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Today's show:In this episode, @Jason and @alex explore how AI is reshaping the economy—from Pano AI's $44M raise to fight wildfires with drones, to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's memo foreshadowing white-collar job cuts, to Meta's stealth move poaching Scale AI talent. They dig into the collapse of early-career roles, the slow disappearance of the gig economy safety net, and why founders may want to think twice before building in public.Timestamps:(1:52) Travel chaos, laundry issues, and the Airbnb event(3:05) CO2 conference highlights and Zipline drone delivery innovation(5:24) AI's effect on job disruption and white-collar retraining(09:46) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST(11:01) Jassy on AI's workforce impact and boosting teacher roles(13:23) Media evolution: market resilience and direct communication strategies(20:08) INBOUND - Use code TWIST10 for 10% o your General Admission ticket at https://www.inbound.com/register (Valid thru 7/31)(21:14) OpenAI's podcast, corporate media shifts, and Twist 500 highlights(30:02) NWRA - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(31:20) Insurance, AI, and OpenAI's enterprise focus(41:11) Meta and Traversal's AI bets; startup transparency(48:57) TikTok, US-China tension, and data privacy debate(56:43) Actuality.ai's platform for AI-driven RFPs and enterprise pricing insights(1:11:00) Wrap-up and final thoughts with Rishab GuptaSubscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comSubscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcpFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:(09:46) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST(20:08) INBOUND - Use code TWIST10 for 10% o your General Admission ticket at https://www.inbound.com/register (Valid thru 7/31)(30:02) NWRA - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarlandCheck out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.comSubscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916
#SWAMPWATCH – Iran leader rejects US demand for surrender; Trump says patience has run out / Infighting jeopardizes hopes of Democratic comeback. AI will shrink Amazon's workforce in the coming years, CEO Jassy says. Matchmakers are conflicted about the movie ‘Materialists'. Jury reaches verdict in retrial of Karen Read on death of police officer boyfriend.
Hoe dan? Netflix heeft een revolutionair idee. Iets waar nog nooit eerder iemand op kwam. Maar het durft de stap toch aan. Het gaat *tromgeroffel* lineaire tv uitzenden! Doen ze dus in Frankrijk. Daar sluit de streamer een deal met televisienetwerk TF1. Niet alleen komen hun programma's en series (waaronder The Voice) op Netflix te staan, maar de Fransen kunnen straks ook de tv-kanalen van TF1 via hun Netflix-abonnement bekijken. En andere televisiezenders kijken mee, want wie weet is dit de oplossing tegen het alsmaar kleiner wordende publiek. Of graven ze juist hun eigen graf? Dat beantwoorden we deze uitzending. En dan hoor je ook over de beursgang van Triodos. De bank moest noodgedwongen naar de beurs, om hun certificaathouders tevreden te stellen. Maar beleggers hadden er meer zin in, want na één dag handelen staat er een plus van 21 procent op het bord. We vertellen je ook over de truc die bedrijven uithalen om onder de importheffingen van Donald Trump uit te komen. Ze hoeven namelijk niet per se hun hele productie te verhuizen. Het aanpassen van een paar materialen is soms al genoeg om een lagere heffing te krijgen. En je krijgt te horen wat Wesley z'n guilty pleasure is tijdens het eten van zijn warme maaltijd.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
(Ja in caps lock, want zo kondigt Trump zijn mededelingen ook vaak aan op Truth Social). Deze keer krijgt Apple een speciale behandeling van 'm. Maar niet een waar je als bedrijf blij van wordt. Trump komt met importheffingen, specifiek gericht op de iPhone. Op elke telefoon die niet in de VS wordt gemaakt, komt een importtarief van ten minste 25 procent. Dat betekent dat Trump elke verkochte iPhone in de VS extra gaat belasten. We hebben het deze aflevering over de problemen van Apple. Want er zijn er meer, bijvoorbeeld met de verkoop van diezelfde iPhone. In China haalt het daarom nu maar een nieuwe truc uit. Je hoort wat dat is en of dat gaat werken.Dan hebben we het ook over de nieuwe uithaal van Trump naar de EU. Er wordt nog onderhandeld tussen Europa en de VS, maar dat gaat 'nergens heen' volgens de grote leider en dus dreigt 'ie nu al met extra heffingen.Ondertussen zijn de Chinezen en Amerikanen wél nog met elkaar in gesprek en dat verloopt boven verwachting goed (volg je het nog?). Al zou de Chinese president wel willen dat er andere landen bij de gesprekken worden betrokken.Ook hoor je over erotische content. Nee, Wesley Weerts houdt het netjes hoor niet gevreesd. Maar we hebben het over de verkoop van OnlyFans. Dat zou miljarden opleveren. Verder komt Jerome Powell voorbij. De Fed-baas mag niet ontslagen worden door Trump, oordeelt het hooggerechtshof. Je leert waarom aandeelhouders tegen alle plannen van Amazon moesten stemmen én we hebben het over een hele sombere Christine Lagarde. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
(Ja in caps lock, want zo kondigt Trump zijn mededelingen ook vaak aan op Truth Social). Deze keer krijgt Apple een speciale behandeling van 'm. Maar niet een waar je als bedrijf blij van wordt. Trump komt met importheffingen, specifiek gericht op de iPhone. Op elke telefoon die niet in de VS wordt gemaakt, komt een importtarief van ten minste 25 procent. Dat betekent dat Trump elke verkochte iPhone in de VS extra gaat belasten. We hebben het deze aflevering over de problemen van Apple. Want er zijn er meer, bijvoorbeeld met de verkoop van diezelfde iPhone. In China haalt het daarom nu maar een nieuwe truc uit. Je hoort wat dat is en of dat gaat werken.Dan hebben we het ook over de nieuwe uithaal van Trump naar de EU. Er wordt nog onderhandeld tussen Europa en de VS, maar dat gaat 'nergens heen' volgens de grote leider en dus dreigt 'ie nu al met extra heffingen.Ondertussen zijn de Chinezen en Amerikanen wél nog met elkaar in gesprek en dat verloopt boven verwachting goed (volg je het nog?). Al zou de Chinese president wel willen dat er andere landen bij de gesprekken worden betrokken.Ook hoor je over erotische content. Nee, Wesley Weerts houdt het netjes hoor niet gevreesd. Maar we hebben het over de verkoop van OnlyFans. Dat zou miljarden opleveren. Verder komt Jerome Powell voorbij. De Fed-baas mag niet ontslagen worden door Trump, oordeelt het hooggerechtshof. Je leert waarom aandeelhouders tegen alle plannen van Amazon moesten stemmen én we hebben het over een hele sombere Christine Lagarde. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode has a large news slate: Bitcoin rallies to a record high, Nike to hike prices on tariff woes, Amazon not hurt by tariffs: Jassy. QOFTW: Rapid Fire https://www.instagram.com/delano.saporu/?hl=en. Connect with me here also: https://newstreetadvisorsgroup.com/social/. Want to support the show? Feel free to do so here! https://anchor.fm/delano-saporu4/support. Thank you for listening.
DAMION1White House blasts Amazon over tariff cost report: ‘Hostile and political act'The White House on Tuesday slammed Amazon for reportedly planning to display the cost of President Donald Trump's tariffs next to the total price of products on its site.“This is hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked.The Trump administration's aggressive swipe came in response to a report that Amazon will soon show consumers how much of an item's cost comes from tariffs. The amount added as a result of tariffs will be displayed right next to each product's total listed price, a person familiar with the plan told the news outlet.WHO DO YOU BLAME?CEO Andrew Jassy.He's the “boss.”Maybe he feels emasculated?Lowest overall batting average (.308)only 6% influence compared to his boss, Jeff Bezos (67%)Not paid like traditional CEOs (relying instead on his $275M in unvested equity) and the $38M that vested last year; so when he's hanging out withHis buddies like Target CEO Brian Cornell ($20M) eBay CEO Jamie Iannone ($22M) have the total summary compensation bragging rights. Not to mention the sad, unmanly CEO Pay Ratio which is listed as 43:1 for Jassy and 753:1 for the DEI-hating Cornell Jeffrey Preston Bezos (67%)I mean he's the actual boss, right?Executive Chair, founder, former CEO, superstar.Hangs out with people like Katy Perry, has a newspaper, sends penis rockets to nowhere, has pretend funds named after himself like the Bezos Earth Fund and the Bezos Day One FundBoard member and former Pepsi CEO Indra NooyiOr maybe this is a DEI problem? Amazon's Audit Committee is tasked with stuff like operational risks, and legal and regulatory matters. Indra chairs this committeeIndra is also involved with very woke-y/DEI-y:stuff like science (Trustee of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)Stuff like math (Member of the Dean's Advisory Council at MIT's School of Engineering)Stuff like art (Trustee of the National Gallery of Art)And stuff like giving a shit about people, stakeholder-y capitalism stuff (Director of Partnership for Public Service, whose mission is to inspire a new generation of civil servants and to transform the way government works)Former President Joe BidenAmazon later clarified that the plan to show tariff surcharges was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.” Trump personally called Bezos on Tuesday morning to express his displeasure about the initial report that spurred the heated response from the White House.Trump world's Laura Loomer takes aim at a 'woke' Lockheed Martin and its $2 trillion F-35 programLaura Loomer, the far-right activist who has a direct line to President Donald Trump, criticized Lockheed Martin's F-35 program over the weekend, decrying the US defense giant as "woke" and lashing out against the expensive stealth aircraft.In a lengthy post on X, Loomer suggested Lockheed Martin is delivering F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters that "are simply not ready for combat.""The F-35 program, one of the most expensive weapons programs in history, is plagued by delays, defects, & downright incompetence," she wrote Saturday. She said the US Air Force is accepting jets that lack "functional" radar systems, without offering evidence.She also claimed that Lockheed is "increasingly obsessed with pushing a woke agenda." Like many other US defense contractors, Lockheed scrapped its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in January after Trump returned to the White House.The $2 trillion F-35 program is an appealing target for activists and officials seeking to slash government spending, and it has a well-documented list of problems. The Pentagon's top weapons tester said earlier this year that the program had problems delivering functional software and had fallen behind schedule to test upgraded mission systems.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The 2025 Proxy Statement that mentions “diversity” five times!Of course all five of those instances were in the anti-woke/anti-DEI shareholder proposal introduced by the Bahnsen Family Trust.Not sure how this even made the proxy after Lockheed's anti-DEI move in January: “As we publicly stated following the issuance of President Trump's January 2025 Executive Order on DEI, we will not have goals or incentives based on demographic representation or Affirmative Action Plans. We are actively reviewing our workforce-related policies to ensure they are, and remain, compliant and aligned with the Executive Order and all related applicable legal precedent.”The three-headed white guy leadership group (53% influence)CEO/Chair James Taiclet (25%): $24M in payLead Independent Director and Nominating Committee chair Thomas J. Falk (13%)“Independent” since 2010David Burritt (15%)Longest-tenured director (2008-)Busy beaver: two committees (Audit and Pay); CEO of US. SteelSince this is a woke/DEI issue: the black guy:Nevermind, there are no black people on this boardA woman? It would have to be Debra Reed-Klages (17%)While she has no leadership roles she does sit on the board of Caterpillar, which also removed its DEI policies. What, what?Investors. They should have been holding Lockheed accountable, right?According to MSCI data, average support since 2015 is 95%; no director has even received less than 92% since 2017Say on Pay support is routinely over 90%Starbucks union rejects company's recent offer of at least 2% annual pay raiseStarbucks union delegates involved in contract bargaining voted to reject the coffee chain's latest proposal that guaranteed annual raises of at least 2%, Workers United said. Out of the 490 baristas representing the company's more than 550 unionized U.S. stores, 81% rejected the proposal, which did not offer any changes to economic benefits such as healthcare or any immediate pay hike.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The union, for being greedy.The company pays its baristas about $19 an hour on average currently. That's $39,520 before taxes. A 2% raise would result in an increase of $790.40!InvestorsAverage director support of 96% over past 2 yearsEven 86% support for new CEO Brian Niccol's $96M, including $5M in funny munny cashAnd a devilishly perverse CEO pay ratio of 6,666 to 1.Not to mention Use of Starbucks aircraft for travel between city of primary residence and Starbucks headquarters AND up to $250,000 in personal non-commuting travel per yearWhich brings us to the CEO, Brian Niccol, a guy so wonderful that they scrapped the independent chair nonsense and gave him both titles: CEO and ChairLead Independent Director and Nominating Committee chair Jørgen Vig KnudstorpAveraged over 10% votes against over the past 3 AGMs: which is essentially an investor revolutionHis favorite drink–the Caramel Macchiato–is 250 calories with 33g of sugar: the American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 25 grams per dayMATT1Novavax appoints Charles Newton to board of directorsChuck Newton has a background from BofA Merrill, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman as an investment banker, and is now CFO at a pharma company. He got his education in business administration and “arts”.Who do we blame for the appointment of Chucky?John Jacobs, CEO and highest influence on the board at 23%New board chair and nom committee chair Margaret McGlynn, who will inherit retiring director James Young's 16% influence to become the most influential person on the board?Too much science?Actual knowledge of pharmaceutical science - Young's retirement means there are only 2 actual scientists left on the board of the 9 members - 6 have finance backgrounds, and 1 is a lawyer.DEI - while Novavax's SEC disclosure says that the 9 person board has 1 male with 2 or more races and 2 women, they actually didn't feel white ENOUGH so they added Charles Newton to have a 100% white board (because black people don't even get malaria, COVID, or flu)They actually claim to have 10 board members when they really have 9Investors - who actually hate this board and can't possibly like it more now?Classified board, last year the new board chair (promotion!) got 52% votes for, the PhD got 58% for, and the guy from the family foundation got 53% for - and yes, exactly 35% of the shares are owned by State Street, Vanguard, BlackRock, and Shah CapitalSam Altman says OpenAI will fix ChatGPT's ‘annoying' new personality as users complain the bot is sucking up to them“ChatGPT's new personality is so positive it's verging on sycophantic—and it's putting people off.”Who do we blame for AI being a big fat suckup?Sam Altman, for being a big fat Trump suckupSam Altman, for having an insipid tech bro personality desperately seeking the fame and attention of the earthSam Altman, for firing his non-suckup board membersSam Altman, for putting himself on the board and surrounding himself with board suckups
#JassyJae #Nolazine #NolazinePodcast Jassy Jae Freestyles (Acapella), Talks New Music, Lafayette Food Is The Best And More
Essay (Dagmar Saval): Von Jassy über Wien nach Berlin – Arthur Kahane, der Dramaturg von Max Reinhardt(Hördauer 69 Minuten)Arthur Kahane war Lyriker, Romanschriftsteller, Essayist und von 1905 bis 1932 Dramaturg des Berliner Deutschen Theaters. Er war ein Freund und enger Mitarbeiter von Max Reinhardt.Dagmar Saval, In Wien geboren, Studium der Romanischen Sprachen, Kunstgeschichte, Philosophie. In Wien, Genf, Paris. Promotion. Private musikalische Ausbildung (Klavier, Cello). Bibliothekarsausbildung an der ÖNB, dann in der Theatersammlung der ÖNB /heute Theatermuseum, Wien.Nach der Heirat mit dem Maler Ralph Wünsche, Westberlin/Berlin. Lektorin im Propyläen Verlag/Ullstein, Dramaturgie in der Abteilung Fernsehspiel SFB/RBB, Akademie der Künste, Archiv Abteilung Darstellende Kunst, Berlin.Zahlreiche Publikationen, Briefeditionen, meist Erstveröffentlichungen über Musik, Theater mit Schwerpunkt Exil 1933 -1945.Szenisch - musikalische Lesungen in Berlin, Wien u.a. StädtenWenn Ihnen dieser Podcast gefallen hat, hören Sie auch einmal hier hinein
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlights the role of attitude in achieving success. He began his career at Amazon in 1997 and played a significant role in establishing Amazon Web Services (AWS), which generated $13.5 billion in annual operating profit by 2020 and constituted over 63% of the company's total operating profit. Jassy identifies key components of a successful attitude as hard work, commitment, trustworthiness, teamwork, and a strong dedication to the company's mission. He acknowledges that career paths may vary and suggests that individuals can shape their career narratives at any point. Jassy emphasizes that, despite external factors, individuals have control over their attitudes, promoting mentorship and professional connections. His views on attitude resonate with other business leaders, such as JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon, who stresses humility and quick decision-making in leadership.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Monte Wood, former CEO of Opus Agency and author of Generosity Wins, knows that generosity isn't just about being nice—it's a game-changer in business and life. From working with icons like Steve Jobs and Mark Benioff to lessons from his mom, Monte has seen firsthand how small acts of giving create big returns. In this episode, he breaks down why generosity is the real secret to happiness and career success—and why it's more powerful than you think.Key Highlights of Our Interview:Generosity Beyond Kindness: Lessons from Steve Jobs, John Chambers, and Andy Jassy“Steve Jobs' goal to democratize technology was generous, even if his approach wasn't. Leaders like Chambers and Jassy showed that while generosity doesn't always come with kindness, the drive to uplift others' success is, in itself, a powerful form of generosity.”The 600-Day Challenge: How Practicing Generosity Daily Transforms You“Documenting a daily act of kindness, whether it's a smile or genuine listening, became a habit that revealed a thousand ways to be generous—proof that practicing generosity opens new perspectives.”Unexpected Generosity in a Hot Tub: A Chat with Elon Musk“In an unexpected encounter, Musk showed genuine interest and warmth, sharing laughs and stories. It was a small gesture, but a powerful reminder of the impact of unexpected generosity from those at the top.”The Hidden Costs of Greed and Division in Today's Media“With opinion-driven media stirring division, the challenge lies in overcoming these forces with conscious generosity and mutual respect—proving that true strength is found not in agreement, but in the ability to disagree respectfully.”_____________________Connect with us:Host: Vince Chan | Guests: Monte Wood______________________--Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Deep Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives, Visionary Underdogs,Transformation Gurus & Bold Hearts.10 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>130,000+ subscribers are outgrowing. Act Today.
