Podcasts about french air force

Join Captain Jeff, Captain Nick, Producer Liz. Enjoy! APG 656 SHOW NOTES WITH LINKS AND PICS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:03:41 NEWS 00:03:58 Two Alpha Jets from the French Air Force collided midair during training over Air Base in Saint-Dizier 00:15:02 Heathrow Flights Resume After Fire Forced Shutdown 00:24:42 Endeavor CRJ9 Wing Tip Strike on Landing/Go-Around at LaGuardia 00:35:48 NTSB Preliminary Report: MDW Runway Incursion 25 Feb 2025 00:43:20 Southwest B738 at Orlando Attempted to Takeoff from Taxiway 00:48:28 Airline Captain Fined For Failing to Maintain Contact With Air Traffic Control 00:56:57 Scandinavian Airline Trolls British Media 01:00:19 GETTING TO KNOW US 01:24:24 Plane Tale - RAF Form 414 - Volume 33 01:47:12 FEEDBACK 01:47:20 Jim Mercado - Look What I Found: Aero California DC-9 01:51:51 Les Yaw - Trucking's Safety Guide - The Smith System Watch the video of our live stream recording! Go to our YouTube channel! Give us your review in iTunes! I'm "airlinepilotguy" on Facebook, and "airlinepilotguy" on Twitter. feedback@airlinepilotguy.com airlinepilotguy.com ATC audio from https://LiveATC.net Intro/outro Music, Coffee Fund theme music by Geoff Smith thegeoffsmith.com Dr. Steph's intro music by Nevil Bounds Capt Nick's intro music by Kevin from Norway (aka Kevski) Copyright © AirlinePilotGuy 2025, All Rights Reserved Airline Pilot Guy Show by Jeff Nielsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Good and bad unintended consequences.By FinalStand. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.The highest cost of losing a war is the rage of your children."Maybe the Canadian is not so much an 'ex' girlfriend?" Orsi leered. It was the old 'if he is so good that she still wants him back after a colossal screw up, I wanted a taste' expression."Do you think she will help you?" Katalin inquired."She'll help," Pamela huffed playfully. "My grandson has plenty of ex-girlfriends. Most of them want him back, despite his colorful lifestyle. It is one of his more amusing qualities.""Let's get something to eat," I tried to turn the conversation away from my past sexcapades."You are engaged?" Jolan didn't miss a beat."It is complicated," I sighed. "Let's just say I really like her, but she's seven years older, divorced with one young daughter and has a father who hates that I live and breathe.""Do you have any male friends?" Monika joined the Cáel Quiz Bowl."Yes," I replied with confidence. "My roommate Timothy and I are great friends.""He's gay," Pamela pierced their disbelief. "He and Cáel are true brothers-in-arms, I'll give Cáel that much.""Do you have any straight male friends?" Orsi was enjoying taunting me."Do Chaz or Vincent count?" I looked to Pamela."They are straight males, but they don't really know you yet," Pamela failed to be of much help. "I think Vincent insinuated he'd shoot you if you dated any of his three daughters. It was friendly of him to warn you. I supposed that could be construed as liking you.""Are all your acquaintances violent?" Anya seemed worried."Vincent isn't violent. He's with the US FBI," I retorted. Pause. "Okay, he carries a gun and shoots it, he's a law officer. They can do that.""You seem to be stressed," Orsi put an arm around my waist. "Let us ease your worries." Hallelujah!Note: One of History's LessonsIn the last 75 years of military history, airpower had been a decisive factor in every major conflict, save one. Most Americans would think the one exception was US involvement in Vietnam and they'd be wrong: right country, wrong time. Indochina's War of Independence against France was the exception. There, the French Air Force was simply inadequate to the task.Yes, the United States and its allies eventually lost the struggle in Vietnam. But it was their airpower that kept the conflict running as long as it did. For the most part, the Allied and Communist military hardware on the ground were equivalent. While the Allies had superior quantities of supplies, the Communists countered that with numbers, and therein lies the rub.Airpower allowed the Allies to smash large North Vietnamese formations south of the Demilitarized Zone and thus prevented the numerical advantage from coming into play. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong made one serious stab at a conventional militarily challenge to the Allies, the Tet Offensive, and after initial successes, they were crushed.With the NVA unable to flex their superior numbers, the Allies were able to innovate helicopter-borne counter-insurgency operations. The North Vietnam's Army (NVA) was forced to operate in smaller units, so the Allies were able to engage them in troop numbers that helicopters could support. The air forces didn't deliver ultimate victory, but air power alone had never been able to do so on land. It was only when the US lost faith in achieving any positive outcome in Viet Nam and pulled out, that the North was finally able to overrun the South 20 months later. But every major power today understands the lesson.End of Note(Big Trouble in Little China)The military importance of airpower was now haunting the leadership of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Their problem wasn't aircraft. Most of their air fleet consisted of the most advanced models produced during the last two decades. The problem was that 80% of their pilots were dead, or dying. Their ground crews were in the same peril. Even shanghaiing commercial pilots couldn't meet the projected pilot shortfall.Classic PLA defense doctrine was to soak up an enemy (Russian) attack and bog down the aggressor with semi-guerilla warfare (classic small unit tactics backed up with larger, light infantry formations). Then, when the invaders were over-extended and exhausted, the armored / mechanized / motorized forces would counter-attack and destroy their foes. This last bit required air superiority through attrition.The twin enemies of this strategy were the price of technology and the Chinese economic priorities. With the rising cost of the high-tech equipment and a central government focus on developing the overall economy, the Chinese went for an ever smaller counter attack striking force, thus skewing the burden of depth of support far in favor of their relatively static militia/police units.So now, while the PLA / PLAAF's main divisions, brigades and Air Wings were some of the best equipped on the planet, the economic necessities had also meant the militia was financially neglected, remaining little more than early Cold War Era non-mechanized infantry formations. To compensate, the Chinese had placed greater and greater emphasis on the deployment capabilities of their scarcer, technologically advanced formations.When the Anthrax outbreak started, the strike force personnel were the first personnel 'vaccinated'. Now those men and women were coughing out the last days and hours of their lives. Unfortunately, you couldn't simply put a few commercial truck drivers in a T-99 Main Battle Tank and expect them to be anything more than a rolling coffin. The same went for a commercial airline pilot and a Chengdu J-10 multi-role fighter. The best you could hope for was for him/her to make successful takeoffs and landings.A further critical factor was that the Khanate's first strike had also targeted key defense industries. The damage hadn't been irreparable. Most military production would be only a month to six weeks behind schedule. But there would be a gap.It was just becoming clear that roughly 80% of their highly-trained, frontline combatants were going to die anyway. Their Reserves were looking at 30~40% attrition due to the illness as well. In the short term (three months), they would be fighting with whatever they started with. Within the very short term (one week), they were going to have a bunch of high-priced equipment and no one trained to use it. With chilling practicality, the Chinese leaders decided to throw their dying troopers into one immediate, massive counter-offensive against the Khanate.Just as Temujin predicted they would. Things were playing out according to plan.Note: World Events SummaryRound #1 had seen the Khanate unite several countries under one, their, banner. Earth  and  Sky soldiers had rolled across the Chinese border as their Air Force and Missile Regiments had used precision strikes to hammer Chinese bases, sever their transportation network and crippled their civilian infrastructure.Next, the frontier offensive units had been obliterated, the cities bypassed and the Khanate Tumens had sped forward to the geographic junctures between what the Khanate wanted and from whence the PLA had to come. In the last phase of Round #1, the Khanate prepped for the inevitable PLA / PLAAF counter-strike.Round #2 had now begun:Step One: Declare to the World that the Khanate was a nuclear power. As history would later reveal, this was a lie, but no one had any way of initially knowing that. Hell, the Khanate hadn't even existed 72 hours ago. Satellite imagery did show the Khanate had medium-range strategic missiles capable of hitting any location in the People's Republic. In Beijing, a nuclear response was taken off the table.Step Two: Initiate the largest air-battle in the history of Asia. Not just planes either. Both sides flew fleets of UCAV's at one another. It wasn't really even a battle between China and just the Khanate. Virtually all of the UAV technology the Khanate was using was Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese in origin, plus some US-Russian-shared technology thrown into the mix.When the South Korean design team saw the footage of their bleeding-edge dogfighting UCAVs shooting down their PRC opponents, they were thrilled (their design rocked!), shocked (what was their 'baby' doing dominating Chinese airspace?) and anxious (members of South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, DAPA, were rushing over to chat with them).Similar things were happening in Japan, Taiwan, Russia and the United States. The Communist Party leadership in Beijing were beginning to seriously consider the possibility that everyone was out to get them. Of course, all the Ambassadors in Beijing were bobbing their heads with the utmost respect while swearing on the lives of their first born sons that their nations had nothing to do with any of this.These foreign diplomats promised to look into these egregious breaches of their scientific integrity and were saying how sorry they were that the PLA and PLAAF were getting ass-raped for the World's viewing pleasure. No, they couldn't stop the Khanate posting such things to the internet, something to do with freedom. Paranoia had been creeping into the Potentates' thoughts since the Pakistan/Aksai Chan incident.As they watched their very expensive jets and UCAV's being obliterated, distrust of the global community became the 800 pound gorilla in the room. To add habaneros to the open wounds, the United States and the United Kingdom began dropping hints that they had some sort of highly personal communication conduit with the Khanate's secretive and unresponsive leadership. Yes Virginia Wolfe, the Western World was out to get the People's Republic.'Great Mao's Ghost', all that claptrap their grandfathers had babbled on about (1) the Korea War, (2) the Sino-Soviet grudge match, (3) the Sino-Vietnamese conflict and (4) the persistent support for the renegade province of Formosa all being a continuous effort by the liberal democracies and post-colonial imperialist to contain Chinese communism, didn't sound so crazy anymore.Step Three: Plaster all those PLA ground units that had started moving toward them when the air war began and the Chinese envisioned they would control the skies. The T-99 was a great tank. It also blew up rather spectacularly when it was stuck on a rail car (you don't drive your tanks halfway across China, it kills the treads).As Craig Kilborn put into his late night repertoire:"What do you call a Khanate UCAV driver who isn't an ace yet? Late for work.""What's the difference between me coming off a weekend long Las Vegas bender and a Khanate pilot? Not a damn thing. We've both been up for three days straight, yet everyone expects us to work tonight."Some PLA generals decided to make an all-out charge at the Tumens. Genghis's boys and girls were having none of that. They weren't using their Russian-built Khanate tanks to kill Chinese-built PLA tanks. No, their tanks were sneaking around and picking off the Chinese anti-air vehicles.The Chinese tanks and APCs engaged the dismounted Khanate infantry who, as Aksai Chin had shown, possessed some of the latest anti-tank weaponry. In the few cases where the PLA threw caution to the wind, they did some damage to the Khanate by sheer weight of numbers. For the rest, it was death by airpower.With their anti-air shield gone, the battle became little more than a grisly, real-life FPS game. It wasn't 'THE END'. China still had over 2,000,000 troops to call upon versus the roughly 200,000 the Khanate could currently muster. The PLA's new dilemma was how to transport these mostly truck-bound troops anywhere near the front lines without seeing them also exterminated from the air.After the Tumens gobbled up the majority of the PLA's available mobile forces, they resumed their advance toward the provincial boundaries of Xinjiang and Nin Mongol. There was little left to slow them down. The Chinese still held most of the urban centers in Xinjiang and Nei Mongol, yet they were isolated. And Khanate follow-up forces (the national armies they'd 'inherited') were putting the disease-riddled major municipalities under siege.All over the 24/7 World Wide News cycle, talking heads and military gurus were of two minds about the Khanate's offensive. Most harped on the fact that while the Khanate was making great territorial gains, it was barely making a dent in the Chinese population and economy. Uniformly, those people insisted that before the end of November, the Khanate would be crushed and a reordering of Asia was going to be the next great Mandate for the United Nations.A few of the braver unconventional pundits pointed out the same thing, but with the opposite conclusion, arguing:1.There were virtually no military forces in the conquered areas to contend with the Khanate's hold on the regions.2.Their popularity in the rural towns and countryside seriously undercut any hope for a pro-PRC insurgency.3.Driving the Khanate's forces back to their starting points would be a long and difficult endeavor that the World Economy might not be able to endure.When the PLAAF was effectively castrated after thirty-six hours of continuous aerial combat, a lot of experts were left with egg on their faces. One lone commentator asked the most fearful question of all. Where was the Khanate getting the financing, technical know-how and expertise to pull all of this off? There was a reason to be afraid of that answer.And while I was entertaining my six sailor-saviors, there were two other things of a diplomatic nature only just revealing themselves. Publically, Vladimir Putin had graciously offered to mediate the crisis while 'stealthily' increasing the readiness of his Eastern Military District. If there was any confusion, that meant activating a shitload of troops on the Manchurian border, not along the frontiers of the former nations of Mongolia and Kazakhstan.After all, Mongolia was terribly poor. Manchuria/Northeastern China? Manchuria was rich, rich, rich! From the Kremlin, Putin spoke of 'projecting a presence' into the 'lost territory' of Manchuria, citing Russia's long involvement in the region. By his interpretation of history, the Russians (aka the Soviet Union) had rescued Manchukuo (the theoretically INDEPENDENT Imperial Japanese puppet state of Manchuria) from the Japanese in 1945. They'd even given it back to the PRC for safekeeping after World War II was concluded.Putin promised Russia was ready and willing to help out the PRC once again, suggesting that maybe a preemptive intervention would forestall the inevitable Khanate attack, thus saving the wealthy, industrialized province from the ravages of war. Surely Putin's Russians could be relied on to withdraw once the Khanate struggle was resolved? Surprisingly, despite being recent beneficiaries of President Putin's promises, the Ukraine remained remiss in their accolades regarding his rectitude.In the other bit of breaking news; an intermediary convinced the Khanate to extend an invitation to the Red Cross, Red Crescent and the WHO to investigate the recently conquered regions in preparations for a humanitarian mission.That intermediary was Hana Sulkanen; for reasons no one could fathom, she alone had the clout to get the otherwise unresponsive new regime to open up and she was using that influence to bring about a desperately needed relief effort to aid the civilians caught up in that dynastic struggle. A Princess indeed. No one was surprised that the PRC protested, claiming that since the territory wasn't conquered, any intervention was a gross violation of Chinese sovereignty.End of Note(To Live and Die in Hun-Gray)Orsi may have been the troupe leader, but Anya needed me more, so she came first."I need a shower before we catch some dinner," I announced as we meandered the streets of Mindszent. My lady friends were all processing that as I wound an arm around Anya's waist and pulled her close. "Shower?" I smiled down at her, she was about 5 foot 7. It took her a few seconds to click on my invitation."Yeah, sure, that would be nice," she reciprocated my casual waist hold. Several of her friends giggled over her delay. We were heading back to the Seven Fishermen's Guest House."Do you do this, picking up strange girls you've barely met for, you know?" she said in Bulgarian, as she looked at me expectantly."Yes and no," I began, in Russian. "I often find myself encountering very intriguing women, for which I know I am a fortunate man. I embrace sensuality. That means I know what I'm doing, but I'm not the 'bring him home to meet the parents' kind of guy.""What of your fiancée? Do you feel bad about cheating on her?" Anya pursued me."Hana is wonderful. I've met her father and it went badly both times," I confessed."How?" Anya looked concerned for me."Would you two speak a language the rest of us can understand?" Monika teased us."Very well," I nodded to Monika, and turned back to Anya, "The first time, his son raped a girl and I threatened the young man's life," I revealed. "Jormo, Hana's father, wasn't happy when I did so. The second time, he hit me twice, once in the gut and once in the head," I continued."Why did he hit you?" Orsi butted in."I'd rather not say. You may think less of me," I confessed. Pamela gave me a wink for playing my audience so well. I'm glad she's family (kinda/sorta)."The boy, he is dead?" Magdalena guessed. "Hana's brother?""I really shouldn't talk about that," I evaded. "It is a family matter." That's right. The family that my grandmother had brought me into as her intern / slayer-in-training. There is no reason to create a new lie when you can embellish a previous one."Do you ever feel bad about what you do?" Katalin asked Pamela. We love movies."As I see it, if I show up looking for you, you've done something to deserve it," Pamela gave her sage philosophy behind being an assassin."Are you, bi-sexual?" Jolan murmured. Pamela smacked me in the chest as I laughed. "Did I say something wrong?" Jolan worried. Pamela was a killer."No, you are fine," Pamela patted Jolan's shoulder. "I'm straight and happily so. It just so happens that most of my co-workers are women. Day in, day out, nothing but sweaty female bodies working out, sparring and grappling together, and afterwards, the massages."That was my Grandma, poking all the lesbian buttons of the women around me. Best of all, she did it with the detached air of a sexually indifferent matron. She was stirring up the lassies while keeping them focused on me. We walked into the courtyard of our guest house."Don't take too long, you two," Orsi teased us."Ha!" Pamela chuckled. "That's like asking the Sun to hurry up and rise, the Moon to set too soon, or the sea to stay at low tide forever.""Anya," I whispered into her ear. "How many orgasms do you want?" Anya's eyes expanded. Her eyes flickered toward her friends, then back to me. She held up one finger, I grinned speculatively. Anya held up two fingers. I kissed her fingers.

