Podcasts about G2

On the latest episode of Tin Foil Hat, Sam sits down with Izzy Griffin for a deep dive into the mysterious death of Oliver Tree, exploring the roles of numerology, Gematria, and the hidden symbolism surrounding his social media posts, music videos, and the unfinished Antarctica film. The conversation also examines what Oliver Tree's death may reveal about the state of the conspiracy community, the future of truther content, and the influence of Choronzon, the god of disorder, as a symbol of chaos and deception infiltrating truth seeking for material gain. Please subscribe to the new Tin Foil Hat youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@TinFoilHatYoutube   Sam Tripoli's 5th Crowd Work Special "Hero Live From Batavia" Drops May 2nd On Youtube.com/SamTripoliComedy   Grab your copy of the 2nd issue of the Chaos Twins now and join the Army Of Chaos: https://bit.ly/415fDfY   Check out Sam "DoomScrollin with Sam Tripoli and Midnight Mike" Every Tuesday At 4pm pst on Youtube, X Twitter, Rumble and Rokfin! Join the WolfPack at Wise Wolf Gold and Silver and start hedging your financial position by investing in precious metals now! Go to https://www.samtripoli.gold/ and use the promo code "TinFoil" and we thank Tony for supporting our show.   Grab Tickets To Sam Tripoli's Live Shows At SamTripoli.com: Miami, Fl: 7/31-8/1 Lawerence, KS: 9/17-9/19 Tulsa, OK: 10/9-10/10 Dallsa, Tx: Nov 7th (TrutherCon) Austin, TX: Dec 11th-13th   Please check out Word War Debate and the WordWarDebate Contenders Series: https://wordwardebate.com   Please check out Sean Izzy Griffin's internet:  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/izzyngriffin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izzyngriffin/     Please check out Sam Tripoli's internet: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/samtripoli Sam Tripoli's Stand Up Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@SamTripoliComedy Sam Tripoli's Comedy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samtripolicomedy/%20P Sam Tripoli's Podcast Clip Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samtripolispodcastclips/   Please support our sponsors: HIMS: No man wants to lose his hair, but for men, it's actually very common. And now with Hims, the solution is simple. Try Hims' hair loss solutions and you'll be joining hundreds of thousands of subscribers who got their flow back.  Start your free online visit today at Hims dot com slash TINFOILHAT.  That's hims.com/TINFOILHAT for your personalized hair loss treatment options. Quo: Quo is the #1-rated business phone system on G2 with over 3,000 reviews, built for how modern teams work. That's why more than 90,000 businesses – from solo operators to growing teams – rely on Quo to stay connected, professional, and consistently reachable.  Make this the time where no opportunity – and no customer – slips away. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to Quo dot com slash TINFOIL. That's Q-U-O dot com slash TINFOIL. Quo - no missed calls, no missed customers. Superpower: Make this the year you stop guessing about your health, with Superpower. Not only did Superpower reduce their price to just $199, but for a limited time, our listeners get an additional $20 off with code TINFOIL Head to Superpower.com and use code TINFOIL at checkout for $20 off your membership. After you sign up, they'll ask how you heard about them, so make sure to mention this podcast to support the show Earnin: EarnIn lets you access your paycheck as you work — up to $150/day and $1,000 between paydays. It's not a loan, so there's no interest, credit checks, or mandatory fees. Download EarnIn on the App Store or Google Play, and use code "TinFoilHat" under PODCAST to support the show.    

Timestamps0:00 Intro 2:25 C9 roster6:00 GX roster 19:05 Humanoid benched 25:43 SR Zeyzal 27:10 MSI Favorites 40:42 fun MSI facts 46:50 G2 54:57 NA vs. EU history (ragebait) 1:09:50 MSI Play-ins 1:21:12 Mailbag time – why does NA have so many imports? 1:35:12 NA vs. EU vs. BR tourney 1:43:05 perfect ragebait

Aurelien Drieu is Qonto's Head of Talent Acquisition. Over the past six years, he's helped scale the company from 200 to 1,700+ employees. In this conversation, he shares how his team uses AI to move faster without trading off on quality - from automating dashboards and building in-house agents that take on repetitive but high-leverage prep work (persona finalisation, interview grids, job descriptions, case studies) to note-taking, AI interviewing tests, and testing candidates' AI fluency during the interview process. The result: a 25% productivity gain between late 2025 and Q1 2026, and a clear point of view on why the next phase of recruiting won't be won by the most automated teams, but by those that pair automation with sharper human judgment.Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

On this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Confluent CFO Rohan Sivaram to talk goal setting, prioritization, consumption-based pricing, hybrid zero-based budgeting, and the frameworks finance leaders use to scale companies. Rohan shares why he carries his 12-month goals with him, how he evaluates opportunities through TAM, technology, and team, and why usage-based pricing changes the entire operating model.—SPONSORS:EY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohan-sivaram-69007b7/Company: https://www.confluent.io/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:A CFO Explains Marketplaceshttps://youtu.be/LpbH9GpBrSY—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro2:26 Writing down 12-month goals and carrying them6:33 Rule of 168: 168 hours a week7:36 Delegation and calendar management9:25 Learning to say no: cultural shift11:32 Sponsors — EY | SpendHound | Brex14:29 Joining Confluent: the state of the company16:57 Building blocks of a budgeting process19:46 Execute, learn, adapt21:59 Healthy tension in the planning cycle22:26 Sponsors — Aleph | RightRev | Rillet25:46 What is hybrid zero-based budgeting?30:37 Moving from subscription to consumption pricing32:22 Why this was a one-way door33:56 New metrics required in a consumption business35:28 Evaluating job opportunities: the three T's37:39 Networking and reciprocity39:54 Lightning round40:04 Screwed up: free cash flow sign error42:03 Advice to younger self: take more risks42:38 Finance software stack43:00 AI tools the team has built43:44 Credits

(00:00) - Intro, juhannus, ribsit(06:30) - Falconsin Major voitto analyysissä(27:40) - zonic eläkkeelle?(33:10) - FURIAn karhunpalvelus(36:00) - G2 osti itselleen lisää aikaa(39:15) - Spirit(42:20) - Ketkä tekevät muutoksia kesällä?(44:00) - Olivatko nämä hyvät Majorit?SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/6nXZmspwDgIdPxBpjhreQV?si=71fa011ae28d420fLiity keskusteluun muiden cs-fanien kanssa: https://discord.gg/XxEcdhP38xhttps://twitter.com/natuhttps://www.instagram.com/natucsgo/https://twitter.com/RobuJohnsonhttps://www.instagram.com/robujohnson/

彩帶拋下，本季亞洲打到最晚結束的PLG Finals終橘之戰，終究是橘的，領航猿打出團隊7戰以來最佳表現，為球季畫上句點！霹靂鍵盤集結從6/5開始的7場逐戰賽後討論，一次公開，邀請小人物們按照時間序重溫過去兩周的賽況：勇士贏下Game 1、3、5，但領航猿下一場都能回擊，在Game 2、4、6扳平系列戰大比分－有每集會員特輯都跟聽的小人物，可能會納悶：Game 6賽後怎麼沒有更新？因為三位主持人才赫然發現，依照PLG規章，錄好的內容必須48小時以後才能公開！這個因規章設計而產生的爭議事件，如何為分數越打越低的系列賽在Game 7帶來顛覆性的發展？扣除爭議事件，兩隊各有哪些球員表現值得肯定？兩支連續兩季在Finals碰頭的球隊，季後各有哪些課題要面對？加總約4個小時的PLG Finals特別節目，歡迎小人物們一起聽好聽滿！成為

A version of this essay was published by firstpost at https://www.firstpost.com/opinion/from-indo-pacific-to-pacific-delhi-must-prepare-for-strategic-loneliness-14024528.htmlI refer, of course, to the (in)famous newspaper headline which said, “Ford to City: Drop Dead” in 1975 when then-POTUS Gerald Ford refused to bail out New York City during a financial crisis.It appears to be the same sentiment now with POTUS Trump regarding India. The end of India's fond hopes of a strategic alliance came not with a bang, but with a whimper: the Pentagon announcement, right in the middle of the G7 conclave in France, that the US has reverted its Indo-Pacific Command to the “Pacific Command”, which had been the name before Trump changed it in 2018.What this means is clear: the US has turned its back on the Indian Ocean, on India, and on the vaunted “strategic partnership” that Indian policymakers had long assumed would be a corollary of that presumed bedrock of Indo-US relations: the mutual need to contain a rampaging China.Coming on top of the remarkable cavalierness about the murders of three Indian merchant-navy sailors, and numerous other slights, we see a pattern of indifference at best, or disdain at worst. The US is signalling that they don't need India. India, in other words, has no leverage. I am not amazed, to be honest: I wrote in 2023 that in an era of relative decline, it made sense for the US to downgrade its aspirations from sole hyperpower to first among equals: that is, a “G2 condominium” with China. This is, in principle, the same as the Vatican-brokered Treaty of Torsedillas in 1494 that divided the world into Portuguese and a Spanish spheres of influence. Interestingly, that didn't end up well for either party, but we shall let that pass. Let us connect the dots: there is a ‘Donroe Doctrine' whereby the US is asserting its hegemony in the Americas, its sphere of influence. Trump has ejected China from Venezuela, and is in the process of kicking them out of the Panama Canal zone; although the Pacific-to-Atlantic railway project in the Brazilian rainforest, and its terminus, the deep-water Port Chancay in Peru, remain.The disastrous Trump foray into Iran was predicated on denying China easy access to that country's hydrocarbons. But the MoU after 100+ days of war suggests that the US has received a bloody nose, and is withdrawing, retired hurt. The shrinking of ambitions away from the Indian Ocean as in the reversion to the ‘Pacific Command' suggests that the US is ceding the continent, including West Asia, to China.America-watchers have noticed this strange attitude to Asia before. Evan A. Feigenbaum, a former advisor to US Secretaries of State, wrote about this in 2011:For Washington, the problem is at once intellectual, strategic, and bureaucratic. Intellectually, the United States still has three separate foreign policies in Asia—one for East Asia, another for South Asia, and a third for Central Asia (which it scarcely regards as a part of Asia at all). As Asia reintegrates, then, the United States is too often stuck in an outdated mode of thinking ...Asia is being reborn, and remade. Yet, the United States is badly prepared for this momentous rebirth, which is at once stitching Asia back together and making the United States less relevant in each of Asia's constituent parts. Asians are, in various ways, passing America by, restoring ancient ties and repairing long-broken strategic and economic links.Well, this is also the end of the “pivot to Asia”, even though it was probably half-hearted at the best of times. Then-POTUS Obama started using the term in 2011, but was himself guilty of ‘awarding' “South Asia” to Chinese overlordship on a visit to that country. Now that the US is dumping its European allies, it should not be surprising, in view of the ‘Fortress America' tone of the National Security Strategy of 2025, that India is also being thrown under the bus.A US official, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said this bluntly in Delhi at the Raisina Dialog 2026: India should understand that we're not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago in terms of saying oh you know we're going to let you develop all these markets and then the next thing we know you're beating us in a lot of commercial things.Landau is right from a short-term US perspective. The US blundered, presumably taken in by Chinese propaganda, and allowed itself to be stripped of its industrial prowess. They have learned a lesson: squash potential competitors when you can. This is a back-handed compliment: it suggests that the US is aware that India can be a challenger, and make the G2 a G3. India is literally the only power that's large enough to make it to Great Power status: Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, etc. have too many problems.No incumbent power wants an insurgent power to challenge its hegemony. The so-called “Thucydides Trap” predicts that chances are that they will go to war: a kinetic war or an economic war or both. India is simultaneously facing Thucydides Traps from both the US and China, those G2 buddies. I wrote about this as an “Abhimanyu Syndrome” for India: splendid isolation. I hasten to add that though Abhimanyu died, his side did win convincingly.So it's time for India to be pragmatic, and develop its own self-reliance, both in military power and economic/trade power. The existing G2 are looking for vassals, not allies. The equation between them is also interesting. It is clear that the US is in gentle relative decline; but it does have deep resources, and can survive as a continent sized economy, even if it turns its back on the rest of the world, as it has done several times in its 250-year history. But Trump did kowtow to Xi on his May trip to China: he looked like a supplicant paying tribute to the emperor.China, if you look at its 3000-year-long history, is volatile and unstable. A pattern repeats, again and again: there are periods of prosperity and power under a strong imperial center, followed by collapse and utter chaos. An unwinding of the Chinese empire, much like the implosion of the Soviet empire, is probably only a matter of time.If you look at Indian history, the nation was mostly stable, though its prosperity invited invaders. As far back as 3000 years ago, India was the center of a lucrative Indian Ocean trade, based on Pax Indica in the region. With a deep water navy, a massive manufacturing push, and self-reliance, India can regain its past glory. Military power breeds respect from others. Economic power makes others want to trade.1100 words, 18 Jun 2026AI-generated slideshow courtesy notebookLM.google.com: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Jake Kornreich, CFO of CoLab and former CFO of Own, live from the New York Stock Exchange. Jake breaks down the six-part framework behind Own's $2.1B sale to Salesforce, why “control your destiny” matters, how CFOs should think about IPO readiness, board communication, share price theater, and why great finance leaders operate beyond the spreadsheet.—SPONSORS:Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.com—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-kornreich/Company: https://www.colabsoftware.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comTIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro2:20 First stock3:28 Benefits of going public today5:42 Come-up: chief of staff to CFO6:31 Running HR like a sales org8:32 Control your destiny9:24 Synergies with Salesforce10:09 Sponsors — Rillet | EY | SpendHound13:10 Do your own ROI due diligence14:40 Share price equals entertainment16:26 Disciplined execution17:45 Performance, not stories19:24 Activist investors and the acquirer's board20:13 Write the memo for the other side20:45 Sponsors — Brex | Aleph | RightRev24:02 Triangulate your way to success25:18 Your board takes snapshots, you run the movie26:21 Knowing when to sell27:16 Valuation limits your exit options27:38 Stakeholder comms during the acquisition29:58 CFO as operator, not just function31:31 What is CoLab?32:09 Why Jake joined post-Series C33:50 Personal product market fit for CFOs35:27 Lightning round35:42 Screwed up: $5M budget error36:17 Advice to younger self36:41 Finance software stack37:34 Culture of expense discipline38:22 Credits