Today, You'll be hearing insights from Andy Jassy. Jassy is President and CEO of Amazon.com. He founded and led Amazon Web Services (AWS) from its inception and served as its CEO until 2021. He joined Amazon in 1997 and, prior to founding AWS, held various leadership roles across the company, including both business-to-business and business-to-consumer. Erik and Andy discuss his origin story, Amazon's investment strategy, Artificial Intelligence, and why he believes customer satisfaction is what's most important. 5x #1 Bestselling Author and Motivational Speaker Erik Qualman has performed in over 55 countries and reached over 50 million people this past decade. He was voted the 2nd Most Likable Author in the World behind Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling. Have Erik speak at your conference: eq@equalman.com Motivational Speaker | Erik Qualman has inspired audiences at FedEx, Chase, ADP, Huawei, Starbucks, Godiva, FBI, Google, and many more on Focus and Digital Leadership. Learn more at https://equalman.com
Send us a textRHOP-12 Hours After the Verdict: The Fallout Begins-Summer House S9E1: Uncharted Territory RecapSummaryIn this episode of We Wine Whenever, Wendy and Kelli discuss the emotional turmoil surrounding Karen's absence from the Real Housewives of Potomac reunion, Wendy's evolving friendships, and the personal growth she has experienced. They delve into the dynamics of support among the cast, Jassy's upcoming wedding, and the ongoing divorce proceedings of several cast members. The conversation also highlights the drama surrounding Mia's birthday party and the implications of friendship and loyalty within the group. In this conversation, Kelli and Wendy discuss the latest developments in reality TV, focusing on reunion episodes, the dynamics of 'Summer House', and the implications of Lindsay's pregnancy announcement. They delve into the relationships of the cast members, particularly the evolving connection between Jesse and Lexi, and the complexities surrounding Craig and Paige's breakup. The conversation highlights the impact of social media on personal relationships and the narrative control exerted by reality TV producers. In this episode, Wendy and Kelli discuss various aspects of relationships and reality TV, including the awkward dynamics between cast members, rumors surrounding breakups, and the future of popular shows. They reflect on the impact of casting decisions and the personal lives of reality stars, while also sharing their travel aspirations and thoughts on the evolving landscape of reality television.TakeawaysKaren's emotional struggles are evident during the reunion.Wendy realizes the true nature of her friendship with Karen.Wendy feels liberated after resigning from her position.The dynamics of friendship are complex and often challenging.Jassy's wedding plans bring excitement and curiosity.Divorce updates reveal personal challenges among the cast.Mia's birthday drama showcases issues of loyalty and support.Wendy's strong presence can be intimidating to others.The importance of honesty in relationships is emphasized.Next week's episode promises more revelations and drama. There are likely only two episodes for the reunion.Jaclyn's pregnancy is a topic of discussion.Summer House's filming timeline is interesting.Lindsay's pregnancy announcement was dramatic.Carl learned about Lindsay's pregnancy via Instagram.Craig and Paige's breakup is being manipulated by Bravo.Jesse's feelings for Lexi are developing quickly.The dynamics of reality TV relationships are complex.Social media plays a significant role in personal announcements.Bravo's narrative can complicate real-life relationships. Navigating relationships can be awkward, especially in reality TV.Rumors can significantly impact public perception of reality stars.Breakups in reality TV often lead to speculation and drama.The dynamics of casting can influence the direction of a show.Fans have strong opinions about the relationships of reality stars.Reality TV often reflects real-life issues and emotions.Travel plans can be a source of excitement and anxiety.Friendship dynamics are crucial in reality TV settings.The future of reality shows may involve a mix of old and new cast members.The truth behind reality TV stories often unfolds over time.Support the showhttps://www.wewinewhenever.com/
Si la semana pasada el mercado estaba atento a los resultados de una compañía, esos eran los de Amazon. Las cuentas de un gigante de ese calibre suelen repercutir y mucho en el desempeño de las bolsas. Las estimaciones del mercado eran altísimas, tanto así, que una mala previsión de ventas hizo caer las acciones de la empresa un 4%. La orientación de 2025 ha estado por debajo del consenso de los analistas. Amazon espera ventas netas entre 151.000 millones y 155.500 millones, una subida de entre un 5% y un 9% en comparación con el primer trimestre de 2024. Los expertos esperaban unas ventas de 158.500 millones. Aún así, Andy Jassy, CEO de la compañía destacó la fortaleza de los resultados. Ignacio Vacchiano, country manager en Iberia De Leverage Shares, también opinó que los resultados de Amazon habían sido bastante buenos. La compañía destacó que su servicio de nube, Amazon Web Services, registró un alza del 19% interanual. Aunque es cierto que han mejorado en este aspecto, el desempeño de sus rivales, que crecieron en el negocio “cloud” de media un 30%, repercutió también en su desempeño en bolsa. La competencia lo es todo y no solo vale con mejorar tus propios números y más en un negocio vital como es el servicio de nube. Azure de Microsoft o Google Cloud subieron un 30%. A pesar de esto, Jassy quiso resaltar las fortalezas de Amazon Web Services. Amazon es una corporación estadounidense que fundó Jeff Bezos en 1994. Ante el auge de internet y deseoso de dar el próximo pelotazo, Bezos abandonó la firma de Wall Street D. E. Shaw & Co, de la cual era vicepresidente y se convirtió en uno de los pioneros en la venta de artículos en línea. Lanzó su primera oferta pública en 1997 y en 1999 la revista Time nombró a Bezos como persona del año. Aunque no empezó a registrar los primeros beneficios hasta 2001. A España no llegó hasta 2011 pero pronto se convirtió en la tienda online número uno del país. Una de las grandes claves para su gran expansión, tanto en el mercado nacional como en el internacional, fueron sus centros de distribución, con los que ha podido enviar más rápido sus paquetes. Solo en Madrid hay 13 almacenes. En España hay 25 almacenes.
Our guest this week is Corey Quinn, the chief cloud economist at The Duckbill Group, the host of the AWS Morning Brief and Screaming in the Cloud podcasts, and the curator of Last Week in AWS, a weekly newsletter. Apart from his newsletter and podcasts, Quinn's day job involves helping AWS customers understand and manage their bills. Amid all the AI hype and billions in capex spending, he uses those insights to provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse and a reality check on the state of the cloud market today. RELATED LINKS Amazon on pace for $100B+ in yearly capex; Jassy expects cost efficiencies to drive AI demand Amazon’s quarterly profits soar to a record $20 billion, but cloud growth comes up short Platformonomics: Charles Fitzgerald breaks down Amazon's capital expenditures With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; edited by Curt Milton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Amazon reduces its management structure, resulting in job cuts and potential savings. The company laid off workers in communications and sustainability teams and previously cut 200 positions in North America. CEO Andy Jassy aims to decrease middle management layers. Guidelines from Amazon Web Services instruct sales managers to increase direct reports and pause managerial hiring. Managers must now supervise at least eight team members, up from six. This shift transforms Amazon's management structure to a diamond shape, adjusting the ratio of individual contributors to managers by 15% by the end of the first quarter of 2025. Estimates suggest a decrease in managerial positions from over 105,000 to about 92,000, saving $2.1 to $3.6 billion annually. Jassy highlighted the importance of these changes for competitiveness and encouraged employee feedback on processes.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It's a Wednesday installment of The EST Hangout! Matthew Iwanyk and Tom Gazzola are joined by Jasmine Sidhu and Shawn Belle! Presented by Sentinel Storage!
Part Two. How many people do you know who walk into a public restroom and leave it cleaner than they found it? I do—and so does the wife of today's guest, Monte Wood. Turns out, small acts of generosity like this aren't just about hygiene; they're about making things better for the next person. Monte, author of Generosity Wins and former CEO of Opus Agency, has collaborated with heavyweights like Mark Benioff, Andy Grove, Steve Jobs, John Chambers, and Andy Jassy. He's learned from the greats, his mentors, and even his mother that generosity isn't just nice—it's transformative. In his world, giving back is more than a feel-good slogan; it's a life strategy. In the last episode, Monte unpacked his definition of generosity and explained why he sees it as the ultimate secret to happiness and career success. And that's just the beginning. Today, we'll tackle why generosity feels so hard in today's hustle culture and how you can cultivate a mindset centered on giving without burning out. Still skeptical that generosity pays off? Join the conversation and see how giving a little can lead to getting a lot—just maybe not in the way you expect. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Generosity Beyond Kindness: Lessons from Steve Jobs, John Chambers, and Andy Jassy “Steve Jobs' goal to democratize technology was generous, even if his approach wasn't. Leaders like Chambers and Jassy showed that while generosity doesn't always come with kindness, the drive to uplift others' success is, in itself, a powerful form of generosity.” The 600-Day Challenge: How Practicing Generosity Daily Transforms You “Documenting a daily act of kindness, whether it's a smile or genuine listening, became a habit that revealed a thousand ways to be generous—proof that practicing generosity opens new perspectives.” Unexpected Generosity in a Hot Tub: A Chat with Elon Musk “In an unexpected encounter, Musk showed genuine interest and warmth, sharing laughs and stories. It was a small gesture, but a powerful reminder of the impact of unexpected generosity from those at the top.” The Hidden Costs of Greed and Division in Today's Media “With opinion-driven media stirring division, the challenge lies in overcoming these forces with conscious generosity and mutual respect—proving that true strength is found not in agreement, but in the ability to disagree respectfully.” Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guests: Monte Wood ______________________ Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously. Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives Global Top 2.5% Podcast on Listen Notes World's #1 Career Podcast on Apple Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI 3.5 Million+ Downloads 80+ Countries
Live from an DEI-bedazzled ESG Glowstick, it's an all-new Terrific Tuesday edition of Business Pants. Joined by Analyst-Hole Matt Moscardi! On today's SAT Cheat Sheet called January 14th 2025: BIZ NUGGETS!Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.DAMION1ZuckIn our 'He also said corporations named "Julie" and Samantha” especially suck' headline of the week. Mark Zuckerberg praises benefits of 'masculine energy', calls corporate America 'culturally neutered'*************** In our 'He cautioned any panic by saying AI would only steal jobs from the gays, the blacks, and human women' headline of the week. Zuckerberg Announces Plans to Automate Facebook Coding Jobs With AI***************In our 'Zuck and Musk criticized the action as "something a lady named Julie or Samantha would do" and also said "there is no place in our society for decisions that benefit the greater society"' headline of the week. Mastodon's founder cedes control, refuses to become next Musk or Zuckerberg***************Eugen RochkoIn our 'In other news, acorn blindsided by oak tree's decision to let it fall to the ground' headline of the week. Meta's oversight board blindsided by Mark Zuckerberg's decision to relax hate speech restrictions*************** Tech BrosIn our 'Jeff Bezos sues Business Insider for calling him a 'shadow advisor'' headline of the week. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has a new 'shadow' advisor. It's one of the most prized roles inside the company.*************** Alex Dunlap, a 17-year veteran of Amazon Web Services, started as Jassy's shadow advisor in late 2024, replacing Eric Rimling, a logistics VP who was Jassy's shadow since January 2023.In our 'But we should still prioritize the fake meritocracy so we don't accidentally hire a black person' headline of the week. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: The new No. 1 ability you need to succeed—it's not raw intelligence*************** In our 'He also added that he still intends on re-electing Kimbal Musk to the board of Tesla' headline of the week. Steve Bannon vows to demolish Elon Musk's political influence in a mission he says is ‘personal'*************** MATT1In our 'After we retire black people, we can finally get back to retiring cows for our burgers.' headline of the week. McDonald's Retires DEI Goal SettingIn our 'I think they meant "retiring"' headline of the week. Is DEI dying? Here's the list of companies that have rolled back the 'woke' policiesIn our 'From the memo edition: "We firmly believe in our deeply held beliefs that exist today, not of yesterday or tomorrow. Those deeply held beliefs right now include retiring DEI, because that is what we currently have moral conviction to do as of this moment."' headline of the week. Meta announces end of DEI programs. Read the internal memoMeta's 2021 sustainability report had DEI as THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUE to both its business and its stakeholders. In our 'We have set two new ambitious goals for 2025 which we call "95 for 25": We aim to improve our tech workforce, which is 73.9% male and 89.7% white or asian and 90.2% straight, to be 95% male and 95% white and asian and 95% straight by 2025. We also aim to improve our user experience for men by altering our algorithm to show American football, tanks, missiles, pubic grooming tips, and women as property as 95% of all posts by 2025.' headline of the week. Mark Zuckerberg says he wants more 'masculine energy' at Meta. So, why don't more men use Facebook?In our 'We are well on our way to achieving one of those goals by the end of January.' headline of the week. Facebook Now Allows Calling Women Personal PropertyIn our 'Ok, let's be honest, these black women ARE the personal property of Mark Zuckerberg, right?' headline of the week. Facebook Is Creating Fake AI-Powered Black Women While Changing Its Rules So It's Okay to Harass Real OnesIn our ‘Honestly, our biggest problem has been the gays. Did you know white guys can be GAY now? Almost 10% of our company say they're gay, but Mark and I can't tell which ones are gays and not talented and which are just talented white guys because they look the same. So, in order to figure out who we're not discriminating against, we have another new target to only hire people who wear a shirt that self-identifies if they're straight and talented to maintain the meritocracy.' headline of the week. Meta policy chief says decision to end DEI ensures company hires 'the most talented people'In our 'We are well on our way to achieving meritocracy by the end of January.' headline of the week. Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan Why He Wanted Dana White On Meta's Board Of Directors“Because I control Facebook, I have the benefit of not having to convince the board to not fire me. Because I'm not worried about losing my job, I get to use my board to get people I want to help solve problems.”In our 'This headline was written by the Christian Post, who's other headlines today include "Franklin Graham weighs in on whether God is judging Hollywood with California fires" and "Mel Gibson says gospels are veryifiable history"' headline of the week. The woke right: Critical theory for white guysDAMION2Stakeholder angerIn our 'A shitty app would have paid him $2.6M while a sucky app would have been worth $4M' headline of the week. Sonos CEO behind disastrous app exits with $1.9 million severance*************** Patrick Spence. Also the accelerated vesting of nearly $6M in equity.Spence serves on the Snap board along with Compensation Committee member Joanna Coles; Compensation Committee chair Thomas Conrad was formerly a VIce President at SnapIn our 'But just so we're clear we pledged over $31M To CEO Bob Iger last year because he's worth more than twice your dumb campfire' headline of the week. Disney announces a $15 million pledge for L.A. wildfire relief*************** In our 'What's not important is to focus on executive performance that led to one of the most crippling cybersecurity errors of 2024, what's important is my opinion on George Kurtz's dimples and that we honor the $230M in compensation the company has paid to him over the past 3 years; and also since there are no black or latin directors we're not really sure how to blame someone for this' headline of the week. Jim Cramer Says Crowdstrike Fundamentals Are ‘Excellent,' Praises CEO's ‘Apology Tour'*************** In our 'Opiod settlement turns to tragedy after Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen dies laughing after his son asks if the settlement will affect his $360 million in Kroger shares and nearly $20M in annual compensation"' headline of the week. Kentucky reaches $110 million deal with Kroger to settle its opioid lawsuit—‘This massive grocery chain…allowed the fire of addiction to spread'*************** Stupid headlinesIn our 'The new CEO is named CEO, replacing the old CEO named CEO' headline of the week. KFC CEO to step down, new CEO named***************Yum Brands named Scott Mezvinsky as KFC Division CEO. Mezvinsky is currently president of Taco Bell North America and International. No reason was given for Sabir Sami's departure. In our '2030 headline: Nearly 3 of every 5 job postings are still mostly real, study says' headline of the week. 1 of every 5 job postings is actually fake, study says*************** In our 'His two favorite books were: 'The Great 976:1 CEO Pay Ratio Gatsby' and 'Pretending Systemic Racism Is Not Terrible 3 Years After Pretending Systemic Racism Was Terrible For Dummies'' headline of the week. Walmart's CEO shares the 10 books that shaped his year*************** MATT2In our 'Speaking of the meritocracy...' headline of the week. Activist Investors Forced Record Number Of CEOs To Resign In 2024In our 'They also have the option to become co-co-co-co CEOs if a new CEO is found by the new owner and co-owner' headline of the week. Paramount Will Allow Its 3 Co-CEOs to Resign and Receive Severance If They Are DemotedIn our 'Zuckerberg, Spiegel, and Musk agree: China is a threat to national security' headline of the week. TikTok Case Before Supreme Court Pits National Security Against Free SpeechIn our 'Man with agenda says company has agenda and that's illegal' headline of the week. American Airlines' focus on ESG in 401(k) plan is illegal, US judge rulesIn our 'If you're running trials, I submit to you my children' headline of the week. Moderna says it's ‘one step closer' to a norovirus vaccine as the virus spreads across the U.S.