Reflecting on a year of phenomenal guests, we are bringing you a selection of the Best Conversations of 2024.Jack Beaumont (not his real name) grew up in a turbulent family in Paris before joining the French Air Force as a young man. After a devastating mid-air accident, he joined the DGSE and became a French secret agent and he now uses his first-hand knowledge to write spy thrillers set in the world of international espionage. Jack Beaumont (not his real name) is a former intelligence operative and the author of several spy thrillers.Jack grew up in a turbulent family in Paris and when he got older he decided to train as a jet fighter pilot with the French Air Force.During a training dogfight at supersonic speed, Jack suffered a devastating injury that meant he could no longer fly jets, but he still wanted a job steeped in adventure and danger.So he began piloting covert spy missions, and eventually became a spy with France's secret intelligence service: the DGSE, maintaining up to five secret identities as a time.While he now lives in a beautiful part of Australia with his wife and family, Jack has struggled to leave behind the extreme hyper vigilance of his early working life.This episode of Conversations contains discussions about spys, secret service, France, French Secret Service, DGSE, French Air Force, French Military, fighter pilots, fighter jets, back injuries, spinal injuries, disability, mid-air accidents, thrillers, novels, nom-de-plume, pen names, Australia, authors, writing, publishing, private schools, Napoleon, boarding school, Paris, families, family relationships, international relations, diplomacy, CIA, MI5, crime fiction, global politics. 

For review:1. Israel Strikes Military Targets in Iran.After reports of explosions near Tehran began to emerge around 2:15 a.m. local time, the Israel Defense Forces released a statement confirming that it was attacking Iran in response to “months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel.”2. Israeli & Egyptian Spy Chiefs Meet to Re-start Hostage Talks.Mossad chief David Barnea met in Cairo, with newly appointed Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, ahead of the resumption of hostage deal negotiations in Qatar next week.3. Latest group of Ukrainian Pilots complete Elementary Flying Training in UK. Training in the UK is Phase I out of three, where the pilots flew for about 80 hours on a GROB-115 general aviation aircraft.Phase II is advanced flight training from the French Air Force using the Alpha Jet.Phase III occurs at the European F-16 Training Center in Romania, where pilots will fly over 80 hours in the F-16 (& another 60 hours in simulator).4. Russian President Putin comments on use of N. Korean troops in Russia: "This is our business." President Putin said on Thursday it is up to Moscow how to run its mutual defense clause with Pyongyang. Ukraine's military intelligence service said that the first North Korean units trained in Russia had been deployed in the Kursk region.5. Poland's President Andrzej Duda visits S. Korea- rejects sending any new military hardware to Ukraine. "There is no scenario under consideration in which we transfer the weapons that we have acquired … with taxpayers' money, to anyone.” 6. Australia Donates 49 x M1A1 Abrams Tanks to Ukraine (17 October).This came just weeks after a first batch of new M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams replacements arrived in Australia from the U.S.

When a devastating injury ended Jack Beaumont's career as a jet fighter pilot, he decided to become a spy, in the French Secret Service.Jack Beaumont (not his real name) is a former intelligence operative and the author of several spy thrillers.Jack grew up in a turbulent family in Paris and when he got older he decided to train as a jet fighter pilot with the French Air Force.During a training dogfight at supersonic speed, Jack suffered a devastating injury that meant he could no longer fly jets, but he still wanted a job steeped in adventure and danger.So he began piloting covert spy missions, and eventually became a spy with France's secret intelligence service: the DGSE, maintaining up to five secret identities as a time.While he now lives in a beautiful part of Australia with his wife and family, Jack has struggled to leave behind the extreme hyper vigilance of his early working life.This conversation discusses family dynamics, adventure, history, global politics, spies, military life and spycraft.

Jack Beaumont is a former fighter pilot with the French Air Force and later carried out clandestine missions for the DGSE. DARK ARENA - the second novel in his Frenchman Series - is available from Blackstone Publishing. Please visit his website at https://jackbeaumontofficial.com/ Spies, Lies and Private Eyes is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #podcast #author #interview #authors #SpiesLiesandPrivateEyesPodcast #authorsontheair #podcast #podcaster #authors #authorsofig #authorsofinstagram #authorinterview #writingcommunity #authorsontheair #suspensebooks #authorssupportingauthors #thrillerbooks #suspense #wip #writers#writersinspiration #books #bookrecommendations #bookaddict #bookaddicted #bookaddiction #bibliophile #read #amreading #lovetoread #terrencemccauley #terrencemccauleybooks #bookouture #thrillers #theuniversityseries #JackBeaumont #DarkArena

Jack Beaumont is a former fighter pilot with the French Air Force and later carried out clandestine missions for the DGSE. DARK ARENA - the second novel in his Frenchman Series - is available from Blackstone Publishing. Please visit his website at https://jackbeaumontofficial.com/ Spies, Lies and Private Eyes is copyrighted by Authors on the Air Global Radio Network #podcast #author #interview #authors #SpiesLiesandPrivateEyesPodcast #authorsontheair #podcast #podcaster #authors #authorsofig #authorsofinstagram #authorinterview #writingcommunity #authorsontheair #suspensebooks #authorssupportingauthors #thrillerbooks #suspense #wip #writers#writersinspiration #books #bookrecommendations #bookaddict #bookaddicted #bookaddiction #bibliophile #read #amreading #lovetoread #terrencemccauley #terrencemccauleybooks #bookouture #thrillers #theuniversityseries #JackBeaumont #DarkArena

On this episode of 1050 Bascom, we were delighted to talk to Jim Gingras, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Political Science. A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and military diplomat, Jim is particularly interested in Civil-Military Relations and methods that may improve U.S. and international security policy. In his time in the Air Force, Jim commanded a squadron and installation in Turkey as well as the U.S. assistant air attaché at the U.S. Embassy in London. He also led combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Jim was also an instructor at both the French Air Force and the U.S. Air Force Academies prior to coming to UW-Madison.

Dark Arena: A Frenchman Novel (The Frenchman Series) by Jack Beaumont https://amzn.to/3HEVD8S Written by a former French spy, Dark Arena is an espionage thriller that takes the reader through an invisible but violent battle for energy supremacy in Europe that led the invasion of Ukraine. February 2022. An officer of the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), the French foreign intelligence agency, delivers a package of top secret Russian military information from Prague to Paris, and is subsequently assassinated. So begins a cat and mouse game across Europe as DGSE agent Alec de Payns races to find the source of what has become regular "drops" of highly sensitive information regarding Russian military operations. De Payns infiltrates the clandestine meeting a of Russian private military company, follows the trail of a shady individual codenamed Starkand, and nearly gets assassinated himself. Meanwhile, de Payns marriage is falling apart and his mental state unraveling as his wife, Romy, pulls away from her increasingly paranoid husband. But as his personal life crumbles, his professional life makes a breakthrough and the DGSE are finally closing in on Starkand and the mysterious head of an American spy network--who is much closer to home than Alec ever imagined. About the author Jack Beaumont joined the French Air Force in his late teens, trained as a fighter pilot on Mirage 2000-5 single seaters for air-to-air combat, and was deployed in various conflicts. After being injured in a flying accident, he subsequently flew clandestine missions for French special forces and intelligence services before joining the DGSE, where he carried out clandestine operations in the field under false identities. He has since retired from the DGSE and is married with children.

Olivier Robert-Murphy, originally from Toulouse, financed his education by chauffeuring celebrities around Paris. After serving as an officer in the French Air Force, he commenced his professional journey at Procter & Gamble. Initially entering the entertainment sector at PolyGram Video, he eventually rose to the position of VP of Marketing at Universal Pictures International Video in London. Olivier has been at the helm of Universal Music Group and Brands (UMGB), a globally recognised team of music, content, and partnership experts acclaimed as the ultimate creative force for music and brands. Olivier Robert-Murphy possesses extensive experience in the entertainment industry, specifically in music and media. Currently serving as CEO at Spitfire Audio. Olivier's multifaceted experience highlights his proficiency in leadership, marketing, business development, and revenue generation within the entertainment domain. Chapters: 00:00:00 - A Journey of Inspiration: How I Became CEO of Spitfire Audio 00:06:35 - Growing Up in the Village 00:09:52 - Boarding School Trauma 00:13:20 - The Story of My Driving License 00:16:44 - Finding a Place to Crash 00:19:57 - Building a Business from Opportunities 00:23:07 - Recruitment Challenges and Career Transitions 00:26:36 - The Story of How I Won Her Heart 00:29:52 - The Importance of Persistence 00:32:58 - Dealing with toxic situations and managing relationships in the workplace 00:36:05 - The Importance of Keeping a Healthy Distance 00:39:21 - The Journey from Small Village to International Offices 00:42:31 - The Role of a Mentor in Career Growth 00:46:06 - Choosing the Right Person to Bet on 00:49:23 - Restructuring and Laying Off Employees 00:52:37 - Embracing Job Transitions 00:56:01 - Cultural Relevance and Local Brands 00:59:11 - Discussions on Chicken Consumption and Crying Habits 01:02:22 - Surrounding Yourself with the Right People 01:05:50 - Near-Death Experiences and Beliefs 01:09:16 - Transitioning out of a job 01:12:30 - A Weekly Dinner Tradition 01:15:39 - Choosing a New Career Path 01:18:58 - Golf as a Journey 01:22:09 - Inflection Points in Business 01:25:28 - Embracing Disruption in the Music Industry 01:28:54 - The Impact of AI on the Music Industry 01:31:57 - AI and Composing 01:35:15 - Embracing Entrepreneurial Spirit 01:38:15 - Strategies for Success We discuss: -Childhood and upbringing in Toulouse, France -Relocating to Paris -Experience as a chauffeur for celebrities -Entrepreneurial journey and the initiation of the first business -Persistence in applying to P&G, resulting in finally securing a role -Encounters with a significant individual in the workplace -Coping with toxic leadership -Strategic decision-making, including "betting on horses" -Launching a business within a corporation -Coping with the loss of a mother -Job termination experience -The process to find a new job -Ascending to the role of CEO ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@HOWIBECAME__⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We're on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Unity & Motion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ - A London based production company specialising in commercials and branded content Email: info@weunify.co.uk This is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠UNIFY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast. Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Unity & Motion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Credits: Director: Charles Parkinson Poet & VO Artist: Ashley Samuels-McKenzie Sound Recordist: Aurelija Ausembergaite Camera Operator: Stuart Aitken Editor: Catherine Singh

CEO's Build Trust AT SCALE.A dose of inspiration from Pascal Houdayer, Founder and CEO of Orveon, a collective of premium and prestige beauty brands committed to stark honesty, co-creation, and making a sustainable cultural impact. It seems impossible to build trust with thousands of employees especially when they're located all over the world. BUT, if you can……it becomes an incredibly powerful competitive advantage.Pascal shares how he inspires trust with employees from their very first day forward. He's honed his strategy from his executive level experience at Procter and Gamble and Henkel. This turns out to be effective with any team of any size.If you've ever wondered how to fast track trust with your team then this interview is for you!LinkedIn Profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascal-houdayer-1b3220/Company Link: http://orveonglobal.com/What You'll Discover in this Episode:What He Learned Serving in the French Air Force.His Strategy that Builds Trust with 2,000 Employees.Why the CEO MUST become THE Social Architect.The Power of Connecting with Frontline Leaders.Why Orveon is Changing the Industry.Why It's Vital to have “Skin in the Game' as Leader.Saying “No” to Work-Life Balance.An Unexpected Twist that Led to his Growth.-----Connect with the Host, #1 bestselling author Ben FanningSpeaking and Training inquiresSubscribe to my Youtube channelLinkedInInstagramTwitter