A version of this essay has been published by Open Magazine at https://openthemagazine.com/world/india-will-collapse-without-digital-sovereignty-and-pax-indica-lessons-from-hormuzBy now it is clear that the Iran War (or West Asia War) has been a disaster to all concerned, including the principals as well as assorted passersby. The massive amounts spent by the US (at last count $25 billion) are at least articulated; the bill for the enormous infrastructural and human suffering inflicted on Gulf states, in the theater of war, must be greater, by definition.The collateral damages suffered by the rest of the world from the cessation of trade through the Straits of Hormuz will presumably run into the trillions of dollars. As one of the worst affected, India, which imports 90% of its hydrocarbons from the Gulf, not to mention other essential items such as urea (for fertilizer), sulfuric acid, helium, etc., is on track to take a massive hit. As an article in The Economic Times said, “India must brace for broad-based economic shock”.Indian exports of up to $50 billion are also affected, especially agricultural products including perishable foodstuffs, but also gems and jewellery, electronics, textiles and garments. Some of this can be diverted via Oman and the UAE's Fujairah port, but much of it passes through the Straits of Hormuz and is potentially blocked and/or stranded at sea.The Hormuz closure is a body blow to India's economy. What can and will India do about it? The Indian State has a habit of rising to the challenge only when there is a crisis, while vegetating otherwise. The 1991 economic crisis is a case in point; the sanctions following “The Buddha is smiling”, and the denial of cryogenic rocket engines and supercomputers are other examples where the nation rallied. So were covid vaccines. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention.Turning a threat into an opportunityIf I were to be an optimist, I could say that the current crisis is actually an opportunity. In fact, a major opportunity. My reading of the Iran War is that it is President Trump's strategic tit-for-tat against China for denying him rare earths and cutting off soybean purchases. In return Trump decided to deny China access to oil by closing access to Venezuela and Iran. Whether this will work, or whether the G2 condominium (read ‘surrender') will prevail, is unclear.But that is, in a sense, background noise that needs to be managed. India needs to focus on its own issues, of which I see several as critical, and the solution in general is to become Atmanirbhar, self-reliant, and from that, to create an Anti-Fragile nation:* National security/defense* Food security* Energy security* Digital security/narrative control* Trade securityThe first three do not need an explanation: they are obvious. Internal and external security are pre-requisites for any successful society. If India's hard-won food security can be threatened by external threats, then there needs to be some deep introspection. Energy security means diversification, both of hydrocarbon sources, and of types of energy, including renewables, nuclear, biomass, coal-based, and so on.Malign narratives and digital sovereigntyNarrative control is something that the Indian State has failed at so far; it is laughably easy to create hate speech against Indians and India (as has been demonstrated freely by any number of players, starting from the MAGA crowd, to Audrey Truschke to a”Cockroach Janata Party” and some nitwit Norwegian journalist in just the last fortnight) and there are no consequences to the culprits. It's enough to make me pine for Lee Kuan Yew's aggressive legal battles against the media.It's one thing if it were only a problem with foreigners, but with the massive spread of social media, and in particular generativeAI, it is becoming a serious domestic issue. Since India is an avid consumer of social media, and because generativeAI is trained on things like Wikipedia, X, Whatsapp and Google content, biased and motivated material becomes ensconced as The Truth. I have written about narrative warfare and manufacturing consent.This used to be a one-way tsunami of (mis)-information by legacy media, but now there is also the opposite: the wholesale and free vacuuming-up of Indian data (whatever happened to “data is the new oil”?). The “Great Firewall of China” both kept out foreign BIg Tech applications and prevented their plundering Chinese data: is that the way to go?Manufactured narratives are intended for regime change: all the color revolutions today are hatched with massive bot-farms funded by some combination of Deep State, CCP, ISI, Qatar etc. (for example the alleged Gen-Z uprisings that rocked Nepal, drove Sheikh Hasina out of Bangladesh). Thus muzzling malign narratives, and ensuring data security, are imperative.Even Singapore is not immune: it had to block anti-India narratives that likely originated from Chinese sources.A particularly striking example of narrative warfare is the virtual hate speech inducted into Wikipedia by deeply prejudiced anonymous editors. Ashley Rindsberg, who exposed the mighty New York Times' biases in his book The Gray Lady Winked, provides many examples of this.Of note to Indians and Hindus is his recent substack titled “Wikipedia's India War” where he identifies just four editors as having created most of the content condemning the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) in ‘Wikivoice', i.e. the allegedly neutral perspective of Wikipedia. They are, on the contrary, shown to be highly one-sided.As Rindsberg mentions, Wikipedia being central to generativeAI, the damage is baked into the world-view of all AI applications. Truly Orwellian. Says Rindsberg: “four… anonymous accounts can have an enormous impact on what millions of people believe to be the truth.” “Over four years (2021-2025), editors systematically erased HAF's identity as an American civil rights group, transforming its Wikipedia page into a heavily curated dossier of accusations.”Trade, and how the Spice Route was far superior to the Silk RoadFinally, something that is becoming increasingly important: ensuring freedom of trade. This is more than just freedom of navigation, although I find it instructive that Emperor Rajendra Chola sent a huge fleet 1,001 years ago simply to open up the Straits of Malacca. India can make an active attempt to regain primacy in Indian Ocean trade, the whole Pax indica idea.Here is another example of the power of narrative: we have been led to believe that the Silk Road to China was some major highway of commerce between ancient Rome and ancient China, but it was a term coined only in 1877 by the German Ferdinand von Richthofen. There was no highway. A large caravan might take six months, and with 500 camels traversing treacherous deserts and braving bandits, it might carry a maximum of 100 tons. That is puny.In comparison, on the Spice Route, a single stitched ship from Muziris could carry 400 tons of ivory, pepper, silk, tigers and elephants; and the historian Strabo around 1 CE talks about fleets of 250 ships going from Alexandria to India on a six-week monsoon-powered journey. That is 100,000 tons of merchandise. No wonder Pliny the Elder complained that Rome's treasuries were being emptied of gold by India.Simple question: where are hoards of ancient Roman coins found in Asia? Answer: not along the Silk Road. The hoards are in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.Today, it is possible for India to aspire to port-led development of trade, especially with the major ports at Trivandrum (Vizhinjam), Maharashtra (Vadhavan), and Great Nicobar (Galathea Bay). The underlying ‘software' of India's millennia-old trade competency was a ‘multi-protocol switch' as I pointed out, and today's India Stack can replicate that. Then there is the need for a blue-water navy: muscle to provide security on the Hormuz to Malacca sea-lanes.So there is a vision. How can India get there? This is where policy matters, as I discussed with policy expert Anuj Gupta. Policy, especially industrial policy, has had a bad reputation in certain circles because it was deemed to violate the virginal purity of classical capitalism. However, in a recent U-turn, even the World Bank admitted that industrial policy may not be all that bad, after all: the success of Japan, the Asian Tigers, and China can't be ignored.That leads to the question of why policy in India has produced mediocre outcomes, what is different now, and where the best use of policy might be.Industrial Policy: What went wrong in the past?There are many problems here. To begin with, the Soviet model, which Nehruvians swore by, was, in hindsight, a dead end. Second, there is the problem of governance: post-Independence bureaucrats have awkwardly borne the legacy of imperial hauteur and the needs of a developing society. Third, until recently, the bare necessities (food, electricity, road access) were not available to many citizens, and GDP growth was not their priority.There is also the culture of jugaad: of clever ways in which you overcome constraints through frugal improvisation and seat-of-the-pants making-do. This is fine for one-off things (e.g. converting a tractor trailer into a makeshift transport vehicle because your truck broke down), but it does not make for efficient and replicable industrial products. As The Economic Times said recently, it is time to junk jugaad. Quality has to become ingrained in people's minds.The issue of governance is significant: the bureaucracy and the judiciary have both under-performed, politicians, as everywhere, have been venal. It is said that China's growth can be attributed to the fact that its babus are engineers, and therefore with engineering ruthlessness move in straight lines. The US' babus are lawyers, and India's are humanities graduates. Well, engineers are not very good at second-order effects (eg. China's lurch from one-child policy to demographic collapse), but a little bit of ruthlessness is probably good.What is going reasonably well?There are a few modest success stories: for example, in electronics manufacturing or assembly. The PLIs (and DLIs) have produced the desired effort, with clusters of excellence where global suppliers have also set up shop (as they did earlier for the automobile industry in, say, Sriperumpudur). The fact that a lot of iPhones in the US are now imported from India is laudable, even though it may be derided as “screwdriver jobs”. That's where one starts the move up the value chain.The current semiconductor policy is a big hope, especially after the landmark agreement by the Dutch firm ASML with Tata Electronics in Dholera, Gujarat. Given that ASML has a near-monopoly position in Deep Ultraviolet Lithography (DUV) this is a major boost to India's chip ambitions. My recent conversation with AMD CTO Suraj Rengarajan went into India's chances to realize its ambitions.A recent announcement from Trivandrum-based fabless startup NetraSemi (a recipient of DLI) of the commercial availability of its edge AI chips is a landmark.Next is the newly announced plan for energy security revolving around both coal gasification and intensive offshore exploration. These fall squarely into the Atmanirbhar category: India simply cannot afford to have its energy held hostage by distant nations. It also needs distinctly Indian innovation.The Samudra Manthan initiative is also showing some promise. At least one out of three deep-water wells in the Andaman Sea (SriVijaya Puram-3) are reported to be showing the availability of natural gas, although it will take 5-10 years for this to be commercially available.What should the future look like for India's Industrial Policies?This of course is the hard question. Here is my personal perspective, and I accept that reasonable people may disagree. I think three areas need to be focused on, and will pay large dividends.