Dr. Grant Harward and Dr. Luke Truxal join me to continue this talk about the Jassy-Kishinev raids. Other episodes that are mentioned or connected to this one include: 1943 episode 11: Uniting Against the Reich with Dr. Luke Truxal 1943 Episode 44: Operation Tidal Wave with Dr. Luke Truxal 1943 Episode 79: Schweinfurt, Regensburg, and Operation Starkey: Inflated Numbers, Wrong Conclusions, and False Confidence with Dr. Luke Truxal 1943 Episode 80: The Luftwaffe's Aerial Defense Over Germany with Dr. Rich Muller 1943 Episode 82: Black Week -- October 1943: A Low Point and a Turning Point for the Strategic Bombing Campaign in Europe with Dr. John Curatola 1943 Episode 83: Fighters Over Europe: Attritional Warfare and the Americanization of the Air War in 1943 with Dr. Graham Cross 1943 Episode 88: The Kuban Bridgehead and Romania in WWII with Dr. Grant Harward 1944 Episode 6: "Big Week" -- February 1944: The US Army Air Force as a Tool of War with Dr. John Curatola Links Uniting Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe by Dr. Luke Truxal (Amazon) Romania's Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and the Holocaust by Dr. Grant Harward (Amazon) Romania 1944: The Turning of Arms Against Nazi Germany by Dr. Grant Harward, Illustrated by Johnny Shumate (Amazon) Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/) Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)
In this first of two parts, Dr. Grant Harward and Dr. Luke Truxal join me to talk about the April / May 1944 raids on Romania, in particular the First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive. Other episodes that are mentioned or connected to this one include: 1943 episode 11: Uniting Against the Reich with Dr. Luke Truxal 1943 Episode 44: Operation Tidal Wave with Dr. Luke Truxal 1943 Episode 79: Schweinfurt, Regensburg, and Operation Starkey: Inflated Numbers, Wrong Conclusions, and False Confidence with Dr. Luke Truxal 1943 Episode 80: The Luftwaffe's Aerial Defense Over Germany with Dr. Rich Muller 1943 Episode 82: Black Week -- October 1943: A Low Point and a Turning Point for the Strategic Bombing Campaign in Europe with Dr. John Curatola 1943 Episode 83: Fighters Over Europe: Attritional Warfare and the Americanization of the Air War in 1943 with Dr. Graham Cross 1943 Episode 88: The Kuban Bridgehead and Romania in WWII with Dr. Grant Harward 1944 Episode 6: "Big Week" -- February 1944: The US Army Air Force as a Tool of War with Dr. John Curatola Links Uniting Against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe by Dr. Luke Truxal (Amazon) Romania's Holy War: Soldiers, Motivation, and the Holocaust by Dr. Grant Harward (Amazon) Romania 1944: The Turning of Arms Against Nazi Germany by Dr. Grant Harward, Illustrated by Johnny Shumate (Amazon) Mother of Tanks website (http://www.motheroftanks.com/podcast/) Bonus Content (https://www.patreon.com/c/motheroftanks)
The 2024 AWS re:Invent happened, with a new CEO, and an appearance by a previous CEO. What were the big announcements, trends and stories coming out of the keynote?SHOW: 880SHOW TRANSCRIPT: The Cloudcast #880 TranscriptSHOW VIDEO: https://youtube.com/@TheCloudcastNET CLOUD NEWS OF THE WEEK: http://bit.ly/cloudcast-cnotwNEW TO CLOUD? CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PODCAST: "CLOUDCAST BASICS" SHOW SPONSOR:While data may be shaping our world, Data Citizens Dialogues is shaping the conversationFollow Data Citizens Dialogues on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcastsSHOW NOTES:AWS re:Invent 2024 - CEO Keynote with Matt GarmanTop Announcements of 2024 AWS re:InventWhat hath AWS wrought? (Forrest Brazzeal newsletter)Prince guitar solo during George Harrison tributeOverall Takeaways:The new CEOThe overall themesAndy Jassy's appearanceBrian's Top 5 Takeaways:The focus is now all ARM and GPUs/AI Accelerators (goodbye Intel)AWS is getting back to basics on Cloud - a focus on primitivesAWS is trying to get ahead of startup and enterprise usage of GenAI with a focus on Inferencing costs (trying to make it a game of compute costs vs. model capabilities)What are the 1000 GenAI apps that Amazon has built? (Rufus, Robot package loading? NFL Blitz predictor?Brandon's Top 5 Takeaways:Amazon is the “Everything Store,” AWS is the “Every Service Store”Garmon is the legacy AWS CEO, Jassy is the AWS AI CEOAWS wants everyone to build a chatbot and/or call center app using AWS Bedrock The NOVA foundation models are the AWS answer to OpenAI and Anthroptic. AWS is attempting to build both the models and the AI Chips to run them. Tenuous partnerships with Nvidia and Anthropic. Neither was on stage. AWS will never stop telling us about “Working Backwards”AWS marketing still wants talk about the how rather than the benefit. A long lecture on Nitro and Amazon Aurora DSQL with a lot of discussion about synchronizing clocks.FEEDBACK?Email: show at the cloudcast dot netBluesky: @cloudcastpod.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @cloudcastpodInstagram: @cloudcastpodTikTok: @cloudcastpod
You can download your FREE report on how you can avoid financial mistakes as a dentist using the link just here >>> dentistswhoinvest.com/podcastreport———————————————————————Thinking about stepping up your property investment game? In this episode, Dr. Jassy Sidhu shares his expertise on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and why they could be the answer to boosting your cash flow—even with high interest rates and tough property prices. We unpack how recent stamp duty changes and the shifting market landscape present golden opportunities, particularly when buying from retiring landlords who are ready to let go of their portfolios.Dr. Sidhu gives us a peek into his own investment journey, like turning an old pub into a high-performing HMO, and the lessons he's learned navigating bridging finance. Whether you're just starting out with a single buy-to-let or considering a leap into more complex ventures, this episode offers practical steps and strategies to help you make informed decisions.If you're ready to explore the financial and strategic ins and outs of HMOs and start maximising your property investments, then this one's for you.———————————————————————Disclaimer: All content on this channel is for education purposes only and does not constitute an investment recommendation or individual financial advice. For that, you should speak to a regulated, independent professional. The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. The views expressed on this channel may no longer be current. The information provided is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment, you should speak to a regulated, independent professional.Send us a text
Send us a text RHOP S9 E7 Recap: Courts, Conflicts, and Celibacy This episode of The Real Housewives of Potomac packs plenty of drama, emotional moments, and personal revelations. The cast navigates pivotal moments in their relationships, family dynamics, and personal growth:Karen's Court Countdown: Karen reflects on her upcoming court date while mending relationships and addressing past grievances, including a heartfelt conversation with her cousin about unprocessed grief.Stacey and TJ: Stacey's evolving relationship with TJ raises eyebrows among the group, as she shares her perspective on their connection amid ongoing divorce discussions.Wendy's Family Dynamics: Wendy celebrates her children's milestones with a brunch while preparing for her all-white party, which also acts as a family reunion of sorts with Eddie's estranged siblings.Ashley and Her Mother: Ashley tackles the pressures of single parenting while working to support her mother's well-being.Jassi's Party for Darius: Jassi proudly hosts a celebration for Darius, introducing him to the group and sparking discussions about relationships and personal struggles.Mia's Confrontations: Mia faces tough conversations about past accusations, her battle with addiction, and tensions with Gordon over co-parenting and moving on.This episode mixes heartfelt conversations, interpersonal conflicts, and personal growth, providing a well-rounded glimpse into the lives of these women.TakeawaysThe title of the episode, 'Hard Launch or Soft Landing,' raises questions about the events that unfold.Karen's court date is a significant point of discussion, revealing her ongoing legal troubles.The awkwardness of certain cast interactions, particularly with TJ, is noted.Kelli emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions, especially in legal matters.Wendy's family dynamics reveal cultural expectations regarding education and support.Ashley shows a more vulnerable side as she navigates her relationship with her mother.The podcast hosts appreciate the family interactions shown in the series, contrasting with typical drama.Jassy's party serves as a backdrop for exploring relationship dynamics among the cast.The hosts express curiosity about the evolving relationships and tensions within the group.The episode ends with a resolution of a conflict between Mia and Kierna, showcasing growth. Great relationships often start with great friendships.Teresa's role in the show has diminished significantly.The authenticity of reality TV is often questioned.Personal struggles of cast members are highlighted.The production choices can affect the narrative of the show.Critique of how personal issues are handled on screen.The need for a return to genuine storytelling in reality TV.Future of reality shows may involve significant cast changes.The reboot of certain shows has not been well received.The hosts express excitement for upcoming seasons and changes.Support the showhttps://www.wewinewhenever.com/
Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet: allemaal hebben ze tientallen miljarden ervoor over om de kampioen in AI te worden. Bij Amazon gingen de investeringen in het algemeen zelfs met ruim 80 procent omhoog afgelopen kwartaal. Aandeelhouders staan niet massaal te springen om dat geld uit de kassen van de grote techbedrijven te zien verdwijnen, want die willen weten wanneer ze er ook iets voor terugkrijgen. Of en wanneer het zo ver is? Het antwoord op die vraag krijg je in deze aflevering. En dan hebben we het ook over Intel. Dat zet compleet uit het niks een verlies van ruim 16 miljard dollar neer, 16 keer meer dan werd verwacht. Maar toch weet de topman de beleggers positief te verrassen. De handelsoorlog tussen China en de VS. Die verloopt totaal niet zoals Amerika had gehoopt, want het is China die 'm wint. De Chinese export nam sinds het begin van de handelsoorlog alleen maar verder toe, en China kreeg er ook nog eens een hoop nieuwe handelspartners bij. En we blikken nog terug op een week waarin ook de complete oliesector met cijfers kwam. De marges op olieraffinage lopen terug, maar van dat slechte nieuws hoeven de aandeelhouders niks te voelen. Want de oliereuzen kopen ook recordbedragen aan eigen aandelen in.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Part Two. How many people do you know who walk into a public restroom and leave it cleaner than they found it? I do—and so does the wife of today's guest, Monte Wood. Like me, she does it because she wants to make things better for the next person. Monte, author of Generosity Wins and former CEO of Opus Agency, has worked with industry legends like Mark Benioff, Andy Grove, Steve Jobs, John Chambers and Andy Jassy. He's learned from them, his mentors, and his mother what generosity truly means and how it leads to success in life and career. In yesterday's episode, we looked into Monte's definition of generosity and why he believes it's the key to a happier, more successful life. Today, we'll explore why generosity is tough in today's world and how to nurture a mindset focused on giving. Still skeptical about how generosity can lead to success? Tune in and join the conversation. Key Highlights of Our Interview: Generosity Beyond Kindness: Lessons from Steve Jobs, John Chambers, and Andy Jassy “Steve Jobs' goal to democratize technology was generous, even if his approach wasn't. Leaders like Chambers and Jassy showed that while generosity doesn't always come with kindness, the drive to uplift others' success is, in itself, a powerful form of generosity.” The 600-Day Challenge: How Practicing Generosity Daily Transforms You “Documenting a daily act of kindness, whether it's a smile or genuine listening, became a habit that revealed a thousand ways to be generous—proof that practicing generosity opens new perspectives.” Unexpected Generosity in a Hot Tub: A Chat with Elon Musk “In an unexpected encounter, Musk showed genuine interest and warmth, sharing laughs and stories. It was a small gesture, but a powerful reminder of the impact of unexpected generosity from those at the top.” The Hidden Costs of Greed and Division in Today's Media “With opinion-driven media stirring division, the challenge lies in overcoming these forces with conscious generosity and mutual respect—proving that true strength is found not in agreement, but in the ability to disagree respectfully.” Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guests: Monte Wood Chief Change Officer: Make Change Ambitiously. Experiential Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives World's Number One Career Podcast Top 1: US, CA, MX, IE, HU, AT, CH, FI Top 10: GB, FR, SE, DE, TR, IT, ES Top 10: IN, JP, SG, AU 1.5 Million+ Streams 50+ Countries
Jack Kelly and Rick Chen take on Andy Jassy's memo, which, among other things, ends remote work and calls for Amazon to "operate like the world's largest startup." We break down what that means, including Jassy's decision to create a "bureaucracy mailbox" for people to snitch on bureaucratic processes, a companywide reorganization to cut management layers, and a five-day-a-week in-office work schedule beginning January 2025. Rick explains how CEO and leadership memos are drafted and why Amazon might have feared the memo might leak before it was released. He dissects how Amazon's PR team likely planned the memo's release and why reporters quickly covered the announcement. Jack and Rick also look into how this might have impacted Amazon's share price and the downstream impacts of Amazon's new management and remote work policies. Jack shares some potential winners and losers in the stock market, and Rick speculates how the job market might react. https://bit.ly/blind-podcast https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-16/amazon-ceo-wants-workers-in-five-days-a-week-leaner-management https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/ceo-andy-jassy-latest-update-on-amazon-return-to-office-manager-team-ratio https://www.teamblind.com/post/Amazon-manager-mass-layoff-fNgYBCEA
Hey Strangers, #workfromhome #amazon #job Amazon employees will be required to return to the office five days per week starting on January 2nd, 2025. “We've decided that we're going to return to being in the office the way we were before the onset of COVID,” CEO Andy Jassy says in a memo sent to staff on Monday. Employees have been required to work from the office three days per week since May 2023, and Jassy says that “if anything, the last 15 months we've been back in the office at least three days a week has strengthened our conviction about the benefits.” ======================================= My other podcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpvBEElSl1dD72Y5gtepkw ************************************************** Something Strange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRjVc2TZqN4&t=4s ************************************************** article links: https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/16/24246428/amazon-return-to-office-five-days-a-week https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/12/tech-layoffs-2024-list/ https://ycharts.com/companies/AMZN/revenues ====================================== Today is for push-ups and Programming and I am all done doing push-ups Discord https://discord.gg/MYvNgYYFxq TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@strangestcoder Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@codingwithstrangers Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/CodingWithStrangers Twitter https://twitter.com/strangestcoder merch Support CodingWithStrangers IRL by purchasing some merch. All merch purchases include an alert: https://streamlabs.com/codingwithstrangers/merch Github Follow my works of chaos https://github.com/codingwithstrangers Tips https://streamlabs.com/codingwithstrangers/tip Patreon patreon.com/TheStrangers Timeline 00:00 intro 00:18 What Talking We Talking About 02:40 Article 09:18 My Thoughts 13:00 outro anything else? Take Care --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/coding-with-strangers/message
Want to know how a 2-year broker added 25 files to his business in the past 2 months? How a couple of tweaks helped him generate a list of over 100 mortgage renewals? Today, we're joined by Jassy Braich, a 20-year banker who became a broker 2 years ago and has since mastered the art of client retention and business growth. In this episode, we will cover: A step-by-step DM strategy to reconnect with your network How he was able to get 100+ mortgage renewal dates His unique 4-quadrant planning for serving clients and generating referrals To connect with Jassy Braich, you can check out the links below: Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Website Follow me on Instagram I Love Mortgage Brokering: www.ilovemortgagebrokering.com Find out more about BRX Mortgage: www.whybrx.com I Love Mortgage Brokering is brought to you by Finmo. To learn more, visit: www.finmo.ca/ilmb
We're back with another episode of the Weekly Buzz with Helium 10's Chief Brand Evangelist, Bradley Sutton. Every week, we cover the latest breaking news in the Amazon, Walmart, and E-commerce space, talk about Helium 10's newest features, and provide a training tip for the week for serious sellers of any level. Amazon is responsible for dangerous products sold on its site, federal agency rules https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/amazon-responsible-dangerous-products-sold-site-federal-agency-rules-rcna164309 Etsy Is Getting Loyalty Program for Its Most Dedicated Shoppers https://gizmodo.com/etsy-is-getting-loyalty-program-for-its-most-dedicated-shoppers-2000481536 AWS Outage Hits Amazon Services, Ring, Whole Foods, Alexa https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/2024/aws-outage-hits-amazon-services-ring-whole-foods-alex Amazon looks to reduce costs to compete more aggressively on price as consumer habits shift https://www.geekwire.com/2024/amazon-looks-to-reduce-costs-to-compete-more-aggressively-on-price/ Dozens of angry Chinese suppliers swarmed Temu's office, saying they're tired of giving Westerners refunds without returns https://www.businessinsider.com/temus-office-besieged-chinese-suppliers-protesting-refund-policy-2024-7 New landing page in Sponsored Brands Grow brand impression share goal https://advertising.amazon.com/en-us/resources/whats-new/grow-brand-impression-share-with-new-landing-page/ Scale your message with priority delivery using Prime Video programmatic guaranteed deals https://advertising.amazon.com/en-us/resources/whats-new/scale-your-message-using-prime-video-programmatic-guaranteed-deals/ Harvest high performing targets with Target Promotion, now available for Sponsored Products advertisers in UCM ads console https://advertising.amazon.com/en-us/resources/whats-new/target-promotion-for-sponsored-products/ This episode is jam-packed with news and insights to help you stay ahead in the competitive world of selling on Amazon, Walmart, and ecommerce! In this episode of the Weekly Buzz by Helium 10, Bradley covers: 00:50 - Amazon Recall Change 02:40 - New Bullet Point Rules 06:23 - Etsy Prime? 07:01 - Amazon Outage 07:43 - New Amazon Fees 09:50 - Amazon Cost Cutting 11:30 - Product Images Update 13:22 - On Time Delivery Policy 15:42 - Temu Sellers Gone Wild 17:38 - Labor Day Sale 18:16 - FBA Capacity Fees 19:51 - New Sponsored Brand Page 21:24 - Prime Video Ads 22:03 - Keyword Harvesting 24:04 - Sellerfest Online Event ► Instagram: instagram.com/serioussellerspodcast ► Free Amazon Seller Chrome Extension: https://h10.me/extension ► Sign Up For Helium 10: https://h10.me/signup (Use SSP10 To Save 10% For Life) ► Learn How To Sell on Amazon: https://h10.me/ft ► Watch The Podcasts On Youtube: youtube.com/@Helium10/videos Transcript Bradley Sutton: Amazon is changing its bullet point requirements. There is yet another new fee that Amazon sellers are going to have to pay. Temu sellers in China storm the Temu offices in protest. This and more on today's Weekly Buzz. How cool is that? Pretty cool, I think. Hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Series Sellers Podcast by Helium 10. I'm your host, Bradley Sutton, and this is the show. That is our Helium 10 Weekly Buzz, where we give you a rundown of all the news stories that are going on in the Amazon, Walmart and e-commerce world. Let's see what's buzzing. Today might be a first. There's so much news today. I think there might be a total of 14 or possibly more news articles that affect e-commerce sellers out there. So a very abnormal week. Let's go ahead and hop right into it. Bradley Sutton: The first news story that we're going to talk about today is from NBC News and it is entitled Amazon is responsible for dangerous products sold in its site. Federal agency rules, all right. So the Consumer Product Safety Commission is classifying Amazon, it says, as a distributor of the product and therefore bears legal responsibility for a recall. You know, in the past Amazon kind of like had this stance where they're like hey, we're not the sellers. It's third party sellers. You know like we'll do what we can to keep customers safe, but we're not the ones who are responsible for it. But now this ruling says that Amazon has to notify customers about and remove products deemed dangerous that it sells through its website. Federal regulators ruled on Tuesday, all right. So basically it's saying that, hey, amazon bears legal responsibility for product recalls, even if they are sold by us. You know, third party sellers. I guess there was a few years ago, three years ago, there was about 400,000 products sold that had faulty carbon monoxide alarms and and flammable children's pajamas, that's. I shouldn't laugh at that. But that's like who? Who is selling flammable children's pajamas? Like what kind of quality control are you guys doing? And flammable hairdryer, and they're subject to this order. But you know Amazon says it's already removed and notified customers about it. But anyways, you know like this might seem like, hey, we're not selling flammable pajamas, what does this have to do with me? But you know if this requires a lot more procedures or things that Amazon is going to have to do, well, you know there's costs that come with that and we might see some of the cost of that. Now, on the flip side. You know, let's say, there are sellers from other countries, like factories that are are selling, you know, not high quality things that are dangerous. Now it looks like maybe Amazon might take a more proactive approach and so you know, hey, this could help Amazon sellers long term. Bradley Sutton: Next article is going to Seller Central. Spend a little bit of time on this one because this is interesting. I think a lot of sellers are going to find this important and it's entitled Review Updated Bullet Point Requirements to Optimize your Listing. All right, so effective in a couple of weeks, on August 15, 2024,. It says Amazon is updating its bullet point requirements. All right, so we announced this a long time ago, actually, where it was for hardline. Now it says here that the main points is restriction of special characters, emojis and some phrases such as refund related guarantees. Now, supposedly, you know like Amazon a while back said no more emojis, but we haven't seen that policed too much. So now that it's kind of like coming out with it a little bit in a more official capacity, perhaps like could this mean that you know, listings might start getting suppressed, or things like that. Well, let's read on here. Other thing is it says is that one change is you're going to have guidance to help you create high quality bullet points that are clear and concise. Bradley Sutton: All right, now here's the thing. They're going to use AI to help optimize listing quality. They're going to remove non-compliant content and use AI to generate compliant, high quality bullet points. Supposedly they're going to share these with you for review before published. But again, this is kind of like something like before. We talked about how Amazon has image requirements, we're going to talk about that later and then, if you're not meeting the requirements, amazon could go in there and change your images. They can go in there and change your title, and then you're kind of stuck with