoil, crisp 3.75-4 lb trigger with short reset, faster reloads, solid grip, cost-effective reliability. Con: Requires gunsmith fitting for trigger shoe and possible safety mods; not fully plug-and-play Inside Safariland Top 7 Common Sense Ar 15 Upgrades https://pew.report/c/A4ksrC Thefirearmblog Colt Optics LP5X-P LE-Only Multi-Emitter Aiming Laser The Colt Optics LP5X-P, developed in partnership with Brolis Defence, is a NATO-standardized, weapon-mounted aiming laser restricted to law enforcement and military use. It integrates four co-aligned emitters in a compact polymer housing: a 26 mW visible green pointer, IR pointer, electronically adjustable IR illuminator, and VCSEL IR flood illuminator, all zeroing to the same point with minimal bore offset. Powered by a single CR123A battery, it features an IP68 seal, integral flip-up backup iron sight, gloved-hand controls, and MIL-STD-1913/STANAG 4694 rail compatibility, indicating a trend toward multi-spectrum, all-in-one aiming devices for tactical operators. Availability: Best Use Case: Law enforcement and military operations (daylight visible green pointer, night vision IR pointer/illuminator/flood) Cost: Size/Weight/Compatibility: 185 grams with single CR123A battery; mounts to MIL-STD-1913 or STANAG 4694 Picatinny rails; operates -32°C to +71°C; IP68 sealed Special: Quick Pro/Con: Pro – Four co-aligned emitters (visible green 26mW, IR pointer, adjustable IR illuminator, VCSEL flood) in one NATO-fielded unit with minimal POI offset and backup iron sight; Con – Restricted to LE/military sales only (approx. $2800 MSRP noted in comments), high cost may not justify for civilian multi-emitter use over simpler setups Guncadindex BLAPR 47:3 https://pew.report/c/VJnOjT Pew Report Pew Report Adds Guncad Index To Make 3d Printed Firearms More Approachable https://pew.report/c/np1wkP Note Historical documentaries on Netflix, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln, Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Grant, FDR, sitting bull, Thefirearmblog STINC o”ST”-14 Groza Kit The STINC o”ST”-14 Groza Kit is a drop-in bullpup conversion for PSA Krink (AK-74U pattern) pistols that approximates the Russian OTs-14 Groza. 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Availability: Range/competition/practical shooting conversion of short AK pistol to bullpup configuration Cost: Drop-in kit for PSA Krink variants (300 BLK, 7.62×39, 5.56); all-metal black phosphate; carry handle with adjustable rear sight (100/200 yd); forward grip with integrated trigger; no weight or OAL stated Special: Pro: Dimensionally accurate Groza look on affordable Krink platform; Con: Potential fitting on non-Krink AKs, forward grip may expose hand to heat/blast (per article comments) Soldiersystems Hrt Tactical Gear Releases The Hrt Holster Adapter A Semi Flexible Mounting Platform That Moves With You Not Hinders You https://pew.report/c/6Um14L Outdoorhub FALCO Holsters Minimalist Leather EDC Tray (O206) FALCO Holsters expands its concealed-carry ecosystem with a handcrafted leather EDC tray designed for organized storage of wallet, keys, headphones, and pocket items on a nightstand or entryway. Made from premium full-grain Italian leather with hand-painted edges and reinforced stitching in the same Slovakian workshop as their holsters....

Minute, I look at how Google Cloud, Microsoft, AWS, OpenAI, and Anthropic are redefining enterprise AI adoption. Highlights 00:11 — So, in what I'm calling the AI Deployment Wars, we see the five largest AI companies — that is, Google Cloud, Microsoft, AWS, OpenAI, and Anthropic — are now all saying, or realizing, that in addition to this incredible technology they're pumping out, they have to actually ensure that all that cool stuff works for customers and that it delivers quantifiable business outcomes. 01:29 — One, we see these tech companies, who've always said, "I don't want to be in the services business," now they have to get a little bit into the services business. They are all relying on the coolest three-letter acronym of the year, FDE, for forward deployed engineers, and they're all saying they're doing this to help customers, to co-create and collaborate with customers. 02:22 — So first, Google Cloud, number one on the Cloud Wars Top 10, it announced a $750 million ecosystem fund to help partners develop agentic AI applications and capabilities that will help its customers get up to speed. OpenAI, $4.15 billion that it's investing in this — $4 billion so far itself, and outside investors have put into a new deployment company. 03:03 — Anthropic, it's about $1.5 billion, and all these companies, other than Google Cloud, it's a combination of forward deployed engineers and partners. AWS said, "We're going to put a billion dollars into it." Microsoft, $2.5 billion. It's calling it's the Microsoft Frontier Company. These numbers here together add up to $9.9 billion. I rounded up to $10 billion. 04:02 — They're (customers are) saying, "We're spending a lot of money on it, we're devoting a lot of time, we're devoting a lot of thinking and energy and focus to this, but we're not seeing the tangible business outcomes." We need to get this deep-seated engineering capability from these big tech vendors to ensure that these new AI transformation initiatives aren't just talk. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Unlocking billions in cloud marketplace revenue. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ This powerful panel discussion featuring leaders from Google, Tackle, and dbt Labs dives deep into the explosive growth of cloud marketplaces and the radical shift toward AI-driven go-to-market strategies. With hyperscaler backlogs nearing half a trillion dollars, the conversation unpacks how top-tier organizations are transforming their compensation models, aligning executive buy-in, and navigating the complexities of co-selling to capture committed customer budgets. From the rise of AI agents acting as metered SaaS to the essential operational investments required to scale marketplace revenue from 10% to over 50%, this session provides an actionable roadmap for software companies ready to dominate the 2026 partner ecosystem. https://youtu.be/LSj49f5FEII Key Takeaways Hyperscaler backlog commitments represent a massive, nearly half-trillion-dollar addressable market that completely changes the budgeting conversation. Successful marketplace selling requires complete executive alignment, right down to the CFO, and strategic adjustments like spiffing sales teams for marketplace transactions. The AI category is experiencing staggering 18x year-over-year growth, forcing companies to pivot toward an “agent-first” go-to-market model. Shifting from traditional channels to cloud go-to-market demands a multi-year, intentional investment in operations, people, and technology. System integrators are evolving into software companies as they build orchestration agents to manage fragmented, end-to-end workflows. Leveraging cloud commitments bypasses standard 12-15 month budget cycles, allowing for significantly faster deal closures and larger initial lands. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags: Google Cloud Marketplace, hyperscaler backlog, cloud commitments, co-selling strategies, AI agents, metered SaaS, product-led growth, rev ops, B2B sales transformation, ecosystem shift, channel strategy, system integrators, Deal registration, private offer APIs, digital transformation, software procurement. Transcript: Insight to Revenue- The State of Cloud GTM [00:00:00] Dai Vu: These are all things everyone has to do to get to that first five to 10 deals, and then 10, 20, 30% of your business through Marketplace. [00:00:09] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us, the way Hyperscalers are partnering, how AI is remaking the channel and what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi, own your host, and each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of technology. Partnerships and outcomes. The voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. [00:00:43] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room changes [00:00:46] John Janke: everything. Let’s start. [00:00:52] Vince Menzione: And we have an incredible session. The way that we wanted today to, to, to start the day up was like, let’s talk about what’s happening right now and let’s get three leaders in this space to come up and talk about the world and how it’s a rapidly evolving. So I want to invite to the stage dvu from Google is a great friend of Ultimate Partner. [00:01:14] Vince Menzione: Are you guys ready? Are you guys micd up already? Okay, good. Good. John Yanke, the CEO and Founder of Tackle, and Sean Todo, who is an incredible leader with DBT, but also an old friend of mine. We worked together on Microsoft Days. Good to see you gentlemen. Thanks Sean. Great to have you with us. [00:01:37] John Janke: They stuck me on the side ’cause they said I’d block the screen if I sat in the middle. [00:01:41] Shawn Toldo: You still block it a little bit. [00:01:42] John Janke: And that picture’s from like 1985. I, I, we do have to get that. I had way darker hair. It was, uh, 10 year, 10 years at a startup. Makes you turn white. [00:01:52] Shawn Toldo: Mine’s the exact same right now. So it’s all good. [00:01:55] Shawn Toldo: Mine’s AI generated. Yeah. [00:01:57] Vince Menzione: Well, you know, guys, I just took it all off at that point, you know, it’s like good. Yeah, but you lose enough of it. You pull it out over the years. Yeah. So, uh, some really exciting times. Uh, you, we gotta spend some time at you at our breakfast. That’s right. A couple weeks ago. [00:02:13] Dai Vu: A lot of folks here, too. [00:02:14] Vince Menzione: A lot of folks that are here were at that breakfast, and I thought we’d spend a few moments with you talking about all the exciting things that have been happening at, at Google. I mean the, yeah, the businesses just to, first of all, the numbers were house. Outstanding. Congratulations. [00:02:28] Dai Vu: That’s right. [00:02:28] Vince Menzione: Yep. [00:02:28] Vince Menzione: Really, some really great numbers. Commitments are off the charts. [00:02:32] Dai Vu: Yes. [00:02:32] Vince Menzione: Crazy off the charts. [00:02:33] Dai Vu: Yes. [00:02:34] Vince Menzione: Yes. Uh, and then there’s a lot happening in this little world called ai, which makes a ton of sense. Yep. I was critical about Google in the beginning because you had all the assets, but Microsoft leaned in first. [00:02:45] Vince Menzione: Uh, but now it’s like things have evolved, uh, quite a bit since those first days. Absolutely. In, in November of 2022. So, uh, take us through a little bit. Let’s, let’s go through [00:02:56] Dai Vu: it. Yeah. I could talk for quite a bit of time because obviously we came out next, yeah. At the end of April, and then we had our earnings announced, but shortly thereafter. [00:03:03] Dai Vu: But, but real quick on next, uh, for folks who attended, uh, you know, the way they framed, uh, the discussion was they showed this AI integrated stack, and that’s how they frame the keynote because we position ourselves as being the only vendor that provides this. Fully integrated stack from custom silicon all the way to the apps and agents. [00:03:23] Dai Vu: And a lot of the announcements were, were focused in those areas. Um, uh, I won’t go through the, the long list, but I think the big ones coming out of next were, uh, certainly the eighth generation TPU we announced, so we actually split this into two specialized chips for training and inference. Uh, so that’s, uh, that was a big piece. [00:03:41] Dai Vu: Uh, but the big one that we announced was this, uh, Gemini Enterprise. Uh, agent platform. So think of it as the comprehensive platform for companies to basically build scale, govern and optimize their agents. And of course, once they have that, they can bring that into, uh, what we call a Gen Gemini enterprise app, which is really the front door for AI for. [00:04:03] Dai Vu: All customers and all employees to manage a mix of agents, um, as part of their daily workflow. And, uh, and a big part of it is, you know, certainly they’ll have some custom agents, but we think a lot of the agents will come from the ecosystem. And obviously there was a big announcement around what we’re doing there. [00:04:21] Dai Vu: Um, and in fact, one of the things that’s interesting is this shows the evolution of, of marketplace in our, in our partnership, which is we’ve taken a lot of the marketplace experience. And brought it into Gemini exp uh, Gemini Enterprise app, right? So search, discovery, uh, the ability to invoke agents, uh, in context. [00:04:39] Dai Vu: I think that’s gonna be very powerful as we think about the evolution, uh, of, of go to market. And then the last thing maybe I’ll highlight is this, um, is. 750 million, uh, investment fund that we’re gonna drive with the broad partnership. So this cuts across all partner types, global system integrators, uh, uh, you know, AI, pure plays, uh, ISVs, uh, the big management consultants as well, uh, because we recognize that partners are gonna be critical to drive business transformation with our end customers. [00:05:08] Dai Vu: So we’re investing around things like. Technical enablement, access to our product teams, access to our FDE for deployment engineers, and then a lot of incentives to drive usage and deployment. So, um, so a lot of, a lot of activity and obviously the ecosystem’s gonna be very critical for us to drive that impact’s. [00:05:25] Dai Vu: Fine. And the last thing, I know we’ve going on and on fine, but the last thing I’ll just mention is just on the earnings announcement, uh, Vince touched on the backlog, so people have been tracking Yeah. Two quarters ago. We were 155 billion on the backlog, and then a quarter later we were 240 billion. And then in the last quarter, just recently, 462 billion. [00:05:46] Dai Vu: So obviously that’s a, a massive signal of customer intent, but more importantly, it’s a, it’s, it’s a addressable market for this ecosystem to go after as well. [00:05:54] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Almost a half a trillion dollars. Yes. In commitment. So a lot, a lot of reason why we should be on the marketplace. [00:06:01] Dai Vu: Absolutely. Absolutely. [00:06:02] Vince Menzione: Um, each of these gentlemen have some things to talk about as well, about their companies and the exciting things that have been happening. [00:06:08] Vince Menzione: I’m gonna start, John, I’m gonna start with you because Tackle has, has transformed quite a bit since the last time you were on stage with us. I thought maybe introduce the company. Take us through the transformation and then we’re gonna do the same thing with Sean with his organization. [00:06:21] John Janke: Yeah. Thanks. Uh, thanks Vince. [00:06:23] John Janke: Great to see everybody. Uh, John Yanke, GM of Tackle at App Direct. So the big news there is Tackle was acquired in Q4 by a company called App Direct, and I think the why behind this app, direct Powers, marketplaces, they run 400 marketplaces around the world for telcos, for ISVs, for system integrators, channel partners. [00:06:42] John Janke: And we were talk like, when you build a marketplace and diagnose this, stocking the shelves is actually really hard. Uh, and we were talking to them about how could we connect the dots between the hyperscaler marketplaces, the iscs we support, and these additional routes to market. Uh, and that became more strategic and we ended up joining forces in December. [00:07:00] John Janke: And since then, the other part that’s really hard when you build a marketplace is how do you generate demand? Uh, so four weeks ago we acquired a company called Partner Stack. And Partner Stack does affiliate content. They have an affiliate content platform that allows you to connect with 150,000 content providers to be able to start to tell your story to drive leads to. [00:07:23] John Janke: Marketplace. So we think there is a tremendous opportunity to continue. We’re in the earliest days. I think the, you know, Jay, I was with Jay at Channel Partners a few weeks ago and he is like, we under called it, he didn’t say this on stage yesterday, but he is like, uh, the 82% growth. He’s like, we totally under called it. [00:07:40] John Janke: Uh, and I think just listening to dies commit level increase mm-hmm. Reinforces the fact that we’ve under called it. But I also think we’re at this tipping point in the market where all of the new capabilities coming out, we have to all rethink our better together stories. So I think the challenge to all partner leaders, it’s like, how do we. [00:07:58] John Janke: Figure that out. So it’s, it’s a, it’s a fun time. As we transform the way we worked. We wrote the first helping people kind of list, launch and sell through the marketplaces. And now to be able to take that to the next level to hopefully unlock the next a hundred billion of marketplace throughput. [00:08:13] Vince Menzione: And are we at a hundred billion? [00:08:15] Vince Menzione: ’cause that was the number, right? [00:08:16] John Janke: I mean that’s, that’s, that’s the number that’s talked about. I mean, we’re seeing the data signals we see, I mean, we will process 20 billion plus this year. Uh, and that number’s growing faster than Jay’s stated number. So I think we’re excited to see where this year lands. [00:08:30] Vince Menzione: We’ve come a long way from three years ago and we all got on stage and talked about marketplaces together. Right. It’s been, it’s been amazing. And then Sean, let’s talk about DBT. You’ve had some excitement. I know some things maybe we can’t even talk about yet on stage. [00:08:43] Shawn Toldo: Uh, yeah, go ahead. [00:08:44] Vince Menzione: No, I was saying I, I could, I’ll pre-announce things, but No, I’m just, uh, tell, tell us about DBT for those who don’t know in the room, sure. [00:08:49] Vince Menzione: Mean Yeah, that might help. [00:08:51] Shawn Toldo: So, uh, Sean Todo, I lead the partner business at DBT. I’ve been here about 18 months. Um, DBT really started as an open source tool. That help data engineers be successful in SQL transformation with cloud data warehouses? Right. And so back even to the Redshift days now into what I would call more the BigQuery, snowflake, Databricks fabric led days, um, DBT is the tool of choice amongst the data engineering community in terms of how they wanna drive SQL transformation. [00:09:21] Shawn Toldo: And so more recently, we kind of jumped into this kind of paid world. Which is why we needed to bring in additional experience leadership around go to market product, sales, et cetera. And so when I walked in the door, one of the things I noticed really quickly was we were running on AWS, which was great. [00:09:40] Shawn Toldo: We were doing some AWS marketplace stuff. We were running on Azure in Europe only. And one of my first strategies was we have to be everywhere, right customer. We have to meet customers where they are. And so we, uh, made some major investments to be on Google Cloud platform to then be able to really take advantage of marketplace, to then really be able to take advantage of the co-sell opportunities that exist in the field from a day, day-to-day AI perspective with Google. [00:10:07] Shawn Toldo: And it has been a hell of a ride. We launched on, uh, Google Marketplace in July of last year. We went to Google next and we were Google Partner of the Year. Wow. For data and analytics in a very rapid way. We’re now in three, uh, data centers around the, the world. So we’re here in the us, we’re in Frankfurt, we’re in uh, uh, UK as well. [00:10:30] Shawn Toldo: And so it’s been a pleasure to work with D and the broader team. Because the enablement we’ve had and the support we’ve had from that group has really helped our growth be up and to the right. The data point I would give is that when I walked in the door, we were 10% of our business from an A RR perspective was transacting through marketplace. [00:10:48] Shawn Toldo: Last quarter we cracked 40%. Whoa. We will be at north of 50, uh, next quarter. [00:10:53] Dai Vu: Wow. [00:10:54] Shawn Toldo: The other piece that Vince was talking about is we’re getting ready to merge with a company called Five Tran. And so there will be a new company name at some point down the road. Uh, pay attention on June 1st for a public announcement around that merger. [00:11:06] Shawn Toldo: Uh, but we’re really looking forward to what we’re gonna be able to do with folks like DI and the Google team as well as others in the ecosystem. Um, ’cause I think in this data world that we’ve played for so long. This trusted foundational element of data and what it’s gonna mean to context in the AI world. [00:11:23] Shawn Toldo: We’re in a very interesting place to really continue our growth rate at a high level. [00:11:28] John Janke: Yeah, that maybe just a comment something there. Start there. I think we, we used to hear people say we wanted to be strategic with cloud, go to market and get to say 10 or 20% of revenue. I think this like 40, 50%. Yeah. Th that’s where people are setting the bar these days. [00:11:43] John Janke: Yeah. So the numbers are getting really crazy. Yeah. Uh, and people are showing up and being like, I have to go big. Mm-hmm. So a huge change over the last few years. [00:11:52] Vince Menzione: Yep. What’s the experience you’re seeing as well? I mean, it, it was a huge amount of buzz at next. [00:11:57] Dai Vu: Yeah. I mean, so interestingly, um, you know, typically when, when people get started on the, on the marketplace in Cosal journey, I always try to caution them and say, this is, uh, this is like a multi-year. [00:12:07] Dai Vu: Yeah. Uh, process. You have to be very intentional. You have to invest. It’s not gonna be a thing where you just list and, and, and, and, and, and sort of this channel opens up. So in some ways, Sean is describing an acceleration that is not common, right? Uh, so they’ve done, we’ve done some amazing things together and we hope to keep that acceleration going. [00:12:22] Vince Menzione: What does that require, by the way? Is it engineering resource? I mean, there’s, I talk about executive commitment and maniacal focus. Yeah. But it’s all those things, right? [00:12:29] Shawn Toldo: Well, all of it. But we went to a QBR in Austin, and I put up a slide and I said, we have to do this. And everybody in our ETE agreed. So when you have a chief financial officer that’s bought into the partner business. [00:12:43] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. And I guess qualifying coming into this role at this company, I qualified the C-level staff. Uh, like are they really serious about partner or not? And it’s one of the reasons I took the role. So I think executive commitment was one thing. I think the second thing is we were really well supported, um, by the Google team across the board, right? [00:13:02] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. So folks, Indy’s team that we would work with regularly on, these are the things you need to do to have an effective marketplace offering. Here’s what you need to do operationally with folks like John and team and others that are in the market, right? That helped us a ton to be able to scale. And then the other thing that we did is we changed comp. [00:13:20] Shawn Toldo: So from our VP of sales levels down, we have a 5% kicker for everything that goes through marketplace. [00:13:26] Vince Menzione: Hear [00:13:26] Shawn Toldo: that everyone. So as soon as we incented the sales team, I love that, right? We, we created the foundation on the partner side, but then from top down on the sales side, they were all in. And as a result of that, the question would become, okay, which marketplace stage two sales cycle are we gonna go use? [00:13:42] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:13:43] Shawn Toldo: Who’s the right partner to go partner with? And then my team is reaching out to make sure that co-sell connection happens. [00:13:48] Vince Menzione: That is such a best practice, Sean, to, because there is, as a seller out in the field and we talk about, you talk to John, talks about rev ops all the time. But getting rev ops eng getting the field engaged in the right way. [00:14:01] Vince Menzione: ’cause it feels like it’s more work for them. ’cause they have to think, they have to have more conversations with their customer about their cloud commitments and things like that. Mm-hmm. And then getting them incentive to do the right things. The right behavior. [00:14:12] John Janke: Yeah. It’s a strategy process. People, technology problem. [00:14:17] John Janke: Yeah. It’s not just some flip API automation, go list something if you don’t like that top down view. I think the other thing. Like there’s a, there’s a theme in startups where VCs fund second time founders. I think Sean and team have done this before and they took a lot of learnings over the years and reapplied them, which I think helps them go faster. [00:14:36] John Janke: It’s like that second time. Yeah. Second time cloud go to market Founder theme. [00:14:41] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Yeah. Um, so we could talk about the platform and all the changes there on the. The, the commitments and everything. Mm-hmm. Uh, what separates ISPs generating real incremental revenue on your, in your marketplace? What, what do you see? [00:14:58] Dai Vu: Yeah, so I mean, I, I think there are a couple things. Number one is, uh, the, the foundation has to be, uh, this better together story, uh, with Google Cloud. Um, so this idea that what, you know, what do you bring, what does the Google platform bring and how does that drive impact with customers? And I think this is the reason why Sean and DBT Labs has been very effective. [00:15:16] Dai Vu: ’cause our field recognized they, they can recognize that better together story and communicate it to their customers. So I think that’s the foundation. For everything. Right. And I think as you get started, uh, you know, we do tell partners that they probably need to lean in a little bit, uh, in terms of focus, uh, you know, pick a vertical, a customer segment, um, you know, a geography where they’re particularly strong and, you know, get that momentum going. [00:15:39] Dai Vu: And once you do that, the field knows about it and starts to pull you into deals. Um, so I think that’s the other big opportunity. And then the other thing I just mentioned. Which, uh, the panel already touched on, which is be very intentional around all the things you need to do to invest. Whether it’s like, uh, you know, the business functional alignment, uh, the policies around like, uh, pricing and, and comp, uh, making sure you have the operational capabilities. [00:16:02] Dai Vu: These are all things everyone has to do to get to that. First five to 10 deals, and then 10, 20, 30% of your business through marketplace. And not to, not to top you Sean, but our very top partners are driving 80 to 90% of their business on marketplace. And in fact, some of these partners are actually only marketplace first, uh, uh, because they started out that way. [00:16:21] Dai Vu: Obviously it’s the bigger challenge if you have an existing channel, you’re trying to shift that. But, uh, the aspiration to be more marketplace focus, uh, is up there. [00:16:28] Shawn Toldo: So I just set a new goal for the business plan for me. So that’s exciting. I love it. Looking forward to seeing you in six months on that. [00:16:35] Shawn Toldo: It’s good. [00:16:36] Vince Menzione: I love [00:16:37] Dai Vu: it. Work together on that. [00:16:38] Vince Menzione: Well, di I’m just gonna add, add this because I, I got to see operationally with some of the things you do. Mm-hmm. You, you have an overlay organization. [00:16:45] Dai Vu: Yes. Yes. [00:16:46] Vince Menzione: And so you put accelerants in place within your own organization Yeah. To drive the ISVs into the, into the lines of business. [00:16:54] Vince Menzione: Right. You have, you, you do some of that to accelerate. [00:16:57] Dai Vu: Yeah, I mean, I think, I think this is somewhat unique. I don’t, I don’t wanna speak to the other [00:17:00] Shawn Toldo: hyperscalers, [00:17:01] Dai Vu: but we do have, um, uh, you gotta know the field roles, right? [00:17:04] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. So [00:17:04] Dai Vu: obviously at Google Cloud in the regions, we have, uh, ISV sales specialists who are effectively quoted on marketplace revenue, right? [00:17:12] Dai Vu: So they’re a hundred percent focused on that. And, uh, in addition to that, uh, we also have these, uh, co-sell teams, partner teams where, you know, opportunistically if there’s an opportunity, uh, in a, in a, in a particular area. This team is responsible for connecting the regional sales leadership, uh, the regional, uh, sales teams with, with the partner on the opportunity. [00:17:32] Dai Vu: So there’s a lot of things we’re doing to sort of accelerate that. And of course, the foundation for all this is, you know, our, our, you know, registering deals. And as you definitely get started on that, it’s very important to be very mindful around when you register deals. Uh, be very clear around what the ask and the engagement is with the field reps. [00:17:51] Dai Vu: But once you have that going and get the right rhythm, it becomes sort of a natural way to sort of register all your deals and get that engagement. And then, um, and then maybe the last thing I would say is it isn’t always the sales specialists. It’s, you know, the FSR, our field sales rep as well as our customer engineers are also very motivated. [00:18:08] Dai Vu: To work, uh, with, uh, with our partners because they know that this, you know, whether it be solution completeness or it’s part of a bigger workload or helps unlock greenfield opportunity, they really are motivated to engage with the partners. [00:18:21] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:18:22] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. I’ll just add, I’ll just add to that statement too. I think, um, it’s one thing to have a story as it relates to. [00:18:30] Shawn Toldo: Google Cloud and what you do with marketplace. It’s another thing to have a story in terms of how you impact data and analytics in our world. And there’s a set of specialist sellers inside of Google mm-hmm. That really care about us because we drive a lot faster consumption of big query. And our ability to tell that story across the world effectively has really created a pull now. [00:18:54] Shawn Toldo: And so I, I would say it’s almost, you know, back to, you know, being 12 years at Microsoft and watching kind of that. Phase and how that went. As we went to the cloud and we picked specialty areas, um, Google is doing that as well and they’re doing it extremely fast in a very, very productive way with partners. [00:19:12] Shawn Toldo: And so, you know, I’ll get comments from like Levi who runs west in north region for us, and he’s a, he was at Google next and he was like, I, I gotta, I, I just gotta go to bed. I’m tired. Like we wore him out over two days with their sales team and gave him a host of follow ups and actions related to specific sales areas as well as specific accounts. [00:19:34] Shawn Toldo: And I think that’s the other thing that, um, Google’s done a good job of, but we’ve pushed and we’ve had to work really hard to earn that seat at the table. To help make those people successful from a comp perspective inside of Google as well. [00:19:45] John Janke: Yeah, and this is a huge failure zone for partners with the clouds because they think enablement’s a one and done thing. [00:19:51] John Janke: Like I did a training for the field and I told them the better together story. That doesn’t work. Like you have to literally. Have consistency around this message every day. Oftentimes you need experts who can partner with your reps to give them the confidence. ’cause they may be able to ask the first line question, but someone asks a follow up and they fold up ’cause they know your product. [00:20:11] John Janke: That’s right. They don’s don’t understand all of the nuances of Google and the clouds and the questions that may come back. But if you do that well, it is a huge unlock. [00:20:20] Vince Menzione: Talk about the coaching you provided on the tackle side of that as well and kind of helping. Through this maturity model? [00:20:26] John Janke: Yeah. I mean we, we, over the years, I mean we started as a pure SaaS company and over the years our customers would consistently ask us for more help and we would struggle to figure out how to do that, and we had to invest in services and we actually acquired a company. [00:20:42] John Janke: Five years ago now, that was the foundation. Aaron Feiger, who’s in the room. The core consulting was the foundation of our services business. And that continues to evolve with us. And you know, we see customers at scale saying, I wanna operate my cloud, go-to market really consistently, and I want you to do all the backend operations so my teams can be outselling our products, selling the better together value with Google and others, and not have to figure out how to run the machinery. [00:21:09] John Janke: So we’ve invested a lot there. We have services around strategy, like how to help people think about their business strategy and translate it into a better together story and able to get executive buy-in. And then we have coaching, which is really a phone, a friend, because I think these things get complicated. [00:21:24] John Janke: And I had a customer who was doing the largest deal in their company history. It was the end of the quarter and it was Friday, and they’re like, this is going to be the most complex transaction we’ve ever done and we have no idea how to do it. Our team gets on the phone with them, they work through, what are you selling? [00:21:40] John Janke: How are you selling it? Is your listing set up the right way? Can we actually create all the offers? In a way you have confidence to execute. ’cause those are failure modes. You try to build a cloud, go to market business, and you mess up the largest deal in the company. On the last day of the quarter, uh, that’s something you can’t recover from. [00:21:55] John Janke: So we try to really wrap support around our customers to help them have the confidence to grow. [00:22:02] Vince Menzione: Di you’ve seen tremendous growth in marketplace. Mm-hmm. We don’t publish the numbers specifically. Yeah. We kind of try to figure it out on the back end, but [00:22:09] Dai Vu: Yep. [00:22:09] Vince Menzione: I know you’re accelerated. Your, your marketplace numbers are astounding. [00:22:13] Dai Vu: Yes. I can share some numbers, if that’s [00:22:15] Vince Menzione: okay. Please. Yeah, let’s go. [00:22:18] Dai Vu: So, um. I would say that for a few years now, we’ve been talking about growth. So we’ve been consistently, uh, you know, north of a hundred percent year over year growth. Uh, for the last few years we’ve been processing, uh, what I say, uh, billions of dollars, uh, annually and, uh, uh, millions of transactions. [00:22:36] Dai Vu: And again, that’s for a few years now. Now for 24 to 25, that full year we also doubled. Wow. Uh, which is, uh, which is amazing when you think about the scale in which we operate. But more importantly, if you look at specific category areas, right? So, you know, historically, marketplace has always cater to, uh, those solution pillars that are tied to cloud migrations, like, uh, like security and data and analytics. [00:22:59] Dai Vu: And those continue to be very strong areas for us. But the biggest growth area is, uh, is in the areas of business app. So obviously, you know, the, the ServiceNow workday, uh, Salesforce of the world, as well as the AI category. So one number that we threw out next was 18 x. Year over year growth for the AI category. [00:23:17] Dai Vu: Wow. So in one year now, a lot of it is models, right? So foundational models with our, with our ecosystem. But a lot of that is around agents. So this whole agent go to market model is gonna be, continue to grow and it’s gonna be a huge focus area for, for the coming years. [00:23:32] Vince Menzione: Fantastic. Yeah. Fantastic growth. [00:23:34] Shawn Toldo: Yeah, and, and I’ll add, Diane and I talked about this at Google next. This is a. Very complex thing for DBT, where today we sell seats. [00:23:42] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. Yeah. [00:23:43] Shawn Toldo: To data engineers. [00:23:44] Yeah. [00:23:44] Shawn Toldo: And now we have all these agentic things that are hitting our engine. And di and I are talking and we’re like, okay, so how does this work in an ag agentic marketplace? [00:23:54] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. Kind of a scenario. And what should we build? Where should we play it? ’cause we’re gonna spin the meter in a different way, so to speak. [00:24:01] Dai Vu: Yep. [00:24:01] Shawn Toldo: And so candidly, we got stuff to figure out related to that. Um, I think what’s been fascinating for DBT is our partner ecosystem changed overnight. So now it’s like I talked to x.ai on Monday. [00:24:15] Shawn Toldo: Mm-hmm. We got time with open AI on Thursday and we have a call with Anthropic and our, uh, CEO and co-founder and uh, chief Product Officer next week. [00:24:26] Vince Menzione: Mm. [00:24:27] Shawn Toldo: We don’t have anybody managing those partners. [00:24:29] Vince Menzione: Right. [00:24:30] Shawn Toldo: Today our focus is on managing the large, uh, hyperscalers plus Snowflake and, uh, Databricks. [00:24:36] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. [00:24:36] Shawn Toldo: And then the SI ecosystem and some tech partners. So we’re having to like, to your point on Agile yesterday. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Like we’re having to change our strategy, operating model and organizational model to support that. And candidly, we don’t have all the answers yet, so we have a lot of things to figure out fast, which is a little bit scary. [00:24:54] Shawn Toldo: And challenging, but it’s also a huge opportunity we have to kind of embrace and get into. Yeah. [00:24:59] Vince Menzione: And they’re figuring out as well. ’cause they’re, they’re new to partnering as well. Yeah. As organizations [00:25:03] John Janke: and these AI agents. I think to demystify for a lot of people, and what Sean said is totally right. [00:25:08] John Janke: They’re disrupting everyone’s business model. But in reality from a marketplace standpoint, they’re metered SaaS. This is a thing that’s existed for a long time. Yeah. They look like product-led growth products. There is a lot of patterns around how product-led growth products work in marketplace. Mm-hmm. [00:25:24] John Janke: But you have to bring your business strategy, your product and pricing strategy to those two categories. Metered SaaS and product-led growth. Put that all together to get cross-functional alignment. So we are seeing like. A lot of people get tripped up here and it really does go back to more of the company strategy, product strategy questions, and a lot of partner leaders are not in the room for those conversations. [00:25:48] John Janke: So I think at, at this point in time, as you see big pivots with the partners to go all in on agents, you have to go elevate. Those discussions to be like, what is our plan here? ’cause I, I mean, pricing and packaging will be the thing that trips almost everyone up. [00:26:02] Dai Vu: If I could, if I just build on what John John mentioned, um, so I do agree. [00:26:06] Dai Vu: P it looks a lot like POG, but, uh, but the difference I think is POG has. More historically been in like the data and developer space, now it’s like the general business user, right? So this idea that you want a business user to be able to search and discover, um, agents that could actually be part of their like everyday workflow is going to be very critical. [00:26:26] Dai Vu: And uh, you know, I do think that when we think about the ecosystem building agents. Uh, you know, a lot of the ISV partners aren’t necessarily gonna own end-to-end workflows, right? They’ll, they’ll have a very specific, uh, domain and scope area, but you have to enable yourself to be orchestrated and managed by, you know, orchestration agents or, or, or meta agents that are gonna span end, end workflows. [00:26:49] Dai Vu: And sometimes that includes system integrators and, and others who can stitch that, that automation. So I think, I think that’s, that’s one piece of it. But the other area that I think is gonna be different is, um. There’s going to be a lot of agents. I mean, literally you’re gonna have a very fragmented set of, uh, uh, of players, right? [00:27:07] Dai Vu: It’s not just gonna be the incumbents, it’s gonna be a lot of disruptors and, and, and, and startups. And so the, uh, for the incumbents in the room, it is a mandate that you need to, to innovate because if you do not identify and go to like an agent first, go to market model. Uh, you’re gonna be, you know, disintermediated. [00:27:25] Dai Vu: Somebody’s gonna go build an agent that’s going to leverage you as a dumb database. Um, and they’re gonna own the workflow. So you have to, you have to push the, the, the, the limits here. And I think it’s creates a big opportunity for everyone in this room. [00:27:39] John Janke: I’m going off script. I’m curious. Let’s do it. I’m curious on your take on the system integrators. [00:27:44] John Janke: ’cause I think this, this puts like they’re all, a lot of them are creating agents for people and I think that’s turning them almost more into software companies than they’ve ever been. [00:27:53] Dai Vu: They are, and I think they’re, you know, obviously they’re being, uh, impacted from like, you know, typical like, you know, SOW you know, time and materials type type business models. [00:28:02] Dai Vu: But I do think they play a big role because a lot of the system integrators are bringing, um, you know, vertical and business process expertise. And, um, like I said, I said before, a lot of the ISVs are not gonna necessarily have big enough scope in their area to own end-to-end workflows. And that’s really the promise of agents, right? [00:28:20] Dai Vu: You really need. This cognitive, you know, reasoning, planning, executing across end to end workflows. And I think, you know, the system integrators are gonna bring that capability either, either through, you know, these custom, uh, orchestration or meta agents or if they’re able to productize that and bring that to a model, they can also sort of go through the marketplace model as well. [00:28:41] Dai Vu: So who knows is how it’s gonna evolve. But you know, we’ve always been talking about. Marketplace being a broader opportunity for all partner business models. And I think that will extend to not only, uh, you know, traditional sort of, uh, sell and services partners, but also some of these system integrators as well. [00:28:58] Shawn Toldo: If I could comment on that, please. Yeah. I, I was in London two weeks ago and we did an SI partner day. Mm-hmm. We had 25 sis in a room, probably about 50 people. We had no, um, hyperscalers or cloud data warehouse providers. And when we started talking about open data infrastructure. The role that they can play. [00:29:17] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. [00:29:18] Shawn Toldo: Cross platform in a cost efficient manner for customers and the advisory orientation of that. They all leaned in and we, we stopped talking and they started talking. [00:29:28] Vince Menzione: Right. [00:29:28] Shawn Toldo: So they’re all facing this kind of same problem, which is actually causing a little bit of a shift, I think, in how they think about, I’m a Databricks partner. [00:29:38] Shawn Toldo: Uh, you sure you wanna do that? [00:29:39] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:29:40] Shawn Toldo: So this, this whole thing that’s kind of evolved in the last six to 12 months, when you kind of pick one horse to ride, I, I would tell you be cautious about what that means. You may pick a horse to lead with mm-hmm. But you’re gonna have to flank yourself a bit in terms of other providers that can help you be successful with that, that that partner you’re gonna roll with. [00:30:00] Vince Menzione: So you’re suggesting data vendor agnostic. [00:30:04] Shawn Toldo: I’m suggesting you really have to think about your strategy. Yeah. Because I think the AI, AI disruption is gonna make you think about that strategy. [00:30:13] John Janke: Yeah, I mean there’s, someone mentioned anthropics First Partner Summit. I was not there, but I’ve heard from a bunch of people were there. [00:30:20] John Janke: You know, they had a hundred partners in the room. 95 of them were system integrators. Five were technology companies, the three Clouds, Databricks and Snowflake. Like if you just think about the, the one of the major disruptors in ai, ISVs, were not in the mix. So I, I think, are they trying to disrupt all of us? [00:30:40] John Janke: Uh, do they need us? And they haven’t figured out how to work with us. I, I think. It’s, it’s, [00:30:44] Vince Menzione: and I’ve heard they only have five people in their partner organization, so I just, it’s, [00:30:49] Shawn Toldo: it’s 11 now, but it’s 11, [00:30:51] Vince Menzione: so it was five [00:30:51] Shawn Toldo: last growing fast in the, in the new company I have 50. So like, to put it in perspective, they have to make some pretty big priority. [00:30:59] John Janke: Yeah. And everyone’s been there a hot second, [00:31:00] Vince Menzione: like, right, exactly. Yeah, they, well, we will talk about the learnings we’ve had over the years, getting to where they need to get to. It’s exciting times. We got a lot to talk about here. Um, I, you know, we have about 15 minutes. I I, I want to kind of gauge, ’cause we could talk, we, we have a few things we could talk about, I could ask about, but I want to see if there’s an, like, an interest in opening up to the room for questions. [00:31:25] Vince Menzione: ’cause I feel like we’ve got a very interesting group here. [00:31:28] Shawn Toldo: You got a hand here? [00:31:29] Vince Menzione: Uh, are there hands that wanna Yeah, there’s some people that wanna ask some questions. So Yeah. We have a mic? Yeah, [00:31:37] Dai Vu: we have [00:31:37] Shawn Toldo: a mic. We, [00:31:37] Vince Menzione: we [00:31:38] Shawn Toldo: got one here. [00:31:38] Vince Menzione: We got one here. One here. Thank you. Sorry we went off script, but [00:31:44] Shawn Toldo: that’s fine. [00:31:45] Vince Menzione: It’s fine. [00:31:45] Dai Vu: Off [00:31:45] Vince Menzione: script. Better is good. [00:31:46] Shawn Toldo: I’m sure you planted the questions outta anyway. It’s okay. We [00:31:48] Vince Menzione: did, we did. [00:31:55] Audience Guest: Okay. All Eva, Sean Lightner, quick question to your, uh, increase on the marketplace, and you said you spiff the salespeople by fifth percent. 5%. Mm-hmm. So, and that obviously drives a very large adoption of, uh, marketplace transactions. How are you accounting for the margin you’re losing on, uh, you know, going through the marketplace? [00:32:14] Audience Guest: And also have you done analysis? I’m sure you have, how much is, uh, shape shifting or shifting from existing versus incremental? [00:32:22] Shawn Toldo: Yeah, it’s a great question. Um, um, lemme make three points. Number one, the backlog statement makes the margin statement not matter. So do you wanna play in that space where a customer’s already bought or not? [00:32:36] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. Or do you wanna force a budget conversation that you have to drive on your own in a direct model? That to me, I think it was 484 4 62 [00:32:43] Dai Vu: 4 6 [00:32:44] Shawn Toldo: 2. [00:32:44] Vince Menzione: That’s new Tam available to you? [00:32:46] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. That, that’s just with one. Right. And we are, we are, uh, running on four marketplaces. So that just increases our tam and makes our, our sellers lives easier. [00:32:55] Shawn Toldo: So on that piece, yes, there’s an expense, but we believe it’s right for growth. So there’s a balance there. Um, I think the, and then the second part of your question again. Sorry, [00:33:05] Vince Menzione: shapeshift. [00:33:05] Shawn Toldo: Oh, shift. We, we actually don’t think we would’ve won the business. So if I go back to our Q4 and I can probably point to three or four deals that went, um, Google Marketplace, we would not have won those deals because we couldn’t have created the budget cycle and that quarter. [00:33:23] Shawn Toldo: To make it happen. Generally a budget cycle is gonna take anywhere from 12 to 15 months. Bingo. Because of the spend that was available to us, we were able to close it in that quarter, and we had the largest Q4 in company history. [00:33:35] Vince Menzione: That is such an important point. I’m sorry. [00:33:37] Dai Vu: Okay. [00:33:38] Vince Menzione: But I, I just wanna, that is such an important point of the budget cycle. [00:33:42] Dai Vu: Yeah. [00:33:43] Vince Menzione: Being a year to a year and a half versus being able to tap into a commitment that’s already been made. Yeah, so I just emphasize that [00:33:51] Dai Vu: I was, I was just gonna add real quick, even, even when we see sort of a, uh, a channel shift renewal, which is, you know, it’s on partner paper and it moves to marketplace as part of the renewals, we do consistently see that the, uh, renewal rates on marketplace and the incremental a CB on the expansion and new opportunities tend to be better when it’s on the platform marketplace than than offline. [00:34:12] Dai Vu: And that’s why partners choose to continue to drive renewals on marketplace at a reduced to rev share. But uh, because they see that that growth, [00:34:20] John Janke: we, we, sorry. [00:34:22] Shawn Toldo: We see that as well. Yeah. And I would also make the statement on our land business, when we go through marketplace, we are two x higher across marketplaces. [00:34:30] Shawn Toldo: We’re three x higher with them. [00:34:32] John Janke: Yeah, I think separate new from renewals and then instrument deeply. [00:34:37] Shawn Toldo: Yeah, [00:34:38] John Janke: go proactively talk to your CFO and your head of rev ops to understand their mindset. Because I was with a billion dollar seller a couple weeks ago, their CFO still creates friction in the process, even though they’re selling a billion dollars through these channels. [00:34:52] John Janke: But when they broke it down, their deals are three times bigger. They do them faster. They use more components of the product, which I thought was a really cool one. So customers who buy this platform, many component platforms through a marketplace, end up using six components of the product. Versus a normal land customer who uses two increases gross in net retention. [00:35:12] John Janke: So you have to get to the point where you have the data and you can tell that story real really clearly to your finance team to get support ’cause that they will trip you up if you don’t get them on board. [00:35:23] Vince Menzione: And you’re saying there’s friction in that company. I’m just kind of curious ’cause a billion dollar company. [00:35:27] John Janke: There’s a billion dollar marketplace seller [00:35:29] Vince Menzione: market marketplace company. That’s what I meant. Yeah. But, but the fact that this, their CFO friction, like, is it, is it because they’re not doing a good enough job or? [00:35:37] John Janke: Uh, in, of educating, I, the root of the question is from this person is, would they win without it? [00:35:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:35:45] Shawn Toldo: Oh, and is it worth the three points? [00:35:46] John Janke: Right. It’s, it is And, and I think some pe like to me, it’s the cheapest channel in the world. Yeah. Like with committed budget and people to support you winning. Like the, that formula, the math is so simple. [00:35:57] Shawn Toldo: Yeah. For, for a company of our size to go to like the classic resell ecosystem, I gotta walk in with 30 points. [00:36:02] John Janke: Yeah. [00:36:03] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:36:03] Shawn Toldo: It, it’s an illogical conversation. Outside of public sector and growth, you know, geos around the world. And so I, I’ve been lucky to have a CFO that I haven’t had that challenge with, at least at DBTI should say. [00:36:19] Vince Menzione: Really great insights. I think we have, we have another hand up here. [00:36:28] Audience Guest: Yeah. Thanks Susan. The question is for Dai. Uh, my name is Latif Hamani. I’m the founder of Partner System ai. Um, so what we’ve done is we’ve built a, a co-sell AI agent mm-hmm. That your partners can use to Yeah. Reduce all the friction in the co-sell with you. Uh, the questions that I have is, I guess I should back up, so XAWS Madison with a very large alliances, and then I worked, went on the other side. [00:36:55] Audience Guest: For software companies, and even though I had an operational team, I was spending two to three hours on on the keyboard, right? Mm-hmm. Deal registration, emails that can’t be automated, et cetera. So the question that I have for you is, I’d love for you to validate that. You know, unless you are one of the big companies, one of the big enterprises, if you go to the lower end of the enterprise or the mid market, uh, would you validate that there is a challenge? [00:37:20] Audience Guest: There’s a lot of friction for a smaller company. Mm-hmm. Uh, ’cause these marketplaces are complex. Yeah. The cosell is complex. Uh, that there’s an opportunity to really break down that friction with some automation and ai. [00:37:33] Dai Vu: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, we have already been, uh, part of the journey to remove some of the, uh, the friction as part of that selling and purchasing journey. [00:37:43] Dai Vu: Uh. We’re not quite there yet. But, uh, we’ve done things like we have, uh, you know, private offer APIs. We, uh, we have co-sell, uh, registration automation. Um, you know, we have tools like, uh, propensity to buy, tooling to help, uh, partners do, uh, more targeted efforts. Um, but the a i piece is still coming. Um, so I think, uh, the idea here is that we have launched a number of agents as part of our, um. [00:38:08] Dai Vu: Uh, part of our, uh, Google Cloud Partner network, partner hub. Uh, so these are, uh, agents that are gonna do a bunch of things to help partners as part of their workflow, but we’re gonna extend this to the marketplace and ISV area as well. Uh, so I think there’s a lot of opportunity. So, uh, I know there’s probably a lot of feedback in friction, uh, in, in certain parts. [00:38:29] Dai Vu: So we can, we can go tackle together. [00:38:32] Vince Menzione: Hey. There you go. There was a little [00:38:34] Dai Vu: plug [00:38:34] Shawn Toldo: there for tackle. Exactly. [00:38:37] Dai Vu: Uh, and I wanted, and just to be clear, I want to take a look at it from the end to end, uh, uh, flow, right? It shouldn’t just be just marketplace. It should be all the way from like, you know, top of the funnel, demand generation, all the way to like post transaction follow up. [00:38:51] Dai Vu: So we really need to take a look at, at the, the end, end flows and figure out a way we can remove some of that friction [00:38:56] Vince Menzione: three sense. [00:38:57] Dai Vu: Yeah. [00:38:59] Vince Menzione: Any more questions [00:39:00] Audience Guest: back here? Hey. Hey guys. This, this is a really good discussion. Uh, di this question’s primarily, uh, from, I’m interested in the hyperscaler response. [00:39:09] Audience Guest: Yep. Uh, but all of you, uh, can you talk about the patterns or say more about the patterns between. Um, the consumption of just platform capabilities versus industry workflows. Mm-hmm. And how industry where I, I mean, I, I, my sense is that industry workflows are becoming more [00:39:27] Dai Vu: Yeah. [00:39:28] Audience Guest: Uh, the easier thing for enterprises and SMBs to buy. [00:39:33] Audience Guest: Yeah. Especially SMBs, I think. Um, but say more about those patterns that you’re seeing develop and kind of what is. Uh, who are, where, where are those kind of, where is the demand being driven? Is it, is it, yeah. The search and discover in the marketplace, or is it being led by field sales of mm-hmm. Either GCP or partners? [00:39:55] Dai Vu: Yeah, so let me, I’ll mention a couple, a couple areas where, where it’s growing. So I think number one I mentioned before about some of these large horizontal business apps that we’re partnering with, right? Um, and, uh, and of course the fact that we’re, we’re, we’re transacting them through marketplace is, is a huge. [00:40:14] Dai Vu: Evolution from a few years ago. So who would’ve thought you would be buying like, you know, a hundred million dollars a CB deals, uh, through, through marketplace with like a Salesforce or a ServiceNow workday. But it’s happening now. And to be clear, all these. Horizontal business app. They’re not doing this in a very, you know, opportunistic, transactional way. [00:40:32] Dai Vu: They basically see marketplace and cloud go to market as a strategic growth lever for them. So that’s one big area. So from just a pure large deal perspective. Okay. Then you mentioned before around sort of corporate and SMB. Well, we find that a lot of the big opportunities are mostly around as they scale their business, uh, they’re not necessarily looking for things in the traditional sort of infrastructure space, but they’re looking for, you know, full SaaS applications to help scale their business, right? [00:40:58] Dai Vu: So it would be CRM, finance, hr, these types of solutions to become very attractive for some of this, uh, downstream market. And then lastly, as I mentioned before, which is, uh, when we think about this gentrification and owning, um. Uh, driving, uh, this business process and vertical, the ISVs become very important along with the services partners who bring that domain expertise to drive the end to end workflow. [00:41:25] Dai Vu: So I think that’s gonna be increasingly important. So those are three areas I think we need to watch out for. We. Okay. [00:41:30] John Janke: Maybe one thing, like as the cloud commit grows inside of companies, it’s shifted from being an engineering department, IT department budget line item to a corporate finance budget line item. [00:41:40] John Janke: Typically one of the top five to 10 expenses in a company. So that has shifted. Who is thinking about optimizing? The cloud commit with marketplace contracts. And that opens, that’s really opened up the avenue in addition to like these biz apps, vertical apps players. Yeah. Like having success. So I, I do think even inside your own company, evaluating where your cloud commits are, who owns them and are they thinking about the intersection of marketplace? [00:42:06] John Janke: ’cause I, I think it’s smaller companies, they’re still figuring it out. I run into engineering leaders who still own the commits, uh, but in medium to large companies. Very different. [00:42:16] Vince Menzione: Really good point. Because it, you know this, the optics change dramatically, right? This large commitment is now at the board level, [00:42:23] John Janke: right? [00:42:23] John Janke: And then you do have to teach your sellers as a vertical or business application player how to ask that question. ’cause the first resistance everybody says is, oh my, my person, my stakeholder, we. Manufacturing vertical application provider talking at an event last week, and they’re like, the shop floor manufacturing owner doesn’t know anything about the cloud commit. [00:42:43] John Janke: But if they ask the question, be like, Hey, do you guys have a strategic relationship with Google? Would it be easier to buy our product on the bill? Eight out of 10 times they get a yes. So [00:42:52] Vince Menzione: which is why the 5% comes in And that really accelerates the conversation happening. Yeah. We’ve got three more minutes. [00:43:01] Vince Menzione: Um, if we don’t have any other questions, I ha I have one for each of you really about the maturity model and partners are in the room that are not committed yet, right? We’ve talked about some very significant DBTs doing some incredible things, right? So we, there’s maybe a sense that like we, you, you are working with the be the biggest and the best out there, but what about everyone else that’s in the room that maybe isn’t committed yet? [00:43:23] Vince Menzione: And maybe they’re in motion, but they need some help and advice on what to go do next. What? What would you say die first? [00:43:30] Dai Vu: So they’re early stage, [00:43:31] Vince Menzione: early, early stage or not, they’re not on board yet. They’re not, yeah. They’re not with you yet. [00:43:35] Dai Vu: Yeah. So I’ll, I’ll go back to my earlier comment, which is that as you go into the journey, just be very intentional about what you need to do from an operational, investment people, uh, technology perspective. [00:43:47] Dai Vu: Uh, because it could be, it could be a multi-year journey. Um, uh, so I’d say go into it with the right expectations as opposed to thinking it’s going to be some accelerated six month thing that Sean has been driving here. It’s, he’s the outlier. [00:43:59] Shawn Toldo: But, but the reason for the outlier, [00:44:00] Dai Vu: yeah. [00:44:01] Shawn Toldo: And just to add to the intentional point Yeah. [00:44:02] Shawn Toldo: Is, you know, hire the right people. Right. So, somebody told me a long time ago, uh, hire slow, fire fast. That’s a really, really, really good principle that I take. Mm-hmm. I don’t like the fire part, obviously, but just for context, I, I am very lucky to have a great set of leaders that we were able to add people in. [00:44:24] Shawn Toldo: When I walked in the door, we had a person that was leading the Snowflake and AWS partnership. I had nobody on GCPI had nobody on Microsoft. I had nobody on Databricks. And then we made prioritization decisions on where we’re gonna go next. And so we hired people that had the experience and could drive the outcome in the right way. [00:44:43] Shawn Toldo: But we were very thoughtful about when we made those decisions on a quarterly basis, not a daily basis. So who you’re gonna bet on and then who you’re gonna put in the seat to make that bet come to life, I think is a really important thing as well. [00:44:58] John Janke: Yeah. [00:44:58] Vince Menzione: John, you worked with the be biggest and the best out there, so Yeah, sorry. [00:45:01] John Janke: Well, I think there’s the, like there’s the bottoms up and the tops down. Like seven years ago, this was all bottoms up. It was a partner leader who thought launching a marketplace would be good and they would go figure out how to do some deals and then sell their way up. Today there’s a lot more top down where people get it. [00:45:17] John Janke: But you can evaluate top down pretty fast. ’cause if you go talk to your CEO, you talk to your head of product, you talk to your CFO, and they have an allergic reaction to these concepts. You know, you have to go bottoms up. But there also are success story examples in every single ISV category that exists. [00:45:33] John Janke: Like this is not just security and data and DevOp like the, I think the ServiceNow. Salesforce workday. Examples are really great, like the marketing tech examples, more and more business of vertical apps every day. So I do think you can look at those people who’ve been successful. Maybe they’re your competitors, maybe they’re people you aspire to be and reference them as you’re trying to figure out how to do top down. [00:45:55] John Janke: But like you need both. You can’t win long term unless you get top down and bottom up aligned. [00:46:01] Shawn Toldo: And, and when I, when I would go ask for resourcing, I would always get the question, do, could you go faster with more? And I’d say, no. Gimme the one or two humans here, let me go prove it out and I’ll come back. [00:46:13] Shawn Toldo: So there’s a little bit of a strategy in doing that, that you’re gonna get more over time when you’re, you know, very measured in how you go ask for investment and resource. And so I would just add that point also. [00:46:27] Vince Menzione: Was, was hiring a significant component of your executive commitment, Sean? I mean, [00:46:33] Shawn Toldo: yes. So when I walked in the door at DBT, we had eight people in the partner organization. [00:46:38] Shawn Toldo: Today we have 25, and that was 18 months ago. But that did not happen. I didn’t go in and ask for, you know, that 16 people. Right. I asked over time in a very measured way with, you know, the programs and strategy team, like, what can we also support? You don’t want to bring somebody in to go do something and you don’t have the programs and operations side to support it ’cause they’ll fail. [00:47:01] Shawn Toldo: So we’ve been very thoughtful about how we’ve done that as well. [00:47:04] Vince Menzione: Die from you. I know you had something. [00:47:06] Dai Vu: No, no, no. I, I was good. [00:47:08] Vince Menzione: What is the one thing that people in this room need to go better and differently? Is there one, is there one specific thing other than what we’ve already discussed, did we miss anything? [00:47:16] Dai Vu: No, I would just, the whole identification. So obviously, uh, identifying this is not just like slapping a chat bot, but more around thinking all the things we talked about, product commercials, but also go to market where it’s agent first, where you can surface your agent in a workflow like Gemini Enterprise app. [00:47:34] Dai Vu: That’s gonna drive high alignment with how we work and go to market with Google. [00:47:38] Vince Menzione: Awesome. [00:47:38] Dai Vu: Yeah. [00:47:40] Vince Menzione: Wow. Good stuff. Yeah. Very good session. [00:47:44] Dai Vu: Thank [00:47:44] Vince Menzione: you guys. What do you think? Everyone? Thank you very much. [00:47:47] Shawn Toldo: Thanks for listening to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. [00:47:50] Vince Menzione: If today’s conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. [00:47:55] Vince Menzione: Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the ultimate partner.com. For show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live Event in Reston, Virginia, [00:48:11] John Janke: October 26th through October 28th. [00:48:14] Vince Menzione: Until next time, keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything [00:48:22] I.