* Drones and swarming software* Social media and AI stack* Maritime Trade and Blue-Water NavyI admit that these are not the only worthwhile industrial policies. Another is for copper, which would reverse the catastrophic effects of the closure of the Sterlite plant in Thoothukkudi, as the metal is an increasingly important component in electronics, data centers, etc., and far from being self-sufficient earlier, India now imports 50% of its needs. Another area of interest in quantum computing.There are also failures from which the right lessons need to be learned. The policy for EV batteries has apparently failed: according to Swarajya magazine, India has not been able to escape from near-total dependence on imported Chinese batteries.Drone swarmsI wrote recently that drones may well herald a step-change in warfare. For the moment, though, they are searching for their niche in offensive/defensive warfare. Drone hardware is already a well-trodden path with Chinese and other nations dominating it, although with IdeaForge, Paras, Garuda, IoTechworld Avigation etc., India is also making progress there. And India is indeed buying the hardware, $2 billion-worth, according to the Economic Times.But I believe the real game is in drone swarms. AI-based control software (similar to HiveMind) that would allow an entire swarm to act autonomously, just like a murmuration of starlings, would be the gold standard to aim for. Such a self-managing swarm would be virtually impossible to defend against, and I think India should put in place a PLI to support it, leveraging software capability in the country.Of course, drones are not just for military purposes, but also for commercial uses including things like logistics and agricultural use, such as precision delivery of fertilizer and pesticide to crops (as Garuda demonstrates). An Indian initiative that supports both drone hardware, and especially drone software, would be a potential winner.Digital Sovereignty: Social media and AI stackThere is a raging battle over which part of the AI stack India needs to invest in. As an old Unix hand, I believe the foundational model is not where the differentiation is. In analogy with Linux (the open-source Unix variant that was popularized by Linus Torvalds and an army of volunteers), there is little value in re-writing the operating system, but one can differentiate by building on top of it, or by judiciously choosing certain modules of it.Besides, the cost of building an entirely new foundational model would be astronomical and would consume the entire budget of IndiaAI Mission.Thus, my personal opinion is that the foundational model (especially when, it is believed, there are more or less open-source models available for free, e.g. Llama, DeepSeek) is not where India should expend its precious R&D resources, but on the layers of the stack above it. It is the data that matters, as Larry Ellison apparently suggests too.But there is the interesting counter-example of Sarvam AI which is producing its own sovereign model: multi-lingual and presumably otherwise tuned to Indian needs. The question is whether this can survive when hundreds of billions worth of capital investment are going to the US Big Tech companies and their Chinese rivals. The sad history of Koo, a Twitter rival, comes to mind. So does Arattai, a Whatsapp rival, whose popularity has waned. .A well-thought-through industrial policy on generativeAI is therefore essential. The status quo ante is unsustainable; given the fact that Sarvam has also found it difficult to raise funds in the US, it is worth pondering whether a China-style massive subsidy is the answer. And where should it go, into foundational models or into the layers of the stack above it? The answer is “both”, but with priority to the latter.Here is where I would prioritize investments, in order:* Vertical applications in specific domains: e.g. defense, healthcare, agriculture, governance (particularly in the judiciary and in ease of doing business in the bureaucracy)* Fine-tuning and customization: for the needs of the Indian context, e.g. multi-linguality under Bhashini* Compute infrastructure: GPUs, sovereign and protected indian datasets* Sovereign Small-Language Models such as Sarvam AIAs mentioned above, at the moment India's data is being sucked up for free by US Big Tech. In addition, there is the real danger that Indic Knowledge Systems will be mined and digested, as has happened to yoga, pranayama, etc., which have been given Western analogs and nomenclature, as in Pilates, ‘coherent breathing' etc.These two problems are connected, and both need to be tackled in parallel. Social media is being weaponized against India, and this is magnified by the legacy media in a positive feedback loop. Three examples: one was the rage against Adani based on the dubious research of Hindenburg, which then went under; the second is Bloomberg's reckless accusation about gold reserves being sold by the RBI, which they were forced to retract, but social media and Wikipedia will remember it; the third is the meteoric (media) rise of the Cockroach Janata Party.Trade using major ports, Digital Public Infrastructure and a blue water navyUsing trade for competitive advantage is an age-old tactic. The trade tiffs between the US and China are examples of this: we are witnessing war by other means. Many nations are getting into this act, and India does have some advantages, partly based on geography. Maritime trade is likely to continue to be the key, which makes naval chokepoints the big story, but not the only story to watch out for.The major aspects of maritime trade include infrastructure, the digital “multi-protocol switch”, and security. On the one hand, India is developing not only major container ports, and the road/rail links to get to them, and the industrial goods to ship out through them, but also a serious shipbuilding industry, which was one of India's historical strengths. Then it used to be stitched wooden ships (teak beams lashed together with coconut rope). Now it's modern steel ships.There are the big, efficient new ports, which can now turn ships around with Singapore-like efficiency; the proposed third aircraft carrier group which will make it possible to patrol the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal at the time; the Air-Independent Propulsion diesel submarines and nuclear submarines that can monitor (and if necessary, deny) narrow straits; the sale of supersonic Brahmos cruise missiles to the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia (and Cyprus) that create ship-denial zones: all this is muscle.And the final piece, the ‘software' for trade, the “multi-protocol switch”. This last is complicated. Its value is underestimated by many. But this is what enables friction-less transactions between various unrelated parties. The India Stack and the Digital Public Infrastructure can be utilized to provide such a facility. But it is complex enough to need significant study as to what is possible, and how to roll it out.Second-order effectsIn closing, it is worth considering some of what the (unintended) consequences of these proposals may be. Let us note that the G2 has no interest in allowing India to grow and make it a G3. They will do everything in their power to kneecap India, by all means possible.There is also a certain derision for India in some circles. Here is a generic western opinion on why China got rich, and India didn't. Well, the author doesn't consider the second-order effects of the wholesale destruction of Chinese civilization: that is a tradeoff Indians may not prefer for themselves. We all know how China's well-intentioned One Child Policy turned into demographic collapse within a few years. Besides, as The Economist asks, “China is innovative. Its economy is a mess. Which will win out?”This is why I think planning for these second-order effects is important. We tend to ignore them because they seem counterintuitive or unlikely, but Nassim Taleb has sensitized us to how low-probability Black Swan events can have grave consequences.As an example, attempting digital sovereignty may have unwelcome side-effects: Big Tech have the first-mover advantage and network effects and there are increasing returns to scale. They will surely make it hard for a new player to break in. Besides, the large investments in data centers and GCCs that they are making in India would make it very difficult for them to be ejected with a “Great Indian Firewall”.Even taxing their capture of Indian data will be complicated; not to mention that they have demonstrated that they can happily violate copyright laws with no consequence; therefore they will find ways to chew up and spit out Indian Knowledge Systems, and essentially re-colonize India. Digital colonialism is not a threat, it is a reality today, and it is a consequence of the relatively open Indian system.In addition, there is a malign group, the “barbarians within” as Arnold Toynbee once put it, who are ready to sacrifice Indian sovereignty for a pittance.Given all this, it will be very difficult to put in place serious measures to gain digital independence; and the narrative-peddling is likely to gain further momentum: just consider the caste allegations that have haunted BAPS in the US (despite the cases being dismissed by the US DoJ), the Cisco Systems case where, again, the case was dismissed, but the narrative continues, and the persistent efforts in various US states to turn caste into a weapon to bludgeon Indians.Another sensitive issue is that of the multi-protocol switch for trade. While from an Indian point of view, it eases trade and harks back to a Golden Age of Indic maritime commerce, but that will be viewed elsewhere very differently, for instance by the US as an attempt to de-dollarize. The US has jealousy guarded – with very good reasons that we will not go into here – the dollar's reserve currency status.We have also seen what happened to those who attempt to hurt the dollar's primacy: in 1985, the Plaza Accord devalued the dollar, and that was a body blow to Japan's economy, which has not recovered its mojo to this day. Later, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi both had ideas about replacing the petro-dollar with, respectively, the Euro and a new pan-African gold-backed currency. We know what happened to them.If the India Stack multi-protocol switch is perceived as an alternative to the US dollar, there may be grave consequences. Therefore, it should be conceived and deployed only as an adjunct to it and to the almighty SWIFT settlement system.ConclusionIndia is at a crossroads now. Even though the Hormuz closure is a serious problem, if it plays its cards right, adversity can be turned into opportunity across a variety of perspectives. The key is Atmanirbhar, self-reliance. If India can now implement a crash program of industrial policy, and at the same time overcome an ingrained Third-World tendency to cut corners, it can finally break free of the years of underperformance, what I called the Nehruvian Penalty in 2004.It is possible, but there are caveats: unforeseen consequences. Hic sunt dracones. Here be dragons. Be afraid. Be very afraid.3700 words, 7 June 2026This is episode 192 of the Shadow Warrior podcast. Here is a companion AI-generated slideshow. (Note that the borders of India are not necessarily depicted correctly here, because it is generated by an AI, notebookLM.google.com) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