that. So, buyer beware now, hey us. Or seller beware. I guess I should say, if you're a seller, who's kind of like towing the line and then using emojis or using things that you shouldn't. Potentially this kind of like policy might state that, hey, you're giving Amazon the right to go in there and put some AI thing or put what it thinks is valid, and in the past, when Amazon does that, you know, be it with images or be it with titles, once that happens, it's like you can't change it back, right. So it's kind of a serious thing Now that article that was in your seller central dashboard. Bradley Sutton: It says hey, don't put a sense, don't put N a or not applicable or not eligible or TBD or copy pending. Don't do any of that. It says don't use phrases such as eco-friendly, environmentally friendly, ecologically friendly antibacterial made from bamboo I didn't realize. Made from bamboozle. I have a bamboo brand. I didn't realize. Made from bamboo. I have a bamboo brand. I didn't realize that that's not allowed. Made from soy or contained soy. You can't say hey, if not satisfied, send it back. Full refund, unconditional guarantee with no limit, not allowed to say those things. Obviously no company information there, no repetition. Bradley Sutton: It says and then you have to include at least three bullet points as far as character limits, as hey, uh, use more than 10 characters but less than 255, uh characters. So something to think about. Like, uh, you might want to do an audit on your listings. Make sure that you're compliant instead of like just taking the chance that you know Amazon might just slap you on the wrist and you can just remove your emojis or something later on. So curious, what do you the wrist and you can just remove your emojis or something later on. So I'm curious, are you guys going to just take this seriously, or maybe think that's kind of like their image requirements where Amazon doesn't enforce it too much, or hey, they've been saying bullet points, no emojis for years and I've been able to get away with it. What are you going to do? Are you going to keep going or are you going to actually change it this time? Let me know in the comments below. Bradley Sutton: Next article is from Gizmodo and it's entitled Etsy is getting a loyalty program for its most dedicated shopper. So this is going to be an invite only closed beta. It's going to cost $5 a month and kind of like. Makes me think of Walmart plus. You know Amazon prime target three, 60, where it's a membership buyer called Etsy insider. So it's not called Etsy Prime, but it's called Etsy Insider and it's going to offer exclusive benefits to buyers. So something very similar perhaps to what you guys know about Amazon Prime is now coming to Etsy. So is that going to increase sales, increase loyalty on the Etsy platform? Will be interesting to find out. Bradley Sutton: Next article is from CRN.com and it's entitled AWS outage has Amazon services, ring, whole foods and Alexa. Um, you know a lot of stuff in this article. Maybe doesn't, you think doesn't apply. But this is maybe what happened. Like how many of you guys out there, I saw a lot of message boards and groups where, talking about a few days ago, the seller central dashboard was glitching like crazy, you couldn't even get into your Amazon advertising, et cetera. So it probably is related to this. So I saw some people saying, hey, is it just me or you're not able to get your data? Well, it's no, it wasn't just you. There was this big outage that even affected whole foods, uh, supermarkets from Amazon. So don't worry, it looks like everything's back to normal. Uh, but you weren't the only one affected, if that was affecting you. Bradley Sutton: Next article, back to Seller Central Dashboard, and it's entitled Digital Service Fees Effective October 1st. So guess what, guys? We have got yet another set of fees, but it's not anything huge and it's because of some kind of regulation. So it says the Canadian government recently implemented a DST Digital Services Tax similar to those of the UK, France, Italy and Spain, and so on October 1st, we're going to start introducing a digital services fee to account for DST. Now, who does this apply to? All right, well, this DST rate is 2% in the UK, 3% in Canada, France, Italy and Spain. But it depends on the location of the buyer, the location of your business, et cetera. Bradley Sutton: So if you are a USA seller and you only sell in US, all right, so you're a US-based company and you're selling Amazon USA, you're not going to have to worry about any of this. All right, it's not going to apply. But if you sell in Amazon USA but your business is established in a country in which DST has been introduced UK, France, Spain, Canada now the sales in your Amazon USA store is going to apply to this DST fee. All right, so it is a 3% fee in the US store. Now you might be thinking 3%, good grief. Now that's crazy. If I'm already paying 15%, what? It's 18%? No, it's 3% of your Amazon seller fees. So if your seller fee is $2.25, like it is on a $15 item, you're paying only 7 cents more because it's 3% of that 225, as opposed to 3% of the 15. All right. And another example they gave here is if your product is in the UK, uh, that's going to be a 2% fee based on the Amazon fee, all right. So, so make sure to check your dashboard If you're not sure. Hey, is this going to apply to you? Um, you know, if you're outside of Canada and these other places, check the fee schedule in your dashboard for more information. But hey, it's not going to be a surprise if something is coming months from now and Amazon is giving everybody a heads up on it. Bradley Sutton: The next article here is from CRN.com and it's entitled Amazon looks to reduce costs to compete more aggressively on price as consumer habits shift. All right, so a lot of this was on their Q2 report. You know they actually had some. The shares of Amazon went down. But whenever you have these reports there's always some interesting tidbits that Amazon kind of like not leaks but mentions, and it kind of can give you insights into what their plan is in the future. And then one thing that Andy Jassy was saying is they're trying to make cost improvements, all right. And the thing that I thought affected sellers is. It says here Jassy said that the company will expand its use of automation and robots, continue to build out its same day delivery network Okay, great so far further regionalize its inbound network and strive for better inventory placement. He says it's going to enable faster speeds, more orders per box, and then here we go Fewer inventory transfers once items hit fulfillment centers. So that's the part that I liked. The other stuff, whether Amazon's using robots or not I don't know how that's going to affect me, but how many times have you had some inventory and all of a sudden it goes into transfer status or reserve status and then a lot of times that's because Amazon's having to move it around to different warehouses. Well, I think this is definitely going to help because the less you know, the more it kind of like you know distributes your inventory in a correct way and doesn't have to redistribute. Well, that's going to. That's going to help. You know your, your buyability, in my opinion, and how much you know units you have available to sellers or to buyers, and then you then it's going to help the shipping times as well. So let's see how this works out, if sellers are going to have an advantage because of these changes. Bradley Sutton: Our next article is going back to the Seller Central dashboard and it's entitled Update to how Product Detail Page Images Are Selected. So back in January on the Weekly Buzz, we had talked about how product details pages for hard lines product types are going to start displaying, potentially, images from multiple sellers. All right, now, in the coming months, this article says it's going to now include both soft lines and consumable products types. All right, and supposedly this is going to help increase sales. Um, but you know the they made a couple of tweaks to it since January. All right, they're going to prioritize brand owner images, thank goodness. All right. So if you're a brand registered owner, it's not like you're just going to automatically get your images removed. Um, and they're only going to use Amazon or brand registered sellers content If the required images are missing in the product detail page or to upgrade low quality content. Bradley Sutton: So this is what I talked about a little bit earlier, about what's going on, where sometimes, if Amazon says, hey, if you're not hitting our requirements on images, on title, on bullet points, we're going to step in and make necessary changes that we see fit. Now, again, this is the thing that I brought up like seven months ago, back in January. That I thought was super noteworthy, and they're reiterating it here. It says, as a reminder, each product detail page must have at least three required images one with the product on white background main image. One with a product in an environment that's what we call lifestyle images and one with product information such as dimensions or nutritional facts. This is an infographic. January was the first time I ever saw this where Amazon is basically saying you need a white background image, you need an infographic. January was the first time I ever saw this where Amazon is basically saying you need a white background image, you need an infographic and a lifestyle image. So they're reiterating that requirement. Now, you know, like three years ago you never, you only saw the white background image and the rest of the images could be whatever you wanted it. So, so make sure your images, guys, are in compliance. Bradley Sutton: All right, the next article back to the seller central dashboard. I mean, it seems like they they just seems like they just spit all these things out back to back to back 're going to have to maintain a 90% OTDR on time delivery rate. All right, I don't know what it was before. I mean, 90% seems pretty reasonable, like I thought it was a hundred percent that you pretty much had to do, but it's recommending that you actually do 95% according to this article. And obviously this does not apply at all to FBA, you know, because sellers aren't responsible for on-time delivery promises. Okay, now another thing is transit time settings. Now, before this September 25th date, on August 25th, the transit time requirements are going to be updated to match delivery capabilities of shipping services. So if you're shipping within the continental US you know that means that's not including Puerto Rico and Hawaii and Alaska you have to have a maximum transit time of only five days for standard and eight days for free economy shipping. Now this is interesting to me because I know some sellers who are doing FBM. You know, including myself. Bradley Sutton: You know maybe your initial reaction is like oh, this is going to be a pain in the neck. But remember what was announced in the Weekly Buzz a few weeks ago by Carrie about how Amazon might have like a Teemu-ish kind of like setup where Chinese sellers can ship directly within like eight to 10 days. Well, if that happens, who knows, maybe this is kind of like a protection for those of you shipping for full but fulfilled by merchant domestically, where you're going to have a guaranteed advantage over those Chinese direct shipping where you know the buyer is going to see five days delivery time, all right. So this five day delivery time, it's because Amazon's going to be displaying this as the as the shipping time for the product. And then if the Temu ish ones have like eight to 10 days, well, you, the Temu-ish ones have like eight to 10 days. Well, you know, this might help you know the buyability of your products. There's a lot more information here in this detailed article on your Seller Central dashboard, so make sure to check it out when you can. If you are an FBM seller, if you do 100% FBA, you can just go ahead and forget about that article, as it doesn't apply to you. Bradley Sutton: Now, speaking of Temu, this next article is kind of funny. Like sometimes, I think, amazon sellers, you know, like, especially when I read message boards, they get on the same page. They want to complain about the same thing of Amazon. Have you guys ever fantasized about or like thought about, let's all get together and let's like storm Amazon's headquarters not storm it, but, like you know, let's go there and let Bezos or let Jassy know how we feel and see if we can get up a meeting. Well, that might seem comical and like not realistic, but that is like literally what happened in Temu last week. All right, so this is an article for Business Insider and it says dozens of angry Chinese suppliers swarmed Temu's office saying they're tired of giving Westerners refunds without returns. Now, 80 people got in the building. There's like 300 people this article says was protesting and then 80 of them actually were able to storm the building here and they're disgruntled. So I know we're kind of jealous of what's going on with Temu sellers. Man, how could we ever match the prices? But not all is rosy over there. So these Temu suppliers are upset that Temu is trying to recruit US-based sellers and they're also upset about the refund policy. Bradley Sutton: So if they ship something from China to the customer and the customer says you know what, I don't like this product, it looks like I didn't realize this. I've never bought one thing from Temu myself, but Temu just returns the money and they don't even have to return the product to the, the product to the customer. So, like the sellers are up in arms about this. One merchant said told this Chinese newspaper that he lost almost all of his profits when he was fined $400,000 for customer refunds and complaints. First of all, holy crap, if he profited $400,000, how much did he actually sell in the last you know a few months? But anyways, this is what's going on in Temu. Don't get any ideas, guys. I don't think if 300 of you tried to storm Amazon Seattle offices that 80 are going to get through. Pretty sure Amazon has got some pretty tight security over here. Bradley Sutton: All right. Next article, again going back to Seller Central. It's not necessarily a prime day, but there is going to be a special Labor Day sale that Amazon is going to have. All right, it's actually entitled Labor Day sale and this is going to begin August 26th and runs through September 3rd. All right, so right. There's going to be deals that you can offer and these are time bound promotional offers and go to advertising, go to deals hit, create new deals and then select the week of the 26th and then that's going to go ahead and see if you're eligible to be able to have a special Labor Day sale deal. All right, the next article is for the last time, I believe again going back to Seller Central Dashboard, and this is an article about peak readiness and timelines for FBA capacity limits. Bradley Sutton: Now a couple important things. Number one a date that you have to keep in mind. It says if you want to guarantee you're going to have the prime badge for black Friday we're looking way ahead you have to have your inventory in the fulfillment centers by October 19th. So set a reminder for yourself. However you ship your inventory to Amazon, you've got to have it in the fulfillment centers by October 19th. Now that's kind of crazy if you think about it. When is Black Friday? Isn't that like November? You got to get your stuff. Don't think that you're going to send it in the beginning of November. You got to get your stuff in there pretty early. And one more thing here about fees and actual elimination of a fee. You know for once. Isn't that nice. It says additionally, to help you simplify operations and manage inventory more efficiency during peak, we have eliminated this overage fee for storage effective July 1st 2024. So if your on-hand inventory exceeds your capacity limit, you are not going to get this overage fee. All right. So that's, how often is it that there's a reduction or elimination of fees? Usually the announcements we we give her are about new fees that Amazon is charging. So that's a nice little welcome surprise from Amazon this week. If you want more information on that, make sure to check that news article in your dashboard. Bradley Sutton: All right, now we've got a few Amazon ads announcements, all right. So for those of you who are doing PPC, we have got some advanced ones, some beginners ones. Let's go ahead and hop into that. The first one from Amazon advertising. They announced new landing page in sponsored brand grow brand impression share goal Right. So what is this? That launch says the sponsored brand grow brand impression share campaign now allows advertisers to utilize a new landing page option in the product collection ad format. So you can select three products to advertise and then that's going to lead shoppers from a top of search ad to a new brand landing page containing these products. Bradley Sutton: All right. So one of the differences is now this is a new type of landing page that Amazon creates that buyers can land on. So sellers who even don't have a formally prerequisite Amazon store brand store which hopefully you guys have, but that used to be a requirement to be able to advertise some of your top of search ads Well, now you don't need that prerequisite stores to say you can just start this campaign super quick and ensure the brand product discovery experience. So where this is is under your goals when you set up a new sponsored brand campaign, one of the goals is grow brand impression share and now you can choose, once you, if you select that one, the product collection ad format, and then there's a brand new section right here that says new landing page and says pick products to advertise and we'll create a landing page for you here. For those of you watching on YouTube, I'm showing an example of the shoe brand. Who's got one of these set up right now and where this is now available. It's across the board North America, south America, Europe, middle East and Asia Pacific East and Asia Pacific. Next news article from Amazon advertising. Bradley Sutton: It says scale your message with priority delivery using Prime Video programmatic guaranteed deals. I'm not going to go too much into details because probably not that many of you are using Prime Video ads, but basically they launch programmatic guaranteed deals for Prime Video so you can have run of service deals, contextual deals that can go on, like you know top best of TV shows, page best of movies, best of Prime Video originals, et cetera, and then audience based deals. Check the link in the comments below or the description below If you want, if you're somebody who uses Prime Video ads and you can get a little bit more information on this. Last article of the day is an announcement from Amazon Advertising says on this last article of the day is an announcement from amazon advertising says harvest high performing targets with target promotion now available for sponsored products advertisers. So this is kind of like funny. It's like like very similar to what like atomic and another you know PPC software does where you can supposedly harvest keywords from like auto campaigns and move it to a manual. Now I tried to test this in my account and it wasn't working. So like just got a bunch of error messages. But for those of you who aren't using software, you know this is a potential option for you. Um, I'm not sure I can suggest using it yet because I got to see first how the suggestions work. You know, like if Amazon's algorithms was perfect in advertising, they wouldn't we wouldn't even have to negative match keywords because once we get like 30, 40 clicks they would start negative matching itself. But no, if we don't do anything, amazon's still going to keep charging us. So you know that in mind, like I'm not sure if we can, you know, quote unquote just trust this Amazon suggestion thing to move keywords in the right way. But who knows, maybe it's going to be pretty cool thing to move keywords in the right way. But who knows, maybe it's going to be pretty cool. Bradley Sutton: But for me it doesn't affect me much because I've been doing keyword harvesting for four years using Helium 10 Atomic. I set my rules and I say, hey, if one of my auto or broad campaign gets two orders at this ACoS or less, I want you to go ahead and move it to this campaign and I could exactly set up the flow. So there's nothing that is coming out here that is going to really affect the way I do things, but maybe for those of you who are just trying to eyeball your Amazon advertising and not even using the search term reports and not making pivot tables and not using software or whatever, maybe this might be a feature that can help you a little bit. So check out your advertising console, go to one of your auto campaigns, go to the ad group, go to the search terms page and take a look there. Does it show you something that? Uh? Does it give you suggestions on what you can move? Uh, it did it on mine because it was broken, but maybe it's working on yours. Let me know what you think and I'll leave a message in the comments below. All right, that's finally it for the news this week. Bradley Sutton: One last thing I wanted to give you a heads up. I'm going to be giving some cool strategies at the Seller Fest online next week. So if you want to get free tickets. I think it's free. I'm not sure if it's free or not but for more information, go to h10.me/sellerfest. Even if you have to pay, it'll be worth it. There's going to be tons of great speakers uh, other than myself as well, so I'm sure you're going to get a lot of value. h10.me/sellerfest for more information. All right, guys who that literally made a record? We've been doing Weekly Buzz for four years and this was the most articles, the most news stories in one week that we have ever had. So thank you, guys. For those of you who stuck to the end, let's see what's going to happen next week. Make sure to tune in next Thursday or Friday to see what's buzzing.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that earning employees' trust involves honesty, authenticity, and straightforwardness. Trust is built by being open about successes and failures, listening intently, and delivering on promises. Jassy noted that being respectful during disagreements and remaining committed to delivering outcomes are crucial. Amazon's leadership principles include "Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit," "Think Big," and "Dive Deep," initiated by founder Jeff Bezos. Jassy, who has been with the company for 27 years, continues to apply these principles, highlighting the need for constant adaptation to changes in people, products, and technology. Amazon has seen a growth of over 37.4% in the past year, reflecting the success of these principles.Learn more on this news visit us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
You can download your FREE report on how you can avoid financial mistakes as a dentist using the link just here >>> dentistswhoinvest.com/podcastreport———————————————————————Can you imagine savoring the present moment while still pushing forward in your career? Property investment expert Dr. Jassy Sidhu, who has achieved remarkable milestones by the age of 37, joins us to share his innovative approach to balancing work and leisure through mini-retirements. He emphasizes the importance of valuing health over wealth, drawing inspiration from the perspectives of Jimmy Carr and Stephen Barnett. This episode is packed with wisdom on how to enjoy life now while building towards financial freedom, demonstrating that it's a continuum rather than a final destination.We also discuss Jassy's bold shift from residential to commercial property investments, highlighting the benefits of pursuing larger deals that bring higher returns with similar effort. Jassy takes us through his current project of converting a pub into a 17-bedroom HMO and shares key lessons from a missed opportunity with a 23-bedroom HMO. We break down essential metrics for evaluating bigger deals and the strategy of pulling out initial investments to keep funds circulating, ensuring continuous growth in the property market.In the final segment, we delve into the power of learning from mistakes and the inspiration drawn from the systemization of McDonald's kitchen layout as seen in "The Founder." Practical tips such as using checklists to manage busy schedules and maximizing space efficiency in real estate development are discussed. Personal anecdotes from both hosts and Jassy underscore the importance of sharing knowledge and motivating others on their journeys. Connect with Jassy on Instagram for more exclusive property investment insights and take the first step towards your financial freedom.Send us a Text Message.