SUMMARY: What does a Forward-Deployed Engineer actually do? And what about deploying AI Harness? Let's dig into the real-world with these evolving AI concepts and technologies. SHOW: 1039SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Enterprise AI Show #1039 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtu.be/QY0fqu2O84MSHOW SPONSORS:OutShift by Cisco - “Scaling Out Superintelligence”  The Internet of Cognition architectureShareGate - ShareGate Protect. Microsoft 365 Governance, we got this!Nasuni - Activate your data for AI and request a demoSHOW NOTES:Mozilla Thunderbolt launched Mozilla Thunderbolt (homepage)Topic 1 - Welcome to the show, tell us a bit about your background and what you focus on these days.Topic 2 - Let's talk about the role of Forward Deployed Engineer, it's being talked about a lot, but you're living in that world now. What problems are FDEs usually tasked with trying to solve, or new things to implement?Topic 3 - We've seen other roles (DevOps, PlatformEng, etc.) that evolved from other roles or skills. What type of background lends itself to success in FDE? What skills are needed going forward?Topic 4 - You're also working on some AI harness implementations. What can you tell us about those challenges and the technologies behind the harness?Topic 5 - At what point does an AI harness make sense for a company? What types of AI challenges typically require those next steps? Topic 6 - Working in the middle of this evolving AI space, what are some perspectives you've gained over the last 6-12 months? What do you wish you knew ahead of time? FEEDBACK?Email: show @ the enterprise ai show dot comeBluesky: @TheEntAIShow.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @TheEntAIShowInstagram: @TheEntAIShow

The Agents #007: Our AI Agent Negotiated a Vendor Renewal, Became a CFO and a Better SDR .. But Does He Have Too Many Guardrails? Episode 7 of The Agents, SaaStr's weekly show on the trials and tribulations of running a company with 21 AI agents, 3 humans, and a dog. This week Jason and Amelia debrief life after SaaStr AI Annual and discover that the agents didn't slow down just because the event ended. 10K is already planning SaaStr 2027, negotiating vendor renewals on his own terms, and somehow became a CFO while nobody was looking. Meanwhile, a guardrail problem quietly broke one of SaaStr's most-used apps for weeks, and the website agent is now outperforming every AISDR in the stack. This week: 14 guardrails pushed the VC pitch deck analyzer into rejecting everything, and the lesson is that over-guardrailing is just as dangerous as under-guardrailing. 10K got hooked up to Bill.com and found 8 years of collections automation that nobody had turned on. The AI VP of Marketing is now also running finance because convergence is real and agents do not care about org charts. And 10K sent a vendor a list of API demands before agreeing to renew, which the vendor did not love. Also: why losing your FDE might make you churn the vendor entirely, why Annie the website agent is writing better outbound than the actual outbound tools, and how 442,000 chats turned into 614 meetings with zero humans in the loop.