Prepare to be awestruck as we journey through the inspiring life and career of Jean Paul Paloméros, a retired French Air Force general and former Supreme Allied Commander in Transformation. “There's no such thing as love; only proof of love'.Pierre Reverdy et Jean CocteauPaloméros' remarkable journey from a childhood dream to leading hundreds in the military and managing a squadron of 15 fighter jets and 200 people at the age of 35 in Chad is nothing short of awe-inspiring. But it's not just about his extraordinary feats. Listen in as he speaks candidly about the invaluable role of people in his career, the techniques he learned as a fighter pilot, his aspiration for leadership, and the courage of British aviars that moved him.Get set to learn the secrets behind demanding excellence within any organization. It's a delicate balance, and Palameros explains it perfectly! Discover the critical role of vision, discipline, focus, and hope in achieving success, and how essential training is in this quest. Our conversation also delves into the intriguing parallels between the military and popular culture, like the movie Top Gun, which, as Paloméros points out, mirrors the values needed for success. It's incredible how much the military and sports have in common, especially when it comes to the importance of trust and teamwork. So, join us for an episode rich in leadership lessons and brimming with inspiration.WATCH JEAN PAUL'S TED TALK ( FRENCH LANGUAGE)Support the show

August 22, 1962. An officer in the French Air Force leads an assassination attempt on President Charles de Gaulle.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dive into the thrilling world of aviation and military history as we explore the awe-inspiring life of Valerie Andre with acclaimed author Charles Morgan Evans. A woman of unparalleled courage and determination, Valerie Andre shattered gender stereotypes to become the first female pilot and doctor in the Vietnam War serving in the French Air Force. This episode is an exciting deep dive into the pages of Charles' riveting book "Helicopter Heroine, Valerie Andre: Surgeon, Pioneering Rescue Pilot, and Her Courage Under Fire."Charles meticulously examines Valerie's extraordinary career, detailing her heroic missions, her staunch resolve and the significant impact she had on the creation of the Hiller Aviation Museum. With an infectious fascination, he shares the intriguing story of his personal encounter with Valerie, offering a glimpse into her life and the influential figures she interacted with. But the excitement doesn't stop there. Charles takes us on his journey of publishing, revealing the challenges and triumphs of bringing Valerie Andre's story to life on paper.Adding a fresh perspective, we conclude by discussing Valerie's return to France and her unique insights into the conflict between the European and Algerian populations during her service in Algeria. This episode, rich in aviation and military history, is also a remarkable testament to the power of tenacity and courage. So buckle up, and get ready for an unforgettable journey through the life of Valerie Andre, a true heroine of her time.Liz Booker is a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot and writer for young adults. She hosts the Aviatrix Book Club and the Aviatrix Book Review Website and Podcast. This episode is a rebroadcast of the Aviatrix Book Review in collaboration with Coming Home Well. You can find Liz @LiteraryAviatrix on social media.Support the showThank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring today's episode! Coming Home Well listeners can get 10% off by visiting betterhelp.com/cominghomewellFinancial Aid is availableVisit our webpage at cominghomewell.comGet the ammo you need to seize your day at Soldier Girl Coffee. Use code CHW10 for a 10% off at checkout! Follow us on our socialsYouTube @cominghomewellmilitaryInstagram @cominghomewellorganizationFacebook at Coming Home WellLinkedIn at Coming Home WellTwitter @ComingHomeWellThank you for listening! Be sure to SHARE, LIKE and leave us a REVIEW!

Is it possible to create ethical AI that truly incorporates ethnic diversity? And is it possible to avoid creating AI that doesn't embed bias and perpetuate stereotypes? And…do we want to? From having worked on the ethics behind lethal autonomous weapons in the past, Emmanuel is here to discuss the ethics behind AI. Meet Emmanuel R. Goffi Emmanuel's Role as an AI Leader at Global AI Ethics Institute Emmanuel R. Goffi is the Co-Director & Co-Founder of the Global AI Ethics Institute. The Global AI Ethics Institute (GAIEI) aims at opening the debate on AI ethics to all philosophical stances, wisdoms and perspectives coming from all cultures. It is a global think tank built as a hub for researchers, thinkers and practitioners working in the field of AI ethics all around the world. Emmanuel's Other Work in AI Ethics Besides his work with GAIEI, Emmanuel is a Research Fellow with the Society and Technology Study Center CEST POLI USP, a Lecturer at the IA Institut, a Professor at Collège La Cité, and an Instructor at the Vectors Institute. He is also a tech ethics commentator with Trench Tech. In addition, Emmanuel has co-founded Collectif des éthiciens du numérique and Digital Ethicists. Emmanuel served in the French Air Force for 27 years. After having worked on military ethics - more precisely on ethics applied to Lethal autonomous weapons - his focus turned to the ethics applied to Artificial intelligence. He was awarded the National Defense Medal by the French Ministry of Defense in 2004, the Voluntary Military Services Medal by the French Air Force in 2010, and the Silver National Defense Medal by Ministère des Armées France in 2020. Ethical AI, Diversity, and Bias In this exclusive analytics podcast episode, Emmanuel shares: His experience serving in the French Air Force for 27 years His current role as the Co-Director & Co-Founder of the Global AI Ethics Institute Whether or not it's possible to create ethical AI with ethnic diversity Incorporating human weaknesses into AI Unconsciously embedding your own bias into AI How to avoid embedding bias into AI Whether it's possible to create harmony and unite all cultures when creating an AI The challenges that arise when trying to create diverse AI ethics boards The most pressing ethical issues facing AI today How the lack of diversity in the field of AI development can lead to biassed algorithms and decision making Including less advanced societies in AI ethics and diversity Avoiding situations similar to how AI image-generators are perpetuating stereotypes due to taking information from the wide Internet His advice for individuals or organisations just starting to think about the ethical implications of their AI systems and promoting diversity in the field If you are looking to incorporate ethical AI and diversity into your organisation, this is the episode you do not want to miss. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/analyticsshow/message

On this episode, Cullan talks with Professor Michal Kšiňan about his monograph on the Slovak national hero and co-founder of Czechoslovakia, Milan Rastislav Štefánik. Michal talks about Štefánik's military career and meteoric rise and the place he continues to hold in Czechoslovakia history and memory. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE BOOK https://www.routledge.com/authors/i21001-michal-kian This is the first scientific biography of Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1919) that is focused on analysing the process of how he became the Slovak national hero. Although he is relatively unknown internationally, his contemporaries compared him “to Choderlos de Laclos for the use of military tactics in love affairs, to Lawrence of Arabia for vision, to Bonaparte for ambition ... and to one of apostles for conviction”. He played the key role in founding an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918 through his relentless worldwide travels during the First World War in order to create the Czechoslovak Army: he visited Serbia and Romania on the eve of invasion by the Central Powers, Russia before the February revolution, the United States after it declared war on Germany, Italy dealing with the consequences of defeat in the Caporetto battle, and again when Russia plunged into Civil War. Several historical methods are used to analyse the aforementioned central research question of this biography such as social capital to explain his rise in French society, the charismatic leader to understand how he convinced and won over a relatively large number of people; more traditional political, military, and diplomatic history to show his contribution to the founding of Czechoslovakia, and memory studies to analyse his extraordinary popularity in Slovakia. By mapping his intriguing life, the book will be of interest to scholars in a broad range of areas including history of Central Europe, especially Czechoslovakia, international relations, social history, French society at the beginning of the 20th century and biographical research. ABOUT THE GUEST Michal Kšiňan is a researcher at the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. He defended his PhD theses in history summa cum laude in 2011. He wrote his PhD theses en cotutelle between University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, where he later also lectured (2018–2019), and the Institute of History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava where he currently works. He wrote several books about Štefánik, edited or coedited 5 volumes and published dozens of scientific papers on different topics. His works were published in Slovak, French, English, Italian, German and Russian. In 2006, he graduated from history and French language and literature at the Faculty of Pedagogy, Comenius University, Bratislava. In 2007, he got his Master 2 recherche from Contemporary Central European History at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 1, 2022 via Zoom. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email slavxradio@utexas.edu and we will be in touch! CREDITS Host/Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Lera Toropin (@earlportion) Assistant Producer: Taylor Ham Assistant Producer: Sergio Glajar Assistant Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Executive Assistant: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Katherine Birch Audio Editor: Blaine Young Recording and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Shaolin Dub, Simon Mathewson, Blue Dot Sessions,) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@MSDaniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/9/9a59b135-7876-4254-b600-3839b3aa3ab1/P1EKcswq.png Special Guest: Michal Kšiňan.

Squadron leader Avani Chaturvedi, the Indian Air Force's first female fighter pilot, is set to take part in a maiden air exercise ‘Veer Guardian-2023'. The exercise will be carried out from January 16 to January 26 at the Hyakuri Air Base and its surrounding airspace in Omitama, and the Iruma Air Base in Sayama in Japan. The women officers have been participating in wargames with the foreign contingents coming to India, including the French Air Force where two of the lady fighter pilots took part, but this would be the first time they would be representing the country on foreign land. Besides, Captain Shiva Chouhan of the Indian Army's Fire and Fury Corps became the first woman officer to get operationally deployed at the world's highest battlefield, Siachen, after a month's arduous training at Siachen Battle School along with other personnel. All this is brilliant, however, questions are raised of women's limited representation. Women have been serving in the Indian Armed Forces in various roles for several decades. They are currently allowed to serve in all branches of the military, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In recent years, the Indian government has made efforts to increase the representation of women in the Armed Forces, with a goal of having women comprise 15% of the military by 2020. However, due to various factors, the representation of women in the Indian Armed Forces is still relatively low, with women making up just over 3% of the military as of 2021. Despite this, women have been serving in non-combat roles such as in logistics, medical and education corps, and have also been inducted in combat roles in the Indian Airforce. In the 41st episode of In Our Defence, Dev Goswami, the show's host, and "Def-Savvy" Abhishek Bhalla the national bureau chief, are joined by India Today TV's Executive Editor Preeti Choudhry. Well, Preeti does have an army background but “she never describes herself as a fauji brat”, Bhalla remarks. Referring to Chaturvedi's achievement Bhalla believes that it's not a landmark. “Because if she is already a fighter pilot, she would be expected to be going to such exercises.” “Talking about these is really cosmetic.” I feel the army is more discriminatory than the other armed forces,” Preeti says. Tune in to this relevant discussion on women's sparse representation in the armed forces. Produced by Anna Priyadarshini Sound mix by Amrit Regi

On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, sponsored by Bell, Lt. Gen. Frédéric “Zo” Parisot, the vice chief of the French Air Force, discusses France's role in reassuring NATO partners as Moscow threatens Ukraine, the future of collaboration between his force and the US Air Force in the Pacific and worldwide, modernization, training and interoperability priorities, and lessons learned from his Pentagon tour with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

Brian Donlevy was famous for his roles playing dangerous touch guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. In this episode of the radio program "Dangerous Assignment" he plays such a character (Steve Mitchell) working for the American government. Intro audio gives details of the show and Donlevy as well as listing the other well-known actors that co-starred with him in this show. Backstory: Brian Donlevy (born 1901) lied about his age in 1916 (he was 14) so he could join the army. Gen. John Pershing sent him as part of a battalion of American troops to invade Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa. Mexican rebels under Villa's command had raided Columbus, NM and killed 16 soldiers and civilians. Donlevy served with that expedition and later in WW I was a pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps, a unite of the French Air Force made up of American and Canadian pilots. He was wounded twice serving as a fighter pilot. He also spent 2 yrs at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, but gave up his military career for the stage... his first big film was "What Price Glory" , In 1950 he crashed a plane he was flying into a mountain side in California and survived. He died of cancer at the age of 69 on April 5, 1972 This track will be stored in the "Detective/Mystery" Playlist on this Soundcloud podcast.

Bonjour à tous !Dans ce troisième épisode du SPACEAVOCAT PODCAST, j'ai le plaisir de recevoir Jean-Daniel Testé, ancien général de l'Armée de l'air, spécialisé dans le renseignement et le spatial, afin d'échanger sur les aspects stratégiques de l'Espace. N'hésitez par à réagir et à partager ce podcast !Retrouvez SPACEAVOCAT en ligne et sur les réseaux :www.spaceavocat.comhttps://linktr.ee/spaceavocat--Hello everyone!In this third episode of the SPACEAVOCAT PODCAST, I have the pleasure to discuss with Jean-Daniel Testé, former general of the French Air Force, specialized in intelligence and space, in order to discuss the strategic aspects of Space. Feel free to react and share this podcast!Follow SPACEAVOCAT on social media:www.spaceavocat.comhttps://linktr.ee/spaceavocat Voir Acast.com/privacy pour les informations sur la vie privée et l'opt-out.