Kurzes Update von Mardy vor den finalen Spieltagen der Masters London Playoffs: chinesische Fans erobern das Stadion, G2 abgeschmiert, falsche Vorwürfe gegen s0pp und die spannende Titelfrage. Sind die Regionen wirklich gleichauf?

From speaking at three major wealth management conferences in a single quarter to mapping out a pattern that's already reshaped accounting and is now creeping into law and the trades, Corey Kupfer breaks down the barbell effect and what business owners should be doing now to avoid getting caught in the middle. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: In this episode, you'll discover what the barbell effect is and why it shows up across industries once consolidation and outside capital enter the picture, how accounting's shift from the Big Eight to the Big Four foreshadows what may be coming in wealth management, and why most deals positioned as mergers are actually acquisitions in disguise. Corey explains why firms stuck in the middle face higher overhead than small competitors and fewer resources than large ones, and how the same dynamic is showing up in the trades, from roofing to electrical. KEY INSIGHTS: The barbell effect describes what happens as an industry consolidates: large, well funded firms on one end, small boutique firms on the other, and the middle becoming the hardest place to operate, with higher overhead than small competitors and fewer resources than large ones. The accounting industry offers a preview of where wealth management may be headed. Corey points to the shift from the Big Eight to the Big Four, and to firms like Eisner and Amper merging to compete at a higher level, along with Apria's growth through acquisition. In legal, only attorneys can own law firms in most states, but Corey describes private equity entering through a managed services model similar to healthcare, where a non-legal company runs the back office while attorneys retain ownership of the practice. Corey shares a comment from his Entrepreneurs Organization lawyers group, that it is much easier to run a law firm under two million dollars or over ten million dollars in revenue than to be stuck in the middle, connecting this to the crossing the chasm dynamic of investing ahead of payoff. Drawing on NAPFA in Minneapolis, Corey notes many members are choosing not to sell to PE backed aggregators, even leaving value on the table, out of concern for fiduciary alignment, while noting he is relaying their perspective rather than judging it. He also points out most "mergers" are actually acquisitions, cites the 2026 Advisor Growth Strategies Report and DeVoe's data showing fewer buyers chasing more sellers and average seller AUM crossing a billion dollars, and closes by noting the same barbell dynamic in the trades, where consolidators and mom and pop firms both persist while the middle gets squeezed. Perfect for RIA owners weighing independence, succession, or sale, leaders of growing companies assessing their industry's consolidation cycle, and anyone navigating competition in the middle market. FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE: https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/barbelleffect FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today! Episode Highlights with Timestamps [00:00:04] - Introduction: the barbell effect and why Corey is talking about it now [00:04:23] - The NAPFA community conversation on succession and exit options aligned with values [00:08:37] - What the barbell effect is and why the middle becomes the hardest place to compete [00:12:21] - Why it's easier to run a law firm under two million or over ten million in revenue than to be stuck in the middle [00:16:14] - NAPFA advisors and the choice to stay independent from PE backed aggregators[00:19:55] - The barbell effect in the trades: roofing, gutters, and electrical consolidation[00:21:55] - Planning for industry evolution instead of being surprised by it Host Bio Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker with more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Show Description Do you want your business to grow faster? The DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer reveals how successful entrepreneurs and business leaders use strategic deals to accelerate growth. From large mergers and acquisitions to capital raising, joint ventures, strategic alliances, real estate deals, and more, this show discusses the full spectrum of deal-driven growth strategies. Get the confidence to pursue deals that will help your company scale faster. Related Episodes Episode 350 - Tom Dillon: Building a firm positioned for acquisition and succession Episode 339 - Solocast 74: Building your G2 and creating optionality for internal successionEpisode 331 - Solocast 72: Reading macro and industry trends without letting personal views distort business decisionsEpisode 327 - Solocast 71: Using authority marketing to build relationships and deal flow Keywords/Tags barbell effect, industry consolidation, RIA independence, private equity wealth management, mergers and acquisitions, internal succession planning, mergers of equals, middle market squeeze, fiduciary advisors, NAPFA, accounting industry consolidation, legal industry private equity, managed services organization, crossing the chasm, RIA exit planning, trades industry consolidation, deal driven growth, 2026 advisor growth strategies, business positioning strategy, exit strategy planning

I sat down with Malte Landwehr, who left VP of SEO at Idealo to become CPO and CMO at Peec AI, the platform that tracks what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews actually cite. We open on the strangest finding of the year. GummySearch, a Reddit analytics tool that shut down last November, now sits behind about 0.1% of all ChatGPT citations. From there we get into why clicks are the wrong way to measure AI search, why your local brand keeps losing to US ones, why scaled AI content rockets then crashes, and why Malte says SEO is dead as a default growth channel.Guest ProfileMalte Landwehr is CPO and CMO at Peec AI, an AI search visibility platform that runs daily prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, Claude, and Grok. He spent more than twenty years in search and product, including five years as VP of SEO at Idealo and five years as VP of Product at Searchmetrics. In his first six months at Peec AI, the company grew from roughly $500K to $5M in ARR.Chapters[0:00] Intro[1:15] Leaving one of Europe's best SEO jobs for AI search[5:07] Why clicks are the wrong way to measure ChatGPT[8:22] Which answer engines actually matter[12:34] GummySearch: a dead product winning ChatGPT citations[18:33] Listicles and the English-language fan-out bias[23:48] Advertorials, local results, and Mount AI content[33:50] Digital PR over technical SEO[36:27] ChatGPT Shopping is scraped Google Shopping, and the MCP contest[42:16] SEO is dead as a default channel, and the chunking moveKey TakeawaysStop measuring AI search by clicks. In an LLM, clicking is optional, so ChatGPT can look like 1% of your traffic while shaping most of your buying journeys. Measure the influence on the decision, not the visit.What gets written about you offsite now matters more than your own technical SEO. Grounding pulls from Reddit, G2, Wikipedia, YouTube, and news, so digital PR is the bigger lever for how AI describes and recommends you.One citable paragraph beats a chunked article. Put your main claim near the top in two or three declarative, self-contained sentences that name the entities. Do not shred a whole article into one-line bullets.Notable Quotes"In a web search, clicking is part of the intended user journey. In an LLM, clicking is completely optional." Malte Landwehr"They didn't gain visibility as a brand. They now have power over what brands are recommended by LLMs." Malte Landwehr, on GummySearchResourcesPeec AI: https://peec.aiPeec AI research blog: https://peec.ai/blogMalte Landwehr's website: https://www.maltelandwehr.deFuture of AI Shopping webinar with Malte Landwehr (Peec AI): https://peec.ai/webinars/future-of-ai-shoppingConnectMalte Landwehr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landwehr/Peec AI: https://peec.aiNo Hacks is a publication about the agentic web. Articles, a weekly podcast, and a newsletter for SEO, CRO, and web professionals who want to stay visible, trusted, and findable as agents take over. Hosted by Slobodan "Sani" Manic.Subscribe at https://nohacks.co/subscribe

La directora general de la Guardia Civil, Mercedes González, comparece en el Senado para explicar sus encuentros con Leyre Díez, presunta cabecilla de una trama judicial. González niega interferir en la UCO y se presenta como víctima, mientras el programa critica su gestión y el menosprecio al cuerpo. En la cumbre del G7, Donald Trump busca un acuerdo con Irán sobre su programa nuclear, en medio de tensiones con Israel y la guerra de Ucrania. Trump propone un "G2" con Estados Unidos y China y se reúne con Zelenski, quien solicita licencias para fabricar sistemas antimisiles. La actualidad nacional incluye el rechazo judicial a la petición de Zapatero de suspender su declaración por el caso Plus Ultra. El PSOE y SUMAR tumban iniciativas del PP y Junts para convocar elecciones anticipadas. La CEOE pide que la Seguridad Social asuma el coste de las bajas laborales los primeros quince días para combatir el absentismo. También, se ordena la detención de Elisa Moulia y se detiene a un ...

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Dan Bettes, CFO of SoundCloud, at the New York Stock Exchange. Dan breaks down how SoundCloud operates as a two-sided music marketplace, how he thinks about liquidity between fans and creators, and why great finance leaders need to make forecasting feel owned by the business—SPONSORS:Aleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metrics—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielbettes/Company: https://soundcloud.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro2:17 First stock: a Vanguard index fund3:13 Most memorable IPO: Groupon4:54 Benefits of going public have changed5:47 SoundCloud and the music industry7:21 Three eras: physical, streaming, creator platform8:49 Streaming unbundled the album10:03 Artists don't need labels anymore11:40 Sponsors — Aleph | RightRev | Rillet15:00 SoundCloud's two-sided business model16:23 Touring replaced the album17:17 First metric every morning: net adds18:31 DAU vs. MAU: it's a funnel19:14 Viral moments and exogenous pops20:10 LTV and the subscription funnel21:38 Sponsors — EY | SpendHound | Brex24:35 Tops-down vs. bottoms-up: reconcile both26:21 Revenue is an output27:45 Handling forecast deviation29:24 How often to reforecast30:23 The final boss: indirect cash flow statement33:09 Cash vs. EBITDA fluency35:04 Plain English and the power of reps36:52 Tailor the message to the audience37:45 Lightning round37:45 Screwed up: miscounted corn at a banquet38:41 Lean into discomfort39:55 Craziest expense: a post-flight massage40:17 Credits

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Bending Spoons' F-1 filing and the acquisition machine behind AOL, Evernote, Vimeo, Eventbrite, and more. He unpacks the company's playbook: buy under-optimized digital businesses, transform operations, raise prices, reinvest earnings, and repeat — while asking the core question: how much was built, and how much was bought?—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 What is Bending Spoons?1:03 The Internet's attic: the portfolio3:11 The metrics rundown5:44 Revenue: $1.3B, 95% growth6:04 82% of growth was bought, not built6:29 Gross margin: 66%6:50 Subscription mix and NRR7:33 Net income: basically zero8:00 Cash: $741M, debt: $4.4B8:35 Revenue per employee: $2.57M9:39 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | EY12:42 Organic growth is mostly price hikes13:50 A house of adjustments14:54 Add-backs bigger than the profit15:22 The reorganization line: cost of firing19:21 Sponsors — SpendHound | Brex | Aleph22:51 Does the playbook actually work?23:07 Evernote: the proof point23:45 Romini: the growth proof point24:10 AI in three directions at once25:45 The debt engine27:50 Red flag 1: material accounting weaknesses28:38 Red flag 2: pro forma numbers come with a confession29:00 Red flag 3: App Store dependency29:11 Red flag 4: no long-term contracts29:30 Red flag 5: foreign private issuer29:52 Red flag 6: they've never sold anything30:19 Cap table and board31:07 Valuation: 14–18x33:00 Bull vs. bear case33:55 Miscellaneous: the S1 is already stale35:25 Credits

We break down G2's LEC Spring title, place SkewMond on the Mount Rushmore of EU junglers, and make the case that Dylan Falco is the greatest League of Legends coach in any region.   FÜM: FÜM has already helped over 700,000 people take steps toward better habits, and now it's your turn! Head to https://tryfum.com/ and use code SUMMONING to claim your free gift today!   Raycon: Upgrade your everyday audio with the Raycon Everyday Earbuds Classic. Get 15% off at https://buyraycon.com/lfn   Factor Meals: Chef-crafted, ready-in-two-minutes meals delivered to your door. Get 50% off your first box plus free daily greens with code LFN50OFF at https://factormeals.com/LFN50OFF (new subscriptions only, while supplies last) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Timestamps:0:00 Intro 3:10 Don't bait Knicks twitter 5:55 Team WE 14:45 LCS timestamp enjoyers All-pro and formats... 25:03 C9 vs. LYON 43:00 TL vs. FLY 53:11 Is BrokenBlade LEC top lane GOAT? 56:36 LEC timestamp enjoyers KC vs. MKOI 1:04:28 G2 vs. KC 1:22:17 LCS finals weekend predictions