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Max range I have access to is 200 yards. I'm open to anything on my final build including switching to 6.5 Creedmoor. It's currently set up with a 18inch Aero upper in 308 with a swampfox 5-25×56 FFP Warhawk. Before Jeremey comments I know the scope is massive for that rifle and range I have. I got a crazy deal on it and couldn't say no but realized it's not ment for my setup. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Bonus question! What bolt rifle would you throw that Warhawk on always down to buy another rifle for the collection. Many thanks guys!!! #WLS is life!!! Question from David Lettuce from TN David Lettuce – Hey Jeremy, how does it feel knowing a teenaged future butter bar is stacking insurgents and getting a knife stateside at Old Dominion while you battle a head cold (it's probably monkeypox)? #scoreboard Question from Bill T from TX Bill T from Tx. I am looking at getting the Bodyguard 2.0. Have y'all heard of anyone making a +3 mag extension for them yet? 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It is lightweight, easy to install, and provides reliable suppression for .22 rifles and pistols. THEOUTDOORWIRE Bear Creek Arsenal Launches .30-30 Winchester Upper Assemblies and Rifles Bear Creek Arsenal has released .30-30 Winchester upper assemblies and complete rifles featuring a 20-inch parkerized SOCOM barrel, mid-length gas system, MLOK split rail handguard, and options for right-side or rear charging handles. The platform is positioned for hunting applications including deer, feral hog, and black bear. Products are available as of the June 11, 2026 launch date via BearCreekArsenal.com. THEOUTDOORWIRE Zanders Now Carrying GLFA Sub-One Rifle Zanders, a national distributor based in Sparta, Illinois, has added the Sub-One lightweight precision rifle from Great Lakes Firearms & Ammunition (GLFA) to its lineup. The rifle features a carbon fiber stock, integrated Arca rail, fluted barrel, adjustable trigger (2-5 lbs), QD mounts, and is offered in .243, .308, and 6.5 Creedmoor calibers with barrel lengths from 18″ to 24″ depending on model. THEOUTDOORWIRE Dead Down Wind All-In-One Hygiene Kit Dead Down Wind (Arcus Hunting) has released the All-In-One Hygiene Kit combining everyday personal care items with the brand's scent-eliminating technology targeted at hunters and outdoorsmen. The kit includes a durable travel bag for organization and use in vehicles, cabins, camps, or daily carry. It is positioned as a practical, year-round Father's Day gift. THEFIREARMBLOG Nightfox Arctic Helmet-Mounted Thermal Monocular Nightfox has released the Arctic, a budget helmet-mountable thermal monocular featuring a 256×192 sensor running at 50fps with ≤30mK NETD sensitivity. It includes a 2.06-inch AMOLED display, IP65 weather resistance, up to 9 hours of battery life from a 3500mAh cell, 32GB microSD storage, and comes with both a head strap and dovetail helmet adapter. The unit weighs under 280g and is positioned as an affordable entry into hands-free thermal imaging for hunting and scanning. THEFIREARMBLOG Warrior Systems Manufacturing Legionary 22 .22 LR Suppressor WSM has released the Legionary 22, a purpose-built direct-thread .22 LR suppressor constructed from 6061-T6 aluminum with a Type III hardcoat anodized finish. The can weighs 3.5 ounces, measures 1 inch in diameter, and is rated for approximately 27 dB reduction on .22 LR (to 114.10 dB). It features a non-timed baffle stack, ships with a direct thread end cap, wrench, and manual, and carries a limited lifetime warranty. THEFIREARMBLOG XS Sights Magazine Extensions for Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 and Walther PDP XS Sights has released +5 magazine extensions compatible with Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 and Walther PDP pistols. The extensions convert 15-round magazines to 20 rounds and 18-round magazines to 23 rounds. They are machined from aircraft-grade aluminum with a black nitride coating. THEOUTDOORWIRE Colt 1911 USA 250th Anniversary Special Edition – Iron Valley Exclusive Colt and Iron Valley Supply released a serialized, limited-edition Classic Government Model 1911 commemorating America's 250th anniversary. The pistol features a high-polish blued finish with gold embellishments by Baron Engraving depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence and honoring those who defended U.S. freedoms. It includes satin-finished dark walnut grips inlaid with a Betsy Ross Flag medallion and is available exclusively through Iron Valley Supply. THEOUTDOORWIRE Frank Miniter Releases 'Cool Heroes for Boys—20 True Tales of Adventure' Personal essay by Frank Miniter describing his experience seeking suitable adventure books for his son that feature strong male heroes and accurate American history, particularly stories tied to the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms. Finding youth library sections lacking in traditional Western, adventure, and non-politically correct historical tales, Miniter researched and wrote his own collection of short stories about figures including Paul Revere, George Washington, Alvin York, Sam Walker, Teddy Roosevelt, and Davy Crockett. The book aims to equip the next generation with understanding of freedom to counter anti-gun influences in education. OUTDOORHUB May 2026 FBI NICS Numbers Released The FBI released May 2026 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) data showing 1,105,758 adjusted checks, a 3.2% increase from May 2025. Unadjusted totals were 1,780,230, down 10.9% year-over-year, while NFA checks surged 100.4% to 146,551. Top states for adjusted checks were Texas, Florida, California, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Before we let you go – JOIN GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA We'd love if you supported the show, join Agency 171 at agency171.com. Lot's of prizes, rewards and kick ass swag. No matter how tough your battle is today, we want you here fight with us tomorrow. Don't struggle in silence,...

Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ https://youtu.be/j0TuosYDQe4?si=7mzUwBe4PrQ-eB2E In this insightful session from the Ultimate Partner Live event in Bellevue, Washington, Vince Menzione sits down with Stephen Boyle, Corporate Vice President for Enterprise Partners at Microsoft, to pull back the curtain on the tectonic shifts redefining the tech ecosystem. Boyle details Microsoft's massive organizational pivot into enterprise and SME/channel divisions , explaining how artificial intelligence acts as the foundational thread unifying systems integrators, software vendors, and digital natives. Moving past market noise surrounding competing foundational models , he highlights Microsoft's strategy to become the ultimate “platform of platforms” by prioritizing user choice, security, and trust. Emphasizing a shift away from infrastructure technicalities and toward practical business outcomes , Boyle delivers an urgent mandate for partners to scale technical talent, eliminate traditional operational silos, and brace for the incoming consumption-driven, agent-based future of enterprise computing. Key Takeaways Microsoft has restructured its global sales divisions into distinct Enterprise and SME/Channel organizations to better target its massive total addressable markets. Artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering the partner ecosystem by dismantling traditional software and systems integrator silos to build interconnected, multi-party solutions. Rather than forcing alignment to a singular model, Microsoft aims to be the definitive platform of platforms by offering extensive choice across over 1,100 language models. The enterprise landscape is rapidly moving past experimental AI pilot phases and entering production setups completely focused on transforming core business outcomes. Tomorrow's service organizations are aggressively evolving into software-minded operations that deploy repeatable, highly specialized internal autonomous agents. Managing tokens and monitoring usage metrics represents the emerging operational baseline for balancing efficiency against the scaling expenses of large language models. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags AI frontier, platform of platforms, enterprise partners, global systems integrators, digital natives, language models, token consumption, agent sprawl, citizen developers, shadow IT, business outcomes, technical enablement, marketplace growth, hyper-scalers, processing fluency, sovereign AI, industry ecosystems, data governance. Transcript [00:00:00] Stephen Boyle: This is the biggest, most transformative, iterative change in technology we’ve ever seen, where, if you wanna call it a paradigm shift or whatever word comes after paradigm shift. [00:00:12] Vince Menzione: We just came back from Ultimate Partner live in Bellevue, Washington, where we hosted incredible leaders for two amazing days. Come join us for this next session where we explore the tectonic shifts we’ve all been seeing. Uh, I am thrilled to invite our next guest up on stage. I’ve known this gentleman for several years back in my days at Microsoft, and, um, we’ve been friends, actually Microsoft, and then we both went and did different things, came he’s come back to Microsoft in a big way. [00:00:46] Vince Menzione: Uh, Steven Boyle, for those of you don’t know, is recently a named the C. We will talk about it in a second, but I, I need to announce you properly. Is the corporate vice president, which by the way in Microsoft is a big deal for enterprise partners. He and Nicole De and I would say are the two Microsoft leaders in the organization. [00:01:06] Vince Menzione: Nicole is the channel chief. Steven has a, a big remit and we’ll talk about that up on stage. But I’m just so delightful for his support and for making the time in a very busy week at Microsoft ’cause this is CEO summit this week to make some time to come with us and be on stage with me. Please welcome my good friend Steven Boyle. [00:01:29] Vince Menzione: Good to see you, sir. To see. So I’m gonna put you on this side. [00:01:33] Stephen Boyle: Okay. [00:01:35] Vince Menzione: The hot seat. So I’m gonna, I, I didn’t do a justice and I, I wanted you to explain your role. I, I think I know, but I think for the, for the people in the room, uh, talk to us what Enterprise Partners means at Microsoft and what that role remit and remit looks like. [00:01:50] Stephen Boyle: Um, CVPs may or may not be important, but one thing they don’t do is get invites to the CEO summit. So I’m super pleased to be here with you guys. No, no, it’s totally cool. It’s totally cool if that phone rings. No, I’m kidding. Doesn’t. So what does it mean? So I’d like quickly, um. January last year, uh, we split the sales organization into enterprise and small to medium enterprise and channel. [00:02:15] Stephen Boyle: You guys probably familiar with that? Nicole is the, uh, chief partner officer lives in the SMA and C world and drives the channel, um, drives our marketplace business and, and a lot of other things. Um, for that 60 billion, um, you know, total addressable market that we have. Down there in SME and C. Um, at the same time, we established enterprise partner as part of Nick Parker’s overall organization. [00:02:40] Stephen Boyle: Um, but for most of 2025 we ran it as global systems integrators and advisories, ISVs and digital natives. So three separate footprints all focused entirely on, on, on enterprise. Um, in December, January, we talked about establishing an enterprise partner leader that would. You know, aggregate all of this stuff. [00:03:00] Stephen Boyle: Um, I was fortunate to come through, um, some frankly, pretty hairy, uh, experiences, I bet with some of our senior leaders. Um, I, I’ve loved to [00:03:08] Vince Menzione: been in the room for that [00:03:09] Stephen Boyle: questions like, why Steven Boyle and things like that, right? And really have to dig deep to, uh, to justify. Anyway, uh, I’m blessed and honored, uh, to run that entire portfolio of partners, uh, for the entirety of the enterprise partner world, which now from a chief revenue officer perspective, belongs to Deb. [00:03:25] Stephen Boyle: Deb Co. So Deb is the enterprise leader for all of our sales that we do into that space. Awesome. Um, I have three regional leaders, Nina Harding here in the United States, Ehab Ra in in Europe, and Heather Gordon in Asia that mirror and replicate and flow down the things that we decide to do from a strategy perspective for the, uh, for the core. [00:03:45] Vince Menzione: And we love Nina. She’s been, she was at our last event, [00:03:47] Stephen Boyle: super, super lady. And, uh, you know, the US is still 50% of our overall business. [00:03:53] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:03:53] Stephen Boyle: Too big to fabric. Every time I talk to Nina, I’m like, Nina, you’re too big to fail. We can’t cover you anywhere else. So you know, you’ve gotta be successful here in the Americas. [00:04:01] Vince Menzione: So I think just for breaking it up, I, ’cause I do want to like, it’ll lead to the next question, right? So you have the global systems integrators, all these systems integrators. Essentially you have all of the software companies we used to call ISVs, we now call SDCs or software development corporations. [00:04:17] Vince Menzione: And then you also have the AI stack, I’ll call it. Right? So under Jason Grafe. Yeah. Many, many might know. Jason’s been a guest on the podcast and was Satya’s chief of staff at one time, eight years. Eight years. Wow. I didn’t realize there was that many. [00:04:31] Stephen Boyle: Carry carried a lot of bags for Satya over the years. [00:04:34] Vince Menzione: Unbelievable. Well, let’s, I mean, so AI is an important component, right? And you saw Jay’s, Jay talking, just talking about AI and all these things. I would love to start here, right? Because, uh, you’re, you’re, I wanna get your perspective as Microsoft, your perspective as Microsoft on the biggest shifts you’re seeing in defining this we’ll call AI Frontier. [00:04:54] Vince Menzione: We’re seeing right now, how should partners translate that into how they position and go to market externally? How, how do we need to think about this time? [00:05:02] Stephen Boyle: Yeah, that is, uh, that is a huge question and I’m not sure we’ve got enough time to go into the, into all of the detail. Um, so let me sort of up level it a little bit for you. [00:05:10] Stephen Boyle: And I think, look, the move that we meet at made a couple of months ago and pulling together those three aspects. Nicole had already done it in SME and C. Right. One partner organization across the world with a very common set of goals. We were working closely together, Sandy Gupta, on ISV, Jason on ai, and myself on on si. [00:05:29] Stephen Boyle: But we were still working closely together across silos. So the opportunity for me, 60 days into this role is AI just allows you to wire the partner ecosystem together differently. Right? And even if you look at how we’re going to market an AI today, um. You know, with, with, with chat GPT, with Claude, with Anthropic, um, I think there’s something like 1100 different, you know, language models on Microsoft today. [00:05:55] Stephen Boyle: So the way I think about AI is we are absolutely gonna be the ultimate platform of platforms. Yeah, choice is incredibly important. Um. It’s, it’s, you know, turn the clock back 12 months, everybody was chat gpt five point x, you know, and then six months ago it was Gemini and now it seems to be clawed. And honestly I don’t know what it’s gonna be next quarter. [00:06:15] Stephen Boyle: So the only thing I can do is offer you choice. [00:06:18] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:06:18] Stephen Boyle: And from a partner perspective, I think that minimizes or reduces the risk that you have betting on the Microsoft platform because you can go in a multitude of different directions. I know we’re not in Europe, but if you were in Europe and you were worried about G-G-D-P-R and Jay mentioned sovereignty, you’d probably be like lining up really closely to Misra. [00:06:37] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. And a bunch of other Europe, European partners. So wherever you are in the globe, I wanna be that platform choice. Um, and we will lead with our own first party solutions. I hope they’re not coming for me. Um. I parked safely in the hotel. It can’t be me. Um, but you weren’t vibe coding in the room. Um, but you know, wherever you are in the world, in whichever industry you are in, um, it is our intent to, to offer that platform of platforms and to give the broadest set of partners the opportunity to engage with us. [00:07:07] Vince Menzione: I think that’s really important because I, I have found, especially in the last month or two, people are, it’s almost like a knee jerk. Don’t you feel like people don’t know what to do? There’s been so much noise in the press and the media and, and the markets around open AI and anthropic especially. Where do I go? [00:07:26] Vince Menzione: Seems to be like when I, when I sit, I watch everybody in the room here. I think they’re, they’ve all been thinking that as well. So you can, [00:07:31] Stephen Boyle: there’s a, a little bit of a deer in the headlights moment. Yes. And even I like, I get that. Yeah. Um, you know, I saw, uh, Jay slides. Jay, love the presentation. Love the slides, man. [00:07:40] Stephen Boyle: I’m gonna steal several of them. Um, we’ll talk about that later. We, we [00:07:43] Vince Menzione: have the deck, [00:07:45] Stephen Boyle: but, but in all seriousness, you know, this, this is like. It’s a new paradigm. I will date myself a little bit. Some of you might heard me say this. I sold many computers in the 1980s. Mini computers. Some of you in the room are going, what’s a mini computer? [00:07:59] Stephen Boyle: Um, I sold client server for Sun Microsystems in the nineties. I sold an awful lot of Oracle databases in the Auts, I think they’re called, and I’ve done two stints with Microsoft. This is the biggest, most transformative. Iterative change in technology we’ve ever seen. What, if you wanna call it a paradigm shift or whatever word comes after paradigm shift. [00:08:18] Stephen Boyle: Um, and we are building intelligent systems at scale faster than we’ve ever seen. Scalable, mission critical solutions being implemented today inside of Microsoft and with our most important customers. So, and we can’t do it without partners, right? There is absolutely nothing we can do in this industry. I will, I will put the, you know, the elephant in the room out there. [00:08:40] Stephen Boyle: Our ISD organization has between five and 7,000 people. Our forward deployed engineering organization is about a thousand people. [00:08:47] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:08:48] Stephen Boyle: So when you look at the scale of the total addressable market that Jay just talked about. We are gonna service directly like this much [00:08:55] Vince Menzione: used to be 5%. Was it even, is it even that high? [00:08:58] Stephen Boyle: I doubt it’s, I doubt it’s even that. And the billions of dollars that we spend every year helping our customers transform to what we’re now calling frontier firms is gonna be, have to be driven with every single person in this room in some way, shape, or form. Judson is not asking Marla to significantly increase ISD. [00:09:15] Stephen Boyle: Not asking John to significantly increase FDE, although we probably will hire in that area just because of the, the newness and the, you know, bright shiny object that everybody’s like, oh, FDE, I’ve gotta have those. We’ve got a thousand already today that have been around in John’s organization for 10 plus years doing the things that we are doing today. [00:09:32] Stephen Boyle: But we are gonna build out that muscle. But the real way we’re gonna build out that muscle is with all of you in this room. That’s like categorical. That is my like, probably number one goal for the next one to three years is make sure that, that story that Jay just told about Microsoft not being involved in AstraZeneca. [00:09:48] Stephen Boyle: I probably won’t tell Judson that Jay, but I love the story. Um, like if you could all do that for me, like win, um, that is so, you know, from our worldwide learning, through our skilling enablement through our cloud solution architects that I personally own. We are pivoting aggressively towards making sure that the partners understand our platforms better than any other job, number one for me right now, if you don’t understand what I’m selling, like I’m kind of dead in the water obviously. [00:10:15] Stephen Boyle: Well, [00:10:15] Vince Menzione: I was gonna ask you why now? Why Microsoft? Why now? Right? Because there is a lot of noise. You know, Google just announced, you all announced your results on the same day, which was astounding. That was freaky, wasn’t it? It was. It was the first time. And the, the total commitment, customer commitment is over a trillion dollars now, I think 1.2 trillion is what I counted up. [00:10:33] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. [00:10:34] Vince Menzione: But it’s saying a lot about like, what do I do now, like as these partners in the room. Um, how, I think you kind of already, and you’ve talked about this, about differentiating where Microsoft is, I think J Slide does a lot of justice there. It says how, uh, Microsoft Partners came into the room, surrounded the customer. [00:10:52] Vince Menzione: It feels like Microsoft has always leaned in big time on partners. Uh, more so I would say than any other organization out there. What would [00:10:59] Stephen Boyle: you say Joe Roses, my chief of staff, business manager and so many other things was telling me last night that, you know, we used to say 500,000 partners. [00:11:05] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:11:06] Stephen Boyle: it’s a, it’s a significantly higher number than that as well. [00:11:09] Stephen Boyle: So there’s an element of, you know, back to the deer in the headlights, which partners are, are more important. One of my other phrases that I say on a regular basis, the winners and losers are yet to be decided in this next wave. Like, I want all of us to on the right side of that argument. Right? But, but it’s gonna be a challenge and, and companies are going through shifts. [00:11:28] Stephen Boyle: You know, Accenture, maybe, possibly doesn’t need 750,000 employees in the not too distant future. Maybe TCS at 600,000 doesn’t need 600,000 human employees. So we’re going through this dramatic shift of, you know, what’s the right balance going forward. What I would say about Microsoft is notwithstanding the fact that we’ve figured this out for 51 years, which is a little bit mind blowing, um, that you know, all the way back in the seventies we’ve gone through so many iterative changes. [00:11:56] Stephen Boyle: People have questioned just like they’ve questions. A lot of other technology companies, are you gonna be around for the long haul? I think we’ve proven time and time again, and I love Jay’s story. I’ve used that myself about how many companies disappear on a, on a decade to decade, you know, business. 10 years ago I had the opportunity to listen to Craig Clayton Christensen, who’s sadly no longer with us. [00:12:15] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. But you know, the books that he wrote and the story that he told to Microsoft 2014, we were nowhere in cloud. [00:12:21] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:12:22] Stephen Boyle: AWS was so far ahead of us, it was crazy. And he came in and he’s like. You know what? You guys need to be successful. You need to figure out how to cross this chasm again, and we’ve done it time and time again. [00:12:32] Stephen Boyle: You can go back. You know, Microsoft used to be known as a fast follower in ai. I don’t think we’re a fast follower. I think we’re right up there. We’re right at the front, but that race is still being run and the winners are losers are yet to be decided. [00:12:44] Vince Menzione: I was in that room with Clayton Christensen with you, by the way. [00:12:46] Vince Menzione: I remember, I remember that. That was at a Prism conference. [00:12:49] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. Yeah. [00:12:50] Vince Menzione: You men, you touched on this with the GSIs a little bit. How do you see the roles evolving? You know, we, we, we bucketed all, we’ve always been. Fantastic about bucketing ISVs or SDCs and sis and digital natives. Yeah. How does it, how does that all come together? [00:13:06] Vince Menzione: Does it come together any differently in this new AI platform era, or is it the same? [00:13:11] Stephen Boyle: I look, I, I’ve said this for a long time, like if you go into AstraZeneca, the six plus, you know, frontline partners, there’s probably a whole board of second, third tier that, that we don’t know about doing, you know, things across the AstraZeneca group. [00:13:25] Stephen Boyle: It takes several villages and sometimes a small town, especially in my world, in the enterprise world, strategic five hundreds. Yeah. Um, you know, we, we ran some reports a few years ago and it is shocking how many global systems integrators have a footprint in Shell or Exxon or, you know, bank of America or whatever else. [00:13:44] Stephen Boyle: So I’ve always believed that partner to partner is critical. Yeah. I think it became even more critical in the, in the AI world, and I’ll take my new friends at Anthropic. So I went to the first Anthropic partner Summit. Some of you might have been down there in, in San Diego, um, just a couple of months ago. [00:13:59] Stephen Boyle: Same partners, same people from the same partners. In the room, you know, talking about what they’re gonna do together with Anthropic. Um, and I’m looking out across this audience going, okay, well I know him and I know her and I know those guys, and like, I need to figure out how I’m gonna weave this together. [00:14:14] Stephen Boyle: So it’s not just an Accenture and Anthropic or an NTT data and anthropic, but it’s an NTT data plus anthropic plus Microsoft. Story going forward. And then who’s best at delivering those services capabilities? So it’s it at every juncture that I see in the, in the partner community, and this is the, the reason why I argued vehemently with Nick, that it has to be one organization I’m gonna create maybe given a little bit away. [00:14:40] Stephen Boyle: So if you’re recording, stop now. Um, I’m gonna create an enablement organization that is partner agnostic. I don’t necessarily care. I do care about the digital natives, but I don’t care about how I train them. Right. What I’m more important of is how do I train the digital natives in what the sis are doing, and how do I train the sis and what the ISVs Plus digital Natives are doing. [00:15:01] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:15:01] Stephen Boyle: That is my, that’s my game plan. If I fail there, then I think we fail to raise the bar and be differentiated in an AI world, and I’m not set up like that today. [00:15:12] Vince Menzione: I wanna, I wanna ask you, uh, uh, because I was looking at Jay’s slide and the, the managed piece is. And we have a lot of managed service providers in this room today. [00:15:20] Vince Menzione: A lot of them, by the way, come from the old school of managed services. The managed piece seems to be like, if I’m doing something today with ai, we’re gonna talk about security next, uh, up on stage here. It seems like there’s a new set of skills or a different approach to the customer, don’t you? Don’t you agree? [00:15:37] Stephen Boyle: I I [00:15:37] Vince Menzione: think you need to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all [00:15:39] Stephen Boyle: times. I think what it boils down to is you can’t do AI unless you do certain other things. [00:15:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:15:44] Stephen Boyle: Right. You could be a modern work specialist and you could make a lot of money being a modern work specialist, or you could be a, a dynamic specialist. [00:15:52] Stephen Boyle: We just held our, uh, inner A in a circle conference last last week, which I was disappointed to miss for the first time in a few years. Those, those days are, are, are fast becoming over. [00:16:03] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:16:04] Stephen Boyle: Um, why? Because everything that I’ve just said is tied together by ai. Yes. And in order to do good ai, you need good data. [00:16:12] Stephen Boyle: And in order to trust everything that you’re getting, as Judson talks about trust and intelligence, you need to wrap that in a really secure [00:16:19] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:16:19] Stephen Boyle: You know, en en environment. Now we will do our best to provide levels of security into how we deliver ai. But that’s not the end of the game, right? You have to take it all, all the way to the edge. [00:16:30] Stephen Boyle: So that’s why a siloed partner or a singular commercial solution area partner in Microsoft’s terms, has got to transform its business. ’cause if you’re gonna do ai, you’ve gotta do those other things as well. [00:16:41] Vince Menzione: Agreed. I must see the model changing, and in fact, I see like bigger organizations becoming managed service providers in many respects. [00:16:48] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, look, there’s still, there’s still a role for all the old terminology you mentioned is SV to sdc. Yeah. I’m like, I’m been around long enough. Look, it’s ANB still anv, it’s still an isv. Thank you. Independent software vendor. Um, and it’s, you know, where, where AI is allowing software to be, you know, frankly developed in a number of different places. [00:17:07] Stephen Boyle: We are all citizen developers. Um, you know, I was on a call with our internal leadership yesterday, um, and you guys might have heard this story ’cause I think it came out at Ignite. When we turn the agent 365, around and on ourselves. We found 130,000 agents running across Microsoft that had been developed and deployed internally with, I mean, you could call it shadow it. [00:17:28] Stephen Boyle: I guess that would be one phrase that you would use for it, but the reality is if you, if you haven’t got something to do your job today, you have the tools. To build it really, really fast. Um, and that, you know, that’s, that’s a great opportunity for people to be able to do their work, you know, in a better and in a different way. [00:17:45] Stephen Boyle: But it’s also a huge opportunity to make sure that data governance and security and all the other things that we need to deliver are there out of, out of the gate and out of the platform that we deliver. So security’s absolutely critical. Not saying that managed services won’t grow, um, at, at some level as well, but only if they transform into this multifaceted way. [00:18:04] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. Thinking [00:18:05] Vince Menzione: about, well, that’s what I was, I was gonna lead to here with innovating. It’s happening across, I mean, we’re talking about chips, we’re talking about foundational models, LLMs, we’re talking about applications, we’re talking about agents. How should we think about where to play and how to differentiate as partners in this room? [00:18:22] Stephen Boyle: I think. [00:18:25] Stephen Boyle: So look, I mean, one, one of the ways that Judson talks about it is I think silicon’s gonna change over time. Yes. NVIDIA’s definitely the 800 pound gorilla, maybe the 8,000 pound gorilla. Yeah. Uh, but you know, if you read the press, there’s, there’s things happening in, in different places as first party silicon, which we clearly are, are developing, um, in a quantum direction for sure. [00:18:45] Stephen Boyle: Um, there’s lots of different language models that haven’t even been launched on, on, on the marketplace yet, so. You know, Judson’s trying to uplevel our conversations. You’ll hear us talking about conversations more and more as we go into FY 27, um, that obviate all of those layers. Just like even when I was selling Sun Microsystems, it was about the business outcome and the business solution that we were solving for not necessarily the fastest piece of hardware or the best client service solution on, on the market. [00:19:17] Stephen Boyle: So I think what’s gonna happen over the next 12 to 24 months is we’ll have so many different models to choose from. We’ll have more silicon to choose from, but those won’t be the real buying decisions. The real buying decisions of what? How am I trying to transform my finance organization, my HR organization, and my supply chain? [00:19:36] Stephen Boyle: Because the underlying technology, Judson says commodity I, I guess I can go with that. It will be commoditized and we’ll really start to focus back on what the important things are. We’re moving a lot from pilot to production. You guys have probably seen that. The numbers that Jay just showed about how many. [00:19:52] Stephen Boyle: Projects are failing, is getting less and less because we’re getting smarter and smarter about what it takes to actually drive the business outcome. And I need all of us to be talking that same language. Yeah. Having conversations with head of HR about how we’re gonna transform human capital management in the, in the age of agents, if you like, like the underlying platform. [00:20:14] Stephen Boyle: It’s not, don’t worry about it. You wanna be on a secure platform. Don’t get me wrong. But at the same time, I don’t think we, we spent too much time worrying about that. [00:20:21] Vince Menzione: Yeah. We’re not, what you’re saying is we’re not spending enough time on outcomes. On the business outcomes. Right. And that’s where we need to focus. [00:20:27] Vince Menzione: We’re, we’re focusing on, I, I feel like we’re, it’s a signal to, to noise ratio that we’re living through right now. There’s too much noise. [00:20:33] Stephen Boyle: Yeah. [00:20:34] Vince Menzione: And we’re not focusing on the signal. I think that’s what you’re saying. [00:20:36] Stephen Boyle: I, it’s got to be, I mean, to be honest with you, it’s always been, you know, even when I sold what I would perceive, you know, sun in the nineties was a rockman ship to the stars and, you know, kind of sad what happened to that company. [00:20:47] Stephen Boyle: Um, but we, we were, we were fixated on, we had the best client server. But, but nobody was buying, you know, a piece of Sun hardware as a room heater, which is all it did, you know, like for the longest. But if you had SAP, if you had Cybase, if you had Bond, remember Bond, I mean all of those applications that drove the business outcomes, we’ve gotta get back to that kind of mentality. [00:21:09] Stephen Boyle: Yes. And worrying a little bit less about the underlying architecture. Yeah. It needs to be, it needs to be part of the conversation. ’cause it needs to deliver trust and security and intelligence and everything else. Then you need to rapidly move to what are you trying to achieve and how can we ensure the, the, the success of, of your business outcome. [00:21:27] Stephen Boyle: And look, I mean, Palantir pri you know, sort of came out and said, well, the way we do that is through forward deployed engineering. Um, and they stole the show. And, and, you know, they’re, they’re doing very well as a result of doing that. Uh, but if you go and talk to, um, Tom Siebel’s organization at C3 ai. [00:21:43] Stephen Boyle: They’ve had FDS for quite a while. You know, I told you about John Chuchu 10 years ago. John Chu, Chuck’s job was to go and get all the applications that we needed on the Microsoft phone. Remember that? [00:21:54] Vince Menzione: Yes. Um, [00:21:55] Stephen Boyle: you know, so we’ve pivoted John o over the years to doing what he’s doing now, which is to go sometimes in partnership with, with partners into the customer and say, what is it you’re trying to achieve? [00:22:05] Stephen Boyle: Let me show you how I can build that for you in three weeks or three months. That might have taken you three years. We literally just did a hackathon with one partner last, last, last week with, uh, with our ISE organization, the, the, the forward deployed, uh, group that John runs. Um, and one of the big customers said, I’ve just done in three days what would’ve taken me three months. [00:22:26] Stephen Boyle: Now he hasn’t productized it and rolled it out and blah, blah, blah. But the reality is that is how fast things are changing. And this was not a small company. This was a very, very large oil company, and they were like blown away by how much we can achieve. We’ve gotta do that at scale. [00:22:41] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:22:42] Stephen Boyle: You know, we, we have a commitment to scale our FDE community through partnerships to touch all of the S 500 in a very personalized way. [00:22:51] Stephen Boyle: And then, you know, at a slightly, you know, lower ratios down through the, through the majors and into, into Nicole’s SME and C world as well. [00:22:59] Vince Menzione: Jay talks about the decade of the ecosystem. He coined that term back, back on a podcast way back in nine, in, uh, in 2020. Microsoft has been at the, for, we used to call partner to partner back, back in the day. [00:23:10] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. Do you remember those days? How do you think about this ecosystem evolving and what steps are you taking to help bring these organizations together? Because I, I, again, we look at the seven seats or 6.3 seats at the table. The customer has the power now that they didn’t have before. ’cause they have the commitment with like with Microsoft and they can buy off of the marketplace and pull together multiple organizations to go, go do that. [00:23:34] Vince Menzione: How do you think about helping to orchestrate that as the leader of the enterprise partner business? [00:23:39] Stephen Boyle: So I’ll start with a really big example, and I’ll try and sort of scale it down a little bit. But my friends at Accenture, with the Accenture, Microsoft Business Group, we spend an awful lot of time, you know, in, in each other’s pockets, in each other’s deals. [00:23:51] Stephen Boyle: We know everything that’s going on in the Accenture, Microsoft Business Group. And a couple of weeks, or maybe a month or so ago, I was told that the Microsoft Business Group is now larger than the SAP Business group. It probably flip flops. [00:24:03] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:24:04] Stephen Boyle: it won’t be too long before the Anthropic Business Group is bigger than both of those. [00:24:08] Stephen Boyle: So what I need my Microsoft team to do is to not spend all of their lives in the. A MBG, the Azure, the Accenture, Microsoft Business group, but to go make friends in the Anthropic Accenture Business group and frankly still to make friends in the SAP business group and maybe in the Oracle Business Group and the list goes on. [00:24:27] Stephen Boyle: So at a macro 11, in the very largest accounts where we haven multiple practices, where we haven’t spent time before, I’m gonna. Push my people into uncomfortable zones and I’m gonna push them to go into those other areas and I’m gonna load them up with technical talent and cloud solution architects and ai, you know, forward deployed engineers. [00:24:45] Stephen Boyle: And I’m gonna force different people to talk together that haven’t talked together. So I can do that in TCS. I can do that, Capgemini, I can do that. Um, you know, in Europe with Capgemini and Misra is a classic example. Um, with the, with the Indian sis, Indian based sis, they’re all big enough where I know all the practices exist. [00:25:04] Stephen Boyle: I just need to do a better job of, of talking to them. Now, when you downsize that into, you know, into a, a company that doesn’t have all of that scale, this the same truth still holds. I need to talk to people who aren’t necessarily motivated every single day to do something with Microsoft. I need to talk to people who are motivated to do something with an AI partner or even a traditional SaaS partner. [00:25:27] Stephen Boyle: I noticed yesterday, actually no, this morning I got a notification that we just passed, um, a billion dollars in revenue on the marketplace with ServiceNow. [00:25:35] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:25:36] Stephen Boyle: Um, and I think AWS announced the same thing, by the way this month as well. Um, so thank you to the ServiceNow people. Yeah. Um, you know, that is that there’s a tremendous demonstration of how far we’ve come in marketplace. [00:25:48] Stephen Boyle: ’cause that’s another one where we trailed AWS quite significantly. But with the right partnerships. And driving the right motions, we can, you know, we can definitely catch up and we will continue to pass, uh, some of, some of the other hyperscalers in, in, in that way. So really the bottom line to your question is partner to partner is still real. [00:26:08] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:26:08] Stephen Boyle: how we do it and what we use to tie things together. And I know that compensation drives behavior and we’re not gonna get into a compensation about like how we get compensated and everything else, but the reality is I’ve gotta break down those barriers and those silos and I’ve gotta deliver real meaningful enablement and practice development so that, so that the people who sit in the Anthropic business group and the people who sit in the Microsoft Business Group are spending as much time together as they are with me. [00:26:34] Stephen Boyle: That makes sense. Simply put, that’s what I, I need to achieve at scale rapidly. [00:26:40] Vince Menzione: So to, we’re getting close to time here, but as you look forward, what would define the most successful partnerships in this ecosystem? Is it, is it what you described, the opening up the aperture or for the, for the leaders in the room here today, what should they go do better and differently? [00:26:58] Stephen Boyle: Um, so obviously we’re closing out this fiscal, we’ve got Microsoft start and Microsoft start for partners coming up in July. Um, I mentioned the fact that we’re, we’re driving. Cu customer engagement through the lens of conversations and how do we achieve business outcomes? I would encourage you to, to gravitate, if you like, above the commercial solution areas where you might have understood, this is how I interact with Microsoft today. [00:27:23] Stephen Boyle: Um, and abstract it up to that AI layer. You know, think about trust, think about intelligence, think about business outcomes, and how do I potentially weave together a story? If I’m in the dynamic space, how do I get better in data? If I’m in the data space, how do I get better in. In that modern work environment, but really use AI as the overlay to, to help tie that together. [00:27:44] Stephen Boyle: That’s one thing. The second thing is if we’re not training you in the right direction, it’s stevenBoyle@microsoft.com. Let me know. Awesome. Um, we’ve got programmatic stuff, um, you know, and we’ve got high touch stuff as well. So I think this is, this is another time where Microsoft is gonna over pivot on all of the training and enablement that we need to do to make sure that you’re, you know, you’re grounded in our platform. [00:28:07] Stephen Boyle: Um, I think there’s a huge opportunity with this agenda future to become more of a software partner. You know, even the deepest services organizations are going to need agents, and the more successful ones will be the ones that can turn on those agents in a repeatable way. So. Our agents, the new SaaS. I’m not exactly saying that, but I think that the agen future is one where even the more services oriented companies will, will have teams of agents that they’re deploying. [00:28:35] Stephen Boyle: In fact, I had a very, very large systems integrator, um, in, in the EBC just about a month ago, three weeks ago. Um, and I was sat next to their head of consulting and he showed me what he called his God dashboard. Uh, and right in the middle of his God dashboard there are like 450 accounts. All of whom I recognized, ’cause they were all in the enterprise, right in the middle of his dashboard was, how many tokens am I spending? [00:29:00] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:29:01] Stephen Boyle: Like, not like what’s my daily runway? You know, not am I making a profit on that account or anything else like that is like, how many tokens have I consumed? Yeah. Because there is an awful lot of, that is the new juice, if you like. That’s, that’s driving the success. You can have the smartest people on the planet, but you’ve got to still arm them with all the best tools that are available out there. [00:29:22] Stephen Boyle: So it’s fascinating to listen to him, how he had gone through that thing of, you know, agent sprawl, how many are really working, how many are not working? How can we prove that? You can prove it through, you know, managing your tokens. There’s a new version of. Finops for tokens, for want of a better phrase, that’s gonna be critical for us all to understand. [00:29:40] Stephen Boyle: ’cause they’re not cheap, they’re not free, that’s for sure. And, and they might not be cheap if you’re not, if you’re not managing them and using them effectively. Yeah. So that’s the other thing that I would really get on top of. And, you know, we’re gonna make some announcements in the not too distant future about the consumption driven future. [00:29:56] Stephen Boyle: Um, that, that we will, that we will deliver with our first party and third party platforms going forward. So that’s another. Another critical thing [00:30:03] Vince Menzione: sounds like some exciting announcements. Pretty soon. [00:30:06] Stephen Boyle: Yeah, could look close. Quarter four, help me close. Quarter four. Yes. That’s priority number one, two, and three right now. [00:30:12] Stephen Boyle: Uh, but get ready for some, you know, for some new announcements in July. Um, look, the future is incredibly bright with Microsoft. It’s incredibly bright in the industry as a whole, right? I mean, let, let’s be honest, the, the growth targets that we will have for ne next year are astronomical, and we will not make them without the partner community that we have, without training and enabling the partner community that we need for tomorrow. [00:30:34] Stephen Boyle: So like, stay close, you know, stay engaged. Talk to your partner development managers, talk to the talk to field reps, talk to the accounts that that, that you are in, and stay as close as you possibly can to our emerging strategy. And, um, you know, look, I, I think if I had fivefold or tenfold the people I have today, I still wouldn’t be able to touch everybody that I would like to touch in the partner community. [00:30:58] Stephen Boyle: So I’ll apologize in advance. Um, but we’re gonna have some, you know, some really cool ways of learning. Um, and we’re gonna make sure that they’re available to the widest possible audience. [00:31:07] Vince Menzione: Well, we bring the practitioners and the experts in the room to help with that as well. Right? Yeah. Because you can’t always have a partner development manager tied to everybody in the room. [00:31:14] Stephen Boyle: I, I would do hackathons on AI every week with every partner and every part of the world, but I can’t. [00:31:19] Vince Menzione: Yeah, exactly. Well, so good to have you today. Thank you. So good to see you again. I don’t know what your schedule is like. I, we didn’t, we don’t have enough time for questions. [00:31:28] Stephen Boyle: That’s cool. [00:31:28] Vince Menzione: From the audience. [00:31:29] Stephen Boyle: I’m gonna stay around for a little [00:31:30] Vince Menzione: while this [00:31:30] Stephen Boyle: morning and I’m coming back [00:31:31] Vince Menzione: for cocktails. Alright, terrific. So. Stephen Boyle will be here for cocktail hour. Thank you. Four 30 and uh, I wanna thank you, sir. So good to have you. Thank you. Good to see you. Absolutely. [00:31:42] Stephen Boyle: So much. Absolutely. Hey, thanks everybody. [00:31:43] Stephen Boyle: Thanks for what you do today, and hopefully thank you for what you do tomorrow as well. [00:31:46] Vince Menzione: Thank you. An incredible leader. [00:31:49] Stephen Boyle: Don’t forget, ultimate [00:31:51] Vince Menzione: partner Alive is coming soon, June 18th at our executive breakfast in New York. I hope to see you there.Description The Future of Tech is Here. Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ I