TERRY VIRTS is a former Air Force Test/Fighter Pilot, NASA Astronaut, Space Shuttle Pilot, and ISS Commander. He's flown 5,000+ hours in 40+ different aircraft, and has spent 200+ days in space. He's a Podcaster, Speaker, Filmmaker, Photographer, and Author, his latest book is titled How to Astronaut: An Insiders Guide to Leaving Planet Earth. As well as being a guest on shows such as the Joe Rogan Experience, Terry has had some fascinating guests on his own podcast, including UFO community heavyweights: Luis Elizondo, and Christopher Mellon. It's refreshing to see this guest branching out and talking openly about UAP. We talk about his time flying different aircraft, life in space, and his thoughts on UFOs and potential ET life. HAVE YOU MET... TERRY VIRTS TIMESTAMPS: FLYING-- [00:58] Terry's 1st flying experiences [02:26] French Air Force [04:23] After France [05:31] 1st time in F-16 [07:53] Low altitude night attack missions & flying with nukes [10:57] Other flying stories [15:23] 9-G [19:02] Air Force to NASA SPACE-- [22:48] 1st space mission [26:10] Launch week [27:36] Re-entry [31:49] Night on the ISS [35:15] Fun with (low)gravity [39:15] Space dentistry, alcohol & more [48:07] NASA procedure: UAP + dead bodies [49:54] Terry's podcast UFOs/UAP + ET life-- [51:50] Christopher Mellon & Luis Elizondo [56:16] Pilots do NOT want to see UFOs [58:55] Flying into Area 51 [01:01:03] David Fravor + the Nimitz encounters [01:07:36] UFOs + Nukes [01:08:44] The Widow Maker + Roswell [01:13:23] The fake news problem [01:15:54] The Nimitz - what was the UFO? [01:18:37] Obama, presidents + UFOs [01:20:52] Terry's message OUR LINKS: CLICK HERE for ALL podcast links Website MAIN YOUTUBE YouTube CLIPS channel Instagram @haveyoumet_podcast Twitter @haveyoumet_pod Facebook LinkedIn Anchor TERRY'S LINKS: Website SUBSCRIBE to Terry's YouTube Channel Twitter: @astroterry Instagram: @astro_terry Facebook: @astrovirts HOW TO ASTRONAUT book More info & links to Terry's podcast Charity: Guide dogs - NEW EPISODE EVERY OTHER FRIDAY - OPEN-MINDED and curious conversational interviews. EXTREME VARIETY of guests and topics. Just two people talking... Thank you for watching the episode, I hope you enjoyed it, if you did - please consider clicking SUBSCRIBE + maybe SHARE with someone you know, it really helps :) ALL LINKS: https://linktr.ee/HaveYouMet

Welcoming Christophe Billiottet, Founder & CEO of ADGS, at the Leading Entrepreneurs of the World Series on the topic:Predicting Pandemic Infections: Analyzing and Predicting COVID-19Christophe is founder & CEO of ADGS, a disruptive deep technology company. Christophe is an entrepreneur who founded 4 successful startups over the last 30 years. Educated as a fighter pilot in the French Air Force, Christophe has 28 years of experience with internet technologies, security, software engineering, database systems and business reengineering and has developed and managed several successful hi-tech companies in the US and in Europe.At ADGS, Christophe and his team specialize in the fields of behavioral biometrics and biological systems applied to cybersecurity, agent-based modeling applied to emerging behavior, and artificial intelligence applied to unstructured data. ADGS conducts fundamental science research and creates algorithms to develop futuristic applications.One of the disruptive solutions that ADGS has developed is PANDEXIT, an agent-based modeling for predicting pandemics and as a tool, it helps evaluate outcomes and estimate the evolution of a pandemic through several configurable scenarios.Visit ADGS: http://www.adgs.com/Read more about PANDEXIT: http://www.adgs.com/pandexit.htmlTo learn more about Leading Entrepreneurs of the World and to stay updated on upcoming insightful presentations and events visit our site:https://leadingentrepreneursoftheworld.com/Follow 1BusinessWorld:Website: https://1businessworld.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1businessworldTwitter: https://twitter.com/1businessworldFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/1businessworldInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/onebusinessworld/