Tom Dotan from the Wall Street Journal joins us for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover 1) What slow growing GenAI consumer usage says about the field 2) OpenAI's five levels of AI sophistication 3) Why enterprise rollouts of AI technology are moving slow 4) Is AI a startup game or scaled player only discipline 5) How small models fit in 6) Bing's failed run after Google 7) Sequoia's $600 billion question on AI 8) Can we use leftover GPUs to break out of the simulation 9) Microsoft plan to build an AI empire 10) Amazon's comeback under Jassy after a rough start --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. For weekly updates on the show, sign up for the pod newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901970121829801984/ Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack? Here's 40% off for the first year: https://tinyurl.com/bigtechnology Questions? Feedback? Write to: bigtechnologypodcast@gmail.com
Welcome to a New Episode of Business Lunch! This episode is all about the transformative leadership strategies employed by Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, after taking over from Jeff Bezos. Roland and Ryan explore the significant measures Jassy implemented to steer Amazon towards renewed profitability and operational efficiency, discussing both the benefits and potential pitfalls of these changes. The episode also emphasizes the importance of embracing frugality, the power of a fresh perspective, and the critical role of engaging with stakeholders. Highlights:"The power of a fresh perspective can't be underestimated.""Frugality is a campaign of efficiency, not just cost-cutting.""Engaging with shareholders can prevent blind trust and ensure transparency.""Every business from time to time needs to reevaluate its expenses."Timestamps:00:43 - Welcome and Introduction20:62 - 4th of July Weekend Stories05:06 - Transition to Business Topics07:32 - Andy Jassy's Fresh Perspective10:20 - Importance of Themes and Metrics13:54 - Embracing Frugality and Efficiency18:21 - Innovation and the Risk of Over-Cutting25:00 - Role of Everyone in Innovation31:17 - Engaging with Shareholders and Investors37:06 - Summary and Parting ThoughtsCONNECT • Ask Roland a question HERE.RESOURCES:• 7 Steps to Scalable workbook • Get my book, Zero Down, FREETo learn more about Roland Frasier
Jasmín Martínez o Jassy, como la conocen la mayoría de sus lectores, es una escritora salvadoreña que reside en Estados Unidos desde hace siete años. Cree en ella misma más que en cualquier otra persona y, por lo tanto, no teme apostar siempre por sus objetivos, incluso si se equivoca, sin importar que las cosas no salgan como lo espera, por eso su lema en la vida es «el límite es el cielo». Sus inicios como escritora fueron a finales del año 2015, sin embargo, la historia que la ha llevado a recorrer el mundo entero (por medio de sus libros), la publicó por primera vez el 30 de enero de 2016 en Wattpad, plataforma que hoy por hoy considera su cuna. Corazón de Hielo es el nombre del primer libro de su trilogía titulada Corazón, la cual cuenta con Corazón Oscuro, Corazón de Fuego y un Spin Off, Perversa Seducción. Historia donde narra el empoderamiento de su protagonista femenina, dentro de un mundo dominado por hombres, como es la mafia, asociaciones criminales y anticriminales. Jassy ha llegado a conquistar a las lectoras de varios países hispanohablantes gracias a esos cuatro libros, convirtiéndose en autora Best Seller en Amazon en el año 2021, mismos que han permitido que las personas se den una oportunidad de conocer sus siguientes historias, tales como Aiden, Daemon, Caos y Resiliencia (su más reciente lanzamiento) que ya se encuentran en físico y son parte de otra saga llamada Orgullo Blanco. Ama escribir romance mezclado con acción y erotismo, por los mismo, en todas sus historias siempre encontrarás una combinación de lo antes mencionado. Además de escribir protagonistas femeninas fuertes que luchan con ser sus mejores versiones sin idealizar o romantizar sus actos. Comenzó su amor por el mundo literario como lectora, en un momento muy complicado de su vida, por lo cual, considera los libros parte de su salvación y crecimiento personal. Escribe principalmente por pasión, y se siente muy agradecida por el recibimiento que los lectores le han dado a sus letras
In this week's episode, Jassy Jackson shares her transformative journey with reiki & how it led her to her soul's path.Jassy Jackson is a passionate energy alignment specialist dedicated to helping individuals realign with their authentic selves. With a Master's degree in Organizational Psychology and over 15 years of experience as an executive leader in tech, Jassy brings a unique blend of traditional psychology, shamanic rituals, and curandera training to her holistic teaching approach. Drawing from her own journey of healing fibromyalgia, depression, and anxiety, Jassy understands that true healing comes from within, supported by various practitioners and methods. Through her business, Crysta Luna, Jassy creates a safe space for transformation, healing, and the creation of new pathways in her clients' lives. Her mission is to empower others to find their passion and live their most authentic life by providing a different perspective and leveraging the right tools for personal growth and alignment.Connect with Jassy:InstagramWebsiteNew FREE 5-day Mini-Course: The Cyclical Microdosing Method for mystical women who want to deepen their feminine healing journey AND have a better period. GET IT HERE.Want to activate your healing journey? Follow these 5 steps:1. Get on my email list for the latest details on new free masterclasses, upcoming offerings and in-person retreats! PLUS all the unfiltered & uncensored 4-1-1 that 's not safe for socials. SIGN ME UP!2. Follow my socials @lesliedraffin OR @thelightwithinpodcast3. Join my online community The Sanctuary. This is for you if you want to awaken your power & purpose through connecting with pleasure, healing your womb, embodying your divine feminine & expanding consciousness through mindful microdosing. JOIN HERE & GET ONE MONTH FREE WITH CODE: THELIGHTWITHIN4. Book a free 1:1 discovery call with me if you're ready to dive deeper BOOK A FREE 1-ON-1 CALL WITH LESLIE NOW 5. Download my free microdosing guide CLICK HERE( Includes: eBook & guided meditation. )
EP319 - Amazon Q1 2024 Recap http://jasonandscot.com Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing. Episode Summary: In this episode, Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg and Scot Wingo dive deep into Amazon's first quarter results for 2024, analyzing the company's performance in various segments such as retail, offline and online sales, marketplace, AWS, and advertising. They also explore the impact of AI on Amazon's business and provide insights into the company's future guidance for Q2 2024. Amazon Q1 2024 Earnings Release Amazon Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript In our latest episode, Jason and Scott cover a range of topics, starting with their reflections on recent events such as May the 4th and Cinco de Mayo. Jason shares intriguing stories from his extensive travels and interactions with listeners worldwide. Scott delves into the intersection of e-commerce and the auto industry, honing in on Carvana. The duo also delves into the U.S. Department of Commerce retail indicators data, shedding light on trends in retail sales and e-commerce growth. The conversation pivots towards Amazon's recent earnings report, contextualizing it within the realm of AI investments by tech giants like Meta and Alphabet, offering valuable industry insights and analysis. The discussion continues with a focus on Amazon's earnings report, zooming in on concerns around AWS amid heightened competition from Alphabet and Azure. The rising trend of AI investments, particularly in data training applications, is explored, alongside the growing popularity of open source AI models due to cost and privacy considerations. Despite a conservative Q2 guidance, Amazon impresses with robust revenue that surpasses Wall Street expectations, particularly in operating income. The retail segment shows exceptional growth, exceeding operating income estimates for both domestic and international divisions. Notably, Amazon's performance in brick-and-mortar stores, spearheaded by Whole Foods, demonstrates resilience with a 6.3% growth rate. AWS stands out with a 17% growth, dispelling market share concerns and showcasing accelerated revenue growth, illustrating Amazon's continuous growth potential and innovation prowess. Scott delves deeper into Amazon's positive quarterly earnings report, emphasizing the remarkable revenue performance, especially in operating income. Insights are shared on Amazon's successful agnostic approach to LLM models and the potential advancements in generative AI. The conversation shifts towards the burgeoning ads business at Amazon, underlining its profitability and future growth prospects. Scot also outlines Amazon's Q2 guidance and the potential impacts of consumer spending patterns on the retail sector, including concerns about changing consumer behaviors and economic pressures shaping market dynamics. Jason complements the discussion with additional perspectives on consumer behavior and economic influences reshaping the market landscape. Furthermore, we embark on a detailed exploration of supply chain logistics, with a spotlight on Amazon's expansion into third-party logistics services, revolutionizing traditional retail strategies by sharing proprietary capabilities for wider adoption. Insights from Andy Jassy shed light on Amazon's logistics business approach. The conversation expands to include how companies like Spiffy are embracing a similar model of sharing proprietary products to drive innovation and revenue growth, showcasing an evolving landscape of retail innovation. The podcast unpacks the complex world of grocery retail, highlighting Amazon's experimental forays like Just Walk Out technology and the Amazon Dash cart, while examining the challenges in delineating Amazon's grocery sector strategy. A comparison is drawn between Amazon's strategies and those of rivals like Walmart and Target, who are adapting their product offerings to match evolving consumer preferences, offering a comprehensive view of the dynamic retail and supply chain management sphere. Dive into our engaging discussion, explore retail dynamics, and keep a lookout for more insightful content. Don't forget to like our facebook page, and if you enjoyed this episode please write us a review on itunes. Episode 319 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Sunday, May 5th, 2024. Chapters 0:23 The Jason and Scott Show Begins 2:56 World Travel Adventures 5:53 Commerce Tools Elevate Show 6:53 Jason's World Tour Plans 7:22 Where in the World is Retail Geek? 20:43 Amazon's First Quarter Earnings 23:23 Sandbagging Strategy 26:45 Amazon's Dominance in E-commerce 27:44 Online Segment Growth Analysis 28:53 Offline Store Segment Analysis 31:35 Spotlight on AWS Performance 34:32 Data at AWS 42:02 Gen AI Revenue Growth 46:24 Consumer Pressure 49:56 Supply Chain Evolution 53:46 Leveraging Technology 58:08 Disruption in E-commerce 1:01:54 Amazon's Grocery Strategy 1:05:01 Retail Industry News Transcript Jason: [0:23] Welcome to the Jason and Scott Show. This is episode 319 being recorded on Sunday, May 5th, 2024. I'm your host, Jason Retail Guy Goldberg, and as usual, I'm here with your co-host, Scott Wingo. Scot: [0:37] Hey, Jason, and welcome back, Jason and Scott Show listeners. It's been a while, but first, happy Cinco de Mayo, and also a belated May the 4th, Jason. Did you have a good Star Wars day? Jason: [0:49] I did. I did. I feel like Star Wars Day always makes me think of the podcast because I feel like we have spent many of them in my latter life together. Scot: [1:01] Yeah, absolutely. Any exciting new Star Wars experiences or merch? Jason: [1:08] No, I understand you got some vintage merch. merch. Scot: [1:13] It's not, but they, back when I was a kid, you would go and if you went every week to, I think it was Burger King, you would for the, I think it was Empire. I have the Empire right here. So definitely Empire, but you would get a glass. Now it turns out these were full of lead paint, which would kill you, but that was the downside. Jason: [1:32] Not recommended for drinking. Scot: [1:33] You got a very, yes, I never, being a collector, I never drank out of them. So that's good. Jason: [1:37] Saved your life right there. Scot: [1:38] Yes, but I did drink out of the Tweety Bird. So that me, me. I'm sure I got some yellow lead paint from a twitty bird glass. Anyway, so they came out with a Mandalorian kind of homage to those glasses and they were at the Hallmark store of all places, not where I usually hang out, but I got to go to a Hallmark store and the little ladies that worked there were, I wish them all an awesome May the 4th. And they looked at me like I was from another planet and it was hilarious. My wife's like, stop, they don't know what you're doing. Jason: [2:07] Wait, they didn't have a big May 4th section in the Hallmark store? Scot: [2:11] They did. The little ladies didn't know. Jason: [2:13] The overlap of people that still buy Papyrus cards and celebrate May 4th is probably not great. Scot: [2:21] It was very humbling. It was a humble May the 4th, but I got my glasses and I was happy. I'm happy for you. And then tonight we had tacos for dinner, so I'm hitting all the holidays. Jason: [2:30] I feel like we should have tacos for dinner every night, whether it's Cinco de Mayo or not, but I'm i am happy for that. Scot: [2:35] We do have a lot of tacos but this was a special single denial edition. Jason: [2:42] Well, very well done, my friend. Scot: [2:44] Thanks. Well, listeners of the pod have been all over me. They're like, why aren't you recording? And I said, it's not me. It's Jason. It's Jason. Because you have been traveling Scot: [2:55] the earth, spreading retail geek goodness. Tell us, we are way far behind on trip updates and all the different countries. It's like you're playing, do you have like a little travel bingo where you're just like punching, what is it, 93 countries? Jason: [3:09] I do. They call it a passport. Oh, nice. Yes. Scot: [3:13] That, uh, little book that you get to carry. Yeah. Jason: [3:15] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I have been on a lot of trips and it sounds like you and I may be telling complimentary lies because I also, I've had an opportunity to meet a lot of listeners in the last, we'll call it seven weeks and which they're always super nice. And it's always super fun to talk to people. And obviously they're, you know, strangers recognize my voice in line at Starbucks at all these e-commerce shows. And then we strike up a conversation. And then the next question is always, where the heck is Scott? Because they're always disappointed to meet me and not you. And now the new thing is, and why aren't you producing more frequent shows? And my answer is always that you're dominating the world at Get Spiffy and that you're too busy. Scot: [4:00] Uh-huh. I see. Okay. Jason: [4:02] Well, we're both very busy. Scot: [4:05] You're traveling more than I am. I'm busy washing cars. Jason: [4:08] Yes. I think both are fairly true, but I did finish a grueling seven-week stint where I got to come home a couple of times on the weekends, but I basically had seven weeks of travel back to back. In my old life, that would not have been that atypical, but post-pandemic, The travel has been a little more moderate. And I have noticed that I have my travel muscles have atrophied and I don't really want to redevelop. Jason: [4:35] So the seven weeks was a lot. Please don't ask me for trip reports for all the commerce events because I kind of can't remember some of them. They're all a little bit of a blur. But I was at Shop Talks, I think, since the last time we talked, which is, of course, probably the biggest show in our industry. And that was a very good show. I did get to see a lot of our mutual friends and a lot of fans of the show there. So that was certainly fun. And maybe in another podcast, we can do a little recap of some of the interesting things that came out of Shop Talk. I did produce a couple of recaps in other formats for work clients, so we could certainly pull something together. I also went to a vendor show. One of the e-commerce platforms out there is called Commerce Tools, and they had their annual customer show, which is called Elevate in Miami. So I got a chance to go visit there. They're one of the commerce platforms that I would say is winning at the moment in the kind of pivot away from the old school monoliths to these new sort of SaaS-based solutions. And commerce tools in particular are kind of pioneers in pushing this actual certification around a more modern earned stack that they they coined mock. And I think I think we've had Kelly from from commerce tools on the on the podcast Jason: [5:51] in the past to talk about that. But that was a good show. I got to meet a lot of listeners there. And a funny one, several listeners were like. Jason: [5:59] I would apologize for the, the, our publishing schedule lately. And they're like, I'm cool with it. I like that. Like you don't do a show if there's not something worthwhile. And then, you know, when I do get a show, it's like a treat. So I don't know if they're being honest or not, but that made me feel a little better about some of our, our, our Tardis shows lately. So those, those were good events. I also spent a week in India with some clients and that super interesting, a lot of commerce activity going on there, a lot of different market dynamics than here. So that's kind of intellectually pretty fun to learn about and see what's working there that might be working here or what, you know, why things tend to play out differently there. So that's interesting. And then I have a lot more international trips booked right now. Jason: [6:48] So coming up, I'm going to Barcelona, London, Paris, and Sao Paulo. So if anyone either has any favorite retail experiences in any of of those cities, please send them my way. I'll be doing store visits in all those cities. And if you're based in any of those cities, also drop me a line. Hopefully we can do some meetups while I'm out there. Scot: [7:07] Cool. It's Jason's world tour. You can do a little pod while you're there. Jason: [7:12] We have done a bunch of international pods in the distant past. I remember hotel rooms in South Korea and all over the place, Jason: [7:19] Japan that we've, we've cut shows from. So, so totally could. Scot: [7:23] Yeah. We'll have to do it. Where in the world is retail geek? That could be the theme song. I just sampled that. Jason: [7:30] Yeah. So besides cleaning the world's cars, what have you been up to, Scott? Scot: [7:35] Well, it's kind of funny. My worlds are colliding. So a lot of the analysts that you and I know from the e-commerce world are creeping into the auto world and their gateway drug is Carvana. So in the world of retail, we have Amazon, obviously. Well, Carvana is kind of Amazonifying used cars. They had a bit of a drama kind of situation. They were the golden child of online cars. And then they totally pooped the bed. They did this acquisition. They loaded up with debt. And then after, I think it was 21. So they had a good COVID. They surged. And then the debt got in front of them. Used car prices bop around and they kind of like got in an open door situation where they had bought a lot of cars for more than they were worth suddenly. And then they plummeted and everyone thought they were going out of business, but they have had a resurgence. So it's causing a lot of the internet analysts to now pick up auto tech or mobility or whatever you want to call it. So it was fun. I got to do a live chat with Nick Jones. He's been a friend of the show. I don't think we've had him on due to some compliance stuff that his company has rules around, but he's at this firm JMP and it was kind of wild to talk about, with someone about both Amazon and what we're doing at Spiffy, which is basically a lot of Amazon principles applied to car care. So it was interesting to have someone reach out and say, hey, I think this is a thing. And everyone tells me I should talk to you about it. And I was like, oh, yeah, I would love to. So it's kind of fun. Jason: [9:01] That's very cool. And isn't it also a thing, I think half the vehicles on the road are now owned by Amazon. So I assume that's an overlap too. too? Scot: [9:09] Yeah, not half, but a lot are. The number of last mile delivery vehicles are very, very large. And we work with a lot of them, so it's kind of fun. I started spiffy somewhat to get away from Amazon and still all I can talk about. Nope. So embrace it. I love Amazon. Love me some Amazon, Jason. Jason: [9:29] I'm glad you do. I love them too, but I feel like I spend most of my career You're unsuccessfully helping people compete with them. Scot: [9:38] Hey, got to play one side of the coin. It's a gig. You're going to be more like them or how to fight them. Jason: [9:43] It's a gig. It is indeed. Yeah. Scot: [9:46] Cool. I thought we are going to talk about some Amazon news. But before we jump in, you have done your magic with your data analysis interns. And I'm sure there's an LLM and an AI thrown in there. Let's start with some of the things you're seeing in commerce trends from the data that's out there. Jason: [10:07] Yeah. So as everyone knows, I have a little bit too much of an infatuation with the U.S. Department of Commerce retail indicators data. And these guys, you know, publish monthly estimates of retail sales in a bunch of categories. And, you know, we've talked about this many times on the show, but broadly over the last several years have been really interesting in retail. 