記事も公開中！：https://blog.allstarsaas.com/posts/last-one-mile-matters▼みどころトピック00:00 イントロダクション＆ゲスト紹介00:40 Before AI / After AIで何が変わったか02:58 5年後からバックキャストするデータ戦略04:18 「価値の残るデータ」3つのレイヤー09:39 暗黙知データをいかに取りにいくか11:35 ポストセールスは「永遠に終わらない旅」18:24 エンタープライズAIプラットフォームの設計思想21:44 「事件は会議室で起きている」攻略法27:09 組織の1階・2階・3階設計29:06 日本流FDEとエージェント・ソフトウェア・エンジニア32:27 海外事例、何をみている？何を応用している？33:43 未来予想「CS領域でAIエージェント同士が問い合わせを完了させる世界」はいつ来る？35:44 ラストワンマイルに宿るスタートアップのアルファ42:35 アウトカムプライシングが成立する条件48:53 顧客へディープダイブし続けることの価値RightTouchでは全職種で採用を強化中です！詳細はこちら：https://righttouch.co.jp/recruitment共同代表・野村修平さんのXからのDMも歓迎！ビッグテックが基盤を握り、海外のAIネイティブ勢が市場に押し寄せてくる時代。スタートアップのアルファはどこにあるのか。RightTouch・長崎さんは「AI時代だからこそ80点じゃ通用しない、ラストワンマイルに賭けるべきだ」と話します。ALL STAR SAAS FUND マネージングパートナー・前田ヒロが、AI時代のデータ戦略とエンタープライズ攻略の実践論を、カスタマーサポート（CS）領域のRightTouchを率いる長崎さんに聞きました。「5年後の未来からのバックキャスト」によるデータ戦略の再設計、PoC2万件を50万件全件へ拡げるポストセールスの実践、そして"Bigger than Bigger"の時代でもスタートアップにアルファが宿る「ラストワンマイル」の本質。CS領域における、RightTouchの勝負シナリオを聞きました。https://twitter.com/allstarsaasfund☝️ コンテンツやイベントの最新情報は、公式Xアカウントのフォロー！▼事業・資金調達はこちらまで！1on1オンラインオフィスアワー申込受付中https://allstarsaas.com/officehour

In this Cloud Wars conversation, Bob Evans speaks with Matt Renner, Chief Revenue Officer at Google Cloud, about the explosive acceleration of enterprise AI adoption and how Google Cloud is scaling to meet it. Renner explains why customers are demanding immediate business outcomes, not experimental pilots years down the road, and shares Google Cloud's response through expanded field engineering investments, ecosystem funding, and deeper enterprise co-creation. The discussion also explores Google's differentiated AI stack strategy, the intensifying competitive landscape, and why AI security could become one of the industry's most significant next battlegrounds.Google's AI Scaling Play The Big Themes: AI Demand Has Moved Beyond Experimentation: Matt Renner makes clear that enterprise AI has entered a fundamentally different phase. Companies are no longer satisfied with proof-of-concept experimentation or exploratory pilots. Instead, executive teams want measurable business value quickly. This urgency is reshaping vendor expectations, deployment models, and customer engagement strategies. Google Cloud is seeing demand at a pace that traditional scaling models cannot satisfy, which is driving operational changes. This is not a speculative future trend, it is already happening. The $750 Million Ecosystem Expansion Multiplies Capacity: Google Cloud's $750 million ecosystem investment complements the FDE initiative by scaling partner-led implementation capacity. Renner explains that Google alone cannot meet enterprise AI demand, so partner ecosystems become force multipliers. The strategy is to expand from hundreds of specialists into thousands of technical practitioners capable of building agents, workflows, and AI-powered solutions. This reflects a practical recognition that enterprise AI requires broad execution capability, not just core platform excellence. The AI Market Reset Is Reshaping Cloud Competition: Renner describes AI as a market reset that is materially changing competitive cloud dynamics. Google Cloud's growth rates, contrasted against hyperscaler rivals, are presented as evidence that strategic positioning matters. The broader takeaway is that AI has altered enterprise buying criteria, infrastructure priorities, and vendor differentiation. Long-term investments in chips, models, data infrastructure, and platform integration are beginning to show commercial returns. Rather than incremental cloud evolution, Renner presents this as a structural shift in the market. Enterprises are reallocating attention and budgets around AI capability. The Big Quote: “We're seeing unprecedented demand for Google Cloud products infrastructure, all driven, frankly, from AI." More from Matt Renner and Google Cloud: Connect with Matt Renner on LinkedIn or learn more about Google Cloud AI. Visit Cloud Wars for more.

Micro turbines hitting 83% efficiency could replace flares and turn stranded wells into tiny neighborhood power plants. Mark Ronkin of Grid Energy Solutions came down from Edmonton to talk with Jacob and guest host Britt Breaux about jumping from five years in the Canadian Army to wireline to running his own MWD shop, then stumbling into the tech at a gas show in Milan. Plus getting sick next to a flare, the oilfield marketing problem in eastern Canada, and why a 9 to 5 and entrepreneurship can coexist.Click here to watch a video of this episode.Join the conversation shaping the future of energy.Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.Apply today at collide.ioClick here to view the episode transcript. 0:00 Intro and the FDE model at Collide5:46 Mark's path through the Canadian Army9:25 Oil and gas as a polarizing industry across Canada13:19 Louisiana refineries, Cancer Alley, and Alberta boomtowns19:08 Living downstream of a flare21:18 Military to wireline to MWD25:09 Going independent and the entrepreneurship bug28:14 Peak oil and modern directional drilling32:44 Turning your day job into your business36:54 Career advice and finding the Collide community43:14 Imposter syndrome and the entrepreneur grind45:59 Stumbling into micro turbines at Gastech Milan52:46 Commercializing the tech in Canada1:00:02 Replacing flares with neighborhood power plants1:01:29 What the next 5 to 10 years look like1:06:18 Grid Energy Solutions and what's nexthttps://twitter.com/collide_aihttps://www.tiktok.com/@collide.iohttps://www.facebook.com/collide.iohttps://www.instagram.com/collide.iohttps://www.youtube.com/@collide_iohttps://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.socialhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collideai

What happens when AI makes recruiting faster—but trust becomes the real differentiator? In this FDE+ session, Kortney Harmon sits down with Rob Reznick, founder and CEO of Beacon, to unpack why referrals, reputation, and human connection still drive the strongest business results in recruiting.Drawing from his background in tech, finance, and startup leadership, Rob explores the hidden cost of over-automation and why relationship-driven recruiting continues to outperform transactional outreach. From LinkedIn experiments to practical referral strategies, he shares how recruiters can strengthen credibility, build stronger networks, and create long-term business growth through trust.________________Follow Rob Reznick on LinkedIn: LinkedIn | RobCheck out Beacon hereFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: CrelateWant to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereSubscribe to our newsletter: The Full Desk Experience

This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: C&G Holsters (Code: WLSISLIFE) Gideon Optics (Code: WLSISLIFE) Rost Martin (Code: WLSISLIFE) Night Fision (Code: WLSISLIFE) Blue Alpha Second Call Defense Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171  Public   Show Titles   GOA GOALS Aug 1-2 in Iowa. https://goals.goa.org/ GunCon.net Tickets on sale now. Use code AGENCY171 DEAR WLS Question from OopsieDaisy from California For double tap by OopsieDaisy I've been listening to a lot of old episodes and started the book One Second After, a book Jeremy talked about and holy fuck it's good. Since an EMP would wreck all of the electronics in vehicles, what EMP-safe vehicle would you guys choose to take into an EMP ridden world? You have 10 grand to spend. Go. Question from Mike in NH 1st: quick positive review for C&G, I've been carrying my CSX-E series in a Covert for a month now, so great. Thank you to Chris and company 2nd: At what point does a used pick up become too nice/collectible to use/carry? I recently purchased a S&W 640-2. I didn't know anything about it apart from it was in excellent condition, and that it was pre-Lock. I thought it was weird for a steel J-frame to be 38spl only. It turns out the -2 was only made 1997-99 for NYPD as an approved back-up/off duty weapon. So it's kind of rare. Thanks for the opinions and the great shows. -Mike in NH Question from Duke of Crude from Texas Duke of Crude Hey fam, Thanks for reading my question on episode 449 about carry guns and meth country. My definition for meth country is either: 1. Urban sprawls (ex. Tulsa, Memphis) where hard drug use is prevalent 2. Rural areas (ex. West Virginia) where high poverty creates new hard drugs and users But going back to my question on 44 special in particular. Why does no one make a 44spc+P? 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I tried contacting them and they won't get back to me. Probably because I'm a nobody. If these guys are done, is anyone else making anything similar? Second related question: what about drone defense rounds? They had some cool stuff for 12 ga shells, but I have seen similar stuff from other companies. Are there any specific ones you know of or recommend? -amonymous texas from coward Question from Anonymous Coward from Oregon From No one Your printers are always running. What are you guys printing? Except Jeremy. He don't mess with that nerd shit. Question from Jon W from Washington Jon W I unfortunately live behind enemy lines in Washington state. Years ago when they first became sponsors, I took you up on your advice and signed up for Second call Defense and felt reassured that they had my back if the worst day ever happened. Since that time, our now turd Ferguson governor who used to be the Attorney General made having said insurance illegal in Washington. My question is hypothetically if a person had a close relative in another state could they sign up for Second Call Defense Using that address? They have said that they cover people that are signed up even if an incident occurs in a state like Washington, New York and I forget the other states that think it's murder Insurance. Your wisdom is greatly appreciated Keep up the good work! #wlsislife GUN INDUSTRY NEWS Bond Arms Snake Slayer (BASS) The Bond Arms Snake Slayer is a compact double-barrel derringer designed as an outdoor companion, chambered in .357 Mag/.38 Spl and .45 LC/.410. It features a stainless steel frame with a 3.5-inch barrel, extended rosewood grips, fixed sights, and a 2-round capacity. Key mechanisms include a rebounding hammer, cross-bolt safety, and compatibility with all standard Bond Arms barrels. Q Tall Boy Silencer Q has introduced the Tall Boy, a .30 caliber all-steel silencer optimized for maximum suppression on subsonic .300 Blackout via extended internal architecture that slows, cools, and manages gases for reduced exit pressure. It features a refined baffle structure for consistent performance across cartridges, full-auto rating, and Cherry Bomb/REAREND compatibility. The design prioritizes durability and long-term reliability without unnecessary complexity. Cabot Guns Apex Jurassic 1911 Cabot Guns has produced the Apex Jurassic 1911, a one-of-a-kind precision-engineered Government-size 1911 pistol crafted from Damascus steel, carbon steel, and genuine extraterrestrial meteorite. It features a unique ‘fossil' Damascus pattern resembling a sedimentary fossil bed, hand engraving depicting a Raptor archaeological dig site with 24kt gold inlay, Bulino-engraved Raptor vignette, and grips and trigger incorporating actual meteorite. The custom carbon-steel frame has a Fire and Ice rustic patina finish, with small parts in brushed bronze PVD; this art pistol appears to have already been sold. Berger 217 Grain Elite Hunter .300 PRC Load Berger has released a new .300 PRC ammunition load featuring the 217-grain Elite Hunter bullet with a hybrid ogive profile, G1 BC of 0.702 (G7 0.347), optimized for long-range hunting. It achieves 2,400 FPS muzzle velocity from a 24-inch barrel and retains over 2,500 foot pounds of energy past 300 yards. The load requires a 1:10 or faster twist rate. Palmetto State Armory PSA Sabre Builder Kits Palmetto State Armory announces the return of PSA Sabre Builder Kits as a permanent catalog offering on the AR-15 mil-spec platform. These include complete builder sets, upper receivers, lower receivers, handguards in multiple lengths, and individual components with Cerakote options like Champagne, Titanium Blue, Black, Burnt Bronze, FDE, and Moss Green. The sets launch on May 8 at 4:30 PM EST via Palmetto State Armory. Q Tall Boy Suppressor Q has released the Tall Boy, a .30 caliber suppressor designed for maximum suppression of subsonic .300 BLK using extended internal architecture and steel construction to optimize gas management. It measures 10 inches long, weighs 19.5 ounces, and is full-auto rated with no barrel restrictions. The Tall Boy integrates with Q's QD ecosystem via Cherry Bomb / REAREND mounts and is available now through Q dealers. Modlite Noxon Havok Weapon Light The Modlite Noxon Havok is a new rifle-mounted weapon light series offering premium performance at an affordable price, available in Core (18650 battery) and Mini (18350 battery) sizes with G1 (1350 lumens, 54,000 candela) or T1 (680 lumens, 69,000 candela) emitters. Constructed from 6061 aluminum with Mil-Spec hard anodizing and BOROFLOAT lens, it features a fully potted light engine tested for SCAR 17 recoil and compatibility with scout-pattern mounts, tailcaps, and switches. Released around May 2025 following SHOT Show debut, it provides runtimes of 75 minutes (Core) or 35 minutes (Mini). Walker's Razor Junior Muffs Walker's has launched the Razor Junior Muffs, youth-sized compact electronic ear muffs designed for smaller head sizes with an NRR of 23dB. These muffs feature dual Hi-Gain omnidirectional microphones, full dynamic range HD speakers, low-noise frequency-tuned circuitry, and 0.02-second sound-activated compression for hearing protection and sound enhancement. The product uses sound-dampening composite housing, a padded headband with metal wire frame, and recessed volume controls for durability and usability in range or field settings. Before we let you go – JOIN GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA We'd love if you supported the show, join Agency 171 at agency171.com. Lot's of prizes, rewards and kick ass swag. No matter how tough your battle is today, we want you here fight with us tomorrow. Don't struggle in silence, you can contact the suicide prevention line by dialing 988 from your phone. Remember – Always prefer Dangerous Freedom over peaceful slavery. We'll see you next time! Nick – @busbuiltsystems | Bus Built Systems Jeremy – @ret_actual | Rivers Edge Tactical Aaron – @machinegun_moses Savage – @savage1r Shawn – @dangerousfreedomyt | @camorado.cam | Camorado

This week I'm joined by Matt Lynch, CTO and Co-founder of Sage. Sage are bringing technology modernisation and Applied AI to the healthcare // care home industries. Matt is an ex-Palantir alumni, raised a $35M in Q1 2025, we're going to be getting under the hood of some of the challenges in the technology healthcare intersection.We broke down the problem space of healthcare technology and how it needed a refresh.o   Hardware Software Interoperability in healthcareApplying AI to thatLegacy Systems + Integration with cloud native + AI solutions/tools.o   Engineering culture + challenges inside of Sage (product/platform challenges; mindset; FDE approach etc)o   Velocity of people able to build with 2 people ino   Anticipated technical/problem spaces to come in the healthcare spaceFuture of Healthcare and what experts think the outlook might look like from a technology standpoint.Future plans for growth for Sageo   Hiring Goals in NYCo   Geographic ExpansionIf you're keen to share your story, please reach out to us!Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynchmattj/Powered by Artifeks!https://www.linkedin.com/company/artifeksrecruitmenthttps://www.artifeks.co.ukhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/agilerecruiterLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/enginearsioTwitter: https://x.com/EnginearsioAll Podcast Platforms: https://smartlink.ausha.co/enginearsHosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

We Like Shooting - Ep 661 This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: Midwest Industries (Code: WLSISLIFE) Die Free Co. (Code: WLSISLIFE) Bowers Group (Code: WLS) Otis Technology (Code: WELIKESHOOTING15) Flatline Fiber Co (Code: WLS15) Guests: Ken Ross – CMC Triggers – https://cmctriggers.com – @cmctriggers Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171  Public   Show Titles   GOA GOALS Aug 1-2 in Iowa. https://goals.goa.org/ GunCon.net Tickets on sale now. Use code AGENCY171 GEAR CHAT [FLUX Defense] Raider X Chop Top El Camino The Raider X Chop Top “El Camino” is a P320/M17 chassis from FLUX Defense with the non-reciprocating optic mount removed, allowing retention of the optic mounted on the slide for easy swapping between pistol and chassis configurations. It features a lower optic height over bore and is engineered as a premium personal defense weapon chassis system for SIG Sauer P320, M17, and M18 pistols. Compatibility is limited to 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG variants, excluding P320 XTEN, .45 ACP, and certain magazines. Note Pew Report opening the doors. [XTech Tactical] Extended Magazines and Magazine Adaptor Sleeves for Ruger RXM XTech Tactical offers extended magazines and magazine adaptor sleeves designed for the Ruger RXM. No further technical overview is provided on the page. Magpump Magpump Pew Locker Pew.locker is a service described as ‘Your Stuff. Your Data. Encrypted.' No firearms or technical gear products are detailed on the page. It appears unrelated to physical technical gear in the firearms industry. [CMMG] Pistol Suppressed DL44 Blaster Mk4 .22LR 3.2″ Limited Edition This limited-edition CMMG pistol is derived from the company's .22LR firearms line, mimicking the Solo Blaster with a unique battle-worn Cerakote finish and integrated DL44 suppressor using the same internals as the ZEROED 22K for superior sound suppression. It features a Mk4 platform with traditional blowback operation, 3.2-inch nitride-finished 4140CM barrel, ZEROED drop-in trigger (4.5 lb pull), ambi charging handle, and a three-piece DL44 pistol grip with aluminum frame and walnut wood panels. Only 100 units are produced, each including three 10-round magazines and matching serial numbers on firearm and suppressor. Kiro Morph Kiro Morph BULLET POINTS Note Does grip angle matter? Magpul M-LOK Hand Control Accessories: SVG Short Vertical Grip (MAG1567), Thumb Shelf (MAG1566), Index Stop (MAG1568) Magpul announced three new M-LOK accessories for improved support hand control and consistent indexing on octagonal aluminum handguards: the M-LOK SVG Short Vertical Grip, M-LOK Thumb Shelf, and M-LOK Index Stop. Constructed from proprietary polymer with included 4140 chromoly steel hardware, they are ambidextrous and available in Black, FDE, ODG, MCB starting May 2026.2040 Ferro Concepts Dangler AR The Ferro Concepts Dangler AR is a modular pouch designed to carry two AR-15 style magazines horizontally or reconfigure for longer items like breaching charges or multi-tools. Constructed from hydrophobic X-Pac fabric with rigidity to minimize bounce, it features a removable internal divider, customizable shock cord retention, and 2-inch hook and loop mounting for plate carriers, back panels, or belts. It is Berry Compliant and compatible with items such as Skin packs and breaching tools. GUNDERWEAR Concealed Carry Underwear GUNDERWEAR is a patented underwear product designed to improve comfort for concealed carry, particularly appendix carry, by integrating padding as a barrier between the body and gun/holster. Developed by Tyler Abadie, it prevents rubbing, stabbing, and irritation during prolonged wear in activities like security work, driving, and daily tasks. Available for men and women, it has received positive feedback from civilians and professionals in law enforcement and military. GUN FIGHTS No one stepped into the arena this week. WLS IS LIFESTYLE RXM Pillager Chassis PA6-GF The RXM Pillager Chassis is a grip module designed for the Ruger RXM FCI, featuring a complete chassis, sheet metal finger shroud, RXM charging handle (OEM slide only), and secondary magazine holder. It is FDM 3D printed from fiberglass-reinforced nylon (PA6-GF) and annealed to manufacturer specifications, available in colors like Flat Dark Earth, Light Grey, and Black. Priced at $279.99 USD, it comes assembled and ready for the RXM FCI and slide. GOING BALLISTIC DOJ Cease-and-Desist to City of Denver on AR-15 Ban The National Association for Gun Rights reports that AAG Dhillon issued a cease-and-desist letter to the City of Denver. The letter demands the removal of their AR-15 ban. Failure to comply will result in action by the DOJ. Hysteria Continues Unabated Following ATF's Announcement (Savage) The article discusses the ATF's rollback of gun regulations under the Trump administration's Justice Department, led by confirmed ATF head Robert Cekada, following an assassination attempt on President Trump. Gun control advocates like John Feinblatt of Everytown for Gun Safety criticize it as gutting ‘commonsense gun safety laws.' The author argues the hysteria is unwarranted, as the weapons used were legal nationwide and prior rules failed to prevent attacks. NAGR: Minnesota Dems Pushing Gun Ban via Omnibus Bill SF 4067 (Savage) The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) warns that Minnesota Democrats are advancing SF 4067, an omnibus firearms bill, through the state Senate and House. The bill proposes bans on certain semiautomatic rifles, magazines over 17 rounds, privately manufactured firearms, binary triggers, and expands red flag gun confiscation laws. NAGR urges Minnesotans to contact legislators to oppose the measure amid a tied House vote. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen: Impact on Baltimore, MD Homicides at 50-Year Low (Savage) Following the Supreme Court's Bruen decision, Maryland shifted from ‘may-issue' to ‘shall-issue' concealed carry permits, increasing from under 50,000 in 2020 to over 200,000 by April 2025. Baltimore City has seen homicides drop to a 50-year low, with only 33 homicides and 89 non-fatal shootings as of May 1, 2025, down 10.8% and 11.9% from the prior year. April 2025 recorded just four homicides, the fewest monthly since at least 1970. ATF Reforms on Pistol Braces (NPRM 1140-AA98) (Savage) The article discusses ATF reforms under the Trump administration that remove regulatory language from the vacated Biden-era pistol brace rule (NPRM 1140-AA98), affecting enforcement of the National Firearms Act (NFA) and Gun Control Act (GCA) on braced pistols classified as short-barreled rifles. While presented as a positive step, the changes do not limit ATF's statutory interpretation authority, allowing continued enforcement risks for gun owners. The author views it as meaningful progress but potentially ‘smoke and mirrors' without further congressional action.0 Navy v. Patrick Tate Adamiak: NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging U.S. Supreme Court Review (Savage) The NRA, along with other gun rights organizations, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Navy v. Patrick Tate Adamiak, involving a Navy veteran's 20-year sentence for National Firearms Act violations over nonfunctional firearm relics. The case challenges the treatment of inert, destroyed items as regulated ‘firearms' under an expansive NFA interpretation, bypassing Second Amendment protections. The brief argues lower courts distorted precedent by avoiding Bruen's historical analysis test. DOJ/ATF 34 Final and Proposed Firearms Rules (April 29, 2026) (Savage) On April 29, 2026, the Department of Justice and ATF announced 34 notices of final and proposed rulemaking, the largest overhaul of federal firearms regulations in agency history, following Executive Order 14206 Protecting Second Amendment Rights. The package includes 8 finalized rules (e.g., rescinding bump stock machine gun definitions per Garland v. Cargill) and 26 proposed rules aimed at reducing burdens on FFLs and gun owners, modernizing forms like 4473, streamlining NFA processes, and aligning with court precedents. Rules cover repeals of Biden-era pistol brace and ‘engaged in the business' expansions, electronic recordkeeping, and interstate transport protections. Trump Pardon Call for Patrick ‘Tate' Adamiak (Fourth Circuit Federal Case) Patrick ‘Tate' Adamiak, a U.S. Navy sailor, was convicted on federal machinegun and unregistered destructive-device charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison despite no prior record or victims; the Fourth Circuit remanded on double-jeopardy grounds. The article urges gun owners to petition President Trump for a full pardon, framing it as a stand against ATF overreach and federal weaponization against Second Amendment activities. Items involved remain legally sold online, highlighting perceived injustice. REVIEWS Review: Anonymous Coward from Iowa Five Review: Anonymous Coward from Nebraska Review form coward. 5 something. Like the early gun fights can put guesses in. Since I get up at 5.47 am like to be in bed by 10. Also hasn't Aaron been fired yet to come back. Can listen to the rest next day in the truck. Enjoy the banter and I don't read much news so keeps me informed on 2a stuff. Review: Chris W Five Stars. The year is 2035. Civil unrest, political turmoil, and record high inflation has crippled America. Its citizens are divided, almost tribal. Most have lost hope of returning America to a bastion of freedom. but there are some that fight to keep the American dream alive. The agents of 171 used to be a gang of online gun nerds bonded by the love of the second amendment; now they are an underground collective of the countries most deadly assassins and fighters trying to bring America back to her former glory. Shawn: the leader of the agency,...