Watch the video version of this show on YouTube »Matthieu Rouif is the co-founder and CEO of PhotoRoom. PhotoRoom enables anyone to create studio-quality photos on their iPhone. Before founding PhotoRoom, Matthieu was the Senior Project Manager at GoPro. Matthieu is also the co-founder and CTO of HeyCrowd, and co-founder and CEO of As-App.Matthieu earned his graduate degree in materials science and engineering from Stanford University, and his bachelor's degrees in economics, and physics from École Polytechnique. While at École Polytechnique, Matthieu was a member of the skydiving team and debate team. Matthieu also served as a Parachutist Commando Officer in the French Air Force.Matthieu started developing apps in 2009 as a student at Stanford, and subsequently started two iPhone app companies. He was part of the Replay app team when they won App of the Year in 2014. Matthieu started PhotoRoom after leaving GoPro in 2018.In this episode, you'll learn: Matthieu's retention strategies for keeping app users subscribed Innovative and clever ways to get users to demo your app Balancing your app's pricing and features How churn can be an asset Links & Resources YC HeyCrowd GoPro Photoshop Zenlea Shopify Poshmark Depop Corel Matthieu Rouif's Links Matthieu on Twitter Matthieu on LinkendIn PhotoRoom is hiring! 10 Tools to Ship an iOS App in 2 Weeks PhotoRoom's Website PhotoRoom API PhotoRoom on Twitter Follow us on Twitter: David Barnard Jacob Eiting RevenueCat Sub Club Episode Transcript00:00:00 David:Hello, I'm your host, David Barnard. And with me as always, Jacob Eiting, RevenueCat CEO. Our guest today is Matt Rouif, co-founder and CEO at PhotoRoom, the app for removing backgrounds and creating studio quality photos right from your phone.On the podcast, we talk with Matt about how his time at GoPro led to founding PhotoRoom, how churn can actually be an asset, and how being locked in Apple's basement led to one of PhotoRoom's biggest marketing wins.Hey, Matt. Thanks for joining us on the podcast today. How are you doing?00:00:48 Matthieu:Great. Hey David, Hey Jacob.00:00:51 Jacob:Hi, it's nice to finally meet internet/virtual face-to-face. We've known each other for a little while. I've become fortunate to know you kind of through RevenueCat, but not actually know-know you. So, it's nice to finally put a face to the name.I was looking back through my email and I think the first I ever heard of you was from our mutual friend, Cisco, if I say that correctly?00:01:23 Matthieu:Yeah, Francisco.00:01:24 Jacob:Francisco, who shared with me a blog post that I had seen that you wrote where you talked about RevenueCat as part of your stack. Since then, I think we talked as you were thinking about going into YC, and then after YC, I put in a little bit of money, so this is a good opportunity to check in on my investment.I'm super excited to dive in, because there's a lot of questions. I kind of have followed you guys and kind of seeing some of the stuff you've been doing, but I don't know, like the behind the scenes decision making processes and like, and all that stuff. So yeah, I'm excited to hear the story firsthand.00:02:04 David:Yeah, but before we get into PhotoRoom, you've got quite a history in app development. So, I want to go back to the beginning and talk war stories. A lot of people were in the industry way back when. Jacob and I both started really early as well. So, you got your start during the Stanford class and you were actually a teaching assistant at Stanford at the time, right? I'm kind of stealing your story, but yeah. Tell me, tell me how you got into it.00:02:34 Matthieu:Yeah. Actually I wasn't a teaching assistant in physics. I was doing a master's in physics at Stanford, right at the moment of the first iPhone class. And, I actually went to Stanford because I was fascinated by the entrepreneurship. And I had this business idea of printing photos and sending them.And that seemed a lot easier not to buy hardware, but just use the iPhone which just started at that point. So, I was at Stanford, there was the iPhone class. I wanted to do a photo app. So, see, 12 years later....00:03:05 Jacob:A 12 year overnight success.00:03:07 Matthieu:That's what they say. Exactly. And, yeah, I got, I actually, I got started, programming.I was doing physics before, and I didn't know anything about programming. So I took a class with a friend that went through the basics, and I just wanted to push products on apps. And I found that the iPhone was the best at that point. And actually the photo app became something else.The first company I started back in grad school and they became like a ski resorts app. I shipped, we had all of the major ski resorts. And, It was a great, I did that for two years and a major ski resorts and, yeah.I started an apps company after that, one called HeyCrowd around a social network. So like we had surveys that you could answer to with polls, like, a bit like Instagram stories now, and that didn't work so well compared to the ski resort, but, yeah, I got into iPhone apps right since the beginning.00:04:18 Jacob:I remember the Stanford course. It was on iTunes U that was mass disseminated or was it the later one?00:04:25 Matthieu:No, it was the one that it wasn't Stanford U. There was a, the guy from Fitboard during the class. I don't know if it was doing that.00:04:42 Jacob:Yeah. I remember. I remember it being like the moment when we were like, oh, this is going to go mainstream. Right? Like, because up to that point, you had to learn iOS by doing basically Mac OS. That was like the one point there was the big nerd book you learned Mac OS, and then the SDKs came and you like tried to learn quickly, like what worked and what didn't.But, if you were like me who came from no Mac programming, there was really no iPhone entry into it. I remember when the Stanford course came out. It was like one year too late for me. Because like at that point I had already done a lot of stuff, but it was still really great.I still watched the whole thing. I remember watching it. But it's interesting. We have the same path. I don't know if we ever talked about this, but I was studying physics in undergrad as well. Yeah, I didn't go to Stanford, but I went to a small state school instead, just cause, you know. But yeah, kind of similar story where like I was in, I wasn't in grad school, but I was physics, undergrad.Didn't really know what I wanted to do. I really loved physics and the math and all that stuff, but like, there's a stronger economic pull, let's put it that way, to work on apps. That was the same story for me. Like took a little bit of what I had learned, writing code for experiments and things like this, and then kind of started making apps.And then, yeah, the rest is history.00:06:06 Matthieu:Yeah. I think one of the introduction to physics is like how fast data applies to the real world from science to real world. And you don't find that in a, like a physics job where you kind of find that back in, like a software development where you like, can we solve a math problem, a computer science problem, and you can directly apply it to real00:06:25 Jacob:Yeah. Or like, even with business modeling and stuff too, you know, you think about how a business moves and like what number moves this number. And there's no physics there. You're not approximating a physical system, but some of the same principles apply. Right. You're like trying to find some laws that are underlying it and work from there.So yeah, I found it hasn't been terribly unrelevant, but, but yeah, that's interesting. What else, what else do we have in common? Let's keep going.00:06:48 Matthieu:Yeah, sure.00:06:49 David:Well, actually, I, I want to jump in. I want to get to PhotoRoom, so we're actually going to skip over. You've done a lot now. So after, after that you went to replay and replay was like onstage at a keynote. And you're the co founders that you were working with, you know, as, as you joked, before we started recording, spent a month in the basement and apple, as everyone does before a keynote.But then you ended up at GoPro working on imaging. so just tell me about that. Leaving GoPro. I mean, Great company done a lot of innovative stuff. but tell me about leaving to start a PhotoRoom and what the inspiration, I guess we've heard part of it, you know, 12 years of working on imaging and wanting to build a photo app.But yeah. Tell me about the founding of, of.00:07:36 Matthieu:Yeah, I, I, so GoPro is an amazing company, but it's more marketing and hardware. And, I really wanted to, I grew a bit frustrated about like how we could, do better software. Yeah, a few frustration from that I, as a product, I was product manager by them. So I was like frustrated with the design tool, like a Photoshop and, and, you kind of have to move to, and by that time you had to move to California to move the stuff.And I was based in there in Paris and I decided to stay there with the family and, and kind of, we had an amazing missionary team at GoPro in Paris, but it's really difficult to. To change the paradigm of a kind of a software, like a, if it works from a kind of more deterministic way. So I kind of realize that it's really tough to ship a new software with new paradigm, and we've mentioned our new insights.So I thought there was a big opportunity with the new, new hardware coming on, the iPhone formation, learning the new, the new, yeah, this new kind of way of thinking about software. And, I left the GoPro to start a company and we've just ideas in mind. And I also, at the time realized that there was a. A lot of apps, you know, like after 10 years on the app store, you kind of know the tricks of the app store. And I knew there were a lot of apps in the top of the photo apps that were around razor and background eraser. I realized like, okay, if they're just kind of a, you know, I say scam, but it's certainly scam, but all these apps that are built quickly, there must be some demand around it.And so that's, I started with the background remover idea. Like I saw that there was a mission learning team at GoPro that there was some background removal, paper and all that. Okay. There must be some demand. Let's ship something quickly and see how it goes. And that's kind of the nice thing of like 10 years of development, you know, the right tool to go fast and just shipped a prototype in two weeks.We've actually referring at, by then I have a blog post on like the 10 tools I use there and, And, yeah, it was, it went super fast, super fast to the store and we have some machine learning and, on-device machine learning by then. So it's as a, and it kind of caught up, like you tried a dozen ideas on some kind of stay on the wall on some, like, and just stay on the wall.00:09:43 Jacob:So at the time it was called BGE app background app. Right. was the focus initially, did you have like a big scope for it or was that your entry? You were like, Hey, I know that they there's these photo apps that kind of suck that are doing this background thing. I think we can do it better. And like, let's see where it goes from there.Or did you have like a bigger plans or longer term aspirations? 00:10:04 Matthieu:I think there was, an understanding that people kind of needed that and the tech tech was 10 X better as they say. So it was really interesting, but I didn't, I mean, we didn't have the full plan for that. It's really a few months in that we are understood with Elliot the kind of the market fit.And we understood also like this idea of, and we call it, we translate pixels into concept that makes it much easier to, to, to edit. So w for the room is the best for digital for entrepreneurs. And the idea is that instead of using mask and layers and pixels, you just like, the machine learning, understanding what are the.The big cells and they just tell you, okay. A cat. So we call it cat to catch up on the cat. And you should have actions that are relevant to a Catholic changing the fur color. if it's, if it's a piece of clothing, it should be the texture of the clothing. If it's a, if it's a kind of graphic change of color, you know, kind of, it makes it much more accessible than what exists in like 10 year, 20 years, software that exists by for the editing.00:11:03 Jacob:So, so yeah, I mean, I think that sounds like a very much a pitch and a story that somebody would be taught at Y Combinator. So I'm curious, like what I'm curious, like, how did that evolve? Like how so you, you, you, you guys launched the app in the, I remember I was talking in like the spring of 2019.00:11:20 Matthieu:Yeah. Like may 2019. Exactly. 00:11:22 Jacob:And then, you started YC in the fall or the winter?Yeah.00:11:25 Matthieu:No, we actually, so we started YC in the following summer. We were supposed to do the winter batch after that. So seven months. And, we, we couldn't because our visa issues, at some, with the family, I couldn't move to, to, to YC. Yeah. 00:11:42 Jacob:Can tell you there's one way to solve that problem.A global pandemic.00:11:49 Matthieu:Exactly. Yeah. That's exactly right. So we did it involve, I think we shipped super fast. We failure my co-founder who is like a, like a machine learning genius. and we follow early on the YC startup school, which is kind of the, first step to. And, and so what does it help you? It kind of, you measure the, yeah, the progress.So, how much customer you're talking to, Ahmed, how much money you made and how happy you are doing what you do. And so that's kind of how we iterated 00:12:24 Jacob:You were 00:12:25 Matthieu:Months. 00:12:26 Jacob:During, startup school or 00:12:28 Matthieu:Yeah, the school kind of asks you every, every week, discussion and you make sure you make progress on that. I think these are the right question to make progress on your business.And here's, what's kind of, kind of natural, like two months later. So we started in may, may, June on that, application for YC where I probably in September, like, so, so we did like all summer, we did the startup school scheme and then framework and made some progress on that. And we got the YC application in September and the interviews actually in Paris, In, I think November.00:12:57 Jacob:And then, ha had you, I guess like, your, your aspirations or your reasons for applying, I guess, are in some ways, self evident to somebody. You know, obviously you don't need to convince me, but for the listeners, I, what was your, yeah. What were your motivations? Like? Why did you, well, I guess for one there's, you know, I don't know.I always hear there's a couple of reasons, right? Like sometimes it's prestige, like people want to the prestige of YC, sometimes it's, it's the help, which I honestly think is the, the, the best reason. Cause I, you know, it's, it was honestly really good for us, but then there's also like, you know, it's, it's a great way to springboard venture back.Thing, right as well. So like, did you have like strong reasons? Was it all of the above or what was the motivation for, for getting on the venture? 00:13:44 Matthieu:Yeah, that's a good question. so I think number one reason was, ambition. I think like a lot of your brain startups, you Batara, can be not ambitious enough. And I think if you're ambitious, like YC is really a way of, the alpha taking the ambitious path. Okay. Then how to make it like a business and a product that has a strong impact, like on a very large number of people.So that was, that would be my number one. I think then it's kind of the learning. we are at the beginning of the company, we sit for failure, then what's what kind of is the most important, you know, for their culture. And we talked about it also. And, one thing we really value is learning fast and I think YC kind of helps you, you probably a lot of like, you learn so much faster because you're at the right contact.So it's, I mean, it's. It's on the partners. Like every time we have a office hour, almost every time, like, wow. Blown away, there is like also Atlas. I get the right investors, I mean on the revenue, on the like mobile subscription and like, yeah, like you like auger from Blinkist, like, someone from, John from Spotify.So that's really helpful and also extra connection like we have in AI, we have the VP of AI and locale Facebook, and I don't think we could reach this network with, with. 00:15:01 Jacob:Yeah, the network thing is depends on, you know, what your background is. Obviously you had been in the peninsula, but still it's hard to be really deeply networked and still it's hard to. Invest in your engineering skills. Right. And like your IC skills and invest in a network at the same time, which was kind of my world.Like I had an okay network, but like, it wasn't super well networked. So YC was like a big like boost to that. Right. You could get interest to people. You could get a little bit, it's still, a who, you know, game Silicon valley is still in a lot of ways or the broader concept. 00:15:33 David:Before we move on. I wanted to talk to us a little bit more about the, about the ambition of PhotoRoom, because, and this is something I think is, would be really relevant to a lot of our listeners who are, are building apps in the space. And, and I, as an indie developer for 12, 13 years, feel like I've, I've, I've worked too much with, with blinders on.Not thinking about the bigger opportunity. So like the first app I launched was trip cubby. It was a model it's log tracking app, to get reimbursements from taxes or get reimbursed from your company, for your mileage. And I just, I treated it like a little tiny indie business, lifestyle, business, and everything else.Meanwhile, 00:16:19 Jacob:IQ00:16:20 David:IQ built a huge 00:16:23 Jacob:Probably launched about the same time. Right. I would think. 00:16:26 David:No, they launched much later actually, which is even again, it's like I had a multi-year lead as kind of the, how to do that 00:16:33 Jacob:Assuming the market was there. Like my, like you probably came when the market was finally there, 00:16:37 David:Starting to grow, but yeah. But what's so cool. Is that, I think there's so many opportunities in the app store that people overlook that seem really niche. Like you just started out replacing backgrounds in photos, 00:16:50 Jacob:And now you're going to be the next generation Photoshop. Is that a good one? Is that a good pitch? I don't know what the 00:16:54 Matthieu:Yeah. 00:16:57 David:What, what's the ambition that, where that took you from, okay.We can replace background images too. This is, could be a huge business because we're, un-bundling one of the like key parts of Photoshop, which is a massive business. So what, what, what is the, what was the ambition and what is the ambition that you feel that this, this can be such a big thing. 00:17:21 Jacob:How did you, how did you convince yourself of that? The ability to do that?00:17:25 Matthieu:Yeah. 00:17:25 David:Yeah.I mean, it's, it's amazing.00:17:27 Matthieu:I think it's, well first like working on photo, video editor, like I realized that, I mean, video is big. Like we got, I think we free-play then named quick by GoPro. We got to $100 million. It's kind of tell you like, and most people, they are still using like photo collage. So everyone's working on photo and video is too complex for most people.So like, if you get 100 million for a video, then it's probably like any good, like yeah. Project improvement like 10 X product improvement on photo must get like 1 billion users. And I think it's like, that's one of the YC model, but it was really starting from a pain point of myself, like creating the assets for actually for the app store.Like you have to create a PSD. And I was like, you spent so much time on non creative task. And I was like, I want to make that much simpler. And I think the big heart moment was kind of talking to the user. So, and also like talking, yeah. Talking to people like we kind of build in the open and people told us, it's like, yeah, Yeah, it's a, it's like a actually it's like programming, like a U instead of you're you're doing like, object oriented, editing, like you understand what kind of objects you have and you make actions that are relevant to that.And that's, that's kind of done myself, like really burning myself away. Like it's much simpler. Like you have an object and you, you offer it to the user. What's the logic for the subject lines, Photoshop. It's such a pain to learn. Like I think everyone would remember is kind of the blown away part of Photoshop, but also the pain it is to understate.00:18:51 Jacob:And it hasn't gotten easier in 20 years. Like the only way now you can paint on a sphere or something like, there's nothing like new, I still open it and it's comforting. Cause I learned in CS two or whatever, and it's all still the same, but like, I don't think it's necessarily, like, I think, I think there's even a broader near you.I'm going to make your, your $10 billion company, a trillion dollar company. But I think there's an even broader narrative there around just like the future of software and how machine learning. Further like narrows the gap between like in software, like programming, not in the traditional sense, but like telling a computer what to do and the computer telling, like asking us or like bringing us like the things it can do.And you see this in like varying degrees of it working well. Right. like Gmail, like suggesting like absolutely insane sounding replies that I would never say, like, that's kind of that, but, but I think that's all maybe a little bit too far, but I think what you guys are doing, it's really great. You know, like segmenting photos, like giving people those tools, like taking, especially for a tool like email it's like writing, like, I don't know.An AI assistant to like, say, thanks like I can, I got that. Thank you. But for, for, yeah, like, like cutting backgrounds out and like setting up. Yeah. Just building like, things that to a human, because we're so visual in the way we think seem really basic, right? Like I want the cat in front of a blue background, right?Like that. Just tell the computer and it can do that right now. The existing tooling is like very manual and very skills driven. And you guys are bridging that gap. So like yeah. Who knows something? I don't know. Maybe photos, aren't the end of it for you guys, maybe next you just start tackling the next software domain.Right? I, you know, I don't know that we'll get to 10000000001st and then we'll worry about the trillion dollar.00:20:28 David:And that's the really magical thing about your app and your onboarding that I wanted to ask you about. So exactly what Jake was saying. When I think of removing a background and I've worked in Photoshop literally since the nineties, late nineties, I'm old. but it's, I've tried that like a hundred different times.And even in the most modern Photoshop, I don't even know how to do it. I expect it to be. I downloaded PhotoRoom and in like three taps, your onboarding is magical because you don't get in the way of the person having a desire to get something done. And then seeing it happen. So in like three tops from opening the app, I see a background removed and it was just like00:21:16 Jacob:Okay. 00:21:16 David:Instant, like mindblowing experience. 