  All Hail Unicron: Episode 119: Justin is Back with the Milk    INTRODUCTION Anybody Get Anything? Movie/Show News Third Party Dr Wu's War Within Devastator full look - G1 and G2 colors (2 links) https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/05/dr-wu-dw-es03-cyber-mixer-truck-dw-es06-cyber-excavator-war-within-mixmaster-scavenger-and-cyber-hercules-war-within-devastator-color-prototypes-563219 https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/10/dr-wu-g2-cyber-hercules-war-within-devastator-g2-deco-color-prototype-563517 From War Within to Bayverse, Dr Wu is very busy! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/06/dr-wu-dw-mc05-disc-jockey-transformers-2007-frenzy-color-prototype-563290 Craftsman Toys is doing that Kang Toys thing and giving us an MP and Legends scale Swoop https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/06/great-general-toys-craftman-toys-masterpiece-legends-scale-swoop-gray-prototypes-563286 Newage showing off a Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus repaint/retool https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/08/newage-h28b-lucullu-legends-scale-shattered-glass-ultra-magnus-color-images-563383 Galaxy Toys might be new, but that repaint game isn't! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/09/galaxy-toys-mini-10-iron-armor-mini-11-guardian-ratchet-color-prototypes-563417 Want a random new Arcee with a realistic car mode and human face? LaserCat has you covered! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/20/lucky-cat-cyber-goddess-series-cg01-venus-arcee-color-prototype-564385 MachineCat, formerly LaserCat, has a color prototype of their chibi Superion to show off https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/21/machinecat-toys-mct-01-flight-b-robot-sd-superion-color-prototype-564539 MachineLaserCat whatever company isn't done yet! Here's their chibi BW Waspinator https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/21/machinecat-toys-mct-02-flight-buzz-voltbee-sd-waspinator-prototype-564559 MachineLaserKiddyPlayCat toys news week continues with more images of their chibi G1 Prime https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/27/machinecat-toys-sd-g1-optimus-prime-gray-prototype-update-564871 Listen, it's all about MachineCat this week, m'kay? https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/28/machinecat-toys-mct-02-ferocy-b-robo-sd-abominus-gray-prototype-564943 Bingo Toys wants to know, does it after burn when you pee? https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/22/bingo-toys-bt08-02-newton-masterpiece-scale-afterburner-color-prototype-564605 Magic Square revealed their legends class Strafe prototype and broke half the fandom... https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/23/magic-square-toys-ms-b63-eniac-no-3-legends-scale-strafe-color-prototype-564707 Rising Force is still a company, and they still want you to buy their Fall of Cybertron Combaticons, starting with Swindle and Blast-Off https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/29/rising-force-fall-of-cybertron-combaticons-swindle-and-blast-off-prototypes-565000 Who's a big puffy-puff bitch?! Yes you are a big puffy-puff bitch, yes you are! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/06/01/01-studio-01s-18-fortress-fall-of-cybertron-metroplex-new-images-565193 Official: Even this blind dude loves Titan class AoE Grimlock! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/19/transformers-studio-series-titan-class-age-of-extinction-grimlock-color-sample-564342#images Unreleased Artemis from BWII has surfaced https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/20/possible-first-look-at-unreleased-transformers-beast-wars-ii-artemis-figurine-prototype-564366 Oh good, another Transformers game that will probably get cancelled before it's released or will otherwise suck https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/20/hasbro-ceo-chris-cocks-talks-video-games-transformers-action-adventure-role-playing-pc-console-game-coming-564350 Save a horse, ride an Ironhide! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/19/takara-tomy-missing-link-c-14-ironhide-hidden-features-564362 Blokees Wheels Wreck and Rule wave 2 stock images, including chase figures (2 links) https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/24/blokees-wheels-transformers-c03-wreck-rule-2-official-stock-images-564749 https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/26/blokees-wheels-transformers-c03-wreck-rule-2-product-update-chase-variants-564816 Move over Gunpla, it's Transpla time? https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/27/hasbro-files-trademark-for-new-in-house-model-kit-line-564849 Another G1 Matrix is coming for "roleplay" night https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/27/killerbody-transformers-g1-matrix-of-leadership-564854 MPG-19 Repainted and over-adjusted for inflation Soundwave and Laserbeak in-hand images https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/29/transformers-mpg-19-soundwave-condor-laserbeak-new-in-hand-images-565020 Seafood Platter, eject! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/27/transformers-cyberworld-energon-surge-additional-stock-images-564893 Takara shows off G2 Menasor complete. You seeing this, Hasbro, or just don't care, or what? https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/30/takara-tomy-transformers-new-legends-g2-menasor-color-sample-565093 An AotP Leader Class Unicron Soldier coming? https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/30/age-of-the-primes-leader-unicron-soldier-teasers-565103 "Fuck you, 52Toys, we can make boxes too!"  -Hasbro (2026) https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/28/officially-licensed-transformers-squaroes-deck-boxes-564959 More YoloPark Botcon "exclusives" that you can probably buy now from BBTS revealed. Sideburn and Menasor https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/05/31/yolopark-amk-mini-battle-protocol-sideburn-menasor-2-pack-images-565126 Reeeeelax, guy! It's just more images of me, guy! That's what this post is all uh-boot! https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/06/01/lego-brickheadz-transformers-megatron-new-stoCk-images-565175 Remember that time Hasbro took some shitty little kid's drawing of Shockwave as an alligator-dinosaur thing and made it a figure? https://news.tfw2005.com/2026/06/01/transformers-cyberworld-energon-surge-ultimate-cyber-changers-shockwave-in-hand-images-565208 Questions? Discussion: Email your questions to: Hailunicroncast@gmail.com    Special Shoutouts: Dustmightz for providing the beats for the theme song! Check the Realm of Collectors on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/realmofcollectors   Everyone who followed us from Shattered Cast Uncut, we are grateful to each and everyone of you for joining us on this journey!   Hosts: T2RX6 http://www.youtube.com/user/T2rx6 Rich “Preordered” H. Oscar Alonso https://www.youtube.com/user/oscarnjboy Robert Duyjuy-sabado-gigante

What does it actually take to grow as a talent leader when the playbook keeps changing? Chelsea Kovak, Head of Global Talent Acquisition at TaskRabbit, shares how she thinks about AI, data, tooling, and the skills recruiters need to build in a market that's moving faster than ever. Along the way, she reflects on her path from sales to talent acquisition, the value of being a connector, and why adaptability may be the most important skill in modern recruiting.Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

CJ Gustafson sits down with Marten Abrahamsen, CFO of Vercel, at the NYSE to talk about running finance inside a hypergrowth AI company. They cover AI use cases in finance, rev rec, forecasting, KPI dashboards, PLG, consumption pricing, and Marten's “speeding tickets vs. parking tickets” framework for moving fast without losing control.—SPONSORS:Brex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cj—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martenabrahamsen/Company: http://vercel.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Speeding tickets vs. parking tickets3:21 Visa IPO in the financial crisis5:09 Going public has changed6:45 Private market: 22–24 trillion9:03 More or fewer public companies?9:48 Sponsors — Brex | Aleph | RightRev13:04 KPI dashboard on your phone14:12 Revenue flux via Slack and Notion15:37 RevRec tool: green, yellow, red17:56 V0 is a job requirement19:43 Speeding tickets vs. parking tickets20:33 Sponsors — Rillet | EY | SpendHound23:49 Very few one-way doors25:02 Finance in hypergrowth25:39 Three-scenario planning27:00 Honest with the board31:00 PLG + consumption at Vercel33:32 What Marten checks every morning34:03 Why RPO doesn't work here35:36 Holiday usage is up37:10 ICP shifted to solo developer39:22 Capital allocation in a fast market41:32 Growth compounds; margin can't43:22 SaaS gross margins: spicy take44:24 Cash-burning AI: 2026 vs. 202147:29 Are some hypergrowth cos destroying value?50:00 Lightning round50:11 Bank of Ireland mix-up51:10 Don't punt problems forward52:04 Finance software stack52:38 Expensed an oven53:12 Credits

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Godard Abel, co-founder and CEO of G2, about how AI, software reviews, and answer engines are changing the way companies evaluate CPQ and enterprise software. Godard shares G2's key priorities for 2026, including AI transformation, the integration of Gartner Digital Markets, and the growing importance of trusted software review data. With the acquisition of Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp, G2 now works with more than 6 million reviews and a significantly larger buyer audience. This creates new opportunities for software buyers, CPQ vendors, and AI-driven recommendation engines. The conversation also explores how more CPQ buyers are starting their research journey in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude instead of relying only on Google searches, analyst reports, or traditional review sites. Godard explains why Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, is becoming increasingly important and how it relates to SEO. He also discusses how G2 is optimizing content for both human buyers and AI agents. Frank and Godard also talk about the role of AI in CPQ, including where AI can help with research, software comparison, and decision support, and why human judgment remains important for complex CPQ evaluations. Godard also shares G2's plans around AI blueprints, AI-enabled software identification, and the future of cross-system automation. Beyond technology, Godard discusses G2's PEAK values — Performance, Entrepreneurship, Authenticity, and Kindness — as well as Pledge 1%, entrepreneurship, and his personal experience completing the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. This episode is especially relevant for CPQ buyers, CPQ vendors, software evaluators, revenue leaders, and anyone interested in how AI is reshaping enterprise software selection. 

This week we are back for another episode of the G2 Taxidermy Series. Casey Robinson joins us this week to talk turkey taxidermy and we cover the new lineup from G2 and their Pinnacle Habitat collection. Enjoy! Robinson's Taxidermy Studio - Click Here https://www.g2taxidermysupply.com/collections/pinnacle-driftwood-collection https://www.oldbarninc.com/⁠⁠ This episode is brought to you by: ⁠⁠https://www.g2taxidermysupply.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We sit down with Bridget Winston to unpack what separates a real Chief Revenue Officer from a bookings-focused sales leader, and why the org chart tells you the truth faster than the job title. We get practical about SaaS metrics, AI-driven go-to-market, and the leadership habits that keep teams performing as the playbook keeps changing.• Evaluating a CRO remit by reporting lines and revenue accountability• Using GRR and NRR to diagnose product-market fit and ICP clarity• Treating revenue as a lagging indicator of customer centricity• Preparing for LLM-driven discovery with brand, PR, and earned media• Testing AI tools that shrink territory and quota planning cycles• Shifting budget from paid ads to community-led growth and local events• Turning customer testimonials into repeatable social proof loops• Managing humans and AI agents with specific, camera-ready feedback• Fixing incentives and systems before blaming the team• Creating urgency with day-five impact expectations instead of tired 30-60-90 plansYour org chart can tell you whether you're hiring a true Chief Revenue Officer or just renaming a VP of Sales. We sit down with Bridget Winston, CRO at Patient Now and a three-time CRO, to get brutally clear on what revenue ownership actually means and why “bookings” is a dangerous north star when retention and expansion are what compound.We dig into the SaaS metrics that expose reality fast: GRR, NRR, LTV to CAC, and how boards interpret dashboards when product-market fit and ideal customer profile are still shaky. Bridget shares a sharp reframing that stuck with us: revenue is a lagging indicator of customer centricity. From there, we zoom out to the “SaaS-pocalypse” conversation and what happens to pricing, planning cycles, and revenue per employee as AI turns some companies into dinosaurs and others into cheetahs.Then we get tactical about the LLM era of B2B discovery. If buyers are finding software through ChatGPT-style answers, Reddit threads, G2-style reviews, and YouTube, we need consumer-grade brand building, PR, and community-led growth that creates earned media AI can't ignore. Bridget also breaks down AI tools she's used to compress territory planning and quota work from months to weeks, plus AI coaching that improves call quality and handoffs without blowing up day-to-day operations.We even take a fun detour into Spark Tank wine trivia, then bring it back to leadership: how to give feedback with real specificity, fix systems before blaming people, and set expectations for day-one impact. Subscribe, share this with a revenue leader, and leave a review so more builders can find the show.Bridget Winston:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridgetwinston/Bridget Winston is the Chief Revenue Officer at PatientNow, leading go-to-market and customer-facing teams across a rapidly growing vertical SaaS platform in the fast-expanding $20 billion aesthetics and wellness industry.  A three-time CRO with over 20 years of experience, Bridget was formerly the CRO at Chief, where she led membership growth and helped the company reach a $1.1 billion valuation. During her tenure, Chief was recognized by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies and by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies. Before that, Bridget served as the CRO at Shutterstock, growing revenue to $300 million.Website: https://www.position2.com/podcast/Rajiv Parikh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivparikh/Email us with any feedback for the show: sparkofages.podcast@position2.com