SaaStr 851: The Agents, Episode 002. Managing 20+ AI Agents: Lazy Agents, Stealth Churn & the Death of 60% Solutions In Episode 2 of The Agents, Amelia Lerutte, Chief AI Officer at SaaStr, and Jason Lemkin, Founder and CEO of SaaStr, share the trials, tribulations, victories, and minor defeats of managing 20+ AI agents in production. With three humans and 20+ AI agents now driving more revenue and output than SaaStr did with 20+ FTEs in 2020, this weekly series goes deep on what's actually working, breaking, and changing in the agentic era. This week's episode covers: 00:00 Welcome to The Agents Episode 2 01:00 Lazy Agents: How an AI agent silently deleted Amelia's session from the SaaStr Annual top 10 06:30 When agents blame the API: agentic accountability and the need for daily QA 09:00 The 60% Solution Problem: Why HubSpot's new AEO tool failed and got vibe coded better in 10 minutes 14:00 Figma Make vs. Replit, Lovable, and v0: Why no one will pay for "good enough" AI products 17:30 Classic Figma is now Grandpa Software: Production breakdowns and why Illustrator's agent is winning 21:00 Stealth Churn in Canva, ChatGPT, and beyond: The hidden metric every leader needs to watch 27:00 Why Claude Cowork created lock-in and killed ChatGPT usage for Amelia 30:00 Forward Deployed Engineers vs. Self-Serve: Why FDE light is the answer for SMB AI deployments 36:00 Vector breaks the agent freeze: How a 15-minute CEO-led deployment won SaaStr's business 40:00 The Agent API Test: Which APIs work best with AI agents (Salesforce wins, Marketo fails) 46:00 Resend, 11 Labs, and OpenRouter: The new gold standard for agent-friendly APIs 50:00 The Marketo collapse: When your marketing automation platform can't honor unsubscribes 55:00 Building an AI VP of Finance: Why collections is the next agent frontier at SaaStr 1:00:00 SaaStr Annual 2026 is three weeks away: May 12-14 in the SF Bay Area Topics covered: AI agents, agent management, lazy agents, stealth churn, vibe coding, Replit, Lovable, v0, Figma Make, HubSpot AEO, Claude Cowork, forward deployed engineers, FDE, self-serve AI, Vector, Salesforce, Marketo, Resend, 11 Labs, agent APIs, AI VP of Finance, collections automation, SaaStr Annual 2026 SaaStr Annual 2026 | May 12-14 | Come learn how to build, deploy, and manage AI agents from the leaders at Salesforce, Replit, Vercel, Cloudflare, and more. Register at saastr.ai Subscribe for weekly episodes of The Agents and the SaaStr Podcast. #AIAgents #SaaS #SaaStr #AgenticAI #VibeCoding

If agents are eating the systems of engagement, what is actually left to defend — and who gets to defend it?The conversation covers:The SaaSpocalypse thesis in Patrick's own words — multiples from 7–8x to 40x to 2–3x in under a decade, the shift from systems of record to systems of work, and why he thinks fewer than a quarter of incumbent SaaS companies have the appetite to genuinely burn the boatsDefensibility after the foundation models — why single-player workflows are fragile against OpenAI and Anthropic's distribution, why multiplayer workflows (governance, RBAC, iteration, judgment across stakeholders) may hold, and why two of the three classic data-moat pitches no longer survive first-principles scrutinyThe pivot problem — Gigya hit ten million ARR and had to pivot, hit thirty million ARR and had to pivot again, and Patrick's retrospective conviction that both should have happened earlier; a useful frame for a market where capital is letting teams defer the questionProfessional services as differentiation rather than embarrassment — how Gigya ran services at ~30% of revenue, recurring and profitable, and why Patrick thinks the FDE renaming is obscuring a durable truth about trustMayfield's own shape — seventeenth early-stage fund, ~$1.2B across the two vehicles, roughly 70% first-institutional-check, two or three investments per partner per year, and the deliberate refusal to index a categoryThe battlefield promotion to CEO on Patrick's thirtieth birthday, five months of runway, a million-dollar monthly burn, and what he actually learned from Naveen Chawda about the difference between being founder-friendly and being usefulPatrick is a GP at Mayfield. Before investing he spent eleven years at Gigya, joining as the first business hire in 2007, becoming CEO at thirty, leading the company through multiple pivots and past a hundred million in ARR, and selling to SAP in 2017 for three hundred and fifty million. He now invests at seed and Series A in enterprise and AI, with board seats at Docket AI, Duplo Cloud, BigPanda, and Scrunch AI, and writes The CEO Field Guide on Substack.Worth the hour if you think about where the defensibility actually lives.

Hello and welcome to Handgun Radio! I'm your host Ryan Michad, Weerd Beard & Co from the wild woods of Central Maine and this is your home for all the news, information and discussion in the handgunning world!   This week, we talk refinished & suppressed!   Please check out the Patriot Patch Company for their awesome patches and other high quality  items! Visit www.patriotpatch.co for more information! Cool artist “proof” rendition come along with the latest patch of the month patches!    We are proudly sponsored by VZ Grips! Please go check out all their fantastic products at their website! VZ Grips!  -KFrame Magna Grips   Thank you to all our patreons! Visit us at https://www.patreon.com/handgunradio    Week In Review:   Ryan: -Bought some subsonic .22 LR ammo…for a reason that we will discuss later. -Potentially have the chance to get a Lee-Enfield No4MkIII but we will see -Springfield Armory Shorty Hi-Power   Listener Nate:  Hey guys, how're y'all doing? Hope everything is going good for all y'all, and that you had a great Easter.  I'm still out here on the road. I don't get home very often, usually 8 weeks out, home for a week, rinse and repeat.  I've been listening to HGR for over 10 years. In my trucking career, HGR has helped me stay entertained and informed out here on the high road.  To follow up on episode #484, Best & Worst Purchsses, I'd like to contribute my experiences so far. Having purchased over 200+ handguns in the last 20 years, I'm sure I've got a few.  Best Purchases (so far) Recently purchased 3 Smith & Wesson M&Ps for a total of $600. Pictured, top left, my Smith & Wesson M&P 4.25” 9mm. Top right is my Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 5” 9mm, in FDE. And last, but not least, a at the bottom, is my Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 4.6” .45 ACP.   My H&K VP9, 11 mags, with a Holosun Red Dot, for $700. My Dan Wesson DWX Compact for $1,200.    Worst Purchases (so far) Anything that has Taurus in it. From a 9mm PT 24/7, a Taurus Tracker .44 mag, multiple G2Cs and G3Cs, they all malfunctioned in various ways. The Tracker went out of timing in less than one box of ammo. One G2C had a cracked slide after less than a 1k rounds. I'm glad that a lot of people like Taurus, and I'm not trying to brand shame here. I've just had very bad experiences with Taurus' products. I hope that other customers have a much better experience. My Springfield Armory Emissary 1911, 5”, 9mm. Chamber is way too tight. Also has failures to feed when the slide gets hung up during recoil. Beautiful gun, but it's a love/hate thing going there.    Thank you add always for the great HGR episodes. I look forward to the next episode!   Drink Segment:  Wild Bevy Distilling  Forij Tulsi Rose Gin    Main Topic: Refinished & Suppressed! -New Suppressor on the way -Barrel thread adapters -Good hosts?   Refinishing: -I did the JC Higgins Model 20 12 Gauge  -Winchester Model 94 in .32 Special previously   Wrap Up: Don't forget to shop Brownells using our affiliate link! Head to firearmsradio.net and click the affiliate link in the upper right hand corner! Be sure to go like Handgun Radio on facebook and share it with your friends! Leave us a review on iTunes! Check out VZ Grips!  Listen to all the great shows on the Firearms Radio Network! Check out the Patriot Patch Company!! www.patriotpatch.co   Weerd where can people find you? Assorted Calibers Podcast,  Weer'd World   Oddball gunscarstech.com Assorted Calibers Podcast ACP and HGR Facebook Play screechingtires.wav   David Blue Collar Prepping Brena Bock Author Page David Bock Author Page Team And More Xander: Assorted Calibers Podcast Here so Ryan doesn't do a bad impression of me   Until next week, have fun & safe shooting!  

What happens when your desk gets quieter—but you're still busy every day? In this FDE+ episode, Kortney Harmon brings a session from the recent virtual conference to the podcast—part of a series turning real, no-fluff conversations into standalone insights—featuring Benjamin Mena on “revenue drift.”Benjamin shares how distractions—AI tools, content, and constant activity—pull focus away from the fundamentals that actually drive revenue. He explains why pipeline slowdowns start months earlier, how inconsistent business development creates feast-or-famine cycles, and why top billers win by protecting simple, repeatable habits over chasing complexity.Key Takeaways • Why revenue doesn't collapse—it drifts • The 60–90 day lag between activity and results • How inconsistent BD creates unstable pipelines • Why strategy without execution accelerates decline • The habits that keep recruiters in the top tier_____________________________Connect with Benjamin Mena Follow on LinkedIn: LinkedIn | Benjamin Mena Select Source Solutions: here The Elite Recruiter Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeliterecruiter/Explore more from Benjamin: This Is Your Year Summit: https://this-is-your-year-recruiter-summit.heysummit.com Elite Recruiter Community: check it out here Podcast on Spotify: check it out hereConnect with Crelate Follow Crelate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crelate/ Want to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo here Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.crelate.com/blog/full-desk-experience

This Best of FDE episode is a rebroadcast of one of our MarCom Gold Award winners—and honestly, it's even more relevant now than when we first recorded it.In this episode of The Full Desk Experience, Crelate CEO Aaron Elder joins host Kortney Harmon to break down what it actually looks like to operate in a post-AI world—and what that means for owners, directors, and executive-level leaders.In this episode, we cover:What “post-AI” really means: Why AI isn't coming—it's already here, and how it's quietly becoming as essential as electricityWhere firms are actually winning: How top teams are using targeted AI (not hype) to create real value and stronger client relationshipsThe shift to “living platforms”: Moving beyond static systems to tech that actively works for you, not just stores your dataWhere humans still matter most: In high-trust work like executive search, where AI supports—and where it can't replace—the human elementWhat's about to change operationally: From sourcing to back office, every part of your business is on the tableDo you know if the roles you're filling today will even exist in two years?As AI and automation accelerate client expectations and reshape work itself, the firms asking better questions now are the ones that stay ahead.Hit play to hear how leading firms are thinking about this shift—and what you should be doing next.___________________Follow Crelate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crelate/ Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.crelate.com/blog/full-desk-experience