2020, 2021, and 2022 were the greatest three years in the history of retail. Like we mailed like $6 trillion in economic stimulus. People didn't travel or go to restaurants as much. And so we sold way more goods than ever before. And so those three years, retail grew respectively at like 8%, 14%, and 9%. The 20 years prior, retail averaged about 4% a year in growth. So normally pre-pandemic, you'd expect 4% growth. We had these three, you know, wildly pandemic influence years where we grew really fast. And then last year we finished a little below 4%. So, so we were around, I want to say it was like 3.6%. So it was growth. It would, it would have been in line with pre-pandemic growth, but it certainly felt like a significant deceleration from those heady pandemic years. And so, you know, people are super interested to see how does 2024 play out? Does it? Jason: [11:32] Kind of return to pre-pandemic levels, like what is the new normal? Jason: [11:37] And we now have the first quarter's data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and I would call it kind of a mixed bag. If you just look at the raw retail data that the U.S. Department of Commerce publishes, they're going to tell you that retail grew in the first quarter 2.8%. So that's a little anemic, right? Compared to historical averages, that's not a great growth rate. Most of the practitioners that follow this podcast care about a particular subset of retail that the National Retail Federation has dubbed core retail. And so the National Retail Federation pulls gas and automobiles sales out of that number. And gas is a decent size number and it's very volatile based on the commodity prices of gas. And auto is a huge number that has, as you're well familiar, its own idiosyncrasies. And so that's how they justify taking those two out. And if you take those two out and you get this core retail number, retail in the first quarter grew 3.9%. So kind of to align with how the NRF talks about retail, we'll say Q1 overall was 3.9%, which is very in line with the pre-pandemic historic average. So disappointing by pandemic standards, but kind of traditionally what we would expect. Jason: [13:05] What is unique in that number is. Jason: [13:09] That it's very bifurcated. There are clear winners and losers, both by categories and specific practitioners. So if you break down the categories, e-commerce is the fastest growing chunk of retail. I'm sure we'll talk more about that. Restaurants were the next fastest growing categories. And categories like mass merchants and healthcare providers outperform that industry average, every other segment of retail underperformed the industry average. So things like furniture stores did the worst, building materials did really poorly, gas stations did very poorly, electronics did poorly, and side note, electronics have been the worst performer since the pandemic, which is kind of interesting and challenging. So you've had this weird couple categories doing really well, a bunch of categories doing really poorly. And then within the categories even, if you look at the public company's individual earnings calls, what you tend to see is a couple of big players performing really well in overall retail, that's Amazon and Walmart. And then a lot of other retailers really struggling. So that even that's like in general merchandise, it's Amazon and Walmart that are lifting the boats. And it's folks like Target traditionally that have performed really well are actually struggling at the moment. So the average is kind of hard to follow at the moment. Jason: [14:37] But that is kind of how things play out. And then we have some preliminary e-commerce data, but the actual Q1 e-commerce number that the U.S. Department of Commerce publishes will publish on May 17th. So that's 12 days from now. Jason: [14:53] And crunching the numbers that we have available at the moment, that growth is likely to come in at somewhere between 8% and 10%. I'm guessing more like 8% or 9% growth. And so that also is twice as good as overall retail, and it's more than twice as good as brick-and-mortar retail. But that is noticeably slower than the historic e-commerce growth rates pre-pandemic. So kind of file those two numbers away. The overall retail industry is growing at 3.9%. The overall e-commerce industry is growing at about 9%. And then we have our friends at Amazon that dropped their earnings announcement just before May 4th so that they could celebrate May 4th, I think. Scot: [15:39] Yeah, yes, that's a good setup. And without further ado, let's talk about Amazon's fourth quarter. It wouldn't be a Jason Scott show without a little bit of... Scot: [16:01] That's right. On April 30th, Amazon announced their first quarter results. And the setup coming into these, so you had the data you talked about, but like to drill in a little bit. We had Meta, the artist formerly known as Facebook, and Alphabet, the artist previously known as Google. They announced and they both basically told Wall Street, AI is the cat's pajamas and we're going to spend anywhere between $10 and $40 billion of capital expenditures on it, meaning NVIDIA chips. So it turns out the way to play all this is basically buying NVIDIA. So hopefully you bought some NVIDIA stock. Maybe this is not a stock recommendation or when it's too late, so... And also don't take stock recommendations from podcasters. Anyway, so there was all this angst and people were a little freaked out coming into the Amazon results because Meta was down like pretty substantially, 20 to 30 percent. And Alphabet was also up substantially. You also had Microsoft come in there and they really crushed it. Their Azure is really lighting it up with AI. And they announced that they were going to invest a lot. And there's this rumor that a $100 billion project, it's got a name like Starship or something, but it's not Starship. Spaceship? Stardust? I don't know what it is. But it's going to be this mega data center, and they literally can't find a place to put it because it's going to consume so much power. So they're going to have to maybe build a nuclear plant next to it or some wacky thing. Scot: [17:31] Anyway, that was the setup. up. So coming in, Wall Street was very, very concerned about Amazon's AWS division, which is their cloud computing. Because if Alphabet is building out their infrastructure, and so is Azure, that's the two biggest competitors for AWS. And is AWS getting its fair share? And is it going to announce that it's going to have to go build some $40 billion kind of a thing? Also, another Another thing, and I'm kind of curious on if you're seeing this with your clients, but in the, I follow this, you know, the AI, you can't do much without seeing AI everywhere. But the part I'm most interested in is what are big enterprises spending money on? This is like your Fortune 500s. They're all experimenting and really getting into it. And where they're finding a lot of good use cases is training on their data. So they'll say, you know, hey, I'm Publisys. How many documents do you think are inside of Publisys? I don't know, 8 trillion documents. Documents and you know wouldn't it be helpful just the ones I created and who is this retail geek and he's he's created uh you know 90 of those and you know so you know imagine you're starting new at publicists you're gonna be like where do I start going through some of these documents for us and if you had a chat bot that was like hey I've read all that you know I can navigate you through everything that's been published or you know whatever I'm certainly you. Scot: [18:50] Providing a very big metaphor, certainly be more divisional and all this kind of stuff. But that's where big companies are spending the bulk is they're taking their data in whatever format it's in, be it a relational database, a PDF, whatever it is, they're trying to train it. They don't want it to go up into the, they don't want to train the LLM so that other people get the benefit of that and can see any confidential data. So that's really important. So it needs to be gated in these types of things. Because of that use case, open AI is not great because people are very worried. A, it's very expensive and it's only an API. So OpenAI hosts itself and you call it through an API. Scot: [19:25] Those API calls are very expensive. They're getting, as OpenAI has gotten more popular, there's more latency. It's taking forever to get answers out of this thing. And a lot of people are very concerned that even though there's ways to call the API such that it's in a window and not being trained, that maybe it leaks in there. So because of all these elements, the open source models are becoming very popular. And right around the time Meta announced, they announced their Llama, which has become quite popular. And what's nice is you can host it wherever you want. And it's kind of like WordPress, where if you are a serious WordPresser, you can host it somewhere yourself, and you can kind of understand that. Otherwise, there's other people that will host it for you. But it has the nice feature of you're just getting the weights and whatnot, and it's it's pretty clear, it's pretty obvious, it's not training itself on your data. So a lot of people like it because it's quote unquote free. It's not an API usage based. It's a pay once to set it up, pay for some resources type thing and you're done. And it's also not going to train on the data. That's one of many. There's probably 10 or 20 pretty commercial grade open AIs out there. Scot: [20:38] Okay. So that's kind of the setup to get to the earnings. things. So from a big picture, this was a really good quarter. Asterix, the guide made Wall Street a little bit nervous. So- Scot: [20:53] And one of our research analysts just said it's Stargate, which is also a sci-fi series. They must have that on Prime Video or something. There's probably some callback there. Scot: [21:01] So they beat for the quarter Q1, but then they also kind of tell you what's going on the next quarter. Amazon doesn't provide fully your guidance. They just kind of give you a snippet. So when they report one quarter, a quarter, they then tell you what they think the next quarter is going to do. So Wall Street got a little bit ahead of its skis, and the guide for Q2 was below what Wall Street wants. So it wasn't what we'd call a beat and a raise, which is the current quarter was a beat and the next one they increased. It was a beat and a guide down. So that probably tampered Wall Street. But ever since Jassy came in, Andy Jassy, this has been his MO is to be pretty conservative because Wall Street's very much an expectation engine. And the more, if you can beat and tamp down expectations, it makes it, it's a little bit rougher in the short term from a stock price, but it makes next quarter better and then so on and so forth. So it's a smart way to manage the long-term vibe of the stock, the mindset, the expectations around your stock. Okay. So revenue came in at $143 billion versus Wall Street at $142. So pretty much in line. But most importantly, where Amazon really threw people off was on operating income. Yes, Amazon is profitable. This is the proxy for operating income. True Amazonians would tell you, no, it's cashflow. We can go into that, but this is kind of the way they report to Wall Street. So this is kind of the standard operating system, if you will. So this is what we're going to use, but it's a proxy for cashflow. Scot: [22:28] That was 15 billion for the quarter and Wall Street expected 11. Well, you know, 4 billion on a world of 143 doesn't sound like much, but between 11 and 15, that's a very material beat. What is that? Like 38%, something like that. Scot: [22:44] So that was a really nice surprise. And, you know, Amazon goes through these invest and harvest periods and everyone's been feeling like they're going to be back in investing which would mean they're going to start lowering operating income as they invest but it's actually kind of beating expectations, also this is the fifth quarter amazon has come in at the high end of its guidance or above its guidance since basically you know on operating income and that corresponds with when jassy came in so this is his mo right now is to kind of like beat and lower beat and lower you know exceed expectations tamp them down not get not get ahead of his skis and it's working really well. Jason: [23:24] Sandbagging for the win. I like it. Scot: [23:26] Yes, it is. Having run a public company, this is a lesson I learned painfully. So that's something we can talk about over beer sometime. Jason: [23:33] I will book that date. Yeah. And the retail business sort of followed in line with that. They had like some nice growth, but like the real standout number was the improvement in margins and the significant positive operating income from the retail segment. So I think the actual operating income from U.S. Retail was like $5 billion and the Wall Street expectations were 4.3. So again, that was another strong beat. Total revenue, which revenue is not the same thing as retail sales, as we've talked about on the show many times, that we would use GMV as a proxy for that. But revenue was $86.3 billion for the quarter, which I think was in line with the analyst expectations. Jason: [24:27] And I think this was the largest operating income that Amazon has ever reported for the retail business. So that was super interesting on the domestic side. Traditionally, domestic has done pretty well and international has been a money loser because, you know, they've been less mature. they've been investing a lot in growing international and they haven't had the same kind of margins. This was the first quarter that they reported positive operating income for the international division. So that's another super encouraging sign for investors that maybe they've kind of passed that inflection point on a lot of their international investments that they've made in the EU and Japan and the UK, which reminds me is not part of the EU anymore. Jason: [25:13] So so they kind of beat beat international expectations across the board on income. Revenues were lower. So revenues were like thirty one billion dollars, which was below expectation. Jason: [25:25] But they they earned like nine hundred million in operating income. And I want to say the the the Wall Street expectation was like six hundred million. So so again, like a 30 percent beat, which is pretty, pretty darn good. Good. They also, a bunch of analysts have, you know, taken these revenue numbers and they try to back into a GMV number. And I would say the bummer at the moment is there's a fair amount of variance in the estimates, like different analysts have different models. So I have kind of been putting to a model of the models together and trying to kind of find a midpoint. And like Like based on that, the Amazon's GMV globally probably went up 11.5% for the quarter. So if you're comparing this to other retailers or the U.S. Department of Commerce number, overall GMV went up 11.5%. The U.S. was stronger. So the U.S. probably went up at 12.2%. So again, we talked about core retail was up 3.9%. Well, Amazon U.S. GMV was up 12.2%. So, you know, three times faster growth than the retail industry overall. Jason: [26:39] And again, Amazon is mostly e-commerce, very little brick and mortar, Jason: [26:44] which we'll talk about in just a minute. But even if you're comparing Amazon to that e-commerce number, if e-commerce comes in at 8% or 9% and Amazon's at 12%, they're by far the largest e-commerce player out there and they're still substantially outgrowing the average, which, you know, is very impressive and should be very scary to every other competitor out there. Jason: [27:08] One analyst kind of put together an estimate of what they thought the earned income contribution from Amazon was for retail and ads together, pulling AWS out. And they had it at $27 billion in earned income if Amazon was just a retail with no AWS. And that puts them right in the ballpark of Walmart that spent off about $29 billion in earned income or operating income. I keep saying earned, but I mean operating income. So, so that is all pretty impressive and simultaneously super scary. Jason: [27:45] Scott, did you drill down into the online segment at all? Scot: [27:49] Yeah. And, you know, what I would tell listeners is picture a block diagram where you have this big, big rectangle, that's the whole Amazon entity. And, you know, so what we're going to do is talk about the segments. And the first segment is the biggest one, which is the retail business. And that, that's what you just. Jason: [28:04] Biggest and best. Wouldn't you say? Scot: [28:06] Coolest. Jason: [28:07] Coolest. All right. Scot: [28:08] Cool. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'll, you know, I don't know. Jason: [28:11] It is for you. Scot: [28:14] Um, I think the whole enchilada, I like the, the way they do this and I'm trying to replicate it. It's 50. We'll talk about that in a second. The, so then the, you know, so then another segment is AWS, another segment, I think marketplace should be in some segment, but they don't break it out. So it's just kind of in kind of hidden inside of the blob that is retail. So we tease some of that out here on the show. They purposely hide it in there. So no one knows how awesome it is, I think. And then they've got AWS ads and a couple other things, but we'll talk about this. So as you dig into the retail business, there's a couple of ways to look at it. You can look at it by domestic and international, which Jason just did, Scot: [28:50] or you can look at it by online and physical store. So the online biz grew 7% year over year, which if I remember your stats, well, you don't have it until may 17th so on may 17th we'll be able to know how that compared but probably the one you can compare is the offline biz which is the the store comp that they have, And Jason, you saw on that one, what'd you see? Jason: [29:16] Yeah, so physical stores grew 6.3%. So again, like, you know, when we say all of retail grew 3.9%, a big chunk of that's e-commerce. Brick and mortar probably grew at like two to 3%. So Amazon's brick and mortar growing at 6.3% is actually super impressive. And it's kind of interesting, you know, for several years, Amazon has had experiments in a bunch of retail formats. So they've had these Amazon Go stores, stores. They had Amazon five-star stores. They had bookstores. They had a fashion store. They're trying all these things. And of course, the biggest chunk of their stores is they own Whole Foods. And so offline stores for Amazon was kind of a mix of all these different concepts. In the last couple of years, they've kind of cleaned house and gotten rid of all those concepts. And so, you know, nominally there's a few of their own grocery stores called Amazon Amazon fresh open, but the vast majority of online offline retail for Amazon is, is Whole Foods. And for it to be growing at 6.3% in the current climate is, is a really good sign for Amazon. And, and I would say somewhat impressive, you know, on the earnings call, they, they announced that they're working up a new format for Whole Foods, which is a smaller format store that's It's going to open in Manhattan. So I have that on my ticker file to go visit when that's open. Jason: [30:38] You know, the whole grocery space for Amazon is super interesting, but maybe we'll talk about that a little bit more later. But I will call out, they did launch a service that there's been some controversy over. They launched a $9.99 a month grocery delivery service, which essentially lets you have all you can eat free grocery delivery to your home for an incremental fee of $9.99. And they're spinning that as, you know, a cool new grocery service and enable more people to shop for groceries online. And there are a lot of articles about it, like. Jason: [31:13] They used to have free grocery delivery included in your Prime membership, right? And so they've kind of like, I look at the big arc of all this and say, there used to be a lot more free services in Prime that they've kind of peeled out. Then they started charging for, and now they'll let you get it free again for another $120 a year. Jason: [31:32] So interesting things happening with grocery that we could probably talk more about later. But I'm kind of eager to dive into some of these other businesses like AWS. Scot: [31:42] Yeah. So that's the one that everyone was really waiting on the call to hear how it went. And good news, AWS exceeded expectations. Everyone thought it was going to grow 14% and it came in at 17%. And if Wall Street likes, they like a lot of things, they like beating expectations, that's important to them. But their favorite thing is ARG. And that is not a pirate day thing, ARG. It is Accelerating Revenue Growth. Wall Street loves that more than anything. And that's what they delivered for both the ads and the AWS part of the business. And what that means is that as the law of numbers kicks in, so back on the retail business, the only time we see that accelerate is in the fourth quarter and that seasonal acceleration, right? We've gotten used to that for decades now. It always happens in the fourth quarter and whatnot. So it's what you would expect. But this is quite unusual for a relatively mature business. This thing's $25 billion a quarter. So this is a $100 billion business that accelerated. And so that tells us that there is a lot more wood to chop here. It has not gotten near its addressable market. And it really allayed fears that they were losing massive market share because they're, quote unquote, behind on AI to Azure, which is Microsoft offering, and then the Google hosting solution as well. Scot: [33:05] That does not seem to be the case. So they did very well. So they came in at $25 billion and Wall Street was expecting $24.6. So that was really, that accelerating is what really made everyone very happy. And then the operating income came in at $9.5, way ahead of Wall Street at $7.5. So another pretty material 20% beat on this component at the bottom line. And this is really interesting. There was some really good language around this. And this has been Jassy's statement all along, and it's coming true. His early Amazon's early play was we're going to be agnostic on models and it's kind of like bring your own model we'll work with anything now with open AI they're not going to ever host open AI but they'll they're not going to stop you from working with it and then they for these open source ones they've made it very easy for you to spin up an AWS instance throw a little llama in there and I would make a llama noise if I I knew what they said I guess they make like a sheep sound. So you throw a little alarm in there and it does its thing. And, you know, the benefit of them being agnostic on these LLMs is most likely they have some or all of your data, right? Because they've been at this so long that if you're doing cloud computing versus on-prem, most likely a lot of, if not all of your data is in AWS. Extracting that data, you know, imagine you had terabytes or or what's the biggest, Scot: [34:31] bigger than terabytes? I always forget this one. Jason: [34:33] Petabytes. Scot: [34:34] Petabytes of data at AWS. They literally have a product that they can send a truckload of hard drives around and get your data. That's how much data there is that you could never push it across the internet, that there's so much data. So if they have that data and that's what you want to train on, you don't want to have the latency of the internet between your data and the training. So you'd really need the LLM to operate near your data. And this is what they predicted two or three years ago, kind of around the, the, the launch of chat gpt when all this stuff really started to accelerate and it's coming true so everyone feels a lot better about that then their body language this time a lot of times they were kind of like this is what we're doing and we're pretty sure it's going to work now they're like it's working and people really felt relief around this because everyone there was a set of people that believed it but then you know open ai's pitches nope our lm is going to be we're spending, billions of dollars we're going to be so far ahead none of these open source things are going to keep up. If you don't have us, you're going to be so far behind, you'll be like playing with crayons and everyone's going to be playing with quill pens. Scot: [35:42] So it was really good to see that this is not what's happening, that people are embracing, enterprises are embracing these open source models. They are in the same zip code performance-wise from results and much cheaper than OpenAI's offerings. And what Amazon said specifically was very positive around what is It's kind of abbreviated Gen AI for generative AI. And it's kind of a way to encapsulate this. And they said that it already is a multi-billion dollar run rate business. And you always have to parse what they say. So multi-billion can be anywhere between 1 and 9.9, right? And you'll see why I drew 9.9 there. Scot: [36:25] And inside, as part of that big AWS number, and they believe it can be rapidly tens of billions. Billions so they're basically saying it's not double digit billions so it's a single digit million which is where i get one to nine point nine but they basically hinted that that it is growing so rapidly inside of there that it's gonna be tens of billions and this is why they saw accelerating revenue growth which made everyone happy it wasn't just people you know moving some more you know loads on or something boring loads around relational databases or something it was the juicy ai stuff so this got everyone so lathered up that three analysts did price increases and they cited that this was one of the reasons the biggest price increase was from sig susquehanna and they put the price up to 220. At the time all this happened the stock was at 175 and today it's around 185 so it's been up nicely but 220 is a pretty big big you know even. Scot: [37:20] From where they expect that's where they're thinking i think most these guys look at a year to two years as a time horizon on these prices so and that's the the high i have you know again there's a wide range some people think it's going to go down some people think it's over price so go do your research this is not a stock recommendation but i just thought it was interesting that people get really really excited by by this whole gen ai largely the body language that, and it's, Amazon doesn't pound their chest much. So the fact they were, was kind of a new, new way of managing Amazon and Jassy's pretty conservative. So he must've felt pretty good about it, but also that they needed to ally, allay, allay, allay, whatever the right word is, get rid of these competitive concerns everyone's been talking about. Jason: [38:05] Yeah. It feels like a pretty big prize out there. Jassy and the whole team always talk, Just AWS, even before you get to Gen AI, they always remind everyone, hey, 85% of the workloads are still on-prem. So like this, as big as AWS looks, if the long-term future is 85% of the workloads are on the cloud and only 15% are on-prem, there's a lot of headroom still in AWS. And then, you know, you add this new huge demand for AI on top of all that. And like this, it's almost a limitless opportunity. And I want to tie the AI back to retail, though, for just a second, because there's another bit of news that I haven't seen covered very much, but is super interesting to me. Jason: [38:51] There's a particular flavor of AI out there, a subset of generative AI that's now being called agentic AI. And that's sort of a clever amalgamation of agent-based AI. And there's a very famous AI researcher, this guy, Andrew Ng. He's the founder of Coursera. He's done a bunch of things. He was the head of Google Big Think, which was one of the first significant AI efforts. And I want to say he was like on People Magazine's 100 most interesting people list in like 2013 as an AI researcher. So the dude's been around for a long time. He is one of the biggest advocates for this agentic AI. And the premise is that if you just ask an LLM, you take the best LLM in the world, and you ask it to do something for you, that's called zero shot. You give it an assignment, and you take the first result you get. It's a zero shot. You get pretty good results. But if you... Jason: [39:53] Turn that, that LLM into multiple agents and break the task up amongst those agents and potentially agents even running on different LLMs, you get wildly better results. Jason: [40:05] And so his, his research kind of showed that, Hey, if, if Jason goes write a PowerPoint presentation for his client, explaining what's going on in commerce. And I just give that to the turbo version of ChatGBT 4, I'll get a pretty good deck. But if I say, hey, I want to create four agents. I want to create a consultant to write the deck and a copywriter to edit the deck and an editor to improve the deck and three people to pretend to be mock customers to poke holes in the deck and have all those agents work on this assignment. I could give that assignment to chat gbt 3.5 and it would actually output a better work product than the the newer more advanced model was by by breaking the job into these chunks and so in retail you think about like this is the idea of assigning higher level jobs to shopping right so instead of saying like going to amazon and saying oh now it's a ai-based search engine and i'm going to type a long form query into search and get a better result. Jason: [41:09] The agentic AI approach is I'm just going to say to Amazon, never let me run out of ingredients for my kids' school lunches. And the agent's going to figure out what is in my school lunches and what my use rate is for those things and what weeks I have off from school and don't need a school lunch. And it's just going to do all those things and magically have the food show up. And this is a long diatribe, but the reason it's relevant is is this dude, Andrew Ng, was named the newest board member at Amazon three weeks ago. Scot: [41:40] Very cool. Jason: [41:40] I did not see that myself. Yeah. And so if you're wondering where Amazon thinks this is going, like this, in my mind, ties all this tremendous opportunity in generative AI and the financial opportunity in AWS directly to the huge and growing retail business that Amazon runs. Scot: [42:02] Very cool. Oh yeah. I had not seen that. So maybe Wall Street picked up on that. I'm sure. And maybe that was another part of the excitement. Jason: [42:09] Yeah. But all of that is just peanuts compared to the real good business in Amazon, which is the ads business. So again, you know, Amazon used to, to obfuscate their ads business. They've for a number of quarters now had to report it as earnings because it's in their earnings separately, because it's so material. And it was another good quarter for the ads business. It's hard to say whether it's actually accelerating growth or not, because the ads business is very seasonal. So the ad business grew 24.3% for the quarter versus Q1 of 2023. Q4 grew faster. So Q4 grew at 27%, but the 24% growth is much faster growth than other... Q1 year-over-year growth rate. So however you slice it, it's a good, robust growth rate. If you add the last four quarters together, you get $29 billion worth of ad sales. There's lots of estimates for how profitable ad sales are, but there's no cost of goods for an ad, right? Jason: [43:13] And so it's very high margin. So if you just assume, I think 60% gross margins is a very conservative estimate. But if you assume 60% gross margins, that means the ad business spun off $29.5 billion of operating income over the last 12 months. And to put that in comparison, AWS is big and profitable as it is, twice as much revenue at over $100 billion now, but it spun off like $23 billion in operating income. So the ad business is a much more meaningful contributor to Amazon's profits than even AWS. Jason: [43:51] And another way I've been starting to think about this is what percentage of the total GMV on the Amazon platform are the ads? And they are now 6.5%. So that's a very significant new tax. You know, as Amazon has hundreds of millions of SKUs available for sale, no one's ever going to find your SKU or buy it if you don't do some marketing on the platform for that SKU. And that's this 6.5% tax that Amazon's charging. And in the same way we said, hey, AWS is a really robust business. And then there's this thing called generative AI that can make it even huger. All of this ad revenue we're talking about is really coming from their sponsored product listings, which is like basic search advertising on the retail platform. Last quarter, Amazon said, by the way, we have this huge viewership streaming video service called Amazon Prime. And we're going to start putting ads in the lowest tier version of Amazon Prime. So unless you want to pay more, you're going to start seeing ads on Amazon Prime. And that's another huge advertising opportunity that hasn't been very heavily tapped yet. So the analysts are pretty excited about the upside of Amazon potentially tacking on another $6.5 billion in Prime video ads onto the $50 billion of search ads that they already have. Jason: [45:11] And so ads are a pretty good business to be in, which is why every other retailer is trying to follow suit with their own sort of version of a retail media network. Scot: [45:22] Cool. I imagine you get a lot of calls to talk about that. Jason: [45:25] Oh, yeah. I actually, I'm sick of talking about it. So one nice thing about working at an ad agency is there are now thousands of other experts. You know, I was one of the early guys in retail media networks. Now there are thousands of other experts that are way more credible than me. So I don't have to talk about it quite as much, but it still, still comes up in every conversation. Scot: [45:43] Very cool. All right. So then that was the basic gist of the corridor from a high level. And then it came to the what's going on in Q2. So that did come in lighter than folks expected, as I said, and they guided the top line to 144 versus 149. Let's call it 146 and change at the midpoint. They always do this range kind of thing when they're doing their guide. And Wall Street was at 150 consensus. So, you know, a tidge below two or three percent below where they wanted. But the operating income guide was above Wall Street. So they're kind of, we'll take it. Como si, como sa. Scot: [46:21] So that was, you know, I think Amazon tapping things down. Yeah. Now they did talk a lot about consumers being under pressure. So they said in the, it wasn't in a Q and a, it was in the prepared remarks and Jassy said it, which is kind of like the more important stuff. And I will say it's really nice to have the CEO of Amazon back on these calls because Bezos basically ditched them after, I don't know if, I think he came the first two quarters back in 97 but i honestly can't remember but he has not gone to the calls and jassy's been to them all so it's really nice to hear from the ceo and he answers very candidly i feel you know he doesn't feel as kind of like robotic as many ceos when they get on here because it is a stressful thing that you're going to say something wrong, but there was this exchange well first of all he he in his prepared remarks he talked about. Scot: [47:12] I forgot to put the exact language, but he said, we're seeing a lot of consumers trade down. So they're seeing, you know, we're seeing this in the auto industry. Tires is this huge thing where it's under a lot of pressure right now because people are just waiting. So there's a lot of this, you know, it's not showing up in the data that I've seen, but there's, you know, maybe the inflation data, but not the GDP and some of the other unemployment data. But it feels like the consumer is under a bit of pressure here, and they talk about that a lot in the prepared remarks. So I thought our listeners would find that interesting. Jason, before I go into this longish little thing that I wanted to just cover, what do you, did you pick up on any of that consumer stuff? Are you hearing that? Jason: [47:55] Oh, yeah, that's very common. And remember, in the beginning, I mentioned that there's this weird bifurcation that some retailers, even in categories, are doing well and others aren't. And some categories are doing well and others aren't. That's super complicated to get to the why. But the most obvious why is that consumers feel like they're under a lot of economic pressure and are trading down and are deferring certain types of purchases. The easiest way to see this is own brands and private label sales going up and, you know, national brand sales stagnating, see things like chicken protein going up and beef protein going down. You know, there's lots of examples out there, but the retailers that are best able to follow the consumer as she trades down are tending to do well. And the retailers that only cater to the luxury consumer, the super luxury is still doing fine. They're somewhat insulated. But the folks that haven't been as able to cater to the value consumer as much have struggled more. And the non-mandatory categories have struggled more. So Andy's comments exactly mirror what we're seeing going on in market dynamics and what other retailers are saying in their earnings. It is slightly weird because if you just look at the macros. Jason: [49:18] It's objectively, the consumer is doing pretty well. There's actually a lot of favorable things, but there's a ton of evidence that the consumer sentiment is that they're really worried about their household budget and are making, you know, hard, hard financial decisions. Scot: [49:36] Yeah. Yeah. It's tough out there. Well, hopefully it'll get better. So one of the questions I want to just kind of pull out some tidbits, because this has been a theme on our pod for a long time and I thought it was really, really interesting. And this is going to get into the weeds of supply chain and this kind of thing. So sorry if that's not your jam. We like to talk about logistics. Scot: [49:56] Side note to you, Jason, I saw that deep dive we did on Amazon logistics is still like our number one show and all the stats and stuff, which is kind of fun. So someone cares about it. Anyway, one of the friends of the podcast, Yusuf Squally asked a question. He's one of the analysts and he said, as it relates to logistics, so he's talking to andy on the call back in september you launched amazon supply chain can you help us understand the opportunity you see there where are you in the journey to build logistics as a service on a global basis and does that require a huge increase in capex a function increase in capex which means huge so jesse said this was a very long answer so i'm going to pull out two snippets you can go read the transcripts can you put a link to that in the show notes absolutely yep yeah so so i'm just gonna give you the the snippet the whole thing is worth reading but it would be like another 20 minutes to do that. But so Jassy starts out and says, I think that it's interesting what's happening with the business we're building in third party logistics. And it's really kind of in some ways mirror some of the other businesses we've gotten involved in AWS being an example. And even though they're very different businesses, and that we realized that we had our own internal need to build and launch these capabilities. Scot: [51:01] We figured that there were probably others out there who had the same needs we did and decided to build the services out of them