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down how stock exchanges became the operating system of modern capitalism. From ship captains raising voyage money, to the Dutch East India Company's first tradable shares, to coffee house traders, the Buttonwood Agreement, market crashes, Robinhood, and GameStop, this is the story of how markets turned ownership into something liquid, global, and very, very human.—SPONSORS:SpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comSlacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/—RELATED EPISODES:A CFO Explains Secondarieshttps://youtu.be/pENvBuXhGukA CFO Explains the Diamond Industryhttps://youtu.be/fPrho7hvykAA CFO Explains Marketplaceshttps://youtu.be/LpbH9GpBrSY—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 The First IPO, and Why It Changed Everything2:50 Coffee, Buttonwood Trees, and the First Insider Trading Scandal6:31 The Railroads Built Your Month-End Close10:17 Sponsors — SpendHound | Brex | Aleph13:47 Buying Stocks on Credit, and How That Ended18:13 Merrill Lynch Goes to the Suburbs, and the Paper Almost Wins21:44 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | EY24:47 NASDAQ, Pets.com, and the Most Expensive Sock Puppet in History28:49 The Phone in Your Pocket Democratized Everything, For Better or Worse33:03 The Stock Market Was Never Really About Stocks36:47 Credits#RunTheNumbersPodcast #FinanceHistory #StockMarket #Investing #FinanceLeadership

Ever wonder how G2 employees manage to completely dominate your LinkedIn feed with high-value content?In this episode, Lewis Gray and Elliot Elsley sit down with Jenny Gardynski, Senior Director of Content and Communications at G2. With over 13 years of PR agency experience representing fast-growing B2B tech giants, Jenny knows exactly how to build authentic brand awareness from the inside out.Listeners will dive into the exact mechanics behind G2's manual advocacy program, learning how their communications team builds high-performing social kits, launches tactical Slack engagement loops, and embeds custom LinkedIn branding into new-hire onboarding.Jenny shares strategies on why workforce personalization outpaces corporate channels by 5x, how to execute strategic quarterly contests that prompt passive employees to start posting, and how to effectively build custom GPT structures to scale executive voices while completely eliminating robotic "AI-isms".If you're currently struggling to prove a proof of concept with a manual social pilot, or if your employees are hesitant to share content because they are afraid of sounding unauthentic, this episode provides a realistic blueprint.Resources:Want to know how your employee advocacy strategy really stacks up?Grab your FREE Employee Advocacy Health Check and see how you compare against your competitors.Book a call to discover how employee advocacy can benefit your team.Ready to elevate your employee advocacy? Get a free copy of Bradley Keenan's essential book, ‘Employee Advocacy: 101 Cheat Codes' for deeper insights and actionable strategies.Download The World's Biggest Employee Advocacy Study.Subscribe to the Employee Advocacy & Influence Podcast on Spotify or your favorite platform to never miss an episode.

Growing up between Canada and East Africa, Michael Kieran's childhood was shaped by international communities, close encounters with elephants and lions, and experiences that challenged the way he saw the world. He brings that same perspective to building high-performing recruiting teams grounded in consistency, ambition, and continuous growth as a Fractional Talent Leader. In this conversation, he shares why the best TA organizations think differently about performance, AI, and what it really means to become world-class.Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn! Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Ryan Roccon, CFO of Zapier, to cover AI hiring standards, automating month-end close, measuring ROI on AI spend, and why determinism still beats agents most of the time.—SPONSORS:EY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound cuts your SaaS and AI spend by up to 30% using real pricing benchmarks across 10,000 vendors, so you always know what fair pricing looks like before your next renewal. Rated #1 on G2 in SaaS spend management, it's free forever for teams up to 1,000 employees. Sign up by June 12th and get $500 just for getting started. Go to https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanroccon/Company: https://zapier.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:Ryan's First Appearancehttps://youtu.be/VIZ_RzfV78IChris Byington, Head of Data @ Superhumanhttps://youtu.be/ydH38JnWfww—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and intro2:11 Ryan's scope at Zapier3:17 Why the finance guy runs ecosystems6:19 AI is a required hire competency6:46 The four levels: unacceptable to transformative8:48 How Zapier tests for it11:50 Favorite interview question13:06 Sponsors — EY | SpendHound | Brex16:18 AI changes the hiring profile17:07 Support becomes customer-facing engineering18:44 Where AI beats deterministic Zaps21:00 80-90% of builds are deterministic22:41 Sponsors — Aleph | RightRev | Rillet26:00 Month end close on Zaps27:40 Time saved is a leading indicator29:53 AI token costs: COGS or investment?31:51 Performance issue or measurement issue?33:41 Partner ARR: chasing the wrong thing35:56 Build around what changes the decision37:17 The initiative sizing coach40:00 Escalate on magnitude, not certainty41:55 The 9,000 integration story44:02 M&A process and minimum model46:19 Cash vs. stock: incentive alignment48:06 CFO's role in M&A: show up early49:18 Credits

The conversation around AI in education is changing fast, and the latest GSV Learning and Earning Forecast now identifies trust as the factor that will determine the near-term future of AI in the classroom. In this episode, we explore the “AI trust gap” forming between the people racing to expand AI in schools and the educators, parents, and students who are starting to push back. Through discussions with educators, school leaders, learning science researchers, analysts, ed tech developers, AI vendors, and non-profits across the community, we zoom in on the hard questions surrounding AI's future in education. What happens when innovation starts moving faster than trust? What is required to bridge the gap? Who is working on solutions? What's working? Sources: Forecast for Learning & Earning in 2025-2026 | Digital Promise | Learning Commons | Surgeon General's Office Advises Schools to Limit Screen Time | Teachers and parents weigh benefits and risks of artificial intelligence in schools | Do AI's risks outweigh the benefits for students and schools? | Fostering Trust in the Age of AI | GSVtv | The Next AI Maturity Curve – Orchestration, Trust, and Scale | AI is Air: Ambient AI in Every Breath, Step, and Swipe | GSVtv | Lincoln High students swap screen time for study time after phone ban | How to Choose Safe and Effective Classroom Technology | More Students Boo AI at Commencement Nick Melvoin, a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board member who recently drafted a resolution to restrict student screen time in classrooms. Sandra Liu Huang, Head of Education & Product at CZI and president of Learning Commons. Jean Claude Brizard– President and CEO of Digital Promise. Jeremy Roschelle– Executive Director of Digital Promise's Learning Sciences Research team. Melissa Loble, Chief Academic Officer, Instructure. Patrick Gittisriboongul, Ed.D., Superintendent of Lynwood Unified School District. Justin Reich, Director of Teaching Systems Lab at MIT. Jennifer Lee Partner GSV Ventures. Muktha Ananda– Google's Director of Engineering. Robert Wong, Google's Director of Product Management. Brian Carslon, CEO, Storytime AI.Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2 and Executive Fellow at Harvard. Chris Hamatake, parent. Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings. Dr. Eugene Kim, Professor of Education at Concordia University.

Louie walks through the C.S. Regional and how ended up having to play the 2nd championship game.  A "Listen In" from G1 and G2 of A&M vs Lamar + Texas State.

Are You Losing Your Next-Gen Advisors Before They Ever Reach Their Potential? In Episode 362 of the Magellan Network Show, Coach Joe Lukacs tackles one of the most pressing and costly challenges facing financial advisory firms today: the development and retention of G2 (next generation) advisors. With a 72% failure rate over five years and $ 600K-$1 M in losses for every advisor who washes out, this isn't just an HR problem. It's a strategic crisis. Add in the $124 trillion great wealth transfer, and the fact that 90% of heirs don't work with their parents' advisor, and the stakes couldn't be higher. In this episode, Coach Joe covers: ✅ Why G2 development is a firm survival issue, not just a talent issue ✅ The 5 pillars of advisor development every firm leader needs to know ✅ What G2 advisors should look for when evaluating a firm (hint: it's not just comp) ✅ How to build a self-managed, stakeholder-minded culture ✅ The 6 key metrics every firm leader should be tracking for their G2S ✅ Why relationships and referrals must be taught early and how to do it Whether you're a firm owner building your bench or a newer advisor figuring out your path, this episode gives you a clear, actionable framework.

This week on Overtime on Inferno, Logan is joined by Jack and Sam to do what everyone else isn't prepared to do: rank every single team heading into IEM Cologne in a tier list that will definitely age perfectly and cause no arguments whatsoever.From title contenders to teams with no chance at all, our trio break down the entire field and decide who's actually worth your belief, and who's just there to make up the numbers.Speaking of things worth your time, we're also announcing the second TLDR Magazine, which will be available at the IEM Cologne Major. If you're attending, keep an eye out. It's everything you didn't know you needed from the event, put into print.Join the discord:https://discord.gg/X3jU4djxUKCheck out Logan's newsletter:https://thestratbook.gg

Jessica Wheeler went from growing up in Vancouver, Washington to building talent programs at some of the biggest names in entertainment and gaming, including Hulu, Activision, and Take-Two Interactive. Now VP, Global Head of TA Strategy at Take-Two, she shares how scaling Hulu from 500 to 3,000 employees, leading through reputation challenges at Activision, and centralizing TA across 2K, Zynga, and Take-Two shaped her leadership style. Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!Intro (00:00)Background (00:46)Career (06:52)Ta (29:22) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