This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: C&G Holsters (Code: WLSISLIFE) Midwest Industries (Code: WLSISLIFE) Blue Alpha Bowers Group (Code: WLS) Otis Technology (Code: WELIKESHOOTING15) Guests: Jon Patton – https://guncon.net – NILES, OH BIG PUBLIC SHOW DAY JUNE 20th, 2026 Industry/VIP Events JUNE 17-20, 2026 Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171  Public https://welikeshooting.com/titles/ Dear WLS Question from Anonymous Coward from California WINNER People are looking at the ICE shooting all wro6vng. This is not a First Amendment issue. He wasn't peacefully protesting. There is plenty of video showing him actively blocking ICE vehicles before the shooting. That matters. This is also not a Second Amendment issue. He wasn't walking down the street, minding his business, and accidentally flashing a concealed carry gun. He was in direct physical conflict with law enforcement while armed. According to reporting, he had allegedly been “on duty” the week before, tracking ICE, and had been taken to the ground by agents, injuring his ribs. This time, when he went back “on duty,” he brought a gun. I understand why people instinctively hesitate to side with federal law enforcement. I really do. But if we're being honest, this situation demands a clear-eyed assessment—not emotional reflexes or ideological posturing. If the political alignment were reversed—if this were someone at a protest you agreed with—would you still argue the outcome was justified? In this case, my answer is still yes, the individual was at fault, regardless of ideology. As gun owners, we talk constantly about personal responsibility. That responsibility includes knowing what situations you do not escalate, especially when armed. A fight you cannot win is a fight against law enforcement officers when you are carrying a firearm. The moment you insert yourself into a physical confrontation with LEOs while armed, you are the one escalating the situation. Everyone knows this. This is not new. You are not going to win a solo fight against law enforcement. Period. Question from Jaqin Ta'Sox from Connecticut From; Jaqin Ta'Sox: Dear WLS Man. Sorry. The 646 episode got me fired up. In regards to Nick at time stamp 108 minutes. ICE doesn't need warrants to arrest illegal immigrants, because all of the people they are looking for are here illegally and 100% have another type of Law Enforcement Interaction (dwi, domestic violence, etc.) The illegals that don't have other Law Enforcement Interaction are usually collateral arrests, because ICE goes looking for 1 and find 12 together. As far as the US Citizens that interact with ICE, yes they are 99% detained and released upon verification of status. The 1% that are arrested/hurt are the people who escalate the Interaction instead of cooperating, like Jeremy said. Question from Anonymous Coward from California Question for double tap I've noticed that Jeremy is a lot calmer now that Aaron has been gone is that a coincidence or does Aaron just drive him that crazy? Question from Sean's Weight Loss Coach from Pennsylvania Question for Double Tap: With the new Ruger/Marlin 1894 in 10mm and the Taylor's 1873 Winchester clone in 9mm it got me thinking – what changes are needed to handle the rimless cartridges vs the more traditional rimmed cartridges that lever guns of this style are more commonly chambered for? Extractor change on the bolt? Chamber cut to control headspace with the cartridge mouth instead of the rim? Why has it taken this long for traditional lever guns like these to be chambered in rimless cartridges? Most sincerely, Sean's Weight Loss Coach Question from Anonymous Coward from California For double tap This question is mainly for Jeremy since he he sounds like he has the most experience with the XD line from SA. I have an XD.40 what parts should I expect to replace first and how often should I be cleaning it because I've heard mixed opinions on cleaning firearms? Question from LieutenantRand from Michigan LieutenantRand Are power lines higher in Africa? Or are there cases of giraffes being electrocuted? Question from Typicalpnwguy from Washington Dear wls crew, At the end of DT 447 Jeremy said to “go fuck yourself” so I did. Apparently its wrong for me to do so at a customer's house while doing deliveries. Now Im fired, wife left me, my dog found another hooman, and all I have is my pvs14 & mk18 cqbr blaster. Since Jeremy got me fired & divorced can I move in with you and get a job at the range? I promise to shit on Aaron every chance I get. Love, Typicalpnwguy Gun Industry News Taurus 22 TUC The Taurus 22 TUC is a micro-sized .22LR semi-auto pistol featuring a tip-up barrel, polymer frame, DAO trigger, and 10-ounce unloaded weight with 2.5-inch barrel and 10-round capacity. It includes fixed sights with orange front dot, G10 grips, and straight blowback action without extractor or ejector for easy loading. Reliability testing showed minor ammo-specific issues resolvable by chamber maintenance. Bottom Line: Caliber: .22LR; Capacity: 9+1 (10 rounds); Barrel: 2.5 inches; Weight: 10 oz unloaded; Length: 5 inches; Width: 1 inch; Height: 4.35 inches; Polymer frame, G10 grips, stainless steel or black finish; Tip-up barrel, DAO trigger, fixed sights with orange dot, no extractor/ejector, no manual safety Mossberg 590 Bliksem Collaboration with Christian Craighead The Mossberg 590 Bliksem is a limited-edition 12-gauge pump shotgun in ‘other firearm' format, featuring a 14.375-inch heavy-walled barrel, 5+1 capacity, cylinder bore, front bead sight, ambidextrous tang safety, and the proven 590 operating system with twin action bars and steel-to-steel lockup. It includes a Rhodesian Brushstroke camo treatment, FDE AfterShock bird's head grip, FDE corncob forend with leather strap, and an Esstac shotshell card. This model results from a collaboration with former 22 SAS operator Christian Craighead and his Ministry of Defence brand, focusing on distinctive cosmetic branding. The Gist: Announced March 11th, 2026; distribution via dealer-network rollout. Impact: MSRP $728 Bottom Line: 14.375-inch heavy-walled barrel; 5+1 capacity; cylinder bore; front bead sight; ambidextrous tang safety; twin action bars and steel-to-steel lockup; Rhodesian Brushstroke camo; FDE AfterShock bird's head grip; FDE corncob forend with leather strap; Esstac shotshell card. Smith & Wesson Performance Center Equalizer Carry Comp Smith & Wesson has added a compensated version of the Performance Center Equalizer, named the Equalizer Carry Comp, to its Performance Center line. This 9mm carry gun features a top barrel PowerPort to reduce muzzle rise, optics-ready slide, and EZ-style serrations. It includes Ameriglo night sights, an accessory rail, and Performance Center trigger enhancements. Bottom Line: 9mm carry gun; Top barrel PowerPort compensator; Optics-ready slide; EZ-style slide serrations; Ameriglo Trooper front night sight with black U-notch rear; Accessory rail; 10-, 13-, 15-round magazines; Performance Center trigger work0 Elite Survival Systems IWB / Off-Body Concealed Carry Kit Elite Survival Systems has launched the IWB / Off-Body Concealed Carry Kit, a dual-use holster system designed for popular compact pistols including Glock 43X, SIG Sauer P365 XL, SIG Sauer P365 XMacro, Springfield Armory Hellcat, Hellcat Pro, and Smith & Wesson M&P Shield models. The kit features a low-profile holster with secure retention, optics compatibility, and mounting components for carry bags or packs. 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The Gist: TALO-exclusive; no specific release date or retailers stated. Bottom Line: 9mm caliber; aluminum frame; threaded/compensated barrel with copper/gold PVD finish; lightning cuts; Strike Industries compensator; optics-ready; M2.0 platform.0 Tasmanian Tiger TT Modular Chest Rig 4xM4 and TT Modular Chest Rig Pack Tasmanian Tiger has expanded its modular load-carrying system with the release of the TT Modular Chest Rig 4xM4, a lightweight chest rig with four fixed rifle magazine pouches and size M SAPI plate compatibility, and the TT Modular Chest Rig Pack, a low-profile backpack offering expandable 12-20 liter storage with hydration compatibility. Both products integrate seamlessly for standalone or combined use and are compatible with existing TT Chest Rig MKII systems via adapters. Constructed from CORDURA 500 den with laser-cut MOLLE, they target military, law enforcement, and SWAT operators. 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The reception to our recent post on Code Reviews has been strong. Catch up!Amid a maelstrom of discussion on whether or not AI is killing SaaS, one of the top publicly listed SaaS companies in the world has just reported record revenues, clearing well over $1.1B in ARR for the first time with a 28% margin. As we comment on the pod, Aaron Levie is the rare public company CEO equally at home in both worlds of Silicon Valley and Wall Street/Main Street, by day helping 70% of the Fortune 500 with their Enterprise Advanced Suite, and yet by night is often found in the basements of early startups and tweeting viral insights about the future of agents.Now that both Cursor, Cloudflare, Perplexity, Anthropic and more have made Filesystems and Sandboxes and various forms of “Just Give the Agent a Box” cool (not just cool; it is now one of the single hottest areas in AI infrastructure growing 100% MoM), we find it a delightfully appropriate time to do the episode with the OG CEO who has been giving humans and computers Boxes since he was a college dropout pitching VCs at a Michael Arrington house party.Enjoy our special pod, with fan favorite returning guest/guest cohost Jeff Huber!Note: We didn't directly discuss the AI vs SaaS debate - Aaron has done many, many, many other podcasts on that, and you should read his definitive essay on it. Most commentators do not understand SaaS businesses because they have never scaled one themselves, and deeply reflected on what the true value proposition of SaaS is.We also discuss Your Company is a Filesystem:We also shoutout CTO Ben Kus' and the AI team, who talked about the technical architecture and will return for AIE WF 2026.Full Video EpisodeTimestamps* 00:00 Adapting Work for Agents* 01:29 Why Every Agent Needs a Box* 04:38 Agent Governance and Identity* 11:28 Why Coding Agents Took Off First* 21:42 Context Engineering and Search Limits* 31:29 Inside Agent Evals* 33:23 Industries and Datasets* 35:22 Building the Agent Team* 38:50 Read Write Agent Workflows* 41:54 Docs Graphs and Founder Mode* 55:38 Token FOMO Culture* 56:31 Production Function Secrets* 01:01:08 Film Roots to Box* 01:03:38 AI Future of Movies* 01:06:47 Media DevRel and EngineeringTranscriptAdapting Work for AgentsAaron Levie: Like you don't write code, you talk to an agent and it goes and does it for you, and you may be at best review it. That's even probably like, like largely not even what you're doing. What's happening is we are changing our work to make the agents effective. In that model, the agent didn't really adapt to how we work.We basically adapted to how the agent works. All of the economy has to go through that exact same evolution. Right now, it's a huge asset and an advantage for the teams that do it early and that are kinda wired into doing this ‘cause you'll see compounding returns. But that's just gonna take a while for most companies to actually go and get this deployed.swyx: Welcome to the Lane Space Pod. We're back in the chroma studio with uh, chroma, CEO, Jeff Hoover. Welcome returning guest now guest host.Aaron Levie: It's a pleasure. Wow. How'd you get upgraded to, uh, to that?swyx: Because he's like the perfect guy to be guest those for you.Aaron Levie: That makes sense actually, for We love context. We, we both really love context le we really do.We really do.swyx: Uh, and we're here with, uh, Aaron Levy. Welcome.Aaron Levie: Thank you. Good to, uh, good to be [00:01:00] here.swyx: Uh, yeah. So we've all met offline and like chatted a little bit, but like, it's always nice to get these things in person and conversation. Yeah. You just started off with so much energy. You're, you're super excited about agents.I loveAaron Levie: agents.swyx: Yeah. Open claw. Just got by, got bought by OpenAI. No, not bought, but you know, you know what I mean?Aaron Levie: Some, some, you know, acquihire. Executiveswyx: hire.Aaron Levie: Executive hire. Okay. Executive hire. Say,swyx: hey, that's my term. Okay. Um, what are you pounding the table on on agents? You have so many insightful tweets.Why Every Agent Needs a BoxAaron Levie: Well, the thing that, that we get super excited by that I think is probably, you know, should be relatively obvious is we've, we've built a platform to help enterprises manage their files and their, their corporate files and the permissions of who has access to those files and the sharing collaboration of those files.All of those files contain really, really important information for the enterprise. It might have your contracts, it might have your research materials, it might have marketing information, it might have your memos. All that data obviously has, you know, predominantly been used by humans. [00:02:00] But there's been one really interesting problem, which is that, you know, humans only really work with their files during an active engagement with them, and they kind of go away and you don't really see them for a long time.And all of a sudden, uh, with the power of AI and AI agents, all of that data becomes extremely relevant as this ongoing source of, of answers to new questions of data that will transform into, into something else that, that produces value in your organization. It, it contains the answer to the new employee that's onboarding, that needs to ramp up on a project.Um, it contains the answer to the right thing to sell a customer when you're having a conversation to them, with them contains the roadmap information that's gonna produce the next feature. So all that data. That previously we've been just sort of storing and, and you know, occasionally forgetting about, ‘cause we're only working on the new active stuff.All of that information becomes valuable to the enterprise and it's gonna become extremely valuable to end users because now they can have agents go find what they're looking for and produce new, new [00:03:00] value and new data on that information. And it's gonna become incredibly valuable to agents because agents can roam around and do a bunch of work and they're gonna need access to that data as well.And um, and you know, sometimes that will be an agent that is sort of working on behalf of, of, of you and, and effectively as you as and, and they are kind of accessing all of the same information that you have access to and, and operating as you in the system. And then sometimes there's gonna be agents that are just.Effectively autonomous and kind of run on their own and, and you're gonna collaborate and work with them kind of like you did another person. Open Claw being the most recent and maybe first real sort of, you know, kind of, you know, up updating everybody's, you know, views of this landscape version of, of what that could look like, which is, okay, I have an agent.It's on its own system, it's on its own computer, it has access to its own tools. I probably don't give it access to my entire life. I probably communicate with it like I would an assistant or a colleague and then it, it sort of has this sandbox environment. So all of that has massive implications for a platform that manage that [00:04:00] enterprise data.We think it's gonna just transform how we work with all of the enterprise content that we work with, and we just have to make sure we're building the right platform to support that.swyx: The sort of shorthand I put it is as people build agents, everybody's just realizing that every agent needs a box. Yes.And it's nice to be called box and just give everyone a box.Aaron Levie: Hey, I if I, you know, if we can make that go viral, uh, like I, I think that that terminology, I, that's theswyx: tagline. Every agentAaron Levie: needs a box. Every agent needs a box. If we can make that the headline of this, I'm fine with this. And that's the billboard I wanna like Yeah, exactly.Every agent needs a box. Um, I like it. Can we ship this? Like,swyx: okay, let's do it. Yeah.Aaron Levie: Uh, my work here is done and I got the value I needed outta this podcast Drinks.swyx: Yeah.Agent Governance and IdentityAaron Levie: But, but, um, but, but, you know, so the thing that we, we kind of think about is, um, is, you know, whether you think the number 10 x or a hundred x or whatever the number is, we're gonna have some order of magnitude more agents than people.That's inevitable. It has to happen. So then the question is, what is the infrastructure that's needed to make all those agents effective in the enterprise? Make sure that they are well governed. Make sure they're only doing [00:05:00] safe things on your information. Make sure that they're not getting exposed. The data that they shouldn't have access to.There's gonna be just incredibly spectacularly crazy security incidents that will happen with agents because you'll prompt, inject an agent and sort of find your way through the CRM system and pull out data that you shouldn't have access to. Oh, weJeff Huber: have God,Aaron Levie: right? I mean, that's just gonna happen all over the place, right?So, so then the thing is, is how do you make sure you have the right security, the permissions, the access controls, the data governance. Um, we actually don't yet exactly know in many cases how we're gonna regulate some of these agents, right? If you think about an agent in financial services, does it have the exact same financial sort of, uh, requirements that a human did?Or is it, is the risk fully on the human that was interacting or created the agent? All open questions, but no matter what, there's gonna need to be a layer that manages the, the data they have access to, the workflows that they're involved in, pulling up data from multiple systems. This is the new infrastructure opportunity in the era of agents.swyx: You have a piece on agent identities, [00:06:00] which I think was today, um, which I think a lot of breaking news, the security, security people are talking about, right? Like you basically, I, I always think of this as like, well you need the human you and then there you need the agent. YouAaron Levie: Yes.swyx: And uh, well, I don't know if it's that simple, but is box going to have an opinion on that or you're just gonna be like, well we're just the sort of the, the source layer.Yeah. Let's Okta of zero handle that.Aaron Levie: I think we're gonna have an opinion and we will work with generally wherever the contours of the market end up. Um, and the reason that we're gonna have an opinion more than other topics probably is because one of the biggest use cases for why your agent might need it, an identity is for file system access.So thus we have to kind of think about this pretty deeply. And I think, uh, unless you're like in our world thinking about this particular problem all day long, it might be, you know, like, why is this such a big deal? And the reason why it's a really big deal is because sometimes sort of say, well just give the agent an, an account on the system and it just treats, treat it like every other type of user on the system.The [00:07:00] problem is, is that I as Aaron don't really have any responsibility over anybody else's box account in our organization. I can't see the box account of any other employee that I work with. I am not liable for anything that they do. And they have, I have, I have, you know, strict privacy requirements on everything that they're able to, you know, that, that, that they work on.Agents don't have that, you know, don't have those properties. The person who creates the agent probably is gonna, for the foreseeable future, take on a lot of the liability of what that agent does. That agent doesn't deserve any privacy because, because it's, you know, it can't fully be autonomously operated and it doesn't have any legal, you know, kind of, you know, responsibility.So thus you can't just be like, oh, well I'll just create a bunch of accounts and then I'll, I'll kind of work with that agent and I'll talk to it occasionally. Like you need oversight of that. And so then the question is, how do you have a world where the agent, sometimes you have oversight of, but what if that agent goes and works with other people?That person over there is collaborating with the agent on something you shouldn't have [00:08:00] access to what they're doing. So we have all of these new boundaries that we're gonna have to figure out of, of, you know, it's really, really easy. So far we've been in, in easy mode. We've hit the easy button with ai, which is the agent just is you.And when you're in quad code and you're in cursor, and you're in Codex, you're just, the agent is you. You're offing into your services. It can do everything you can do. That's the easy mode. The hard mode is agents are kind of running on their own. People check in with them occasionally, they're doing things autonomously.How do you give them access to resources in the enterprise and not dramatically increased the security risk and the risk that you might expose the wrong thing to somebody. These are all the new problems that we have to get solved. I like the identity layer and, and identity vendors as being a solution to that, but we'll, we'll need some opinions as well because so many of the use cases are these collaborative file system use cases, which is how do I give it an agent, a subset of my data?Give it its own workspace as well. ‘cause it's gonna need to store off its own information that would be relevant for it. And how do I have the right oversight into that? [00:09:00]Jeff Huber: One thing, which, um, I think is kind interesting, think about is that you know, how humans work, right? Like I may not also just like give you access to the whole file.I might like sit next to you and like scroll to this like one part of the file and just show you that like one part and like, you know,swyx: partial file access.Jeff Huber: I'm just saying I think like our, like RA does seem to be dead, right? Like you wanna say something is dead uhhuh probably RA is dead. And uh, like the auth story to me seems like incredibly unsolved and unaddressed by like the existing state of like AI vendors.ButAaron Levie: yeah, I think, um, we're, I mean you're taking obviously really to level limit that we probably need to solve for. Yeah. And we built an access control system that was, was kind of like, you know, its own little world for, for a long time. And um, and the idea was this, it's a many to many collaboration system where I can give you any part of the file system.And it's a waterfall model. So if I give you higher up in the, in the, in the system, you get everything below. And that, that kind of created immense flexibility because I can kind of point you to any layer in the, in the tree, but then you're gonna get access to everything kind of below it. And that [00:10:00] mostly is, is working in this, in this world.But you do have to manage this issue, which is how do I create an agent that has access to some of my stuff and somebody else's stuff as well. Mm-hmm. And which parts do I get to look at as the creator of the agent? And, and these are just brand new problems? Yeah. Crazy. And humans, when there was a human there that was really easy to do.Like, like if the three of us were all sharing, there'd be a Venn diagram where we'd have an overlapping set of things we've shared, but then we'd have our own ways that we shared with each other. In an agent world, somebody needs to take responsibility for what that agent has access to and what they're working on.These are like the, some of the most probably, you know, boring problems for 98% of people on, on the internet, but they will be the problems that are the difference between can you actually have autonomous agents in an enterprise contextswyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: That are not leaking your data constantly.swyx: No. Like, I mean, you know, I run a very, very small company for my conference and like we already have data sensitivity issues.Yes. And some of my team members cannot see Yes. Uh, the others and like, I can't imagine what it's like to run a Fortune 500 and like, you have to [00:11:00] worry about this. I'm just kinda curious, like you, you talked to a lot like, like 70, 80% of your cus uh, of the Fortune 500, your customers.Aaron Levie: Yep. 67%. Just so we're being verySEswyx: precise.So Yeah. I'm notAaron Levie: Okay. Okay.swyx: Something I'm rounding up. Yes. Round up. I'm projecting to, forAaron Levie: the government.swyx: I'm projecting to the end of the year.Aaron Levie: Okay.swyx: There you go.Aaron Levie: You do make it sound like, like we, we, well we've gotta be on this. Like we're, we're taking way too long to get to 80%. Well,swyx: no, I mean, so like. How are they approaching it?Right? Because you're, you don't have a, you don't have a final answer yet.Why Coding Agents Took Off FirstAaron Levie: Well, okay, so, so this is actually, this is the stark reality that like, unfortunately is the kinda like pouring the water on the party a little bit.swyx: Yes.Aaron Levie: We all in Silicon Valley are like, have the absolute best conditions possible for AI ever.And I think we all saw the dke, you know, kind of Dario podcast and this idea of AI coding. Why is that taken off? And, and we're not yet fully seeing it everywhere else. Well, look, if you just like enumerated the list of properties that AI coding has and then compared it to other [00:12:00] knowledge work, let's just, let's just go through a few of them.Generally speaking, you bring on a new engineer, they have access to a large swath of the code base. Like, there's like very, like you, just, like new engineer comes on, they can just go and find the, the, the stuff that they, they need to work with. It's a fully text in text out. Medium. It's only, it's just gonna be text at the end of the day.So it's like really great from a, from just a, uh, you know, kinda what the agent can work with. Obviously the models are super trained on that dataset. The labs themselves have a really strong, kind of self-reinforcing positive flywheel of why they need to do, you know, agent coding deeply. So then you get just better tooling, better services.The actual developers of the AI are daily users of the, of the thing that they're we're working on versus like the, you know, probably there's only like seven Claude Cowork legal plugin users at Anthropic any given day, but there's like a couple thousand Claude code and you know, users every single day.So just like, think about which one are they getting more feedback on. All day long. So you just go through this list. You have a, you know, everybody who's a [00:13:00] developer by definition is technical so they can go install the latest thing. We're all generally online, or at least, you know, kinda the weird ones are, and we're all talking to each other, sharing best practices, like that's like already eight differences.Versus the rest of the economy. Every other part of the economy has like, like six to seven headwinds relative to that list. You go into a company, you're a banker in financial services, you have access to like a, a tiny little subset of the total data that's gonna be relevant to do your job. And you're have to start to go and talk to a bunch of people to get the right data to do your job because Sally didn't add you to that deal room, you know, folder.And that that, you know, the information is actually in a completely different organization that you now have to go in and, and sort of run into. And it's like you have this endless list of access controls and security. As, as you talked about, you have a medium, which is not, it's not just text, right? You have, you have a zoom call that, that you're getting all of the requirements from the customer.You have a lot of in-person conversations and you're doing in-person sales and like how do you ever [00:14:00] digitize all of that information? Um, you know, I think a lot of people got upset with this idea that the code base has all the context, um, that I don't know if you follow, you know, did you follow some of that conversation that that went viral?Is like, you know, it's not that simple that, that the code base doesn't have all the knowledge, but like it's a lot, you're a lot better off than you are with other areas of knowledge work. Like you, we like, we like have documentation practices, you write specifications. Those things don't exist for like 80% of work that happens in the enterprise.That's the divide that we have, which is, which is AI coding has, has just fully, you know, where we've reached escape velocity of how powerful this stuff is, and then we're gonna have to find a way to bring that same energy and momentum, but to all these other areas of knowledge work. Where the tools aren't there, the data's not set up to be there.The access controls don't make it that easy. The context engineering is an incredibly hard problem because again, you have access control challenges, you have different data formats. You have end users that are gonna need to kind of be kind of trained through this as opposed to their adopting [00:15:00] these tools in their free time.That's where the Fortune 500 is. And so we, I think, you know, have to be prepared as an industry where we are gonna be on a multi-year march to, to be able to bring agents to the enterprise for these workflows. And I think probably the, the thing that we've learned most in coding that, that the rest of the world is not yet, I think ready for, I mean, we're, they'll, they'll have to be ready for it because it's just gonna inevitably happen is I think in coding.What, what's interesting is if you think about the practice of coding today versus two years ago. It's probably the most changed workflow in maybe the history of time from the amount of time it's changed, right? Yeah. Like, like has any, has any workflow in the entire economy changed that quickly in terms of the amount of change?I just, you know, at least in any knowledge worker workflow, there's like very rarely been an event where one piece of technology and work practice has so fundamentally, you know, changed, changed what you do. Like you don't write code, you talk to an agent and it goes and [00:16:00] does it for you, and you may be at best review it.And even that's even probably like, like largely not even what you're doing. What's happening is we are changing our work to make the agents effective. In that model, the agent didn't really adapt to how we work. We basically adapted to how the agent works. Mm-hmm. All of the economy has to go through that exact same evolution.The rest of the economy is gonna have to update its workflows to make agents effective. And to give agents the context that they need and to actually figure out what kind of prompting works and to figure out how do you ensure that the agent has the right access to information to be able to execute on its work.I, you know, this is not the panacea that people were hoping for, of the agent drops in, just automates your life. Like you have to basically re-engineer your workflow to get the most out of agents and, uh, and that, that's just gonna take, you know, multiple years across the economy. Right now it's a huge asset and an advantage for the teams that do it early and that are kinda wired into doing this.‘cause [00:17:00] you'll see compounding returns, but that's just gonna take a while for most companies to actually go and get this deployed.swyx: I love, I love pushing back. I think that. That is what a lot of technology consultants love to hear this sort of thing, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. First to, to embrace the ai. Yes. To get to the promised land, you must pay me so much money to a hundred percent to adopt the prescribed way of, uh, conforming to the agents.Yes. And I worry that you will be eclipsed by someone else who says, no, come as you are.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: And we'll meet you where you are.Aaron Levie: And, and, and and what was the thing that went viral a week ago? OpenAI probably, uh, is hiring F Dees. Yeah. Uh, to go into the enterprise. Yeah. Yeah. And then philanthropic is embedded at Goldman Sachs.Yeah. So if the labs are having to do this, if, if the labs have decided that they need to hire FDE and professional services, then I think that's a pretty clear indication that this, there's no easy mode of workflow transformation. Yeah. Yeah. So, so to your point, I think actually this is a market opportunity for, you know, new professional services and consulting [00:18:00] firms that are like Agent Build and they, and they kind of, you know, go into organizations and they figure out how to re-engineer your workflows to make them more agent ready and get your data into the right format and, you know, reconstruct your business process.So you're, you're not doing most of the work. You're telling agents how to do the work and then you're reviewing it. But I haven't seen the thing that can just drop in and, and kinda let you not go through those changes.swyx: I don't know how that kind of sales pitch goes over. Yeah. You know, you're, you're saying things like, well, in my sort of nice beautiful walled garden, here's, there's, uh, because here's this, here's this beautiful box account that has everything.Yes. And I'm like, well, most, most real life is extremely messy. Sure. And like, poorly named and there duplicate this outdated s**tAaron Levie: a hundred percent. And so No, no, a hundred percent. And so this is actually No. So, so this is, I mean, we agree that, that getting to the beautiful garden is gonna be tough.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: There's also the other end of the spectrum where I, I just like, it's a technical impossibility to solve. The agent is, is truly cannot get enough context to make the right decision in, in the, in the incredibly messy land. Like there's [00:19:00] no a GI that will solve that. So, so we're gonna have to kind of land in somewhere in between, which is like we all collectively get better at.Documentation practices and, and having authoritative relatively up-to-date information and putting it in the right place like agents will, will certainly cause us to be much better organized around how we work with our information, simply because the severity of the agent pulling the wrong data will be too high and the productivity gain of that you'll miss out on by not doing this will be too high as well, that you, that your competition will just do it and they'll just have higher velocity.So, uh, and, and we, we see this a lot firsthand. So we, we build a series of agents internally that they can kind of have access to your full box account and go off and you give it a task and it can go find whatever information you're looking for and work with. And, you know, thank God for the model progress, but like, if, if you gave that task to an agent.Nine months ago, you're just gonna get lots of bogus answers because it's gonna, it's gonna say, Hey, here's, here are fi [00:20:00] five, you know, documents that all kind of smell like the right thing. And I'm gonna, but I, but you're, you're putting me on the clock. ‘cause my assistant prompt says like, you know, be pretty smart, but also try and respond to the user and it's gonna respond.And it's like, ah, it got the wrong document. And then you do that once or twice as a knowledge worker and you're just neverswyx: again,Aaron Levie: never again. You're just like done with the system.swyx: Yeah. It doesn't work.Aaron Levie: It doesn't work. And so, you know, Opus four six and Gemini three one Pro and you know, whatever the latest five 3G BT will be, like, those things are getting better and better and it's using better judgment.And this sort of like the, all of these updates to the agentic tool and search systems are, are, we're seeing, we're seeing very real progress where the agent. Kind of can, can almost smell some things a little bit fishy when it's getting, you know, we, we have this process where we, we have it go fan out, do a bunch of searches, pull up a bunch of data, and then it has to sort of do its own ranking of, you know, what are the right documents that, that it should be working with.And again, like, you know, the intelligence level of a model six months ago, [00:21:00] it'd be just throwing a dart at like, I'm just, I'm gonna grab these seven files and I, I pray, I hope that that's the right answer. And something like an opus first four five, and now four six is like, oh, it's like, no, that one doesn't seem right relative to this question because I'm seeing some signal that is making that, you know, that's contradicting the document where it would normally be in the tree and who should have access.Like it's doing all of that kind of work for you. But like, it still doesn't work if you just have a total wasteland of data. Like, it's just not, it's just not possible. Partly ‘cause a human wouldn't even be able to do it. So basically if a, if a really, really smart human. Could not do that task in five or 10 minutes for a search retrieval type task.Look, you know, your agent's not gonna be able to do it any better. You see this all day long. SoContext Engineering and Search Limitsswyx: this touches on a thing that just passionate about it was just context engineering. I, I'm just gonna let you ramble or riff on, on context engineering. If, if, if there's anything like he, he did really good work on context fraud, which has really taken over as like the term that people use and the referenceAaron Levie: a hundred percent.We, we all we think about is, is the context rob problem. [00:22:00]Jeff Huber: Yeah, there's certainly a lot of like ranking considerations. Gentech surgery think is incredibly promising. Um, yeah, I was trying to generate a question though. I think I have a question right now. Swyx.Aaron Levie: Yeah, no, but like, like I think there was this moment, um, you know, like, I don't know, two years ago before, before we knew like where the, the gotchas were gonna be in ai and I think someone was like, was like, well, infinite context windows will just solve all of these problems and ‘cause you'll just, you'll just give the context window like all the data and.It's just like, okay, I mean, maybe in 2035, like this is a viable solution. First of all, it, it would just, it would just simply cost too much. Like we just can't give the model like the 5,000 documents that might be relevant and it's gonna read them all. And I've seen enough to, to start believing in crazy stuff.So like, I'm willing to just say, sure. Like in, in 10 years from now,swyx: never say, never, never.Aaron Levie: In, in 10 years from now, we'll have infinite context windows at, at a thousandth of the price of today. Like, let's just like believe that that's possible, but Right. We're in reality today. So today we have a context engineering [00:23:00] problem, which is, I got, I got, you know, 200,000 tokens that I can work with, or prob, I don't even know what the latest graph is before, like massive degradation.16. Okay. I have 60,000 tokens that I get to work with where I'm gonna get accurate information. That's not a lot of tokens for a corpus of 10 million documents that a knowledge worker might have across all of the teams and all the projects and all the people they work with. I have, I have 10 million documents.Which, you know, maybe is times five pages per document or something like that. I'm at 50 million pages of information and I have 60,000 tokens. Like, holy s**t. Yeah. This is like, how do I bridge the 50 million pages of information with, you know, the couple hundred that I get to work with in that, in that token window.Yeah. This is like, this is like such an interesting problem and that's why actually so much work is actually like, just like search systems and the databases and that layer has to just get so locked in, but models getting better and importantly [00:24:00] knowing when they've done a search, they found the wrong thing, they go back, they check their work, they, they find a way to balance sort of appeasing the user versus double checking.We have this one, we have this one test case where we ask the agent to go find. 10 pieces of information.swyx: Is this the complex work eval?Aaron Levie: Uh, this is actually not in the eval. This is, this is sort of just like we have a bunch of different, we have a bunch of internal benchmark kind of scenarios. Every time we, we update our agent, we have one, which is, I ask it to find all of our office addresses, and I give it the list of 10 offices that we have.And there's not one document that has this, maybe there should be, that would be a great example of the kind of thing that like maybe over time companies start to, you know, have these sort of like, what are the canonical, you know, kind of key areas of knowledge that we need to have. We don't seem to have this one document that says, here are all of our offices.We have a bunch of documents that have like, here's the New York office and whatever. So you task this agent and you, you get, you say, I need the addresses for these 10 offices. Okay. And by the way, if you do this on any, you know, [00:25:00] public chat model, the same outcome is gonna happen. But for a different kind of query, you give it, you say, I need these 10 addresses.How many times should the agent go and do its search before it decides whether or not, there's just no answer to this question. Often, and especially the, the, let's say lower tier models, it'll come back and it'll give you six of the 10 addresses. And it'll, and I'll just say I couldn't find the otherswyx: four.It, it doesn't know what It doesn't know. ItAaron Levie: doesn't know what It doesn't know. Yeah. So the model is just like, like when should it stop? When should it stop doing? Like should it, should it do that task for literally an hour and just keep cranking through? Maybe I actually made up an office location and it doesn't know that I made it up and I didn't even know that I made it up.Like, should it just keep, re should it read every single file in your entire box account until it, until it should exhaust every single piece of information.swyx: Expensive.Aaron Levie: These are the new problems that we have. So, you know, something like, let's say a new opus model is sort of like, okay, I'm gonna try these types of queries.I didn't get exactly what I wanted. I'm gonna try again. I'm gonna, at [00:26:00] some point I'm gonna stop searching. ‘cause I've determined that that no amount of searching is gonna solve this problem. I'm just not able to do it. And that judgment is like a really new thing that the model needs to be able to have.It's like, when should it give up on a task? ‘cause, ‘cause you just don't, it's a can't find the thing. That's the real world of knowledge, work problems. And this is the stuff that the coding agents don't have to deal with. Because they, it just doesn't like, like you're not usually asking it about, you're, you're always creating net new information coming right outta the model for the most part.Obviously it has to know about your code base and your specs and your documentation, but, but when you deploy an agent on all of your data that now you have all of these new problems that you're dealing withJeff Huber: our, uh, follow follow-up research to context ride is actually on a genetic search. Ah. Um, and we've like right, sort of stress tested like frontier models and their ability to search.Um, and they're not actually that good at searching. Right. Uh, so you're sort of highlighting this like explore, exploit.swyx: You're just say, Debbie, Donna say everything doesn't work. Like,Aaron Levie: well,Jeff Huber: somebody has to be,Aaron Levie: um, can I just throw out one more thing? Yeah. That is different from coding and, and the rest [00:27:00] of the knowledge work that I, I failed to mention.So one other kind of key point is, is that, you know, at the end of the day. Whether you believe we're in a slop apocalypse or, or whatever. At the end of the day, if you, if you build a working product at the end of, if you, if you've built a working solution that is ultimately what the customer is paying for, like whether I have a lot of slop, a little slop or whatever, I'm sure there's lots of code bases we could go into in enterprise software companies where it's like just crazy slop that humans did over a 20 year period, but the end customer just gets this little interface.They can, they can type into it, it does its thing. Knowledge work, uh, doesn't have that property. If I have an AI model, go generate a contract and I generate a contract 20 times and, you know, all 20 times it's just 3% different and like that I, that, that kind of lop introduces all new kinds of risk for my organization that the code version of that LOP didn't, didn't introduce.These are, and so like, so how do you constrain these models to just the part that you want [00:28:00] them to work on and just do the thing that you want them to do? And, and, you know, in engineering, we don't, you can't be disbarred as an engineer, but you could be disbarred as a lawyer. Like you can do the wrong medical thing In healthcare, you, there's no, there's no equivalent to that of engineering.Like, doswyx: you want there to be, because I've considered softwareJeff Huber: engineer. What's that? Civil engineering there is, right? NotAaron Levie: software civil engineer. Sure. Oh yeah, for sure. But like in any of our companies, you like, you know, you'll be forgiven if you took down the site and, and we, we will do a rollback and you'll, you'll be in a meeting, but you have not been disbarred as an engineer.We don't, we don't change your, you know, your computer science, uh, blameJeff Huber: degree, this postmortem.Aaron Levie: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So, so, uh, now maybe we collectively as an industry need to figure out like, what are you liable for? Not legally, but like in a, in a management sense, uh, of these agents. All sorts of interesting problems that, that, that, uh, that have to come out.But in knowledge work, that's the real hostile environments that we're operating in. Hmm.swyx: I do think like, uh, a lot of the last year's, 2025 story was the rise of coding agents and I think [00:29:00] 2026 story is definitely knowledge work agents. Yes. A hundredAaron Levie: percent.swyx: Right. Like that would, and I think open claw core work are just the beginning.Yes. Like it's, the next one's gonna just gonna be absolute craziness.Aaron Levie: It it is. And, and, uh, and it's gonna be, I mean, again, like this is gonna be this, this wave where we, we are gonna try and bring as many of the practices from coding because that, that will clearly be the forefront, which is tell an agent to go do something and has an access to a set of resources.You need to be responsible for reviewing it at the end of the process. That to me is the, is the kind of template that I just think goes across knowledge, work and odd. Cowork is a great example. Open Closet's a great example. You can kind of, sort of see what Codex could become over time. These are some, some really interesting kind of platforms that are emerging.swyx: Okay. Um, I wanted to, we touched on evals a little bit. You had, you had the report that you're gonna go bring up and then I was gonna go into like, uh, boxes, evals, but uh, go ahead. Talk about your genetic search thing.Jeff Huber: Yeah. Mostly I think kinda a few of the insights. It's like number one frontier model is not good at search.Humans have this [00:30:00] natural explore, exploit trade off where we kinda understand like when to stop doing something. Also, humans are pretty good at like forgetting actually, and like pruning their own context, whereas agents are not, and actually an agent in their kind of context history, if they knew something was bad and they even, you could see in the trace the reason you trace, Hey, that probably wasn't a good idea.If it's still in the trace, still in the context, they'll still do it again. Uhhuh. Uh, and so like, I think pruning is also gonna be like, really, it's already becoming a thing, right? But like, letting self prune the con windowsswyx: be a big deal. Yeah. So, so don't leave the mistake. Don't leave the mistake in there.Cut out the mistake but tell it that you made a mistake in the past and so it doesn't repeat it.Jeff Huber: Yeah. But like cut it out so it doesn't get like distracted by it again. ‘cause really, you know, what is so, so it will repeat its mistake just because it's been, it's inswyx: theJeff Huber: context. It'sAaron Levie: in the context so much.That's a few shot example. Even if it, yeah.Jeff Huber: It's like oh thisAaron Levie: is a great thing to go try even ifJeff Huber: it didn't work.Aaron Levie: Yeah,Jeff Huber: exactly.Aaron Levie: SoJeff Huber: there's like a bunch of stuff there. JustAaron Levie: Groundhogs Day inside these models. Yeah. I'm gonna go keep doing the same wrongJeff Huber: thing. Covering sense. I feel like, you know, some creator analogy you're trying like fit a manifold in latent space, which kind is doing break program synthesis, which is kinda one we think about we're doing right.Like, you know, certain [00:31:00] facts might be like sort of overly pitting it. There are certain, you know, sec sectors of latent space and so like plug clean space. Yeah. And, uh, andswyx: so we have a bell, our editor as a bell every time you say that. SoJeff Huber: you have, you have to like remove those, likeswyx: you shoulda a gong like TPN or something.IfJeff Huber: we gong, you either remove those links to like kinda give it the freedom, kind of do what you need to do. So, but yeah. We'll, we'll release more soon. That'sAaron Levie: awesome.Jeff Huber: That'll, that'll be cool.swyx: We're a cerebral podcast that people listen to us and, and sort of think really deep. So yeah, we try to keep it subtle.Okay. We try to keep it.Aaron Levie: Okay, fine.Inside Agent Evalsswyx: Um, you, you guys do, you guys do have EVs, you talked about your, your office thing, but, uh, you've been also promoting APEX agents and complex work. Uh, yeah, whatever you, wherever you wanna take this just Yeah. How youAaron Levie: Apex is, is obviously me, core's, uh, uh, kind of, um, agent eval.We, we supported that by sort of. Opening up some data for them around how we kind of see these, um, data workspaces in, in the, you know, kind of regular economy. So how do lawyers have a workspace? How do investment bankers have a workspace? What kind of data goes into those? And so we, [00:32:00] we partner with them on their, their apex eval.Our own, um, eval is, it's actually relatively straightforward. We have a, a set of, of documents in a, in a range of industries. We give the agent previously did this as a one shot test of just purely the model. And then we just realized we, we need to, based on where everything's going, it's just gotta be more agentic.So now it's a bit more of a test of both our harness and the model. And we have a rubric of a set of things that has to get right and we score it. Um, and you're just seeing, you know, these incredible jumps in almost every single model in its own family of, you know, opus four, um, you know, sonnet four six versus sonnet four five.swyx: Yeah. We have this up on screen.Aaron Levie: Okay, cool. So some, you're seeing it somewhere like. I, I forget the to, it was like 15 point jump, I think on the main, on the overall,swyx: yes.Aaron Levie: And it's just like, you know, these incredible leaps that, that are starting to happen. Um,swyx: and OP doesn't know any, like any, it's completely held out from op.Aaron Levie: This is not in any, there's no public data which has, you know, Ben benefits and this is just a private eval that we [00:33:00] do, and then we just happen to show it to, to the world. Hmm. So you can't, you can't train against it. And I think it's just as representative of. It's obviously reasoning capabilities, what it's doing at, at, you know, kind of test time, compute capabilities, thinking levels, all like the context rot issues.So many interesting, you know, kind of, uh, uh, capabilities that are, that are now improvingswyx: one sector that you have. That's interesting.Industries and Datasetsswyx: Uh, people are roughly familiar with healthcare and legal, but you have public sector in there.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: Uh, what's that? Like, what, what, what is that?Aaron Levie: Yeah, and, and we actually test against, I dunno, maybe 10 industries.We, we end up usually just cutting a few that we think have interesting gains. All extras, won a lot of like government type documents. Um,swyx: what is that? What is it? Government type documents?Aaron Levie: Government filings. Like a taxswyx: return, likeAaron Levie: a probably not tax returns. It would be more of what would go the government be using, uh, as data.So, okay. Um, so think about research that, that type of, of, of data sets. And then we have financial services for things like data rooms and what would be in an investment prospectus. Uhhuh,swyx: that one you can dog food.Aaron Levie: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yes. Yes. [00:34:00] So, uh, so we, we run the models, um, in now, you know, more of an agent mode, but, but still with, with kinda limited capacity and just try and see like on a, like, for like basis, what are the improvements?And, and again, we just continue to be blown away by. How, how good these models are getting.swyx: Yeah, I mean, I think every serious AI company needs something like that where like, well, this is the work we do. Here's our company eval. Yeah. And if you don't have it, well, you're not a serious AI company.Aaron Levie: There's two dimensions, right?So there's, there's like, how are the models improving? And so which models should you either recommend a customer use, which one should you adopt? But then every single day, we're making changes to our agents. And you need to knowswyx: if you regressed,Aaron Levie: if you know. Yeah. You know, I've been fully convinced that the whole agent observability and eval space is gonna be a massive space.Um, super excited for what Braintrust is doing, excited for, you know, Lang Smith, all the things. And I think what you're going to, I mean, this is like every enter like literally every enterprise right now. It's like the AI companies are the customers of these tools. Every enterprise will have this. Yeah, you'll just [00:35:00] have to have an eval.Of all of your work and like, we'll, you'll have an eval of your RFP generation, you'll have an eval of your sales material creation. You'll have an eval of your, uh, invoice processing. And, and as you, you know, buy or use new agentic systems, you are gonna need to know like, what's the quality of your, of your pipeline.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: Um, so huge, huge market with agent evals.swyx: Yeah.Building the Agent Teamswyx: And, and you know, I'm gonna shout out your, your team a bit, uh, your CTO, Ben, uh, did a great talk with us last year. Awesome. And he's gonna come back again. Oh, cool. For World's Fair.Aaron Levie: Yep.swyx: Just talk about your team, like brag a little bit. I think I, I think people take these eval numbers in pretty charts for granted, but No, there, I mean, there's, there's lots of really smart people at work during all this.Aaron Levie: Biggest shout out, uh, is we have a, we have a couple folks at Dya, uh, Sidarth, uh, that, that kind of run this. They're like a, you know, kind of tag tag team duo on our evals, Ben, our CTO, heavily involved Yasha, head of ai, uh, you know, a bunch of folks. And, um, evals is one part of the story. And then just like the full, you know, kind of AI.An agent team [00:36:00] is, uh, is a, is a pretty, you know, is core to this whole effort. So there's probably, I don't know, like maybe a few dozen people that are like the epicenter. And then you just have like layers and layers of, of kind of concentric circles of okay, then there's a search team that supports them and an infrastructure team that supports them.And it's starting to ripple through the entire company. But there's that kind of core agent team, um, that's a pretty, pretty close, uh, close knit group.swyx: The search team is separate from the infra team.Aaron Levie: I mean, we have like every, every layer of the stack we have to kind of do, except for just pure public cloud.Um, but um, you know, we, we store, I don't even know what our public numbers are in, you know, but like, you can just think about it as like a lot of data is, is stored in box. And so we have, and you have every layer of the, of the stack of, you know, how do you manage the data, the file system, the metadata system, the search system, just all of those components.And then they all are having to understand that now you've got this new customer. Which is the agent, and they've been building for two types of customers in the past. They've been building for users and they've been building for like applications. [00:37:00] And now you've got this new agent user, and it comes in with a difference of it, of property sometimes, like, hey, maybe sometimes we should do embeddings, an embedding based, you know, kind of search versus, you know, your, your typical semantic search.Like, it's just like you have to build the, the capabilities to support all of this. And we're testing stuff, throwing things away, something doesn't work and, and not relevant. It's like just, you know, total chaos. But all of those teams are supporting the agent team that is kind of coming up with its requirements of what, what do we need?swyx: Yeah. No, uh, we just came from, uh, fireside chat where you did, and you, you talked about how you're doing this. It's, it's kind of like an internal startup. Yeah. Within the broader company. The broader company's like 3000 people. Yeah. But you know, there's, there's a, this is a core team of like, well, here's the innovation center.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: And like that every company kind of is run this way.Aaron Levie: Yeah. I wanna be sensitive. I don't call it the innovation center. Yeah. Only because I think everybody has to do innovation. Um, there, there's a part of the, the, the company that is, is sort of do or die for the agent wave.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: And it only happens to be more of my focus simply because it's existential that [00:38:00] we get it right.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: All of the supporting systems are necessary. All of the surrounding adjacent capabilities are necessary. Like the only reason we get to be a platform where you'd run an agent is because we have a security feature or a compliance feature, or a governance feature that, that some team is working on.But that's not gonna be the make or break of, of whether we get agents right. Like that already exists and we need to keep innovating there. I don't know what the right, exact precise number is, but it's not a thousand people and it's not 10 people. There's a number of people that are like the, the kind of like, you know, startup within the company that are the make or break on everything related to AI agents, you know, leveraging our platform and letting you work with your data.And that's where I spend a lot of my time, and Ben and Yosh and Diego and Teri, you know, these are just, you know, people that, that, you know, kind of across the team. Are working.swyx: Yeah. Amazing.Read Write Agent WorkflowsJeff Huber: How do you, how do you think about, I mean, you talked a lot about like kinda read workflows over your box data. Yep.Right. You know, gen search questions, queries, et cetera. But like, what about like, write or like authoring workflows?Aaron Levie: Yes. I've [00:39:00] already probably revealed too much actually now that I think about it. So, um, I've talked about whatever,Jeff Huber: whatever you can.Aaron Levie: Okay. It's just us. It's just us. Yeah. Okay. Of course, of course.So I, I guess I would just, uh, I'll make it a little bit conceptual, uh, because again, I've already, I've already said things that are not even ga but, but we've, we've kinda like danced around it publicly, so I, yeah, yeah. Okay. Just like, hopefully nobody watches this, um, episode. No.swyx: It's tidbits for the Heidi engaged to go figure out like what exactly, um, you know, is, is your sort of line of thinking.Sure. They can connect the dots.Aaron Levie: Yeah. So, so I would say that, that, uh, we, you know, as a, as a place where you have your enterprise content, there's a use case where I want to, you know, have an agent read that data and answer questions for me. And then there's a use case where I want the agent to create something.And use the file system to create something or store off data that it's working on, or be able to have, you know, various files that it's writing to about the work it's doing. So we do see it as a total read write. The harder problem has so far been the read only because, because again, you have that kind of like 10 [00:40:00] million to one ratio problem, whereas rights are a lot of, that's just gonna come from the model and, and we just like, we'll just put it in the file system and kinda use it.So it's a little bit of a technically easier problem, but the only part that's like, not necessarily technically hard, it is just like it's not yet perfected in the state of the ecosystem is, you know, building a beautiful PowerPoint presentation. It's still a hard problem for these models. Like, like we still, you know, like, like these formats are just, we're not built for.They'reswyx: working on it.Aaron Levie: They're, they're working on it. Everybody's working on it.swyx: Every launch is like, well, we do PowerPoint now.Aaron Levie: We're getting, yeah, getting a lot, getting a lot of better each time. But then you'll do this thing where you'll ask the update one slide and all of a sudden, like the fonts will be just like a little bit different, you know, on two of the slides, or it moved, you know, some shape over to the left a little bit.And again, these are the kind of things that, like in code, obviously you could really care about if you really care about, you know, how beautiful is the code, but at the end, user doesn't notice all those problems and file creation, the end user instantly sees it. You're [00:41:00] like, ah, like paragraph three, like, you literally just changed the font on me.Like it's a totally different font and like midway through the document. Mm-hmm. Those are the kind of things that you run into a lot of in the, in the content creation side. So, mm-hmm. We are gonna have native agents. That do all of those things, they'll be powered by the leading kind of models and labs.But the thing that I think is, is probably gonna be a much bigger idea over time is any agent on any system, again, using Box as a file system for its work, and in that kind of scenario, we don't necessarily care what it's putting in the file system. It could put its memory files, it could put its, you know, specification, you know, documents.It could put, you know, whatever its markdown files are, or it could, you know, generate PDFs. It's just like, it's a workspace that is, is sort of sandboxed off for its work. People can collaborate into it, it can share with other people. And, and so we, we were thinking a lot about what's the right, you know, kind of way to, to deliver that at scale.Docs Graphs and Founder Modeswyx: I wanted to come into sort of the sort of AI transformation or AI sort of, uh, operations things. [00:42:00] Um, one of the tweets that you, that you wanted to talk about, this is just me going through your tweets, by the way. Oh, okay. I mean, like, this is, you readAaron Levie: one by one,swyx: you're the, you're the easiest guest to prep for because you, you already have like, this is the, this is what I'm interested in.I'm like, okay, well, areAaron Levie: we gonna get to like, like February, January or something? Where are we in the, in the timelines? How far back are we going?swyx: Can you, can you describe boxes? A set of skills? Right? Like that, that's like, that's like one of the extremes of like, well if you, you just turn everything into a markdown file.Yeah. Then your agent can run your company. Uh, like you just have to write, find the right sequence of words toAaron Levie: Yes.swyx: To do it.Aaron Levie: Sorry, isthatswyx: the question? So I think the question is like, what if we documented everything? Yes. The way that you exactly said like,Aaron Levie: yes.swyx: Um, let's get all the Fortune five hundreds, uh, prepared for agents.Yes. And like, you know, everything's in golden and, and nicely filed away and everything. Yes. What's missing? Like, what's left, right? LikeAaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: You've, you've run your company for a decade. LikeAaron Levie: Yeah. I think the challenge is that, that that information changes a week later. And because something happened in the market for that [00:43:00] customer, or us as a company that now has to go get updated, and so these systems are living and breathing and they have to experience reality and updates to reality, which right now is probably gonna be humans, you know, kinda giving those, giving them the updates.And, you know, there is this piece about context graphs as as, uh, that kinda went very viral. Yeah. And I, I, I was like a, i, I, I thought it was super provocative. I agreed with many parts of it. I disagree with a few parts around. You know, it's not gonna be as easy as as just if we just had the agent traces, then we can finally do that work because there's just like, there's so much more other stuff that that's happening that, that we haven't been able to capture and digitize.And I think they actually represented that in the piece to be clear. But like there's just a lot of work, you know, that that has to, you just can't have only skills files, you know, for your company because it's just gonna be like, there's gonna be a lot of other stuff that happens. Yeah. Change over time.Yeah. Most companies are practically apprenticeships.swyx: Most companies are practically apprenticeships. LikeJeff Huber: every new employee who joins the team, [00:44:00] like you span one to three months. Like ramping them up.Aaron Levie: Yes. AllJeff Huber: that tat knowledgeAaron Levie: isJeff Huber: not written down.Aaron Levie: Yes.Jeff Huber: But like, it would have to be if you wanted to like give it to an Asian.Right. And so like that seems to me like to beAaron Levie: one is I think you're gonna see again a premium on companies that can document this. Mm-hmm. Much. There'll be a huge premium on that because, because you know, can you shorten that three month ramp cycle to a two week ramp cycle? That's an instant productivity gain.Can you re dramatically reduce rework in the organization because you've documented where all the stuff is and where the answers are. Can you make your average employee as good as your 90th percentile employee because you've captured the knowledge that's sort of in the heads of, of those top employees and make that available.So like you can see some very clear productivity benefits. Mm-hmm. If you had a company culture of making sure you know your information was captured, digitized, put in a format that was agent ready and then made available to agents to work with, and then you just, again, have this reality of like add a 10,000 person [00:45:00] company.Mapping that to the, you know, access structure of the company is just a hard problem. Is like, is like, yeah, well, you just, not every piece of information that's digitized can be shared to everybody. And so now you have to organize that in a way that actually works. There was a pretty good piece, um, this, this, uh, this piece called your company as a file is a file system.I, did you see that one?swyx: Nope.Aaron Levie: Uh, yes. You saw it. Yeah. And, and, uh, I actually be curious your thoughts on it. Um, like, like an interesting kind of like, we, we agree with it because, because that's how we see the world and, uh,swyx: okay. We, we have it up on screen. Oh,Aaron Levie: okay. Yeah. But, but it's all about basically like, you know, we've already, we, we, we already organized in this kind of like, you know, permission structure way.Uh, and, and these are the kind of, you know, natural ways that, that agents can now work with data. So it's kind of like this, this, you know, kind of interesting metaphor, but I do think companies will have to start to think about how they start to digitize more, more of that data. What was your take?Jeff Huber: Yeah, I mean, like the company's probably like an acid compliant file system.Aaron Levie: Uh,Jeff Huber: yeah. Which I'm guessing boxes, right? So, yeah. Yes.swyx: Yeah. [00:46:00]Jeff Huber: Which you have a great piece on, but,swyx: uh, yeah. Well, uh, I, I, my, my, my direction is a little bit like, I wanna rewind a little bit to the graph word you said that there, that's a magic trigger word for us. I always ask what's your take on knowledge graphs?Yeah. Uh, ‘cause every, especially at every data database person, I just wanna see what they think. There's been knowledge graphs, hype cycles, and you've seen it all. So.Aaron Levie: Hmm. I actually am not the expert in knowledge graphs, so, so that you might need toswyx: research, you don't need to be an expert. Yeah. I think it's just like, well, how, how seriously do people take it?Yeah. Like, is is, is there a lot of potential in the, in the HOVI?Aaron Levie: Uh, well, can I, can I, uh, understand first if it's, um, is this a loaded question in the sense of are you super pro, super con, super anti medium? Iswyx: see pro, I see pros and cons. Okay. Uh, but I, I think your opinion should be independent of mine.Aaron Levie: Yeah. No, no, totally. Yeah. I just want to see what I'm stepping into.swyx: No, I know. It's a, and it's a huge trigger word for a lot of people out Yeah. In our audience. And they're, they're trying to figure out why is that? Because whyAaron Levie: is this such aswyx: hot item for them? Because a lot of people get graph religion.And they're like, everything's a graph. Of course you have to represent it as a graph. Well, [00:47:00] how do you solve your knowledge? Um, changing over time? Well, it's a graph.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: And, and I think there, there's that line of work and then there's, there's a lot of people who are like, well, you don't need it. And both are right.Aaron Levie: Yeah. And what do the people who say you don't need it, what are theyswyx: arguing for Mark down files. Oh, sure, sure. Simplicity.Aaron Levie: Yeah.swyx: Versus it's, it's structure versus less structure. Right. That's, that's all what it is. I do.Aaron Levie: I think the tricky thing is, um, is, is again, when this gets met with real humans, they're just going to their computer.They're just working with some people on Slack or teams. They're just sharing some data through a collaborative file system and Google Docs or Box or whatever. I certainly like the vision of most, most knowledge graph, you know, kind of futuristic kind of ways of thinking about it. Uh, it's just like, you know, it's 2026.We haven't seen it yet. Kind of play out as as, I mean, I remember. Do you remember the, um, in like, actually I don't, I don't even know how old you guys are, but I'll for, for to show my age. I remember 17 years ago, everybody thought enterprises would just run on [00:48:00] Wikis. Yeah. And, uh, confluence and, and not even, I mean, confluence actually took off for engineering for sure.Like unquestionably. But like, this was like everything would be in the w. And I think based on our, uh, our, uh, general style of, of, of what we were building, like we were just like, I don't know, people just like wanna workspace. They're gonna collaborate with other people.swyx: Exactly. Yeah. So you were, you were anti-knowledge graph.Aaron Levie: Not anti, not anti. Soswyx: not nonAaron Levie: I'm not, I'm not anti. ‘cause I think, I think your search system, I just think these are two systems that probably, but like, I'm, I'm not in any religious war. I don't want to be in anybody's YouTube comments on this. There's not a fight for me.swyx: We, we love YouTube comments. We're, we're, we're get into comments.Aaron Levie: Okay. Uh, but like, but I, I, it's mostly just a virtue of what we built. Yeah. And we just continued down that path. Yeah.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: And, um, and that, that was what we pursued. But I'm not, this is not a, you know, kind of, this is not a, uh, it'sswyx: not existential for you. Great.Aaron Levie: We're happy to plug into somebody else's graph.We're happy to feed data into it. We're happy for [00:49:00] agents to, to talk to multiple systems. Not, not our fight.swyx: Yeah.Aaron Levie: But I need your answer. Yeah. Graphs or nerd Snipes is very effective nerd.swyx: See this is, this is one, one opinion and then I've,Jeff Huber: and I think that the actual graph structure is emergent in the mind of the agent.Ah, in the same way it is in the mind of the human. And that's a more powerful graph ‘cause it actually involved over time.swyx: So don't tell me how to graph. I'll, I'll figure it out myself. Exactly. Okay. All right. AndJeff Huber: what's yours?swyx: I like the, the Wiki approach. Uh, my, I'm actually