00:21:19 Jacob:Yeah.00:21:20 David:This thing that like, I know it's so hard and I think of needing professional tools and needing to be a professional to even figure it out. It just happens magically after three or four taps in your app was that I assume that was very intentional. Did you have different onboardings before and kind of iterate to that point?Or what led you to just such a focused get the person to that?00:21:45 Matthieu:Yeah, that's a good grade. She was our interview. I think, we like, if we, especially in the beginning every week, we'd go to McDonald's and pay a meal to student or anyone. And they like the tagline for McDonald's and Frances com. Everyone can come in and come as you are. So we really met like tourists students professionals, and like doing user interview.We got so frustrated. I think that people didn't get to the step of removing background that kind of like00:22:12 Jacob:Oh, so you would give them an unlogged out like a brand new device and like, watch them go through onboard.00:22:17 Matthieu:We would like pay the meal initially for downloading the app. We'd like first ask you three, four questions about their photo usage on their, on their phone. kind of ask them to download the app and yeah. Blinded as yeah. And, and we were like came sneaking. We just were, we were just iOS at the beginning.So try to find people with iPhones and not Android, and that was stuff, but yeah, I mean, people usually stopped before and they don't understand something and like to build trust with them, we figured out like the best is to short tech. So I can we get to the point where. We actually have all these people, we try the app that actually see the bag, the magic effect of Futterman like, so like taking a white sheet of paper, we valued microphone and like thinking, how can we do that?And it got to like adding that as early as possible in the onboarding. I think that's, that's, that's fine.00:23:06 Jacob:I think, I remember now reading about the McDonald's testing and your, your, YC application and being like. That's the moment I knew these guys were going to make it, I guess like it's was brilliant, right? Like I, I don't know how much user testing, like real good user testing is. If you do it in some sort of like professional context, it's probably really weird and like expensive and like hard.And this is dead simple, super scrappy. Right? People don't do it because I don't know nerds. Don't like talking to people like we don't like, you know, it's, it's, it's tough to put your, your app in front of somebody and see them. Not, it's one thing to read like bad retention numbers on amplitude is another thing to like, see somebody actually churn and like, but honestly that's the best way to learn.Like this is the best way to like, get really actionable feedback. So, I'm sure that was, that was super beneficial.00:23:53 Matthieu:Yeah, it's a, it's a trick from Zenly. So the social network and maps, like that really is, one of the best, app in embarrass and they, and we apply that and yeah, it requires some. It's not easy, I must say. But, you really, you learn so much and the pain today is more like we have more qualified users.So it's really easy in the beginning when you're in your photo apps and people just as the app and everyone has photos. So it's easy to explain. Then you want to like talk to your kind of retain user. It's difficult to get them at the McDonald, but now we're friends with all the vintage shops around the block.So in Paris, so we get.00:24:28 Jacob:So that, yeah, that was I kind of my question I wanted to ask. I'll just slide it in now, but like I've noticed, I don't know. I don't know if you had this intention initially, but it seems like you've found a new. Even amongst these apps in something I would say commerce or even e-commerce it seems like a lot of people use these, use your app to take photos of objects, to use as like advertising or gone Shopify.Is that, is that true and statement or am I just like misreading investor updates?00:24:56 Matthieu:No, it's totally true. Actually, it's not. The interesting thing is it came from a personal lead, like using, as you say, Photoshop and wanted it much easier for me, but I wasn't clear who was using the CRA's background apps. I'm talking to like user at McDonald's. We realized like there was all these reselling apps, especially in the Europe and the U S where people.Yeah, they're just like selling Poshmark on vintage in Europe and they, there is no app that's focusing on their photo need. Like everyone's doing like selfies or I dunno, whatever lens on video you can make or, but, no one's in it helping them. And it actually came from the user interview like, oh, that some user told us like, oh, my girlfriend would love that she's selling on Depop.And, and we kind of like it after multiple user asking us in support. asking us, and in talking at the user interview of my goal, we realized that, oh, that's a niche that we should kind of focus on. So that's Allie Kim, 00:25:51 Jacob:Was that pre YC, like pretty early in the process.00:25:55 Matthieu:And it came in a few, just not in one day, but it, I think early, after being taken at twice a 00:26:02 Jacob:Okay. 00:26:03 Matthieu:Like early 20, 20,00:26:04 Jacob:So then my next question, I guess, is like, how do you decide then? So you have a car for strong product. You, you, you might have like varying. This is, I think this is very common for a lot of apps and companies is like, you have probably different levels of product market fit depending on the market.Right? So like maybe broadly across all users of iPhone, your product market fit may not be as strong. But then when you look at this one niche, like maybe it's really strong. And then I think some. End up in a situation where you have to kind of decide, like, do I want to go for this maybe less fit, broader market, or maybe a tighter market with a stronger fit that I'm starting out with.Did you have that internal conversation? And then did you make an active decision? Like we're going to focus on this and then yeah. And then what's the plan after that? Like, or is that the forever plan?00:26:48 Matthieu:I think we, the easy part is as a product guy, I'm really convinced that our usage is really deep. Like we're starting from a different Lego brick, like, okay, you don't need it mask or square pixels, you edit like objects. So, I mean, any app that kind of want to copy that Nike that's to stop doing what it does today.So it's kind of the thing that relates to the missionary understanding excelled in the beginning. So we were confident. Digging into this usage and this product paradigm and like product basic block is interesting. And then we decided to focus on the pro usage and, and it's difficult as a follower. You want to serve everyone at the beginning, we were even doing a video plus photo, like in December of 2019, we dropped the video, just for animation.And then we dropped kind off the casual use case to focus on the pro and, and it's, it's been helpful. You're not like giving up on the other users. You, I mean, some of the features, they're still going to use it, the other, the casual, the people doing memes from, from the app, but she just like when you build features, you think about them.And I, around that, I think YC is helpful because. like if you reach local maximum from one vertical, like product market fit, then you investing so much on the take. It gets better than the, all the local maximums or, or adjustment. Like you can reach them after, and it's not a big deal and kind of believe and believing and trusting that helps you on, on like a, okay, we're going to focus on this one for, let's say three months and we say,00:28:14 Jacob:Yeah. I mean, I think that's a really good point in that I think can trip up people early in the process is that you think. That making an active choice to close yourself off to part of the market as a mistake. Cause you're like, well, I want to serve everybody or, well, I want to, you know, I want to have the most broad appeal I can cause it does, it feels wrong, right.To not serve a use case. but often tactically it's a bad choice because yeah, in the early days, anything. Hey find any users that love your product, even if it's a small group, there's, it's a, it's a closer step to like, get your foot onto that than it is to try to get sustainability on like mediocre product market fit across the broad market.Because then also it makes, yeah, it makes your McDonald's discussions easier. Well, maybe you don't have McDonald's discussions anymore. It makes your product discussions easier. Cause you can say like, okay, these are pilot. We're not going to do all this stuff. We're going to focus on this stuff, which gives you more of a loss city.I just really feel there's so much to getting that velocity early. Right. Like getting something that's like moving and growing and getting fast. And I think that's one of the things, I mean, I don't know, I won't, I won't docks you guys on retention numbers and stuff, but you know, when you have a, I'll just say that when you have a pro user base, that's using it for something non casual retention gets easier, right.Like have a reason to come back. And so if you, I mean, there's not that many apps like that. That on it's hard, it's hard, it's hard. It's rare to find mobile apps that have that opportunity. Right. So when it's there, you need to take it00:29:45 Matthieu:Yeah. 00:29:46 David:How do you think about pricing for that value creation? Since, since those that kind of pro segment really probably gets a lot more value than you're even currently charging. because they're actually making money with your product. Like how did you think through your print pricing? And did you iterate to this point from a more kind of consumer pricing to them to a, I mean, to me it feels like you're in the middle still of somewhat consumer-friendly and really honestly, probably cheap for a professional use case.So how did you land on your current price?00:30:24 Matthieu:Yeah, to be honest, it's like most of the photo apps. I mean, when we started and maybe it's different, they are all pricing like 10 bucks a month and that's kind of given by, I guess, Spotify Netflix, like it's kind of the, the glass ceiling of the price of subscription, even for prosumer. And, and we kind of iterated on the under yearly from 40 bucks to 69 bucks, in, in the U.So we didn't like, we kind of landed on that quite early. you don't want to alienate the user, especially if you put the up-selling in the onboarding, like, to be too expensive. I think we have a major opportunity though, to like address the more advanced business and the more than one person in a shop, it's just, it's really difficult to build this a B2B case in in-app like, you don't have that many apps that use that in the up-sell of the phone.So you probably have to show it like. The the first price, to every user and on the pro you probably can to brigade them after, I think it's something we can do later, like focusing on the product for now and make it simple as much as you're like, if you start with two prices, like the support, basically it is going to go crazy.We still do the support of the users. That's something we try to maximize for simplicity here.00:31:37 Jacob:I mean, it's a good point to make, especially too. It depends on, depends on your cashflow constraints as well. Just like how much, how extractive you want to be, how much you want to push it. Right. because you know, when you have good retention, like there's an argument, an argument to be made to not mess that up by because you're raising your price will hurt your attention, right?Like it's kind of at least on paid, right? Like more expensive. It is. People are going to churn more. and if you're compounding your total, like paying subscribers, that might be more important and then extracting an extra, an incremental $2 or $10 or whatever from each user, right. It might be better off just to keep them happy and longterm.And that's what makes it, I don't know, pricing just so complicated. It's about finding that equilibrium to maximize like the longterm area under the curve and not just, not just like the individual LTVs.00:32:27 Matthieu:Yeah, exactly. I think there was one. yeah, we, you want to talk to, like, you don't want to. Expensive at the beginning, you should have too expensive. Like one of the really source of feedback was also our support. And like, if you're too expensive, you get less pro. And the goal, I mean, the reason we launched after two weeks with was like the feedback from process so much more valuable than the feedback from, for users.I mean, you still want people to pay, like, just stop at 500 bucks in long month is going to be like, there's no way people are going to pay for that. So, and I was actually talking on Twitter that like, we actually put forth first a monthly plan because we wanted people to churn and be able to talk to them.So there was really a focus on learning from the 00:33:07 Jacob:Interesting. 00:33:08 Matthieu:Early days.00:33:09 Jacob:Yeah, I've always. Yeah. The, the short, I think, long, the annual subscriptions obviously have a bunch of benefits to, to, to app developers, but you do end up flying blind for a very long time. Right. Until you really know what those numbers look like. So if you're on monthly, purely, it does kind of simplify things early on.Which is another case to be made for just not over thinking your pricing, like initially, right? Like you guys launched just with the monthly and it was fine that you added, I don't know when you added an annual product, but you brought it in when the time. 00:33:40 Matthieu:I think the logical, so learning from GoPro and replay days is the pricing is quite elastic. So you double your price, you divide by two, the number of pros like minus plus 10%. And so, so it doesn't, I mean, it's, I mean, when you get bigger, it's way of doing experiments on pricing, but in the early days it's worth, it's not worth like taking too much time on that.00:34:01 Jacob:Yeah. I mean, it's good to know if you have an elastic curve, it means you're pretty close to, to the optimum already, right?00:34:06 David:Did you start from day one at that $10 a month price point?00:34:10 Matthieu:I think we were at eight or nine. it's pretty much like every pro for the pro apps. Like not selfies was at that on the photo and it's, and I think. The co, I mean, it goes from Spotify on Netflix. Like, everyone's like a, it's like if comparing industry report, they tell you a comparing you to Spotify on that fixed anyway.So it's a, I think it's a good, like a way to start on as they increase the price, they increase kind of the time of all the possible ATV of all the apps, which is really good. Thank you.00:34:40 Jacob:If they don't take care of it, inflation will don't worry. 00:34:43 David:But, but that's just amazing two weeks, to an MVP that you could charge $8 a month for, and people actually paid it.00:34:50 Jacob:Well, 12, 12 years in two weeks, David, if00:34:52 David:Well, right, right, right. No, no, that's a great point. But the point being that there, there are still opportunities that when you have experience and domain knowledge, that it's not the, the programming, it's not the, it's not such a monumental task to build something that's really valuable to people in this space on mobile, that you can build something good quickly with that experience.00:35:17 Matthieu:The first app was really crappy though. Like I think we 00:35:20 David:Yeah. 00:35:21 Matthieu:A few weeks before having our pay first paid users.00:35:23 David:Gotcha. I did want to talk a little bit about your marketing, so, What did you do at launch? Did, did you get a little pressed? Did you, you know, talk to apple, how did you get that initial code?00:35:35 Matthieu:So yeah, we were super, I mean, apple has been super supportive to us. I think. Before GoPro, GoPro acquired replay. so we play was, app of the year, senior as, elevate. So 00:35:46 Jacob:You guys at the year in France, is that what the00:35:48 Matthieu:No, so so I have a card, I brought the screenshot that, 00:35:52 Jacob:The U S 00:35:53 Matthieu:So we didn't, yeah, we didn't, get the U S we didn't get the U S and north America, and it's kind of a private, taser, but it's, we got like most of the Europe and Asia. And, yeah, and then I was seeing like the star that elevate their they're thinking the other U S and we should get that. 00:36:14 Jacob:It was good for you that we hadn't localized maybe 00:36:18 Matthieu:Yeah, 00:36:19 Jacob:That was the thing we were like only English at the time.00:36:22 Matthieu:Well, elevate is such a difficult business to localize. So I think it's a photo video is easy to localize it. Yeah.And, and so we got like, we got the keynote, so, and we kind of, I mean, the app is really good at marketing. using the latest technology of, apple in, like the metal and using the lasers, the GPU, I kind of build a relationship from there, with the apple team and also like learning AR that's kind of the narrative of apple, like to showcase apps.Leveraging the latest technology. They do their marketing through developers and that's awesome for us. Like it's super opportunity. And so what was that? When we started, it was well, we're using a Carmel to do the background removal and we did use like really early on in September of 2019, we use our KPIs to remove the background, to do some live preview of the photo.And so we got into, there is an accelerator inference in the biggest, like sexual life is one of the biggest things. Accenture and apple has a program there and we got in there and they helped us and like marketing and, and business, during the summer. And we had some tech workshop and in September we got Macy's, marketing from the using Eric.He, three, I think, API APIs. So I think all the days was marketing through, using the latest tech software and hardware from.00:37:42 David:And where did it go from there? Yeah. So after, after you've, you've gotten some traction in some of those early customers. did you jump into paid user acquisition 00:37:52 Matthieu:No. 00:37:54 David:Of, of, paid to, organic growth?00:37:58 Matthieu:Yeah. So we got into, we didn't do paid until like, we really got traction and market fit. So early 20, 20, and we started to have some, we got Gary V tweeting about us, like a video, farmer. So that was like a viral video demoing the app. And we kind of, I mean, the thinking was if some videos of demoing for term or viral, it probably works so-so as ad.So we kind of use these viral videos and try ads on that. Started ramping up, I think before YC, Facebook ads. So in April of last year and, it kind of, yeah, it was a good, channel of acquisition for us. And we always had in mind, like, we don't want to spend too much, we wanted to have it under control, but the payback was really good.So we kind of, added mix like, I don't know, it was three 17, maybe at that point in between the, between paid 30% beta and the 70%. And, yeah, organic and so that we ramped that up and I think it wasn't a good time to all this marketing and we kind of fast in that, at that point, because there was a COVID, the beginning of the COVID and all marketing was going down.So it was super cheap to try stuff there. 00:39:09 David:Yeah. 00:39:09 Matthieu:So I tried to be a part of these tick on that an influencer. I like a lot of times. So like all of that, we were at the right time and at the right moment for that day,00:39:17 Jacob:So how much, like are you balancing? I mean, obviously there's always so much you're balancing as a founder. but you know, how much are you thinking about investing back in the app and like broadening your appeal, making it better new markets, like new platforms versus. The scale of approach, like how can we scale marketing and, and continue to grow?Or is it like 50, 50? Like, do you have a top priority right now? Or, or how has the, like, how has your, your mind thinking about like your biggest growth levers?00:39:48 Matthieu:Yeah, we try to try to have a higher, level kind of privacy laws. So let's focus on retention or let's focus on this specific kind of users. So, in the U S for just three months, and we tried to align product and growth, on like a three months of that. And so that's kind of. that's yeah, that's how we think about it with Elliot and, and try to have it on growth and on product and kind of put us to talk more to these kinds of users, so to improve on, on these kind of shoes or just, just niche for instance.And, I don't know if people are selling on this marketplace for a month and then we'll see maybe another nation, another country, but still improve the experience for everyone.00:40:29 Jacob:And are you thinking about marketing in terms of like specific people selling on specifics, like marketplaces, like the you're actually going like channel by channel that, that, that, that closely. And does that inform like features or does that inform creative or how does that feed back into your part?00:40:44 Matthieu:Yeah, we're good. We're getting into that. Like we tried to understand bearer by a persona use case. What's the LTV and what's the retention is, and I think we are at the scale where we start to do that, but before it was like a general, a general creative for everyone and kind of demo the value of the app.And we were super lucky that our creative we're working for them. And I think like now, like the way marketing works, it's, like a. Facebook or Google are doing most of the optimization and you're more into like, what can I add up my creative so that it fit the focus I want to do for it. I don't know if the U S so I'll be a make sure you're in English.I'll make sure if you're like looking at multiple countries, try not to be too localize. I think there is a Netflix called neutralize, or they have a specific wording on making the, the artwork or the creative, not to localized, not to English, for instance. Okay. So you just content that's good. So it's kind of, that dictate kind of what we try to do with growth and marketing.00:41:39 David:That's great. Well, I have a million more questions, but we do need to, to wrap up. We're going to put links into the show notes to find you on Twitter and LinkedIn and, and PhotoRoom is such a great name, easy to Google, easy to find on the App Store. but you're also hiring, what, what positions do you have open?00:42:02 Matthieu:We're hiring a lot. We're hiring on growth and paid acquisition, hiring project designer, iOS developer, Android developer. And the way we think about the team is really to have a, like, we are 10 people, and we have a strong impact to millions of users. So, really leveraged like a small team, high impact.I think it's possible because of apps. So, we're looking for really senior people for that, and mostly in Europe. So we have like a, two, three days a month, in the Paris HQ, but, you can work from anywhere in Europe.00:42:35 Jacob:Yeah. And I'll, I'll second that. I think working on this product would be really interesting. Purely based on my insider knowledge as an investor and your friend, but for real, I mean, a lot of apps don't, you know, get to the point you have. You've got a lot of tailwinds and I think actually, the upsides are go far beyond the App Store.The future is very, very, very big. And you guys are ambitious. So take these jobs. Thank you.00:43:02 David:Yeah. 00:43:03 Matthieu:Yeah. We were thinking be everywhere. We stopped for a while, but we were like mobile first, not mobile only. And we have the web app web tool that we launched last week. We have an API for any developer that wants to remove the background. We have photo and attribution, and have the module folks using it.So it's really, I think we want to be close to the entrepreneurs, and we want to communicate through pro images that sell. And so sometimes it's not an app, it's just a photo and button. And so you can use the API for that. So, yeah. 00:43:33 Jacob:It's pretty great when you have a good product market fit, it just gets really fun. 00:43:37 Matthieu:Yeah. And we have that kind of, now that we have money, we kind of, we have like super smart people on the machinery team. So, we have the best thing on the market to do that. And that's super exciting. Now we're shipping new machinery next, I think next week. And it's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see the result on the analytics.00:43:52 David:That's amazing and 10 people. I thought you were bigger. I guess you want to be, you want to be, 15 or 20 with all the postings you have. 00:44:01 Jacob:That's why I'm really bullish on this market, David.00:44:04 Matthieu:Yeah. 00:44:04 David:Yeah, 00:44:05 Jacob:A small team can do a lot of stuff in this space. It's crazy.00:44:07 Matthieu:Yeah, It's00:44:08 David:It is crazy. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. It was great chatting, and thanks for sharing your insights, Matt. 00:44:13 Jacob:Yeah. We'll have to catch up again in two years to see how, see how it's going. 00:44:17 Matthieu:Yeah, of course. With pleasure. Thank you guys.