In the latest episode of Tin Foil Hat, Jeremiah Skiba and Jake Grant join Sam Tripoli to discuss the alleged slander coming from the "Fittest Flat Earther" camp, the mysterious death of Jeremiah's father, Rob Skiba, during COVID hospital protocols, and whether he was silenced for warning people about the vaccine. Jake Grant also breaks down a biblical theory suggesting that humanity reaching a certain number of souls could trigger the End Times and the judgment of Satan. Check out the Skiba Family Bookstore: https://babylonrisingbooks.com Grab your tickets to TrutherCon on Nov 7th: http://truthercon.com   Please subscribe to the new Tin Foil Hat youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@TinFoilHatYoutube   Sam Tripoli's 5th Crowd Work Special "Hero Live From Batavia" Drops May 2nd On Youtube.com/SamTripoliComedy   Grab your copy of the 2nd issue of the Chaos Twins now and join the Army Of Chaos: https://bit.ly/415fDfY   Check out Sam "DoomScrollin with Sam Tripoli and Midnight Mike" Every Tuesday At 4pm pst on Youtube, X Twitter, Rumble and Rokfin! Join the WolfPack at Wise Wolf Gold and Silver and start hedging your financial position by investing in precious metals now! Go to https://www.samtripoli.gold/ and use the promo code "TinFoil" and we thank Tony for supporting our show.   Grab Tickets To Sam Tripoli's Live Shows At SamTripoli.com: Costa Mesa, Ca: 5/28  La Jolla, Ca: 5/29-5/30 Albuquerque, NM: 6/12-6/13 Austin, TX: 6/18 Miami, Fl: 7/31-8/1 Lawerence, KS: 9/17-9/19 Tulsa, OK: 10/9-10/10 Dallsa, Tx: Nov 7th (TrutherCon) Austin, TX: Dec 11th-13th   Please check out Word War Debate and the WordWarDebate Contenders Series: https://wordwardebate.com   Please check Jeremiah Skiba and Jake Grant's internet:  Website: https://skibanewsnation.com (https://skibanewsnation.com/) Rumble: https://rumble.com/SkibaNewsNation Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/skibanewsnation/ Odysee: https://odysee.com/@SkibaNewsNation:2 Instagram: https://instagram.com/skibanewsnation/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/SkibaNewsNation/ X: https://twitter.com/SkibaNewsNation/ Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@SkibaNewsNation Discord: https://discord.gg/VqJpnf4rYY       Please check out Sam Tripoli's internet: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/samtripoli Sam Tripoli's Stand Up Youtube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@SamTripoliComedy Sam Tripoli's Comedy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samtripolicomedy/%20P Sam Tripoli's Podcast Clip Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samtripolispodcastclips/   Please support our sponsors: BlueChew Gold: Is the newest innovation from the #1 chewable ED brand. This ain't your grandpa's little blue pill — this is the 4-in-1 beast that's setting the Gold Standard for performance. We're talking two ingredients for blood flow to keep that rocket pumping, mixed with Apomorphine and Oxytocin to turn up the arousal and connection in your brain and body. And we've got a special deal for our listeners: Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code TINFOIL. That's promo code TINFOIL. Visit BlueChew.com for more details and important safety information, and we thank BlueChew for sponsoring the podcast. Superpower: Make this the year you stop guessing about your health, with Superpower. Not only did Superpower reduce their price to just $199, but for a limited time, our listeners get an additional $20 off with code TINFOIL Head to Superpower.com and use code TINFOIL at checkout for $20 off your membership. After you sign up, they'll ask how you heard about them, so make sure to mention this podcast to support the show Quo: Quo is the #1-rated business phone system on G2 with over 3,000 reviews, built for how modern teams work. That's why more than 90,000 businesses – from solo operators to growing teams – rely on Quo to stay connected, professional, and consistently reachable.  Make this the time where no opportunity – and no customer – slips away. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to Quo dot com slash TINFOIL. That's Q-U-O dot com slash TINFOIL. Quo - no missed calls, no missed customers.  

Thorin and YamatoCannon break down G2's LEC upper bracket win, MSI qualification, and the LPL playoff chaos that nobody predicted.   Hims: For your free online visit about hair loss treatment, go to https://hims.com/LFN   AG1: Get a free AG1 flavor sampler and a bottle of vitamin D3+K2 (a $72 value) with your first subscription at https://drinkag1.com/summoning   Raycon: Get 15% off the Everyday Earbuds Classic at https://buyraycon.com/LFN Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eric Olander on how the Global South is reading the Beijing summitsThis week I'm joined again by Eric Olander, founder of the China Global South Project, which runs the most indispensable English-language operation going for understanding China's engagement with Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.I came in with a plan: map, region by region, how the capitals of the Global South were reading the back-to-back Trump and Putin visits to Beijing — relief at a steadier U.S.-China modus vivendi, or foreboding at a G2 condominium squeezing shut their room to maneuver. Eric dismantled the premise within ten minutes. The honest answer, he warned me, is that most of the Global South simply isn't watching the way we are — and the disappointment turned out to be the most interesting thing in the room. What looked like the absence of a story was the story. I'd built my questions around one assumption about what mattered; Eric had built his answers around another, and I cop to being schooled.Once you set the summit framing aside, what Eric's contributors are actually seeing comes into focus: Japan racing to recenter an Asia-Pacific security architecture, a region quietly de-risking from an unreliable United States, fresh cracks in the BRICS, Justin Yifu Lin's “three moves” for Chinese manufacturing, Latin America's “find out” phase, and a Gulf where the Chinese setback so many in Washington insist must exist simply isn't there. We get into all of it — and close on the summit as a remarkable piece of theater, the first since 1945 at which no one quite knew who the most powerful person in the room was.04:27 — The dominant mood: pro forma coverage, exhaustion, and bigger problems at home08:15 — Breaking news: the paused $14B Taiwan arms package and the canceled Colby trip11:15 — The dog that caught the truck: China and the costs of a receding U.S. umbrella13:00 — "Constructive strategic stability" — new equilibrium or just choreography?28:23 — The snub: Beijing sends only an ambassador to the BRICS meeting in New Delhi37:56 — Africa: tariff-free access, the trade imbalance, and Kenya's "collapsed" exports44:34 — Justin Yifu Lin's "three moves": move up-market, localize, move south51:00 — Latin America's "find out" phase in Panama, and very low China literacy57:35 — The Gulf after the war on Iran: who really won?Paying it Forward:Boston University's Global Development Policy (GDP) Research CenterRecommendationsEric: A “rabbit hole” of books on Xi Jinping, currently Party of One by Chun Han Wong (after Kevin Rudd's On Xi Jinping).Kaiser: Angine de Poitrine, a “microtonal math rock” duo from Quebec — think Frank Zappa meets King Crimson — possibly the thing to breathe new life into progressive rock.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Timestamps0:00 intro0:43 Comment of the week + All pro ragebait10:53 Jatt's defense of history21:04 LCS recap FLY vs. C940:25 TL vs. LYON47:58 LEC recap KC vs. G255:28 KOI vs. VIT1:01:35 G2 vs. KOI1:14:05 MSI lookahead

Top 10 Players Masters London is next week, submit yours here: https://forms.gle/fC7bqnRvYLdaNj6d6

Adam Spector's path has never been conventional, from leaving DC for boarding school to pivoting from law school into tech and startups. Now Founder & CEO of Chore, he shares how building companies, learning from early startup failures, and obsessing over AI shaped his belief that founders should rethink hiring entirely. His message is simple: don't hire unless you absolutely have to.Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!Intro (00:00)Background (00:46)Career (13:08)TA (20:49) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

The boys break down the major roster changes with Paris Gentle Mates involved. Envoy is on his way to G2 with a blockbuster Estreal trade. CDL Tier List of the roster changes so far throws up some surprises.

Washington Post foreign affairs columnist and bestselling author David Ignatius joins Donny Deutsch for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation on the biggest geopolitical flashpoints shaping our world right now. Is America a declining superpower? Donny and David break down Trump's Beijing summit with Xi Jinping — what Trump actually got (and didn't get), why Boeing stock dropped after the "200 planes" announcement, and what it means for U.S.-China relations that Taiwan arms sales are now a bargaining chip. They explore the Thucydides Trap, the G2 power dynamic, and whether decoupling from China was ever realistic. Then: the Ukraine-Russia war and how battlefield innovation — from AI-powered drone warfare to autonomous defense systems — is permanently changing the future of military conflict. David, who has traveled to Ukraine eight times since the invasion began, explains why survival is victory and what Putin's next move might be. From there, the conversation shifts to Iran: the nuclear threat, the Strait of Hormuz crisis, the internal power struggle inside the Iranian regime, and why Trump's military strategy may have empowered hardliners rather than weakened the regime. Finally, Donny and David tackle the alarming rise of antisemitism — why it's a symptom of civilizational decay, the role of social media in accelerating hate, what federal policy could actually help, and what King Charles got right that American political leaders are getting wrong. We'd like to thank our sponsor Strawberry.me Go to Strawberry.me/DONNY and start with a coaching trial today. For our listeners, tell them it was the On Brand with Donny Deutsch Podcast that sent you and get 50% off your first session. Be sure to check out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠On Brand with Donny Deutsch YouTube page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Price grew up as a first-generation American, learning early lessons in grit, integrity, and trust from her family and her uncle's shoe repair shop. Today, as the founder of Penfield Talent, she brings that same people-first philosophy to talent leadership, executive search, and helping companies build high-trust teams. In this conversation, she shares how she balances empathy with high standards, what AI can and can't replace in recruiting, and the inside story of leading GTM hiring at Slack through the Salesforce acquisition, when her team doubled the sales organization in one year during COVID.Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!Intro (00:00)Background (00:46)Career (09:02)TA (37:38) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

What does it take to grow a family business from a bootstrapped startup into a multi-generational operation, and how do you protect the family along the way? ✨ In this episode, Kristi Skutvik sits down with Shane Foye, President of DW-1, to explore his journey growing up inside his family's waste management business and the pivotal moments that shaped his leadership. Shane shares how his father started the company after losing his job, the experience of having employees working out of their family home as a kid, and how he went from peeling potatoes and running summer shifts to building an ERP software and eventually stepping into the role of leading the core business. They discuss the challenges of navigating the G1-to-G2 succession, why Shane spent time learning from hundreds of family offices, and how developing a shared mission, vision, and values brought his family through some of their hardest seasons. Shane also opens up about the role art collecting has played in shaping the company's culture and identity, and why intentionality and a willingness to learn are the keys to building something that lasts. Additional Resources: Follow Shane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-foye-663464bb/ Visit DW-1's website: https://dw1.com/ Subscribe to Kristi's YouTube for more Vibecast content: https://youtube.com/@kristiskutvik?si=ZzyIX7yyCRukXgNy Learn more about Skutvik Consulting: https://www.skutvikconsulting.com/ Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/peopleforward-network Learn more about PeopleForward Network: https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/ Key Takeaways: Workplace vibe is an energy you can feel, and losing it means losing everything Building a family business requires balancing the needs of the family with the needs of the company The G1-to-G2 transition demands intentional governance, shared values, and multiple anchor points of trust Spending time learning from other family offices and going in without an agenda can reshape how you lead Intentionality and a willingness to learn are the foundation for building something that lasts beyond one generation  

Katie Potter, VP of Talent Operations at Healthie, grew up in upstate New York with a deeply competitive spirit — skiing by age three and racing against high schoolers before she was even a teenager. In this episode, she shares her unconventional path from studying forensic psychology to discovering Industrial & Organizational psychology, ultimately leading her into the world of talent acquisition and helping scale hiring at high-growth startups. She also discusses how she's leveraging AI to build faster, more thoughtful, and more candidate-centric recruiting processes in today's evolving hiring landscape.Connect with host James Mackey on LinkedIn!Intro (00:00)Background (00:46)Healthie (13:30)AI (17:06)TA (33:53) Thank you to our sponsor, SecureVision, for making this show possible!  Follow us:https://www.linkedin.com/company/82436841/SecureVision: #1 Rated Embedded Recruitment Firm on G2!https://www.g2.com/products/securevision/reviewsThanks for listening!