In dieser Folge tauche ich tief in die Geschichte und das fulminante Comeback des Forward Deployed Engineer ein – einer Rolle, die von IBM in den 60ern geprägt, von SAP skaliert und jetzt von KI-Unternehmen wie Palantir und OpenAI neu erfunden wird. Ich zeige, warum diese Position heute wieder als „hottest Job in Tech“ gefeiert wird und was sie mit deinem Alltag als Solution Engineer zu tun hat. Gemeinsam beleuchte ich, wie sich Aufgaben, Verantwortlichkeiten und Skills von SEs und FDEs überschneiden und warum die Grenzen zunehmend verschwimmen. Du erfährst, was diese Entwicklung für deine Karriere bedeuten kann, warum echte Kundenerfolge mehr zählen als Demos und wie du dich auf die Zukunft im B2B Softwarevertrieb vorbereitest. Bereit für einen Blick hinter die Kulissen der modernsten Tech-Rollen? Dann hör rein! ----------

Ready to churn less and win more?

Join host Justin Forman with Mark Grunden and Josh Seabaugh for a pivotal conversation about the unprecedented opportunity emerging at the intersection of church and entrepreneurship. Recorded during Faith Driven Entrepreneur's staff retreat in Charleston, this episode unpacks groundbreaking Barna research revealing that society trusts entrepreneurs twice as much as pastors—and why this isn't a threat, but rather the church's greatest partnership opportunity.Mark brings unique insight from seven years at Saddleback Church pioneering marketplace ministry, while Josh shares lessons from a decade as a campus pastor before joining FDE full-time. Together, they reveal why starting with entrepreneurs—rather than broad "faith and work" initiatives—creates sustainable momentum that cascades throughout entire congregations and communities.Key Topics:Barna research reveals entrepreneurs are trusted 2X more than pastors (and 9X more than politicians)Why starting with "everyone who works" causes entrepreneurs to leave the roomThe difference between convening for community vs. convening for missionBreaking free from the "parking jacket and coffee" trap for high-capacity leadersWhy churches need entrepreneurs more than entrepreneurs need the churchHow 250 churches are becoming hubs for faith-driven entrepreneurs in their citiesThe simple 8-week pathway any church can start this week (no cost, no catch)Notable Quotes:"Entrepreneurs are trusted two times more than pastors. I don't know if the influence of pastors is actually waning, but I think it's more that the impact of entrepreneurs are actually increasing because people are tired of talk in our society. They're looking for people of action." - Mark Grunden"If you get a pastor alone, he's intimidated by the entrepreneur. If you get an entrepreneur alone, he's intimidating by the pastor, which is why I'm excited that we can be the bridge." - Josh Seabaugh"If you start with everybody, you'll never get the entrepreneur. But if you start with the entrepreneur, everybody will follow." - Mark Grunden

We Like Shooting Episode 642 This episode of We Like Shooting is brought to you by: C&G Holsters, Night Fision, Medical Gear Outfitters, Bowers Group, Second Call Defense, Rost Martin, Swampfox Optics, and Matador Arms   Welcome to the We Like Shooting Show, episode 642! Our cast tonight is Jeremy Pozderac, Aaron Krieger, Nick Lynch, and me Shawn Herrin, welcome to the show! Text Dear WLS or Reviews +1 743 500 2171 - Gear Chat Nick - Multi Tools: Must-Have Gear Multi tools and you! Shawn - Cabot Guns' Revolutionary Double-Stack 1911 Design Cabot Guns has launched the Rebellion MAX, a double-stack 9mm 1911 pistol that maintains the same dimensions and weight as its single-stack version. It features advanced materials and technologies aimed at enhancing performance and comfort for everyday carry. The base price is set at $6,295, with a limited production of only 60 units for 2026. The introduction of this model may influence preferences within the gun community, particularly for those seeking compact, high-capacity firearms. FESTIVUS AIRING OF GRIEVANCES -  Bullet Points Night-Camo Glock 34 Upper Zaffiri Precision dropped a limited-run Dominion LTD Glock 34 Gen 3 upper with night-camo Cerakote, ZPS4 slide, tritium sights, RMR cut, and barrel options like flush, ported, or threaded. Fits G17-G37 Gen 1-3 frames best. $599.99. Limited quantities available now. Gun fans get a ready-to-drop custom upgrade without one-offs. New FDE Ruger Pistol Out Now Ruger and Davidson's dropped an exclusive RXM pistol with flat dark earth slide and Magpul FDE frame—first full FDE version, only at Davidson's. Modern ergonomics, optics-ready, recoil control. $519. Available now. Gun fans get a fresh earth-tone option missing from standard RXM colors. SK Guns' 2025 Top Gun: Jesús Malverde SK Guns names Jesús Malverde 1911 its 2025 Gun of the Year: limited run of 300 .38 Super pistols with gold/silver/blue finishes, pearl grips, and Mexican folk engravings of the "generous bandit" legend. Special for cultural artwork blending Colt heritage with Malverde motifs. $2,700. Available now. Gun fans get exclusive collector piece. TAG Adds RMR Sights to Kimber 2K11 & 1911 TAG Precision released a steel RMR adapter plate for Kimber 2K11 and 1911 pistols. Made in Texas from tough 4140 steel with black nitride finish, it fits Trijicon RMR, SRO, Holosun 507 optics securely for carry or range. Special: Includes all hardware and TORX driver. Price: $99.95. Available now. Gun folks get easy optic upgrade on classic guns. Henry's Ultra-Rare 250th Birthday Rifle Henry releases Spirit of '76 rifle for US 250th anniversary. Limited to 250 engraved, museum-grade lever-actions on 1860 design, with gold highlights of Revolution scenes. Costs $4,115 factory-direct. Special for tiny run and historical engravings. Not available now. Gun fans get exclusive collector piece. New Limited Goldberg Rogue Rifle POF-USA released a limited run of 100 Goldberg “Jack Hammer” Rogue .308 rifles, based on wrestler Bill Goldberg's personal gun. It's a super light 5.9-pound semi-auto with custom black/bronze Cerakote, autographed certificate, and pinned 13.75-inch barrel. Special for its sub-6-lb weight without cuts, using patented tech. Gun fans get a rare collectible. Available now in limited quantities. New LightGuard Holster from CrossBreed CrossBreed launches LightGuard Holster for guns with lights. Hybrid design with swappable Kydex light shell for custom fits, adjustable retention, IWB carry. Saves money by not replacing whole holster. Gun folks get adaptable everyday option. Available now. Gun Fights Step right up for "Gun Fights," the high-octane segment hosted by Nick Lynch, where our cast members go head-to-head in a game show-style showdown! Each contestant tries to prove their gun knowledge dominance. It's a wild ride of bids, bluffs, and banter—who will come out on top? Tune in to find out! WLS is Lifestyle The Dead Pool Actor Over 50 Shawn Mel Brooks Jeremy  Clint Eastwood Nick Gene Hackman X Savage Robert Dinero Aaron Val Kilmer X   Actor Under 50 Shawn Vladimer Zinskey/Frankie Munis Jeremy Pete Davidson Nick Zendah Savage Ryan Renolds Aaron Dan Masterson   Musician Shawn Diddy/Lizzo Jeremy Billie Elish Nick Don Henly Savage Eric Clapton Aaron Justin Bieber   Politician Shawn Bernie Sanders Jeremy Chuck Grassly Nick Maxien Waters Savage nancy Pelosi  Aaron Valadamier Putin 12:50 PM   Actor Over 50 Shawn - Clint Eastwood Jeremy  - Robert Duvall Nick - Dick Van Dye Savage Robert Deniro Aaron Eva Marie Saint   Actor Under 50 Shawn - Nick Reiner Jeremy - Daniel Radcliff Nick - Ezra Miller Savage - Leonardo Dicaprio Aaron - James Van Der Beek   Musician Shawn - Jelly Roll Jeremy -  Bob Dylan Nick - Keith Richards Savage - Diddy Aaron  Willie Nelson   Politician Shawn - Mitch McConnell Jeremy - Bernie Sanders Nick - Chuck Grassley Savage - Joe Biden  Aaron - Trump   Privateers and Cartel Combat: A Legislative Move by Sen. Mike Lee Sen. Mike Lee introduced the Cartel Marque and Reprisal Reauthorization Act, allowing private entities to combat drug cartel smuggling and violence by seizing cartel assets outside the U.S. The proposed legislation, which echoes historical practices of granting private citizens authority to engage in acts against enemies, has implications for the gun community as it may enable armed citizens to take action against perceived threats from cartels. The Agency Brief Agency Brief — LETTERS OF MARQUE COLD OPEN "The same founders who supposedly 'never imagined AR-15s' literally wrote into the Constitution a program where private citizens could own warships, cannons, and get paid to hunt America's enemies. But sure, tell me more about how 'weapons of war' are only for the government." THE CORE STORY: CONSTITUTIONAL PIRACY The Power: Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 gives Congress the power to grant "Letters of Marque and Reprisal." This is a government license converting a private citizen into a legal combatant. It authorized the use of privately owned warships, cannons, and small arms to capture enemy vessels for profit. The Intent: The Founders distrusted standing armies. Their solution? Unleash the free market on America's enemies. It wasn't a loophole; it was the strategy. The Reality: This destroys the modern argument that civilians shouldn't own "weapons of war." The Constitution relies on it. FULL HISTORICAL BREAKDOWN Origins: Dates back to medieval times as a way for merchants to recoup losses from foreign thieves. Revolutionary War Usage: Continental Navy: ~60 ships. American Privateers: ~1,700 ships. Result: Private citizens captured ~600 British vessels and supplied the colonies with seized gunpowder and goods. War of 1812: The US Navy was still tiny. Privateers essentially fundamentally were the American naval strategy. Ordinary businessmen up-armored their schooners and decimated British trade routes. The Kill Switch: 1856 Declaration of Paris. European powers banned privateering to protect their massive state navies from scrappy private competition. Fact: The US never signed this treaty, but we eventually complied to fit in with "civilized" nations. Modern Attempt: Following 9/11, Rep. Ron Paul introduced bills to issue Letters of Marque to hunt al-Qaeda. The establishment buried it. They preferred a trillion-dollar occupation over a bounty-hunter approach. FACT CHECK SUMMARY Confirmed: Private citizens owned the 18th-century equivalent of nuclear-armed frigates (cannons/warships) with the blessing of the government. Myth: "Privateering was lawless piracy." Correction: It was highly regulated. "Prize Courts" adjudicated every capture. Lawless behavior was punished by hanging. Missing Context: The State's monopoly on violence is a modern invention. The Founders viewed war as a participatory duty of the armed citizen. Hidden Incentive: Why don't we use it now? Because the Defense Industrial Complex (Raytheon, Lockheed) cannot compete with low-cost private operators. The government wants total control, even if it costs more and works less. IMPACT ON GUN OWNERSHIP Reframing the Narrative: When anti-gunners say, "The 2A doesn't cover weapons of war," the response is: "Actually, Article 1 authorizes me to own a battleship." Bruen & Litigation: Under the Bruen test (Text, History, and Tradition), there is a robust tradition of civilians owning artillery and naval warships. If the history supports private ownership of cannons, it certainly supports private ownership of standard rifles and magazines. Cultural Impact: It moves the gun culture debate from "sporting purposes" to "national defense," which is where the Constitution places it. AGENCY NOTES (POLITICAL ANALYSIS) Regulatory Creep: We shifted from a Citizen-Militia/Privateer model to a Standing Army/Federal Law Enforcement model. The Motive: Control. An armed populace capable of waging naval war is impossible to oppress. A disarmed populace dependent on the Navy for protection is compliant. Action Item: Use Letters of Marque to mock the "F-15s and Nukes" argument. The Founders didn't just allow private firepower; they banked the nation's survival on it. The Alley Jelly Roll Receives Pardon as Gun Rights Restoration Program Returns The Trump administration has revived the federal gun rights restoration program by pardoning Jelly Roll, a notable figure,

In this episode, James Kaikis (Co-Founder, PreSales Collective; Founder, GTM Shift) joins Adam + Todd to unpack the rise of Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) and what it signals for the future of presales: a world where proof beats polish, and the teams that win are the ones who can show it working—fast.We get into:What an FDE actually is (and why it's not as “new” as it sounds)The real driver behind the trend: the burden of proof and collapsing trustWhy the “harbor cruise” demo needs an upgradeHow AI is accelerating skepticism (and why “see it to believe it” is the new default)A practical approach for leaders: start with jobs-to-be-done + small experiments, not a massive org redesign

In this episode of Tank Talks, Matt Cohen and John Ruffolo break down a pivotal week for Canada's innovation economy. Microsoft's $7.5 billion investment in Canadian AI and cloud infrastructure sets the stage for a deeper discussion about whether foreign hyperscalers can genuinely support Canadian data and AI sovereignty under U.S. laws like the Cloud Act.John challenges the assumption that scale equals sovereignty, arguing for a more intentional strategy built through government procurement, layered infrastructure, and selective partnerships. The episode also examines Canada's new Quantum Champions program and the funding directed toward companies Anyon Systems, Xanadu, Photonic, and Nord Quantique, questioning whether current capital levels are enough to prevent Canadian breakthroughs from moving south.Layoffs across the consulting industry surface broader shifts in knowledge work, as information becomes increasingly commoditized in the age of AI. Matt and John discuss how trust, execution, and implementation are replacing traditional advisory models as the real sources of value. The episode closes with a collision of crypto and legacy power, as stablecoin issuer Tether pursues a controlling stake in Juventus, raising new questions about regulation, asset backing, and trust.As foreign capital pours in and domestic funding lags, how much control does Canada actually retain?Microsoft's $7.5B Canadian AI Investment & the Sovereignty Question (01:04)Microsoft announces a massive investment to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in Canada. Matt and John unpack why foreign capital is welcome, but claims of “sovereign AI” raise serious concerns under the U.S. Cloud Act and data jurisdiction realities.Sovereign Compute Strategy: Procurement Over Promises (04:39)John outlines how Canada could realistically build sovereign compute capacity by breaking the stack into layers, using government procurement to back domestic players, and making intentional choices about allies, chips, and infrastructure.Canada's Quantum Champions Program: A Signal or a Solution? (07:49)The federal government commits funding to four Canadian quantum startups, including Xanadu. The discussion explores whether milestone-based funding is enough or if Canada risks losing its quantum leaders to U.S. capital markets again.Why Canadian Capital Isn't Backing Its Winners (09:04)Xanadu's SPAC decision becomes a case study in Canada's capital formation problem. John explains why strong companies still struggle to raise meaningful domestic capital and what that means for long-term value creation.Consulting Firms Face Layoffs as Demand Shifts (11:36)McKinsey and other professional services firms prepare for significant job cuts. Matt and John discuss overhiring during COVID, slowing demand, and how AI is compressing the value of information-based consulting.The End of the Traditional Consulting Pyramid (14:07)AI-driven efficiency challenges the apprenticeship model. The conversation explores why implementation and trust now matter more than slide decks and why junior-heavy consulting structures may no longer work.Forward-Deployed Engineers & New Service Models (16:17)From Palantir's FDE approach to new AI-enabled services firms, Matt highlights how execution-first models are eroding traditional consulting margins and reshaping enterprise problem-solving.Crypto Meets European Dynasties: Tether & Juventus (19:00)Tether's attempted acquisition of Juventus sparks debate around stablecoin backing, asset quality, and trust. John questions whether a treasury-backed stablecoin should ever be tied to assets like football clubs.Trust as the Core Currency of the AI Era (21:03)The episode closes with a clear takeaway: information is cheap, execution is hard, and trust is everything, from sovereign infrastructure to consulting, investing, and crypto.Connect with John Ruffolo on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/joruffoloConnect with Matt Cohen on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/matt-cohen1Visit the Ripple Ventures website: https://www.rippleventures.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tanktalks.substack.com

Ariel Harmoko is the Co Founder and CEO of Artifact AI. Ariel joined James and Hector for a conversation that moves from race tracks to reconciliation engines.Ariel grew up in Jakarta, was thrown into Go Karts at eight, and went on to race professionally all the way to Formula 3 alongside the likes of Lando Norris and George Russell. That early immersion in high performance teams, engineering and discipline shaped how he now operates as a founder.He shares how a love of maths and science took him to boarding school in the UK, then into machine learning research at Cambridge while still a teenager, working on early diagnosis in medtech and later deploying internal GPT tools at JP Morgan.Today Ariel is building Artifact AI, an “agent accountant” that sits on top of existing ledgers like Xero, QuickBooks and NetSuite. The product tackles two huge problems for accounting firms. Fragmented legacy stacks and chronic staff shortages. Ariel explains how their agents ingest data, reconcile, post to ledgers and learn from human review, and why accuracy, auditability and trust are non negotiable in this space.The conversation covers selling into one of the most conservative industries on earth, founder led FDE style implementations, why advisory is the real margin in accounting, and how vertical AI and agentic workflows could reshape professional services. Everyday AI: Your daily guide to grown with Generative AICan't keep up with AI? We've got you. Everyday AI helps you keep up and get ahead.Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Traditional software engineering job listings have dropped by 70%, yet Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) roles have exploded by over 800% this year. We sit down with Mo Fagir, Principal Technical Consultant at ServiceNow, to break down exactly why this shift is happening and how you can pivot your career to ride this AI adoption wave.In this episode, we cover:The massive market shift: Why "pure coding" jobs are declining while FDEs are booming.The exact technical stack and soft skills required to land these high-paying roles.How to overcome imposter syndrome and build a portfolio that gets you hired, even as a junior.Why this isn't just a trend, but the future of how engineering delivers value.Connect with Mo Fagir:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mo-nour-tarigTimestamps:00:00:00 - Intro00:01:14 - Why software jobs dropped 70% while FDEs grew over 800%00:02:55 - Why companies can't implement AI without Forward Deployed Engineers00:05:36 - Is this career path safe for traditional software engineers?00:07:54 - The exact technical stack you need to master today00:10:48 - Moving from engineering scope to product centric thinking00:16:15 - Can juniors and early career devs get hired as FDEs?00:19:12 - How to build a portfolio that gets you hired00:22:17 - Why passion and attitude beat experience in the AI era00:24:33 - How to train yourself to have a sense of urgency00:29:05 - Can introverts succeed in client facing engineering roles?00:32:17 - Lessons learned from interning at NASA and researching AI00:35:09 - Are we in an AI bubble that will burst soon?00:40:34 - Does becoming an FDE risk vendor lock-in for your career?00:43:36 - Final advice for engineers entering the 2025 job market#ForwardDeployedEngineer #FDE #SoftwareCareers