On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, Lt. Gen. Vincent Cousin, the director of operations for the French Air Force, discusses the rapid deployment of Rafale fighters, A400M transports and A330 tankers and 150 airmen to French Polynesia, training with US Air Force units in the United States, exercises with Rafales and Pacific Air Forces F-22s in Hawaii, takeaways from the recent USAF-French Air Force-Royal Air Force interoperability exercises and more with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian.

Book Vs Movie: “The Little Prince” The 1943 Novel Vs the 2015 Adaptation  The Margos say “Vive La France!” as we dive into the classic children's book The Little Prince by author & illustrator Antoine de Saint-Exupery originally published in 1943. The author was a successful poet, journalist, and aviator for many years before he was lost on a WWII mission off Marseille in occupied France in July 1944. Previous to his assumed death, he was the recipient of many awards including the Legion of Honor (1930 & 1939) and the U.S. National Book Award (1940.)  Saint-Exupery was visiting America during WWII and felt passionate about saving France from German occupation. One of his friends at the time was Charles Lindbergh who was an ardent anti-interventionist and part of the hero of The Little Prince is based on the appearance of Lindbergh's blonde son Land.  He and his wife Rose also lived in Quebec for a while where he was inspired by philosophers trying to make sense of war and how France can regain its independence and Democracy. Even though he was well in his 40s--Saint-Exupery served in the French Air Force and served in several missions before his plane disappeared.    The Little Prince would eventually become one of the most successful children's books in the history of publishing translated into over 300 languages and adapted as a film, opera, radio theater, and ballet. The narrator begins the story by telling the audience he doesn't trust adults as they do not receive things “normally.”  He begins conversations by showing them a picture of a snake eating an elephant and the grownups always said it looks like a hat.  The narrator is an aviator who crashes his plane in the Sahara desert. With only a few days of supplies, he meets a little blonde boy (The Little Prince) who tells his life story beginning as an alien from another planet (an asteroid.) He talks about being in love with a “vain” rose and then leaving that planet to save others who need him.  This includes six other planets: One with a king with no subjects A man who needs to be admired all of the time A man who drinks to forget  A rich businessman who can't see the beauty of the stars A lamplighter An old geographer who teaches about “ephemeral” being The Little Prince travels across planet earth and meets many creatures and people who help him grow as a person. (There are so many lessons here. It is hard to name them all!)  The 2015 animated film was directed by Mark Osbourne and features the voices of Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Bud Cort & Albert Brooks (!) and beautiful visuals throughout. It also has a young girl as our protagonist which is one of the major changes in the adaptation.  The movie did very well with critics and won the 2016 Cesar Awards for “Best Animated Film.”  So between the novel and the movie--which did we prefer? Have a listen and find out!  In this ep the Margos discuss: The biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupery  The different adaptations over the years of the material  The terribly sad "real" ending of the story and what we thought of it as children The cast: Riley Osbourne (Little Prince,) Mackenzie Foy (the little girl,) Jeff Bridges (Aviator,) Rachel McAdams (mother,) Marion Cotillard (the Rose,) Benecio del Toro (the Snake,) Albert Brooks (Businessman,) Paul Rudd (the Adult Prince,) Paul Giamatti (Academy Teacher,) Bud Cort (the King,) and Ricky Gervais (the Conceited Man.)  Clips used: The Little Girl meets The Aviator The Little Prince trailer The Little Prince meets the King The Little Prince meets The Conceited Man The Little Prince meets The Businessman The Little Prince meets The Rose The Little Prince soundtrack Hans Zimmer & Richard Harvey Book Vs Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts .  Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie  Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/ Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.com Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Brought to you by Audible.com You can sign up for a FREE 30-day trial here http://www.audible.com/?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/  Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine   

Book Vs Movie: “The Little Prince” The 1943 Novel Vs the 2015 Adaptation  The Margos say “Vive La France!” as we dive into the classic children's book The Little Prince by author & illustrator Antoine de Saint-Exupery originally published in 1943. The author was a successful poet, journalist, and aviator for many years before he was lost on a WWII mission off Marseille in occupied France in July 1944. Previous to his assumed death, he was the recipient of many awards including the Legion of Honor (1930 & 1939) and the U.S. National Book Award (1940.)  Saint-Exupery was visiting America during WWII and felt passionate about saving France from German occupation. One of his friends at the time was Charles Lindbergh who was an ardent anti-interventionist and part of the hero of The Little Prince is based on the appearance of Lindbergh's blonde son Land.  He and his wife Rose also lived in Quebec for a while where he was inspired by philosophers trying to make sense of war and how France can regain its independence and Democracy. Even though he was well in his 40s--Saint-Exupery served in the French Air Force and served in several missions before his plane disappeared.    The Little Prince would eventually become one of the most successful children's books in the history of publishing translated into over 300 languages and adapted as a film, opera, radio theater, and ballet. The narrator begins the story by telling the audience he doesn't trust adults as they do not receive things “normally.”  He begins conversations by showing them a picture of a snake eating an elephant and the grownups always said it looks like a hat.  The narrator is an aviator who crashes his plane in the Sahara desert. With only a few days of supplies, he meets a little blonde boy (The Little Prince) who tells his life story beginning as an alien from another planet (an asteroid.) He talks about being in love with a “vain” rose and then leaving that planet to save others who need him.  This includes six other planets: One with a king with no subjects A man who needs to be admired all of the time A man who drinks to forget  A rich businessman who can't see the beauty of the stars A lamplighter An old geographer who teaches about “ephemeral” being The Little Prince travels across planet earth and meets many creatures and people who help him grow as a person. (There are so many lessons here. It is hard to name them all!)  The 2015 animated film was directed by Mark Osbourne and features the voices of Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Bud Cort & Albert Brooks (!) and beautiful visuals throughout. It also has a young girl as our protagonist which is one of the major changes in the adaptation.  The movie did very well with critics and won the 2016 Cesar Awards for “Best Animated Film.”  So between the novel and the movie--which did we prefer? Have a listen and find out!  In this ep the Margos discuss: The biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupery  The different adaptations over the years of the material  The terribly sad "real" ending of the story and what we thought of it as children The cast: Riley Osbourne (Little Prince,) Mackenzie Foy (the little girl,) Jeff Bridges (Aviator,) Rachel McAdams (mother,) Marion Cotillard (the Rose,) Benecio del Toro (the Snake,) Albert Brooks (Businessman,) Paul Rudd (the Adult Prince,) Paul Giamatti (Academy Teacher,) Bud Cort (the King,) and Ricky Gervais (the Conceited Man.)  Clips used: The Little Girl meets The Aviator The Little Prince trailer The Little Prince meets the King The Little Prince meets The Conceited Man The Little Prince meets The Businessman The Little Prince meets The Rose The Little Prince soundtrack Hans Zimmer & Richard Harvey Book Vs Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts .  Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie  Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/ Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.com Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com Brought to you by Audible.com You can sign up for a FREE 30-day trial here http://www.audible.com/?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/  Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine   

This week the teeth pullers explore the growing world of Instagram Influencers and their love of putting their dogs down, hazing rituals of the French Air Force and the growing controversy of Devonshire cream tea Originally Recorded 12th May 2021 ————————————————————————————— New episodes every Wednesday - Subscribe! iTunes: apple.co/2f6ia06 Stitcher: bit.ly/2GOMiwY TuneIn: bit.ly/2V5RS1R Soundcloud: bit.ly/2InbmO7 Spotify: spoti.fi/2YtuvFH Find us on Twitter: @PullingTeethPod @NickSnipp @SingItSteve Follow us on Instagram: @PullingTeethPod @SingItSteve Email your questions and comments: wisdom@pullingteethpodcast.com Visit our website! www.pullingteethpodcast.com

Topics Discussed:- Can we shoot down a Chinese rocket? -French Air Force going too far hazing new pilot-What happens when the money machine stops? -Elon on SNL-SpaceX buying up a 20-home town- Supply doesn't match demand....yikes- New ways to diversify investments-Restaurants post-COVID

The pilots of the Patrouille de France are the undisputed masters of the air. Their planes fly at 600 kilometres an hour, just three metres apart. Every year, a new team is selected to represent the know-how and excellence of the French Air Force. But before performing across France and overseas, the pilots must spend weeks perfecting their training. We caught up with them on the French island of Corsica.

The Royal Air Force and the French Air Force strike at the Egyptian military quickly destroying the Egyptian Air Force as an effective military force, helping the Israeli military in their campaign in the Sinai as well as preparing for the Anglo - French invasion of Port Said.  A biography of General Stockwell the commander of the Anglo - French military invasion force.

In part 1, former RAF Phantom (nav), Lightning, Tornado F3, and Mirage 2000 pilot, Ian Black, talks about his early career in the RAF that includes some great stories from his Phantom days!Ian then goes on to talk about how his French Air Force exchange happened and how he got to fly the beautiful Mirage 2000!Visit our online store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/acinterview/shopHelp keep the channel going:https://www.patreon.com/aircrewinterviewor donatehttp://www.aircrewinterview.tv/donate/Follow us:https://www.aircrewinterview.tv/https://www.instagram.com/aircrew_interviewhttps://www.facebook.com/aircrewinterviewhttps://www.twitter.com/aircrewtv

Today's episode special guest is... you! I'm answering a couple of your questions asked via social medias and email. Going through pilot training, Russian and French air Force relationship and a lot more. Enjoy.

General Jean-Paul Paloméros (born 13 August 1953 in Paris) is a retired general of the French Air Force and served as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a senior military post in NATO. Paloméros previously served as Chief of Staff of the French Air Force from 2009 to 2012.In 1973, he joined l'École de l'Air, the French Air Force Academy, and qualified as a fighter pilot in 1976. He acquired extensive experience both as an operational commander and as a fighter pilot, having flown 82 combat missions and more than 3,500 flying hours, mostly on Mirage F1C and Mirage 2000 aircraft.He led the 2/12 Picardy Squadron in Cambrai for the 1987 Epervier operational deployment in Chad and in 1990 the 30th Fighter Wing in Reims.In 1993, Palomeros graduated from the Royal Air Force Staff College, Bracknell in Great Britain, where he was awarded the Curtis Prize by the British Chief of the Air Staff.From 1996 to 1998, he was appointed as Commander of Cazaux Air Base. This base hosts one of the main French flight test centers, several advanced French flying training squadrons, and a permanently stationed Singaporean training Squadron.Palomeros has also been deployed in Vicenza, Italy (1993) as Deputy Commander of the French Air Force during Operation "Crecerelle", as well as in Operation Deny Flight, and then in Kiseljak, Bosnia-Herzegovina (1995) where he was in charge of coordinating the air-ground campaign during Operation Deliberate Force.He headed the "Studies and Strategic Plans" Department of the French Air Force Staff in 1998. After being promoted to Brigadier General in 2001, he was appointed as Chairman of the Capability Development Committee within the French Joint Staff and in August 2002 became the Head of the Plans and Program Division.Paloméros was appointed Vice-Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, in April 2005. After being promoted general, he went on to serve as Air Force Chief of Staff from 2009 to 2012. At the end of his time in the senior French Air Force appointment, Paloméros was confirmed by the NATO Council as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation on 6 August 2012 and assumed Command in Norfolk, Virginia, on 28 September 2012.Awards:* Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur (France, 2009)* Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite (France, 2016)* Médaille de l'Aéronautique (France)* Overseas Medal with bar (France)* Médaille commémorative française with bar* Médaille de la Jeunesse et des Sports in bronze (France)* UN Medal Bosnia (UNPROFOR)* NATO Medal with bar (Former Yugoslavia)* Cross of Aeronautical Merit, White Grand Cross (Spain)* Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco (Brazil)[4]* Order of Abdulaziz al Saud, First Class (Saudi Arabia)* Meritorious Service Medal (United States)* NATO Meritorious Service Medal* Santos-Dumont Medal of Merit (Medalha do Mérito Santos Dumont), Brazilian Air Force* Chilean Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit* Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) (Singapore)* Romanian Honor Emblem* Russian Order of Friendship of Peoples* Allied Long Service Decoration (Hungary)* PSA - The Presidential Sports Award (United States)

Our mission here at the Music Museum is to support all Vietnam Veterans and those who serve the United States, then and now. We thank you for your service. **** Early-on, in Vietnam, soldiers turned to music as a lifeline to the home front they promised to defend. Rock & roll (R&R) really became rest & relaxation (R&R) for the troops. It was this music that got you through another day, another day closer to going home. Music was a big part of a soldier’s down time that centered within the hooches of Vietnam. The music that was popular during the Vietnam War was, and is still, therapy. There are songs you can remember, and then there are songs you REALLY remember. Many of these songs will have a special meaning for you. A place, a brother, a time gone by. This program is for you, the Vietnam Vets, who will never forget. **** Da Nang Air (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. During the Vietnam War (1959–1975), it was a major base with United States Army, United States Air Force (USAF), and United States Marine Corps (USMC) units stationed there. Air Vietnam also used the facility from 1951 to 1975 for civilian domestic and international flights within Southeast Asia. (Wiki) **** If you were there, you know the rest of the story. Never forget. **** Thank you & “welcome home” to all Vietnam Vets. There is no opinion offered on the War. It’s all about the music. **** For your service and your sacrifice, this is The Vietnam War: The Music. **** This episode is called “Da Nang Daze” ***** Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 **** or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com **** In this episode you’ll hear: 1) Detroit City by Bobby Bare 2) Welcome Home by Country Joe McDonald 3) Reflections Of My Life by Marmalade 4) Salt Of The Earth by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards 5) Let's Live For Today by The Grass Roots 6) Lost In The Flood by Bruce Springsteen 7) Day Tripper by The Beatles 8) Guys Like Me by Eric Church 9) Hotel California by The Eagles 10) Stubborn Kind Of Fellow by Marvin Gaye 11) Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin 12) Let's Stay Together by Al Green 13) God, Country and My Baby by Johnny Burnette 14) Mendocino by Sir Douglas Quintet 15) Firefight by Bill Ellis 16) Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd 17) Chameleon by Creedence Clearwater Revival 18) Feelin' Alright by Joe Cocker 19) Orange Crush by R.E.M. 20) Voodoo Child by The Jimi Hendrix Experience 21) Still Doin' Time by George Jones 22) Ramblin' Gamblin' Man by Bob Seger System 23) San Franciscan Nights by Eric Burdon & The Animals 24) Sookie Sookie by Steppenwolf 25) Dialogue, Pts. 1 & 2 by Chicago 26) Walk Away Renee by The Four Tops 27) Going Up The Country by Canned Heat 28) I'll Fly Away by Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch 29) Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel 30) Not Dark Yet by Bob Dylan

Mathieu started out as a fighter pilot in the French Air Force. He started flying General Aviation airplanes and was accepted into the French Air Force at age 18. During his flight training, he was selected into the fighter pilot track. He trained in the Alpha Jet, and then was initially assigned to fly the Mirage 2000. He flew only air-to-air missions, flying between 12-24 flights per month. As an under-contract officer, Mathieu concentrated on flying, not having administrative duties. There was no expectation to serve in headquarters assignments. In his 14 years of active duty, Mathieu flew fighters for 8 years, spending most of his time as an Instructor Pilot (IP). While in the Air Force, he bought a powered ultralight aircraft, taking his first flight solo. After leaving the Air Force, Mathieu earned his civilian pilot ratings and pursued an airline career. He was hired by a major airline after a demanding interview and simulator check. He is based in Hong Kong, and now flies the Airbus A-330 in international service. Mathieu flies with pilots from a variety of countries and backgrounds, and all operations are conducted in Aviation English. He is currently at the bottom of his company’s seniority list, but he maintains a positive outlook about the airline career. He hosts the 9G podcast, and we hope all of the Ready For Takeoff Podcast listeners will tune in, especially this episode!