In this episode of That Tech Pod, Laura and Kevin sit down with Chad Gold, CFO of Fullstory and former finance leader at G2 and Salesloft, for a candid conversation about what finance leadership actually looks like in today's SaaS market.Chad breaks down how the CFO role has evolved as the industry shifts away from growth-at-all-costs and toward profitability, operational discipline, and measurable efficiency. He shares what private equity ownership changes behind the scenes, including tighter reporting expectations, faster accountability cycles, and a sharper focus on margin performance. The conversation also cuts through the noise around AI spending. Chad gives a practical finance perspective on which AI investments are creating real operational leverage versus which ones are simply expensive experiments designed to satisfy boardroom pressure. Along the way, he explains the metrics that matter most now compared to five years ago, where companies risk overcorrecting on cost-cutting, and how SaaS leaders can balance innovation with long-term value creation.If you want an honest look at how modern CFOs evaluate technology, efficiency, and growth in a tougher market, this episode delivers it.Chad Gold is the Chief Financial Officer at Fullstory, where he leads finance and helps guide the company's growth and operational strategy. He brings a strong track record from high-growth SaaS companies, having previously served as CFO at G2 and Salesloft, where he supported rapid scaling and value creation. Across these roles, he has developed a practical perspective on how finance leaders evaluate technology investments, particularly around AI, with a focus on driving efficiency, improving margins, and aligning cost discipline with customer experience.

From Mar-a-Lago to the Great Hall, Trump returns to Beijing desperate for validation while Xi Jinping treats him to strategic flattery. It's the first time an American president has been to China in seven years. It deserves a podcast, although, as Trivium said, the outcomes could have been an email instead of a summit. Today's guests are Sergey Radchenko, author of To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power — which won a ChinaTalk Book of the Year award and got the four-hour podcast treatment — as well as ChinaTalk regulars Kevin Xu of Interconnected and Jon Czin, formerly of the CIA and NSC, now with Brookings. Our conversation covers: Prestige politics on the cheap — How Trump's delegation gawked at Chinese architecture while Xi scored propaganda points by getting the U.S. president to fawn over Zhongnanhai's gardens — reversing decades of diplomatic protocol. The G2 that never was — Why Trump's dream of running the world with Xi echoes Nixon and Brezhnev's failed détente, and how strategic competition makes genuine cooperation impossible regardless of personal chemistry. The AI factor — As Beijing struggles with compute constraints and export controls, the US brings its AI safety dialogue proposal as its only real leverage in an otherwise empty summit. The midterm calculation — How Xi is withholding concessions until September 2026, betting that Trump will need wins most desperately right before the elections. Who's using the pause better? — While China methodically builds domestic chip capacity and refuses even approved Nvidia exports, the U.S. struggles with basic industrial policy on rare earths. song: https://suno.com/s/cwNGihewAFKpkJls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump's comments on China spark outrage, but is there a bigger geopolitical strategy behind the scenes? Tara and Lee break down the explosive Trump-Xi summit, the Iran oil chess game, Rubio's warning about nuclear Iran, and why China's grip on Tehran could reshape global power. Plus, the South Carolina Republican civil war erupts as establishment insiders battle Trump-backed redistricting and controversial AG candidate David Pascoe faces intense scrutiny. SHORT CLICKABLE TITLE Trump's China Gamble EXPOSED EPISODE SUMMARY Today's show dives deep into the backlash over President Trump's stunning comments about China, Xi Jinping, Chinese farmland ownership near military bases, and the growing tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Tara and Lee argue that while Trump's public praise of China sounds alarming, the real strategy may be economic warfare aimed at cutting Iran and Russia out of China's energy pipeline. The conversation explores claims that China secretly controls key Iranian infrastructure and discusses Marco Rubio's defense of Trump's hardline negotiating tactics. The hosts also examine the possibility that Trump is intentionally reshaping global oil markets to weaken adversaries while forcing China into dependence on American energy exports. In the second half, attention shifts to South Carolina politics, where accusations of a Republican “UniParty” establishment protecting Democrat-aligned candidates ignite a fierce internal battle. The show details controversy surrounding David Pascoe, redistricting fights, Lindsey Graham's influence, and allegations that establishment Republicans are undermining Trump-backed reforms. KEY TOPICS Trump's controversial China comments Xi Jinping and U.S.-China relations Iran nuclear tensions China's influence over Iran Oil politics and global energy markets Marco Rubio defending Trump strategy South Carolina Republican infighting Redistricting battle in South Carolina David Pascoe controversy Lindsey Graham and establishment Republicans SEO KEYWORDS Trump China deal, Trump Xi Jinping interview, Iran nuclear crisis, Marco Rubio Iran comments, China Iran alliance, South Carolina redistricting, David Pascoe controversy, Lindsey Graham criticism, Trump oil strategy, China buying American oil, SC GOP civil war, UniParty South Carolina, Trump energy policy, Iranian nuclear threat, Republican primary South Carolina THUMBNAIL TEXT CHINA GAMBLE? TRUMP'S SECRET STRATEGY SOCIAL MEDIA POST

Donald Trump's latest comments about China are igniting fierce debate as he praises Chinese leadership, discusses massive energy deals, and signals a dramatic shift in global strategy. Tara breaks down the behind-the-scenes reality of U.S.-China relations, the Iran oil chess match, concerns over espionage and farmland purchases, and why Trump's negotiation tactics are making even supporters uneasy. PODCAST SUMMARY Donald Trump's latest remarks about China stunned supporters and critics alike after praising Chinese leadership, defending economic partnerships, and discussing future energy agreements between the United States and Beijing. Tara and Lee dive into the controversial comments, including Trump referring to America and China as the “G2” and discussing expanded trade and oil exports. The episode explores the growing tension between Trump's public diplomatic posture and the private security precautions reportedly being taken by the administration during the China trip. Tara details reports that White House staff discarded Chinese-issued devices and prohibited American personnel from using personal electronics inside Chinese-controlled networks due to espionage concerns. The conversation then shifts to the larger geopolitical strategy surrounding Iran, Russia, China, and global energy markets. Tara argues that Trump's long-term play may involve forcing China to purchase American energy at market prices instead of discounted Iranian or Russian oil, potentially weakening China's manufacturing advantages and disrupting alliances between Beijing, Moscow, and Tehran. The show also examines broader political implications for the 2026 midterms, Republican infighting, and Trump's willingness to make politically risky public statements while focusing on long-term geopolitical negotiations behind the scenes. CHAPTERS 00:00 Trump's China Comments Spark Outrage 04:36 “G2” Remarks & Xi Jinping Praise 09:14 The Hidden Security Measures Behind The Trip 14:08 China, Iran & The Oil Strategy 19:27 Why The Administration Distrusts Chinese Tech 24:42 Energy Markets & Global Power Shifts 29:11 The Russia-China Economic Dynamic 34:25 Victoria Coates Explains Trump's Strategy 39:02 Midterms, Messaging & Political Risks 43:18 The Long-Term Geopolitical Chess Game TAGS Donald Trump, China, Xi Jinping, Iran, Russia, U.S. energy, geopolitics, trade war, oil markets, conservative podcast, political commentary, Sean Hannity interview, Trump China policy, Beijing, national security, espionage concerns, global economy, Republican politics, energy exports, world news YOUTUBE TITLE OPTIONS Trump's China Comments Leave Conservatives STUNNED Trump Praises China? The Real Strategy Explained Trump's Global Chess Move Against Iran & China Why Trump's China Deal Has Everyone Talking The Hidden Truth Behind Trump's Beijing Comments THUMBNAIL TEXT TRUMP PRAISES CHINA?! WHAT IS THE REAL PLAN? GLOBAL CHESS MATCH ENERGY WAR EXPLODES U.S. VS CHINA SOCIAL MEDIA POST

Trump's China Gamble EPISODE DESCRIPTION President Trump's summit with Xi Jinping sparks outrage after praising China, defending Chinese students, and downplaying concerns over Chinese-owned farmland near U.S. military bases. Tara and Lee break down whether Trump is playing strategic chess with China and Iran—or dangerously legitimizing America's biggest geopolitical threat. Plus: explosive allegations about South Carolina's “UniParty” machine, redistricting battles, inflation fallout, and why conservatives are sounding the alarm over Democrat-backed Republicans in the Palmetto State. HOOK Trump says China is “great,” calls America and China the “G2,” and defends Chinese ownership of farmland near military bases. Is this master-level negotiation… or a massive political risk? KEY TOPICS Trump's controversial comments about China and Xi Jinping China's relationship with Iran and oil negotiations Behind-the-scenes security fears during Trump's Beijing summit Chinese students, farmland purchases, and espionage concerns Inflation fallout from Biden-era spending policies Marco Rubio on Iran, oil prices, and nuclear threats “Chiran” theory: China's influence over Iran South Carolina redistricting battle and GOP civil war David Pascoe controversy and “UniParty” accusations Lindsey Graham, Henry McMaster, and open primary criticism MAIN SEGMENTS SEGMENT 1 — Trump's China Comments Spark Conservative Backlash Trump stunned conservatives during his Sean Hannity interview by praising China, defending Chinese students studying in America, and downplaying fears over Chinese ownership of farmland near U.S. military bases. Tara and Lee debate whether Trump is simply negotiating publicly while privately recognizing China as America's top adversary. SEGMENT 2 — The Secret Side of the Beijing Summit Despite Trump's warm public rhetoric, reports reveal White House staff discarded all Chinese-issued devices, credentials, and materials before boarding Air Force One. Staff reportedly used burner phones and avoided bringing personal devices into Chinese airspace, revealing deep distrust behind the scenes. SEGMENT 3 — Oil, Iran, and Trump's Economic Chess Match The hosts explore Trump's reported effort to replace China's Iranian oil imports with American energy exports. They argue the strategy could weaken both Iran and Russia while forcing China to pay full market price for oil instead of relying on discounted sanctioned crude. SEGMENT 4 — Inflation, Iran, and Rubio's Defense Democrats attack Trump over gas prices and his comments about ignoring Americans' financial concerns during negotiations with Iran. Marco Rubio pushes back, arguing Trump is signaling strength to Tehran and refusing to allow energy prices to become leverage in nuclear talks. SEGMENT 5 — “Chiran”: China's Grip on Iran Tara outlines the theory that China effectively controls Iran's infrastructure, surveillance systems, and energy strategy. The discussion connects Chinese investment in Iran's nuclear and digital infrastructure to broader concerns about authoritarian expansion and global energy dominance. SEGMENT 6 — South Carolina's GOP Civil War The conversation shifts to South Carolina politics, where Tara accuses establishment Republicans of operating as Democrats within the GOP. The hosts blast open primaries, criticize Lindsey Graham and Henry McMaster, and warn conservatives about attorney general candidate David Pascoe. SOUND BITES “Trump's talking to the enemy, not the voters.” “Publicly they smiled. Privately they swept the plane for bugs.” “China doesn't want partnership. China wants leverage.” “You don't bring burner phones unless you know the threat is real.” “This is economic warfare disguised as diplomacy.” “The UniParty machine is panicking in South Carolina.” SOCIAL MEDIA TEASER Trump praises China. Conservatives erupt. Behind the scenes? White House staff reportedly used burner phones, dumped Chinese-issued devices, and treated Beijing like ho ...

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