Double Tap Episode 439 This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: Gideon Optics, Primary Arms, Night Fision, Blue Alpha, Bowers Group, and Second Call Defense   Welcome to Double Tap, episode 439! Your hosts tonight are Jeremy Pozderac, Jon Patton and me Shawn Herrin, welcome to the show! Jon Patton - https://theguncollective.com/ Dear WLS Hunter M - Wanting to upgrade my Ender 3 Pro to a Bambu X1C, but I am hesitant to buy one if there is a possibility of blocking 2A prints. I have seen where some people suggest never connecting it to the internet and only printing off of SD cards but it seems like you could be missing out on a ton of features. Is it worth it to connect it to the internet or play it safe and only use it offline? If it was connected and they pushed out anti-gun restrictions how could you get the printer back to printing freedom? Conner R - What are your go to snacks or meals when hiking, camping, hunting, or rucking? What are you favorite meals in general? Thanks!l Uvuana Suqit - Why does every host on the Firearms Radio Network seem to have an astigmatism? And a bunch of other media people in the firearms industry in general. I hear constantly about not being able to use red dots because of astigmatism, making the dot not a perfect circle, and some other shape. Just want to say that the projection on the glass for red dots won't be a perfect circle with the way they are designed/manufactured, and the “dot” has a weird shape because it is projecting a bunch of tiny dots to a general area on the glass to make up the dot. It does not create a perfect circle. And if you focus on the “dot,” then you will see “imperfection” vs looking at the target where the “imperfection” will be nonexistent, with the general dot shape being over the target. I'm just curious if everyone is mistaking this inherent design of the red dot projection for something that is wrong with their eyes. And when every host says they have an astigmatism, it just seems odd. Karl F - The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the usefulness of small drones when it comes to both reconnaissance and delivery of payloads. This usefulness could definitely extend beyond combat to a SHTF scenario. Have any of you considered adding a drone to your gear collection?#blamecanada Oopsie Daisy - If you wanted to escape thermal imaging, do you think throwing a mylar poncho over the wool Five Star Alterations poncho would have a greater effect on reducing your thermal signature? For no one in particular, I'm interested to hear all of your opinions on this. Nate B - How far back is too far back for barrel porting? I understand you'd like the port as far forward as possible as that is where it's most beneficial (better tilt point) but I've seen ported Glocks and other pistols where they have multiple, tiny holes that seem to be fairly close to the chamber. Also ports > comps Anthony L - I wanted to ask what sites you use for the 3d print files. Thank you   The winner of this week's swag pack is Oopsie Daisy! To win your own, go to welikeshooting.com/dashboard and submit a question!   Gun Industry News Switzerland Picks SIG Sauer P320 Swiss Army picks SIG P320 as new standard pistol, 5th military to do so after US, Canada, Australia, Denmark. Beats Glock and HK in tests via lower costs and Swiss production promise, despite early fixes needed for ergonomics. Gun fans celebrate another big military win for modular P320. Not for civilian sale. Tuning the Shadow 2: New Frame Weight Eemann Tech's new frame weight for CZ Shadow 2 adds 172g of front-end steel to cut recoil and steady fast shots. No mods needed, screws on easily. Special for comp shooters tuning balance without changing gun shape. Compact version coming. Available now. Sweden Police Swap MP5s for AK 24 Sweden's police are ditching MP5 submachine guns for AK 24 rifles in 5.56mm, matching the military's choice. Reasons: MP5 contract ended, 9mm sucks at range and vs. armor/vehicles, better teamwork in ops. They bought some for tests, fixed over-penetration with right ammo. Costs $2,700–$3,600 each, same as MP5. Gun fans note it's a rare police switch to rifle calibers from SMGs. Not available yet; deliveries start 2027. Staccato Stops Making C and CS Pistols Staccato stopped making C and CS pistols on Nov 21, 2025, to focus on 2011 and HD models. Gun folks can still buy leftover stock while it lasts; owners get full parts, mags, and warranty support. Special: Speeds up upgrades for main lines. Not in production now. Daniel Defense Eleanor Brings UK Spec Rifle to America Daniel Defense's Eleanor is a limited run of 250 M4A1 rifles copying UK Ministry of Defence specs, first U.S. version with real anodized FDE Vortex AMG EBR-22L optic—not fake finishes like clones. Gun fans get exact Royal Marines setup in Pelican case. Not available now. GPO's New Tactical Monocular with Gun Reticle GPO launched TACTICAL MONO 10x42 ED, a pocket-sized 10x42 monocular with offset MIL reticle for quick range estimates. Stands out with tactical reticle in super compact 5.3-inch, 13.4-oz rubber-armored body. MSRP $319.99. Available now. Gun community gets affordable, portable spotting tool for field measurements. Strike Bravo Chassis for Taurus GX4 Strike Industries and Taurus teamed up for GX4 Strike Bravo pistols with a new chassis boosting recoil control, ergonomics, and modularity via Dynamic Control system. Special: Picatinny for braces/stocks, optics-ready slide, threaded barrel, works with GX4 accessories. Four versions: 10/15-round mags, braced or not. Prices: $607 non-braced, $796 braced. Available now. New 9mm Apache Commander Gun Watchtower Defense launched the Apache Commander, a compact double-stack 9mm 1911 for carry with optics cut, aggressive serrations, adjustable 4.5-5.5 lb trigger, and tough stainless steel build in Black or FDE. First tactical model from veteran-owned brand. $3999 with three 17-round mags and lifetime warranty. In stock and shipping now. Gun fans get a premium, duty-ready carry option supporting vets. New ZeroTech Vengeance Scope Reticle Options ZeroTech updated its Vengeance 3-12x40 SFP riflescope with three reticles: precise R3, classic PHR 4, and low-light illuminated PHR 4 IR. Lightweight 1-inch tube, side parallax, multi-coated glass. Gives gun folks faster targeting and better holds in any light. Price not listed. Availability not stated. New Reticles for Vengeance Scope ZeroTech added PHR 4 and illuminated PHR 4 reticles to its Vengeance 4-16x40 SFP scope. Clean holdovers, fast aiming, low-light brightness levels on lightweight 1-inch tube. Gives gun users affordable precision for hunting and shooting. Available now. Viridian's New Green Dot for Rifles Viridian launched VENTA Green Dot rifle optic. Crisp 2 MOA green dot, instant-on motion activation, 10 brightness settings, IPX7 waterproof, 30k-hour battery, 5 oz lightweight, Aimpoint T2 footprint. Stands out for speed, clarity, and low $169 MSRP in black or FDE. Available now. Gun folks get affordable, tough optic upgrade. New Tactical Light with Green Laser NEXTORCH launches WL25 tactical weapon light with 1,200-lumen white beam to 459 yards plus green laser for fast aiming. Ambidextrous switches, quick battery swaps, recoil-proof mount, glove-friendly. German-designed, pistol-rail compatible. MSRP $239.99. Available now for LE/military eval. Gun community gets pro-grade light-laser combo at mid price. Before we let you go - Join Gun Owners of America   Tell your friends about the show and get backstage access by joining the Gun Cult at theguncult.com.   No matter how tough your battle is today, we want you here fight with us tomorrow. Don't struggle in silence, you can contact the suicide prevention line by dialing 988 from your phone. Remember - Always prefer Dangerous Freedom over peaceful slavery. We'll see you next time!   Nick - @busbuiltsystems | Bus Built Systems Jeremy - @ret_actual | Rivers Edge Tactical Aaron - @machinegun_moses Savage - @savage1r Shawn - @dangerousfreedomyt | @camorado.cam | Camorado

Double Tap Episode 438 This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: Midwest Industries, Primary Arms, Night Fision, Medical Gear Outfitters, Rost Martin, and Swampfox Optics   Welcome to Double Tap, episode 438! Your hosts tonight are Jeremy Pozderac, Aaron Krieger, Nick Lynch, and me Shawn Herrin, welcome to the show! -Midwest Industries- 20% off MI products Code: STOCKUP25 thru dec 1 11:59 pm cst -Primary Arms - Cyber Monday Deals on homepage  -Medical Gear Outfitters- 15% off. Free Ship over $75.  Code MGO15 -Swampfox https://www.swampfoxoptics.com/shop-all-bfcm25   Dear WLS NightWasher Tx - I was looking for a holsters for my FNS-9 long slide with a griffin ez-lock comp on it. And I found this holster company that will make any custom holster you want. They do something that if have not seen before in adding leather to the inside for a smooth draw. I love the fact that they will make a custom holster for non stock guns, because none of my pistols are the stock setup. Like my S&W Shield 45 with a threaded barrel, ez lock comp, and a red dot.Sense this is supposed to be a question, what do you all think of holsters with leather lined inside, and not I don't care about Aaron's thoughts, so that question is for everyone else. www.giholsters.com/product-p/hst1490.htm Roger B - So I have a CZ BREN 2 and I was wondering if yall have come across a 3D printed lower that accepts standard AR parts? I know that HAGA defense makes them but they are $450. The lower on the BREN isn't the serialized part so that's not the problem and it's polymer anyways so I was thinking a 3D printed one should work just fine. Thanks for the help. Lance D - Is Cloud Defensive going the same route as BRC? I ordered a light that was in stock on August 1st 2025. It is now almost October 1st with no light in hand. All they've said is, “Due to a leaked coupon code, we are trying to catch up on orders.” I call BS! If an item was in stock, it shouldn't take 2+ months to ship! Never again will I purchase one of there products! Mind you this was off of their actual website Mike H - Planning an sbr build around 8"" for when the tax goes to $0, debating between a 9mm (probably a mat9k or sp9a3), a brn-180 gen3 in .300blk, but also thinking other calibers like 10mm, 45, and willing to consider other options. Not wanting direct blowback but roller delayed is great, small overall package preferred. P.S. Don't make too much fun of Aaron's small package, it's why he grabs other peoples' packages Desert D Deagleton - Does the cast consider the Ruger Blackhawk to be a cowboy gun? It's quite different from a Colt. Adjacent question, were there aftermarket adjustable sights for Colt SAAs or the competition back in the day? Perhaps Lyman made something in the 20s or something. I really like having real sights on a revolver cause of my garbage vision. Are there any other SAA clones that have taller adjustable sights but look less modern like the Blackhawks do? Warren Peace - Youz guyz, Do you prefer a fixed blade or folder for every day/pocket carry? Thank you for your wise counsel, magic 8 ball, Severely, Warren Peace Nate L - Is it just me, or does that deal bro jiggle get stuck in your head as well? I find myself randomly humming it or singing it sometimes... Jeremy's Bitch - Do you guys have any fixed blade knives mounted to plate carriers or battle belts? If so, which ones? What is your go to choice for everyday pocket knifes? Do you ever carry a knife for self defense if you're ever “not carrying” in any places like banks or schools? The winner of this week's swag pack is Jeremy's Bitch! To win your own, go to welikeshooting.com/dashboard and submit a question!   Gun Industry News Cool Pistollo 77° Pistol Hits US, Skirts ATF Rules Pistollo 77, a futuristic 9mm PCC with 77° angle, Glock mags, recoil buffer, and sci-fi looks, cleared ATF prototype review for US import. Gun fans get braced rail, optic rail, threaded barrel tweaks. Thousands on waitlist. Over $3,500 expected. Not available yet. New All-Copper Birdshot Ammo Boss Shotshells launches Boss Copper, all-copper birdshot ammo replacing scarce bismuth. Denser than steel (94% bismuth density), harder for tight patterns and penetration, softer for old guns. No lead toxicity. Loads from 12GA to 410GA, $39-$43/box of 20. Now available. Gun folks get new non-toxic option amid bismuth shortages. New Ruger and Magpul Full Grips Magpul released full-size RXM grip modules for Ruger RXM pistols, turning compact Glock 19 clones into G17-sized 9mm competition/duty guns. Uses G17 mags, adds flared well, light rail, high grip. Special: drop-in modularity with serialized trigger pack. MSRP $40. Sold out now, restock soon. Recce Skin Kit Onward Research's Recce Skin Kit adds non-permanent alpine camo to Recce Rig pouches and fixes cold-weather unreliability. Swaps velcro for 4 QASM buckles, adds 4 male repair buckles with tabs, and includes shock cord for secure fits. Price not listed. Not available now. Adept Armor at Milipol 15 Adept Armor previews Novasteel Breastplate for ballistic riot protection—stops handguns to IIIA, knives/spikes beyond level 3, blunt force over 100J, plus rifle boosts to RF1. Ballistic Mandible fits high-cut helmets. Novasteel handles special threats like 7.62x25mm Tokarev at 1650 fps, 5.7x28mm over 2000 fps, and fast 9mm copper rounds. Unique steel beats typical soft armor limits. Not available yet. Gun community gets tougher, lighter riot gear options. CZ's New 600+ Trail in FDE CZ released 600+ Trail FDE, a compact bolt-action rifle in FDE finish, .223 Rem, .300 BLK, 7.62x39. Swappable barrels, AR mags in .223, 16" barrel, adjustable stock, 2 MOA accuracy. Special: PDW-style layout with familiar mags on bolt gun. Gun community gets new lightweight, configurable option. Not yet available. New Magnet and Basket for Pistol Slides Infante Ultrasonics released a pistol slide magnet ($29.99/pair) that holds slides vertically to clean optics-ready pistols without wetting the red dot—unique for not needing optic removal. Small parts basket ($39.99) with durable piano hinge and locking clasp traps tiny gun bits like springs during cleaning. Both available now. Gun community gets easier, safer ultrasonic cleaning for modern pistols and high-volume work. Before we let you go - Join Gun Owners of America   Tell your friends about the show and get backstage access by joining the Gun Cult at theguncult.com.   No matter how tough your battle is today, we want you here fight with us tomorrow. Don't struggle in silence, you can contact the suicide prevention line by dialing 988 from your phone. Remember - Always prefer Dangerous Freedom over peaceful slavery. We'll see you next time!   Nick - @busbuiltsystems | Bus Built Systems Jeremy - @ret_actual | Rivers Edge Tactical Aaron - @machinegun_moses Savage - @savage1r Shawn - @dangerousfreedomyt | @camorado.cam | Camorado

70% of enterprise AI projects never reach production. The solution: Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs). In this episode, Vikram Vaidyanathan and Rocketlane CEO, Srikrishnan Ganesan unpack the rise of the FDE model, from Palantir's origins to how AI companies use it today to bridge the gap between prototypes and production. They discuss why traditional SaaS orgs break in AI, the governance needed to scale FDE teams, and why India is emerging as the global engine room for AI deployment. A crisp breakdown of the role shaping the future of enterprise AI. Chapters  00:01:29 -  Introduction to the Z47 podcast  00:04:16 - The 70% problem: Why enterprise AI fails to scale 00:05:25 - The origin story: Inside Palantir, where it all began 00:12:43 - Evolving from deployment to GTM engine 00:14:23 - The Vision Selling era: from POCs to production ROI 00:17:09 - What does a great FDE motion look like? 00:18:59 - Building with FDE DNA: How Rocketlane practices what it preaches 00:24:06 - Product, success, or stand-alone: Where should FDEs sit? 00:26:22 - Scaling the FDE model: from speed to structured governance 00:33:38 - Pairing on-site FDEs with India's 24×7 talent engine 00:34:21 - AI adoption as India's next big export 00:37:49 - FDEs: The human bridge between AI promise and delivery  

Do you like director's commentaries and extended cuts? This episode is like that, but for this week's News. We go deep on the alive internet theory, Meshtastic mesh networks, Zstandard compression, the FDE job explosion, React's seemingly perpetual dominance, and more.

Do you like director's commentaries and extended cuts? This episode is like that, but for this week's News. We go deep on the alive internet theory, Meshtastic mesh networks, Zstandard compression, the FDE job explosion, React's seemingly perpetual dominance, and more.

What does AI look like in practice—not in theory—for the recruiters and leaders using it every day? In this FDE+ panel, Kortney Harmon sits down with Neal Osler, Chris Allaire, and Justin Bellante to examine how AI is reshaping job intake, sourcing, candidate conversations, and recruiter productivity in real time.The panelists share where AI is truly delivering value: rewriting job descriptions with clarity clients can finally react to, transforming interview transcriptions into stronger submittals, accelerating sourcing through smarter Boolean generation, and returning hours of lost admin time each week. They also surface the harder truths: declining response rates, over-reliance on automation, hallucinated requirements, and the widening trust gap created as inboxes become more machine-written than human-led.If you're navigating the noise around AI and looking for what truly drives performance, this panel reveals how the most effective teams blend innovation with authenticity to build stronger, more resilient recruiting operations in an AI-powered world.________________Follow Neal Osler on LinkedIn: LinkedIn: NealFollow Chris Allaire on LinkedIn: LinkedIn: ChrisFollow Justin Bellante on LinkedIn: LinkedIn: JustinFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: CrelateWant to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereSubscribe to our newsletter: The Full Desk Experience

On this episode of FDE+, Kortney Harmon and Mike Wolford, CEO of LexDuo, explore how AI is redefining what it means to be a recruiter—and why the future belongs to those who build with it, not just use it.They discuss how recruiters are moving beyond basic prompting into programming and workflow design—creating custom GPTs, connecting APIs, and automating tasks that once drained hours from their day. Mike also explains how imagination has become a recruiter's new competitive advantage and outlines the ethical and legal considerations that come with building AI-driven systems.Key Takeaways • The three levels of AI adoption and how each elevates recruiter performance • Why creativity, not coding, defines success in the AI-driven era • How API connections can integrate your ATS, CRM, and communication tools • The coming divide between corporate TA and staffing—and where opportunity grows • How to “automate and elevate” recruiting by combining AI precision with human judgmentDiscover how forward-thinking recruiters are using AI to amplify—not replace—the human side of hiring.___________Follow Mike Wolford on LinkedIn: LinkedIn | Mike Check out his website: lexduo.net Follow Crelate on LinkedIn: Crelate Want to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo here Subscribe to our newsletter: The Full Desk Experience

The Forward-Deployed Engineer (FDE) represents a fundamental reimagining of the technical role in high-stakes enterprise environments. At its core, an FDE is a software engineer embedded directly with customers to solve their most complex—and often ambiguous—problems.Palantir is widely credited as the originator and early adopter of the FDE model, initially referring to these engineers as “Deltas.” In this episode, Dave “CAC” Kellogg and Ray “Growth” Rike explore multiple dimensions of the Forward-Deployed Engineer role, including:The origin of the FDEHow the military influenced the termWhether the FDE belongs in a technology-enabled services company or a software companyHow an FDE differs from a traditional technical services consultantWhere FDE expenses should be allocated—COGS vs. OPEXHow those allocation decisions impact key metricsThe hiring trends shaping the future of the FDEIf you're building an AI-native application or an agentic AI company with outcome-based pricing, this episode is packed with insights and ideas on why a Forward-Deployed Engineer could be your next—and most important—hire.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this FDE+ episode, Kortney Harmon is joined by Benjamin Mena, Managing Partner at Select Source Solutions and host of The Elite Recruiter Podcast, to explore how AI is transforming the recruiting industry.They discuss how top performers are using AI to automate sourcing, streamline outreach, and clean up CRMs — while doubling down on the human skills that build trust, strengthen relationships, and drive revenue. Benjamin also shares real-world examples of how combining technology with a personal touch is helping recruiters stay competitive and deliver stronger results.Tune in to learn how to leverage AI without losing what makes recruiters indispensable — and position yourself to thrive in 2025 and beyond.__________________________Follow Benjamin Mean on LinkedIn at: LinkedIn | Benjamin MenaLink to the Tool List mentioned at: hereFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crelate/Want to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereSubscribe to our newsletter: https://www.crelate.com/blog/full-desk-experience

Double Tap Episode 429 This episode of Double Tap is brought to you by: Swampfox Optics, Blue Alpha, Night Fision, Medical Gear Outfitters, Rost Martin, Bowers Group, and Matador Arms   Welcome to Double Tap, episode 429! Your hosts tonight are Jeremy Pozderac, Aaron Krieger, Nick Lynch, and me Shawn Herrin, welcome to the show!   Dear WLS Ryan W - Good evening gents So I want to theoretically bury around 15 ar's in an undisclosed location. What's the most economic way to keep them in good condition for about 20 years? I have some standard food safe grade plastic barrels. Should I just add guns and motor oil? Thanks for the insight. JD - After the first of the year what are we going to have to do to register an ar pistol as a sbr do we have to go to a ffl? Shane H - I know it was talked about a while ago but I can't find the episode. Who do you recommend for firearm collection insurance? One that does not require serial numbers if possible. Is it a separate policy from your FFL or just one policy? Thomas L - What was your favorite thing you saw at goals? Zachary V - Hello, not to get too technical and make this a huge list, but looking into getting my bug-out bag done. What are the essentials that should be prioritized first and what is something that you include in yours that most people wouldn't have considered? Notes? No? Trucker Matt - If you had to pick the perfect "backpack gun" and concealable handgun combo that uses the same ammunition, what is each cast member's combo of choice? For example, a 9mm HK SP5K and Glock 19, an AR pistol in .22LR with a folding buffer and FN 502, a Diamondback DBX 5.7 and FN Five-Seven (bonus points for magazine compatibility), a Chiappa 1892 Alaskan Takedown in .357 Magnum, and Ruger SP101. Drink a tall glass of pineapple juice every day. It's good for your gut health and your significant other will thank you for it. capt.doogie howser - I have recently started a business, and am using social media as a marketing tool. What recommendations do you have for tools or assets to use to improve my reach and content quality? Logan G - Shawn, First question (not gun related), you have mentioned playing hockey quite a bit, and it sounds like you play in the Springs. I play PIHA and inline, and I was curious if you did too? If so, I'm sure you have wanted to fight me at some point… whoops.Gun-related question, saving up for a semi-auto shotgun for home defense and fun as well. Thinking about the Beretta A300 ultima or the Mossberg 940 tactical. Any opinion between the two? My main question, though, is what Gideon optic would be best for a shotgun? They have a ton of options! Love the show and listen every week!   The winner of this week's swag pack is Trucker Matt! To win your own, go to welikeshooting.com/dashboard and submit a question!   Gun Industry News New QD Gas Pedal Improves Shooting Control MUB has released the QD Gas Pedal, a new multi-use attachment for guns that helps manage recoil. It's made of strong, lightweight 1061 Steel and features a flush cup for attaching QD slings. It's available in Black or FDE. New Faxon FX7 .22 Creedmoor: A Stylish and Innovative Rifle Custom & Collectable Firearms released the FX7 rifle, limited to just 100 pieces. It's chambered in .22 Creedmoor with a 16" spiral fluted barrel for long-range shooting. It features a rugged FDE finish, an MDT stock for stability, and a TriggerTech Primary Trigger for a smooth pull. The FX7 combines unique design and performance. The price isn't listed, but it's available as part of a special series. Reviving the 9mm Makarov Vz. 61 Czechpoint is bringing back the Vz. 61 pistol, now in 9x18 Makarov caliber. This gun has a 4.53-inch barrel and features like a threaded muzzle for suppressors, a chrome-lined chamber, and a 20-round magazine.

Unlock the future of recruiting with this episode of The Full Desk Experience. In this special FDE+, host Kortney Harmon sits down with Matt Strain — seasoned technology leader, AI educator, and founder of The Prompt. Drawing on his experience as Adobe's former Head of Innovation, Matt brings a fresh perspective on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the recruiting and staffing industry.In their conversation, Matt explores why curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to experiment are essential traits for executives and recruiters who want to stand out in the age of AI. He shares real-world examples of how AI can streamline everything from sourcing and screening to assessment and selection, while also emphasizing where human judgment and trust remain irreplaceable. Along the way, he introduces a practical framework of mindset, skill set, and tool set that leaders can use to navigate uncertainty, integrate AI confidently, and drive stronger outcomes.Whether you're dipping your toes into AI for the first time or looking to refine your strategy, this discussion offers hands-on insights you can put into practice right away. Tune in to discover how to transform AI-driven curiosity into a true competitive advantage._________________Follow Matt Strain on LinkedIn at: LinkedIn | MattFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crelate/Want to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereSubscribe to our newsletter: https://www.crelate.com/blog/full-desk-experience

  Welcome to the Firearms Insider Gun & Gear Review Podcast episode 576. This episode is brought to you by Primary Arms, Walker Defense, XS Sights, and VZ Grips. In this show we will be discussing Hi Point AR's, Atibals compact, a LED level, and a Bombur   As you may know, we showcase guns, gear, and anything else you might be interested in. We do our best to evaluate products from an unbiased and honest perspective.   I'm Chad Wallace, host of the most dedicated firearms podcast around With me tonight are: Tony, Rob, Rusty, Destroyer of worlds   Sponsor #1: VZ Grips    VZ Grips has been manufacturing handgun grips since 2003. With a reputation for quality, consistency & innovation, top tier manufacturers choose VZ grips. They come in a variety of styles, patterns, colors, and are manufactured from proprietary G10, Micarta, Carbon fiber, or polymer. Available with varying degrees of texture, VZ offers a wide range of grips for all different firearm types. Made in the USA, VZ gives you the grip you can count on.   Featured Grip of the week - AR15 VZ Recon gen 2   Coupon code “GGR15” gets 15% off handgun and rifle grips at vzgrips.com   What we did in Firearms:   Announcements: Bandwidth sponsor Patriot Patch Co.  And their Patch of the Month Club! T-shirts are available through our FRN site, or click the “Merch” tab on Firearmsinsider.tv   AFFILIATES / DISCOUNTS: Walker Defense Research - enter “INSIDER15” for 15% off XS Sights - “GGR20” for 20% off Primary Arms VZ Grips - “GGR15” for 15% off handgun and rifle grips Brownells Gun Guys Garage discount code - “FRN15OFF” LA Police Gear Atibal Optics - enter “FIREARMSINSIDER20” for 20% off 5.11 Tactical PowerTac Lights - enter “GGR” for a real good discount JSD Supply Modern Spartan Systems - “GGR15” for 15% off Rough Cut Holsters - “firearmsinsider” for 20% off Global Ordnance Infinite Defense (Infinity Targets) - “PEW15” for 15% off Guns.com Magpul Palmetto State Armory Unique ARs - “GunGearReview” for 10% off CobraTec Knives - “GGR10” for 10% off Nutrient Survival - “GGR10” for 10% off Gideon Optics - “GGR” or “INSIDER” for 10% off Lone Wolf Arms US Optics - “INSIDER15” for 15% off Camorado - “FIREARMSINSIDER” for 5% off Optics Planet Midway USA   ROB - Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual co-hosts and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Firearms Radio Network and/or their employers. This is NOT legal advice, nor should it be considered as such. Viewer discretion is advised. This is especially true on live shows.   Main Topic is sponsored by: Walker Defense Research   Walker Defense provides shooters with the finest, most innovative, quality, tactical accessories and firearm components around. From their NILE grip panels to their NERO muzzle brakes, no details are ever left behind. Only top quality materials are used in the manufacturing process. Together, all of this gives you some of the best firearm performance around. Everything they have to offer is proudly made in the USA. Walker Defense, where American ingenuity meets bleeding edge technology.   Our Walker Defense Product of the week is - FDE bcg   Use code “INSIDER15” FOR 15% OFF everything at walkerdr.com   Main Topic: Hi-Point AR's - https://www.hi-pointfirearms.com/    Product Spotlight and Discussion:    Atibal APEX COMPACT 3-12x44 FFP MSRP - $519.99   Sponsor #3: Primary Arms     Primary Arms seeks to provide the best shopping experience for everything firearms. They have a smorgasbord of products from your favorite manufacturers, including a complete selection of rifles, handguns, firearm parts, ammunition, and shooting gear.   Are you also looking for optics that deliver unbeatable quality without breaking the bank?

Nabeel Qureshi is an entrepreneur, writer, researcher, and visiting scholar of AI policy at the Mercatus Center (alongside Tyler Cowen). Previously, he spent nearly eight years at Palantir, working as a forward-deployed engineer. His work at Palantir ranged from accelerating the Covid-19 response to applying AI to drug discovery to optimizing aircraft manufacturing at Airbus. Nabeel was also a founding employee and VP of business development at GoCardless, a leading European fintech unicorn.What you'll learn:• Why almost a third of all Palantir's PMs go on to start companies• How the “forward-deployed engineer” model works and why it creates exceptional product leaders• How Palantir transformed from a “sparkling Accenture” into a $200 billion data/software platform company with more than 80% margins• The unconventional hiring approach that screens for independent-minded, intellectually curious, and highly competitive people• Why the company intentionally avoids traditional titles and career ladders—and what they do instead• Why they built an ontology-first data platform that LLMs love• How Palantir's controversial “bat signal” recruiting strategy filtered for specific talent types• The moral case for working at a company like Palantir—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs• Attio—The powerful, flexible CRM for fast-growing startups• OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster—Where to find Nabeel S. Qureshi:• X: https://x.com/nabeelqu• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nabeelqu/• Website: https://nabeelqu.co/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Nabeel S. Qureshi(05:10) Palantir's unique culture and hiring(13:29) What Palantir looks for in people(16:14) Why they don't have titles(19:11) Forward-deployed engineers at Palantir(25:23) Key principles of Palantir's success(30:00) Gotham and Foundry(36:58) The ontology concept(38:02) Life as a forward-deployed engineer(41:36) Balancing custom solutions and product vision(46:36) Advice on how to implement forward-deployed engineers(50:41) The current state of forward-deployed engineers at Palantir(53:15) The power of ingesting, cleaning and analyzing data(59:25) Hiring for mission-driven startups(01:05:30) What makes Palantir PMs different(01:10:00) The moral question of Palantir(01:16:03) Advice for new startups(01:21:12) AI corner(01:24:00) Contrarian corner(01:25:42) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Reflections on Palantir: https://nabeelqu.co/reflections-on-palantir• Palantir: https://www.palantir.com/• Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/• Which companies produce the best product managers: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/which-companies-produce-the-best• Gotham: https://www.palantir.com/platforms/gotham/• Foundry: https://www.palantir.com/platforms/foundry/• Peter Thiel on X: https://x.com/peterthiel• Alex Karp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Karp• Stephen Cohen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Cohen_(entrepreneur)• Joe Lonsdale on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtlonsdale/• Tyler Cowen's website: https://tylercowen.com/• This Scandinavian City Just Won the Internet With Its Hilarious New Tourism Ad: https://www.afar.com/magazine/oslos-new-tourism-ad-becomes-viral-hit• Safe Superintelligence: https://ssi.inc/• Mira Murati on X: https://x.com/miramurati• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Building product at Stripe: craft, metrics, and customer obsession | Jeff Weinstein (Product lead): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-product-at-stripe-jeff-weinstein• Airbus: https://www.airbus.com/en• NIH: https://www.nih.gov/• Jupyter Notebooks: https://jupyter.org/• Shyam Sankar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shyamsankar/• Palantir Gotham for Defense Decision Making: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxKghrZU5w8• Foundry 2022 Operating System Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF-GSj-Exms• SQL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL• Airbus A350: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A350• SAP: https://www.sap.com/index.html• Barry McCardel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrymccardel/• Understanding ‘Forward Deployed Engineering' and Why Your Company Probably Shouldn't Do It: https://www.barry.ooo/posts/fde-culture• David Hsu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dvdhsu/• Retool's Path to Product-Market Fit—Lessons for Getting to 100 Happy Customers, Faster: https://review.firstround.com/retools-path-to-product-market-fit-lessons-for-getting-to-100-happy-customers-faster/• How to foster innovation and big thinking | Eeke de Milliano (Retool, Stripe): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-foster-innovation-and-big• Looker: https://cloud.google.com/looker• Sorry, that isn't an FDE: https://tedmabrey.substack.com/p/sorry-that-isnt-an-fde• Glean: https://www.glean.com/• Limited Engagement: Is Tech Becoming More Diverse?: https://www.bkmag.com/2017/01/31/limited-engagement-creating-diversity-in-the-tech-industry/• Operation Warp Speed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed• Mark Zuckerberg testifies: https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-testifies-congress-libra-cryptocurrency-2019-10• Anduril: https://www.anduril.com/• SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/• Principles: https://nabeelqu.co/principles• Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai/• Claude code: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview• Gemini Pro 2.5: https://deepmind.google/technologies/gemini/pro/• DeepMind: https://deepmind.google/• Latent Space newsletter: https://www.latent.space/• Swyx on x: https://x.com/swyx• Neural networks in chess programs: https://www.chessprogramming.org/Neural_Networks• AlphaZero: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaZero• The top chess players in the world: https://www.chess.com/players• Decision to Leave: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12477480/• Oldboy: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364569/• Christopher Alexander: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Alexander—Recommended books:• The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West: https://www.amazon.com/Technological-Republic-Power-Belief-Future/dp/0593798694• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future: https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future/dp/0804139296• Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre: https://www.amazon.com/Impro-Improvisation-Theatre-Keith-Johnstone/dp/0878301178/• William Shakespeare: Histories: https://www.amazon.com/Histories-Everymans-Library-William-Shakespeare/dp/0679433120/• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884• Anna Karenina: https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/0143035002—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

In this episode of FDE+ episode, we're joined by the legendary Greg Doersching, President of Next Level Coaching you won't want to miss!" As an award-winning recruiter, trainer, and consultant with nearly three decades of experience, Greg shares invaluable insights on effective decision-making in recruiting, the power of communication and transparency, and crafting compelling job narratives that resonate with candidates.We'll explore the critical role of detailed job descriptions, the influence of a candidate's social support network on their decision-making, and the evolving landscape of talent acquisition post-COVID. Furthermore, Greg reveals the psychological motivators driving career decisions and underscores the importance of providing comprehensive job details to captivate candidates. Join us as Greg discusses the three fundamental phases of recruitment, the significance of asking for help, and the necessity of aligning recruitment strategies with the expectations of modern candidates. Don't miss this episode packed with actionable strategies to elevate your recruiting game. Let's dive in!________________Follow Greg on LinkedIn: LinkedIn | Greg DoerschingWant to learn more about Crelate? Book a demo hereFollow Crelate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crelate/Subscribe to our newsletter: https://www.crelate.com/blog/full-desk-experience