When you think of 4 th generation fighters designed in the late 70’s, which aircraft come to mind? Likely the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon for starters, perhaps the F/A-18 Hornet, and for Eastern designs—probably the MiG-29 Fulcrum. But don’t forget the many great 4 th gen fighters designed in Europe, many still operational today, such as the Dassault Mirage 2000 ( https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/mirage-2000.htm ). On this episode, Mathieu “Matéo” Carbon—formerly a French Air Force fighter pilot and now host of the 9Gs podcast ( https://www.9gspodcast.com/podcast ) —joins us from Hong Kong to discuss the usual ‘aircraft series’ topics on the Mirage 2000 and helps answer listener questions, including the lowest altitude he ever flew (hint: it was below sea level!). Bumper music by Jaime Lopez / announcements by Clint Bell ( https://www.clintbellproductions.com/ ). This episode was produced by our friends at The Muscle Car Place Podcast Network ( http://www.themusclecarplace.com/tmcpnetwork ). Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

On this Roundtable episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast, sponsored by Bell, a Textron company, our guests are General André Lanata, French Air Force, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation; General Paolo Ruggiero, Italian Army, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation; Dov Zakheim, PhD, former DoD comptroller, Todd Harrison, the director of defense budget analysis and the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Andrew Clevenger of CQ Roll Call. Topics: — Gen. André Lanata, French Air Force, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation — Gen. Paolo Ruggiero, Italian Army, NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation — Our roundtable on the National Defense Authorization Act, defense appropriations, Space Force, Reagan National Defense Forum takeaways, and CSIS’ 2019 bad defense ideas

In the 11th episode of Battle Rhythm Podcast, Steve and Stef reflect on Remembrance Day and events supporting Canada's veterans. The feature interview [21:45] is extra special this episode as we have 11 guests for our 11th episode! Our guests are the 2019 Peace with Women Fellows who discuss a wide variety of issues from leadership and learning to recruitment and retention. Steve shares some of his thoughts on actively remembering through war museums in Steve's Peeves [53:30]. Battle Rhythm is part of the CGAI Podcast Network, a partner of the CDSN-RCDS, © 2019, all rights reserved. Subscribe to the CGAI Podcast Network on SoundCloud, iTunes, or wherever else you can find Podcasts! Participant Biographies: - Stéfanie von Hlatky: Associate Professor of political studies at Queen's University and the former Director of the Queen's Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP). Her research focuses on NATO, armed forces, military interventions, and defence policy. Fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. - Stephen M. Saideman: Paterson Chair in International Affairs, as well as Director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network – Réseau Canadien Sur La Défense et la Sécurité, and Professor of International Affairs at Carleton University. Fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute Peace with Women Fellows, The 2019 Class of the Halifax Peace With Women Fellowship brings together 11 diverse and accomplished women from 10 different countries. All Fellows are senior ranking active-duty officers and represent varying branches of military with a broad spectrum of responsibilities. Halifax International Security Forum is proud to welcome its second class of distinguished Fellowship leaders to the Halifax network. Fellows in order of appearance: 23:20 BG Lisa Ferris, NZ Defence Legal Services Paz Magat, Director, Peace With Women Fellowship 29:10 Colonel Tracey Onufer, USAF, CoS SOF South Commodore Solveig Krey, Norweigan Navy, Dep ACOS Ops 34:00 Colonel Debra Lovette, USAF, Human capital, Joint Force Space Air Commodore Elanor Boekholt-o'Sullivan, Netherlands, Cyber Defence 38:20 LtColonel Joana Polekauskiene, Lithuania, instructor mil academy Colonel Lysane Martel, RCAF professional development 42:30 Colonel Dr. Lale Baroschek, Germany, Recruitment Colonel Solene le Floch, French Air Force, Human Resource manager 48:00 Captain Rachel Durbin, Australia, Navy, Future Force Captain Fiona Shepherd, RN, ACOS Logistics, Operations and Plans Referenced in the podcast: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/world/americas/bolivia-evo-morales-coup.html CSIDS Year Ahead: https://carleton.ca/csids/year-ahead-2020/ Related Links: - CDSN-RCDS (www.cdsn-rcds.com/)

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"We han't allowed to write any military information anymore, and you see a fellow hasn't got much to write" In his fifteenth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, dated May 19, 1918, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that he's still in Battery F but doesn't know for how much longer. He's drilling a great deal but he can't talk about the military anymore. He had his picture taken and he'll send one home. That's about it! Elsewhere on the same day, German planes raided London and bombed British hospitals outside the war zone, killing or wounding hundreds. Airman Gervais Raoul Victor Lufbery, who served in both the French Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Service, was killed in aerial combat. Meanwhile on the home front, the Washington Senators Walter Johnson pitched a grueling 18 innings to beat the Cleveland Indians (whose pitcher also went the distance) 1-0. Charles “Dutch” Riggle was drafted into the US Army in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, where so many Wheeling draftees and volunteers—including his sister-in-law Minnie Riggle’s brother, Lester Scott—were trained. Dutch Riggle was a Private First Class in Battery F of the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, in France. Riggle was a farm boy with little formal education who grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He spelled many of his words phonetically. His letters have been transcribed exactly as they were written. This is his fifteenth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, May 19, 1918. Digital scans and a transcript of Charles Riggle's May 19, 1918 letter can be viewed at: www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/from-camp-lee-to-the-great-war-may-19-1918-podcast Credits: "From Camp Lee to the Great War: The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle" is brought to you by archivingwheeling.org in partnership with the Ohio County Public Library (www.ohiocountylibrary.org) and the WALS Foundation (walswheeling.com). Vince Marshall is the voice of Charles Riggle. The letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle were transcribed by Jon-Erik Gilot. This podcast was edited and written by Sean Duffy, audio edited by Erin Rothenbuehler. Music: Castle's half and half | James Reese(composer), 1916, courtesy Library of Congress: www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010646/ Many thanks to Marjorie Richey for sharing family letters and the stories of her uncles, Lester Scott and Charles “Dutch” Riggle, WWI soldiers from West Virginia.

From Fast Eddie's website: I was born in New Orleans at a very early age and raised in Chattanooga, East Tennessee. I earned an engineering degree from Georgia Tech and a Masters in Management from USC. I was a designer for Piper Aircraft. As a USAF fighter pilot, I flew the F-104 Starfighter, the F-4 Phantom II, the A-4 Skyhawk, the Anglo-French Jaguar, and F-16 Viper aircraft.  I instructed and flew with the USAF Fighter Weapons School, the US Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun), the Royal Air Force Qualified Weapons Instructor Course (Jaguar), the French Air Force, and the Imperial Iranian Air Force. I logged 375 combat missions over North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal. After my flying career, I served as an Air Intelligence Officer working with the CIA, FBI, and MI6. My first book, War for the Hell of It: A Fighter Pilot's View of Vietnam, is an Amazon bestseller.  My first novel, The Pilot: Fighter Planes and Paris, earned laudatory reviews. My wife and I live in the wine country of Paso Robles, CA with our dogs and horses.

‘You are like a bird, you can do whatever you want. That’s freedom’. Meet ‘Claudius’, the fighter pilot, who knew from the age of five it was all he wanted to do. Meet the men and women who work every day for NATO. From soldiers to scientists, cyber experts to civilian emergency responders, NATO members are committed to supporting and protecting each other. French Air Force fighter pilot ‘Claudius’ has wanted to fly jets ever since he was a small child. He now has a full-time job flying fighter jets on various missions. For him there is no other feeling like being high above the clouds, where you forget ‘all the little troubles of life’. Interview with ‘Claudius’ and footage of him both on the ground and in the air in his jet, flying above Corsica during French-led exercise ‘Serpentex 2017’.

‘You are like a bird, you can do whatever you want. That’s freedom’. Meet ‘Claudius’, the fighter pilot, who knew from the age of five it was all he wanted to do. Meet the men and women who work every day for NATO. From soldiers to scientists, cyber experts to civilian emergency responders, NATO members are committed to supporting and protecting each other. French Air Force fighter pilot ‘Claudius’ has wanted to fly jets ever since he was a small child. He now has a full-time job flying fighter jets on various missions. For him there is no other feeling like being high above the clouds, where you forget ‘all the little troubles of life’. Interview with ‘Claudius’ and footage of him both on the ground and in the air in his jet, flying above Corsica during French-led exercise ‘Serpentex 2017’.

Before going overseas World War I soldiers trained to fight, although some men volunteered for the Allies before the United States entered the war. One volunteer, Kiffin Rockwell of Asheville helped form the Lafayette Escadrille, a unit of American flyers for the French Air Force in 1916, without knowing how to fly! Back home, soldiers at camp knew that qualifying as a marksman was difficult, especially when trying to hit a target without a rifle. Soldiers also trained to protect themselves from poison gas, a weapon used for the first time during World War I.

Marc Sheffler wanted to fly ever since he was a child. He started flying at age 17, and after attending L'ecole de L'air (the French Air Force Academy) he attended pilot training in the French Air Force in 1997. Excelling in flight training, he became a fighter pilot, flying the Alphajet. Following that, he transitioned to the Mirage 2000. He currently has 2,200 hours in the Mirage in the air-to-ground mission, employing weapons ranging from "dumb bombs" to terminal guided munitions. He has flown five combat tours of duty in Afghanistan in the troop support mission and two combat tours over Libya. Marc is also an author, and has written two novels, currently available only in French.

  Colonel Christophe Deherre is the Director of the French Air Force Center for Studies, Reserve and Partnership for the French Air Force. He wanted to be a fighter pilot ever since he was a child, and he attended the prestigious Ecole de L'air in Provence, France.  He spent one year as an exchange student at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. He is currently commanding the Patrouille de France aerial demonstration team during their month-long tour of the United States. This operation in North America mobilizes more than 70 airmen, pilots, mechanics, support staff, 10 Alphajet, 1 Airbus A400M Atlas and 25 tons of equipment, demonstrating French Air Force capabilities. This is the team's first visit to the U.S. in 31 years. During their U.S. tour, the team has a busy schedule, crossing the country to perform airshows. The Patrouille de France is the oldest aerial demonstration team in the world, and their visit to the U.S. commemorates the 100th anniversary of the United States into World War I in France. During their flight in New York, they flew over the Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from France to the United States in 1886. During their flight over Kennedy Space Center, they carried two French astronauts.

A major news network launches a UAS newsgathering unit, a real-time UAS flight data exchange for a drone traffic management system, and a tethered drone solution for persistent applications. Elistair tethered drone station News CNN Launches CNN AIR News network CNN has launched a UAS unit called CNN Aerial Imagery and Reporting (CNN AIR) with two full-time UAS operators. They will provide aerial imagery and reporting for the CNN networks, Turner Broadcasting, and Time Warner. University UAS researchers share information network with NASA NASA and the Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence and Innovation (at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi) have created an interconnection security agreement that allows university researchers to directly access NASA's Ames Research Center and exchange real-time UAS flight data. This advances research for a drone traffic management system that is integrated with manned aviation. Drones do mix with airports, so long as they're kept on a leash French firm Elistair designs and manufactures tethered stations for small civilian drones. According to the company, applications include persistent aerial surveillance, continuous aerial broadcasting, complex industrial inspection, and traffic monitoring. Two tethered ground stations for drones are available, the Safe-T and ruggedized High-T. The ground stations provide constant data transfer, continuous power, unlimited flight duration, and keeps the multicopter from flying where it shouldn't. Man sentenced to federal prison for pointing laser at sheriff's helicopter A 35-year-old California was has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for pointing a laser pointer at a police helicopter flying over a traffic accident. Baltimore PD Can Keep Tabs On The Entire City, Thanks To Privately-Donated Aerial Surveillance System The Baltimore, Maryland Police Department has acquired a wide area surveillance system developed for military use. The Persistent Surveillance Systems 192-million megapixel camera was purchased privately and given to the city. Due to the half-meter resolution, specific individuals cannot be identified, but their movement can be tracked. Program secrecy and privacy implications are causing some concern. Video of the Week FlexRC OWL Storm Edition FPV Racer - HeliPal.com The FlexRC Owl Storm Edition is a compact size box-shape FPV racer specially made for indoor (or outdoor) flying. http://youtu.be/pgXT8ONdDtI Upcoming Conferences Airborne ISR 26th – 27th October 2016, Holiday Inn Kensington Forum, London, UK. In today's complex and ever-changing operational environment, the demand for increased situational awareness continues to grow. As a decisive and indispensable tool, air based ISTAR is increasingly relied upon to deliver this capability, allowing commanders to understand the situation on the ground and act accordingly. Covering direction, collection, process and dissemination, Airborne ISR will thoroughly analyse the intelligence chain and deliberate best practice for the enhancement of ISTAR capability. Drawing on respective nations ISTAR structure, operational feedback and training, to explore the doctrine necessary to develop this vital asset. The conference will also benefit from the guidance of technical leaders from research and industry, whose insight into the latest platforms, systems and sub-systems will provide greater awareness of existing and future capability. The 2016 expert speaker panel includes: RAF, UK MoD, Joint Forces Command UK, United States Air Force, French Air Force, German Air Force, Royal Netherlands Air Force, Ministry of Defence Spain, Defence Command Denmark, RUSI, NATO, DSTL and many more. Benefits of Attending: Hear from those at the heart of air systems operation, development and integration Deliberate contemporary operational requirements that are shaping capability development Hear the very latest technological developments from research and indu...

One of NATO’s most advanced air-defence war ships, the Aegis-capable Alvaro de Bazan of the Spanish Navy, fends off a simulated fighter aircraft attack by the French Air Force, 50 miles east of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden. Also available in high definition