so this is this model that really blows the minds of traditional retailers where you know so walmart has this huge data you know capability there's this this urban legend that they know when people are pregnant before they do they can see changes in their habits or they know who all is on weight loss drugs they they see your buying habits so intricately that they can do that that's a neat capability but they view it as proprietary and And that's old school thinking. Scot: [51:32] What Amazon does is says, well, that's a cool capability. Let's certainly someone else needs it. Let's open it up. This is one of my favorite things at Amazon. And it's so counterintuitive that in my current car world, I talk about this and everyone's like, why are you, we're doing it a lot at Spiffy. And they're like, well, why are you doing that? That's like your proprietary thing. And we're like, well, that's just how it should be. And like, this is a better way to do it. And it's really interesting that still today, Amazon's built what I say, $100 billion business out of AWS, which has used this and people are, are befuzzled by the whole thing. So I, I thought that was an interesting use case. And then he, he goes into some details there that are pretty obvious for our listeners, like how this is gonna work. But then he basically kind of brings it back around and then he says he wraps up and says, I would say that supply chain with Amazon is really an abstraction on top of each individual block services. And in those services, he talked about all the things that, that, you know, FBA and last mile delivery and buy with a prime. He talks about each of those kind of and how awesome they are. So he's basically saying Amazon supply chain wraps a bow around all that. And it gives this collective set of business services is growing significantly. Scot: [52:43] It's already what I would consider a reasonable size business. I think it's early days. It's not something we anticipate being a giant capital expense driver. So it's because they've already invested in all this that doesn't require additional capex. And then he finishes and says, we have to build a lot of the capabilities anyway to handle our own business. And we think it will be a modest increase on top of that to accommodate third-party sellers. Scot: [53:05] But our, there's a typo in the thing. Our third-party sellers find very high value in us being able to manage these components for them versus having to do it themselves. And they save money in the process. So I thought that was a really interesting, interesting. So they're really leaning into this supply chain. I think that ultimately they'll open this up to more consumers where you can send Aunt Gertrude in Detroit something from Chicago for three bucks a package and just throw it in an Amazon box, maybe a return box, and it kind of makes it way cheaper than you can FedEx it. I think that's coming, but it's really interesting to see. The way they think about things and his articulation of it was very crisp, Scot: [53:45] and I really enjoyed that. I was geeking out on that when I was listening to the call. Jason: [53:50] Yeah, for sure. That actually came up in some of the conferences I was at that he, you know, Jeff Bezos famously wrote this memo a long time ago about kind of being an object oriented, company and having all these building blocks that people could easily access and use internally and externally. And, and that this was kind of Andy Jassy doubling down on that. Yeah. It's Biffy is an example of that. Like you inventing some cool products that make it your jobs easier. And then you're selling those products to, to your potential competitors. Scot: [54:20] Yeah. So two examples, we have some devices we've developed for ourselves. One is a tire tread scanner. So it does 2D and 3D tires, tire tread scans. It's called Easy Tread. And we developed it for ourselves because we touch 3,000 cars a day right now and we wanted to measure the tire treads. And the state of the art is a Bluetooth needle. And it's, you know, you have to lay on your back. The cars are on the ground for us most of the time. So you have to like get underneath there, measure three things, and then it Bluetooths to a phone. Then you have to take it, the data entry, it doesn't have an API. Then you have to like take what it measured and then now cut and paste it into something else. It's kind of, kind of redonkulous in our world. So we developed a solution for that and we're selling it externally. And then the big, the big one is from day one, this has been the plan is we've built a ton of software for Spiffy. So we're, you know, we've got 400 technicians, 250 vans doing all kinds of services across the US and there's no operating system for that. So we, there's no like Salesforce for that or Shopify. So we had to go build our own. And so we've built, you know, route optimization specific to this parts integration, fitment integration, VIN lookup, all these things that are required integration with tire suppliers, oil filter suppliers, oil suppliers, parts suppliers, all these things. So we have like 150 things we've integrated with and pulled in from all over the place. Scot: [55:44] And then labor management, all the reporting that comes along with it, all that stuff. And we're starting to license that out as its own platform to anyone that wants to do auto services. And so these dealerships and large auto service companies are coming to us and finally saying, this seems kind of obvious now that we need to provide the ability to go to our customers. They call it at their curb. They use a different language than we do. But basically what you and I would call mobile, you know, last mile delivery of the service. And we're starting to license that out. And it's a lot like AWS, right? So we had to build this for our retail business, which is doing the services and now we're licensing it out a lot AWS and we have this device business. So it's been, I would not have, it comes intuitively to me now. Cause I've been, you know, basically living this lifestyle for 20 years and watching Amazon do it, But it's been fun to kind of build a company with this mindset of we're going to take these things we build and give them to other, not give them, but sell them to other people. And then that makes them better. And they help us pay for all the R&D that we've done on it. Jason: [56:48] Yeah, that's very cool. And that gives listeners a very tangible example of why we haven't been able to podcast quite as frequently as we'd like. Scot: [56:56] Yes. Jason: [56:56] I do, at the risk of making this the world's longest episode of our show, I do have a geeky add-on to the supply chain conversation. Yeah. So a lot of these services that they're adding to specifically what they call supply chain with Amazon are around importing services, because an increasingly high percentage of all the stuff Amazon sells is. Jason: [57:20] Amazon is taking care of importing it, right? And most often from China, but from all over the world and taking care of all that logistics and getting it ready to sell and deliver via the world's most impressive last mile to consumers in America. And there's tons of complicated, high friction touch points and processes to flow all those goods. Well, the big competitors out there to Amazon at the moment that we've talked about ad nauseum on the show, like Shein and Timu, had this kind of direct from China model where they're putting all the goods on 747s, flying them over, and they're taking advantage of this loophole in the postal treaty called the de minimis provision to not pay taxes or duties or have all these goods inspected that they ship into the U.S. and U.S. Jason: [58:07] Businesses have been complaining it's unfair. There's like all kinds of talk about it. We've done shows on this and I'm sure we'll do others. So here's the new thing in supply chain. Jason: [58:15] All the people that have been complaining about this are now doing it because guess what's happened? A bunch of these companies have been born that now help every other brand in the world take advantage of the de minimis provisions to near shore their goods. So you're a footwear manufacturer, you make your shoes in Vietnam, Instead of shipping them to the U.S. On a pallet and paying taxes and duties, you ship them on a pallet to Mexico, and then you send them individual parcels across the border from Mexico into the U.S. and never have to pay taxes or duties on the stuff. So I don't know if that will last in the long run, but that's a very disruptive, significant change happening in the whole world of e-commerce supply chains as we speak. That's pretty interesting. Interesting. Had you gotten wind of that yet? Scot: [59:07] No, no. That's all new to me. Thanks for sharing. Jason: [59:09] Yeah. That's probably how you're going to have to start getting your spiffy stuff into the country now too. I won't, I won't, we won't go there. But the one other piece that did not come up in the earnings call, but a controversy around Amazon since our last show is news articles came out that Amazon was de-installing its Just Walk Out technology from its grocery stores. So Amazon had built Just Walk Out into several of these Amazon Fresh stores and they built it into Whole Foods. And if you know the history of Just Walk Out, this was the original intention of Just Walk Out was was to do it for grocery stor
According to the recent earnings call, Amazon shared its financial performance and future projections with industry investors and observers. During the call, CEO Andy Jassy discussed the firm's progress and strategic direction. Interestingly, there was no specific reference to the field of logistics or the idea of building out a global logistics as a service model, leaving some questions about Amazon's strategies in this critical business area.The call revealed Amazon's business metrics and achievements, indicating a robust growth trajectory. This has been enabled by a mix of product variety, expanding services, and strategic initiatives. Key factors contributing to Amazon's performance include an enlarging brand and product selection in its marketplace, accompanied by AI-optimized product pages. Amazon remains committed to providing competitively low prices and unique shopping events, an approach that has found favor with its customer base.Amazon's advertising division, featuring sponsored products and Prime video ads, has shown considerable growth, signaling potential areas for increased revenue. The AWS segment holds steady, powered by its commitment to modernization and an uptick in demand for generically AI-driven applications.In terms of consumer behavior, Amazon customers display a discerning attitude, influenced by the broader context of global economic uncertainties. The tendency to prioritize value and seek discounts is evident, with the appeal of prompt delivery playing a critical role in shaping consumer choices.Looking to future plans, Amazon is focused on escalating customer experience and improving operational efficacy. To this end, it seeks to diversify its marketplace, enhance processes, and work towards cost-effective structures. An intended expansion in the reach of its advertising and refinement in advertiser metrics is also on the cards.To tap into AWS's potential, particularly in the field of generative AI, Amazon plans to increase its capital expenditure on infrastructure. The company is committed to making its international operations more efficient and profitable, with an emphasis on amplifying grocery delivery services, expanding same-day delivery locations, and driving cost control.In conclusion, Amazon's financial results, customer-focused strategies, and commitment to strategic investments indicate its position as a resilient enterprise in a competitive market. It should be noted that this conclusion is drawn based on the information shared by Amazon during its earnings call and does not necessarily guarantee future performance. The void in discussion around logistics, particularly in light of Jassy's comment about the promising trajectory of the international stores business, leaves open questions about Amazon's potential direction in this area, "I would add a few things. I mean, I'm again quite bullish on our international stores business. It's already a very large business. We've added a number of countries that are on the right trajectory, as Brian just indicated, and it's going to be a big, profitable business for us. And I really like the direction it's headed." This likely highlights the relevance of international expansion within Amazon's strategic vision, with possible implications for its future logistics operations. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.theprompt.email
Send us a Text Message.In this episode we explore: Spiritual Awakening and HealingThe Higher Self and SpiritualityShadow Work and ShamanismSpiritual PerspectivesHeaven and Hell and The Purpose of LifeReiki Healing and Energy WorkAbout Jassy: Jassy isn't just another voice in the world of spirituality; she's a beacon of light guiding souls toward their higher selves. As the seasoned host of the "Sacred Arts" podcast, she delves deep into the realms of consciousness, healing, and spiritual awakening. With a world drowning in anxiety and pain, Jassy envisions a brighter, more peaceful future where individuals live in the present, free from guilt or worry. Her dream? To equip everyone with transformative tools that lead to a life brimming with joy and fulfillment.Holding a Masters of Science in Psychology, coupled with 15 years of leadership, Jassy's academic prowess meets her hands-on experience in spiritual guidance. She isn't just sharing theories; she's imparting wisdom gleaned from both research and real-world application. As a Master Reiki practitioner and trained Shaman, her expertise extends into the profound terrains of energy healing and divination. Every session with her is a step closer to tapping into one's innate power and navigating the intricate journey of spiritual awakening.Jassy doesn't merely offer insights; she provides a compass for those seeking to illuminate their path. So, if you're a podcast host looking to empower your listeners with genuine, transformative knowledge, Jassy is the voice they need to hear.Where to find Jassy: https://www.crysta-luna.com/https://www.youtube.com/@sacredartsacademy/videosSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr0p1zDPaPLmnmI3AIWhDFQFOLLOW US: TikTok - @shiftingdimensions444 Instagram - @shiftingdimensions_podDISCLAIMER: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the guest's own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Shifting Dimensions. The material and information presented here is for general information and entertainment purposes only.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sits down with Andrew Ross Sorkin at Amazon headquarters in Seattle, the morning Jassy published his annual letter to shareholders. In an extended, wide-ranging conversation with Andrew, Andy Jassy discusses AI-enabled transformations (like delivery drones!), building out technology for every part of the tech stack, and streaming sports on Amazon Prime. Plus, Jassy weighs in on regulator scrutiny on the tech industry, as well as in-office work. Plus, Squawk Pod is up for a Webby Award! Vote for us here and support Squawk Pod's special series, "Charlie Munger: A Life of Wit and Wisdom," featuring our final interview with the Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chair. Andy Jassy - 10:48 In this episode:Andy Jassy, @ajassyAndrew Ross Sorkin, @andrewrsorkinBecky Quick, @BeckyQuickMichael Santoli, @michaelsantoliKatie Kramer, @Kramer_Katie
One day after a hotter-than-expected consumer inflation report sparked a sell-off on Wall Street, Jim Cramer and David Faber discussed market reaction to the March Producer Price Index. The wholesale inflation gauge came in a bit tamer than economists' forecasts. The anchors reacted to what Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC about the consumer, regulation and his annual letter to shareholders. In Colorado, Carl Quintanilla provided a sneak peek into "Cities of Success: Denver and Boulder," which premieres Thursday night at 10pm ET on CNBC. Also in focus: Nvidia bucks the sell-off, Apple as the only FAANG stock in the red this year, gearing up for Friday's bank earnings, "Faber Report" on a potential Paramount deal, DJT slumps again, the CEOs who attended the White House state dinner for Japan's prime minister. Squawk on the Street Disclaimer
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bloomberg News Technology and E-Commerce Reporter Spencer Soper provides the details of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's annual letter to shareholders outlining how the company's cloud infrastructure will become an essential part of the generative artificial intelligence boom. Louise Phillips Forbes, Agent at Brown Harris Stevens, breaks down the New York City real estate market. Roberta Goss, Head of the Bank Loan and CLO Platform at Pretium, discusses the private credit outlook. And we Drive to the Close with with Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist at Schwab Center for Financial Research. Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec. Producer: Paul Brennan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Beleggers wisten het zeker. In juni gaat de rente in Europa omlaag. Enige die nog even overtuigd moest worden is Christine Lagarde, de vrouw die er over gaat. Ook zij lijkt nu om, bleek tijdens de persconferentie van de ECB. Maar ze toverde wel iets anders uit de hoge hoed, waar beleggers van schrokken. De rente kan in juni omlaag, maar misschien blijft het daar wel even bij. Oftewel: een verlaging in juni hoeft geen opmaat te zijn voor een reeks aan verlagingen. In deze aflevering hebben we het over die renteverlagingen. Kan je die nu echt uit je hoofd zetten? En als de ECB in juni eerder verlaagt dan de Fed, wat betekent dat dan voor jouw aandelen? Verder gaan we even de sfeer verpesten en je voorbereiden op een beurscorrectie. De afgelopen maanden gaat het boven verwachting op de beurs, maar er komt een moment dat de koersen naar beneden gaan. Wij kijken welke aandelen je dan moet hebben en of er ook bedrijven zijn die 'beurscorrectie-proof' zijn. Ook de aflevering waarin we het hebben over Amazon. Een van de Magnificent Seven, maar echt vaak gaat het niet over deze speler. Daar komt waarschijnlijk verandering in, want de ceo heeft gigantische plannen. Hij gaat vele miljarden investeren in AI, terwijl hij aan de andere kant gaat bezuinigen. We kijken hoe hij dat doet. Tot slot hoor je over topmannen die heel veel geld krijgen. De ene paait zijn aandeelhouders, zodat hij meer geld krijgt. De ander heeft zijn miljoenen al binnen, maar daarover is de minister van Financiën nu boos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Through intimate conversations and shared experiences, Jassy lovingly guides you through the process of igniting your inner light and navigating the path towards spiritual enlightenment. Jackson shares practical tips for cultivating a deeper connection with your higher self, including the importance of setting intentions, setting boundaries, and engaging with the energy around you. Get ready to take those first empowering steps toward a more connected and fulfilled life, with compassion, courage, and authenticity. What we talk about: The cause of stress and anxiety in today's world How to choose a healing modality What is Reiki healing How to engage with the energy around us The first step to your healing journey Episode Resources: Jassy Website Jassy Instagram Want to start your own podcast? Join our Live Podcasting Masterclass for FREE here - masterclass.joyanchan.co It's time to get your podcast idea out of your head and into the ears of your dream clients! Subscribe to YouTube channel Follow me on Instagram and Facebook ABOUT: Joyan Chan is an award-winning coach, international speaker, and podcaster. The core of her work centers on helping leaders and entrepreneurs develop unshakable confidence to build a Rockstar personal brand, gain worldwide exposure, and earn recognition for their expertise. Joyan's years of experience as a young lecturer, team leader, and business owner have given her a keen sense of what it takes to become a confident, visible, and impactful leader in today's world. Her personal journey, which involved transforming depression into empowerment and building her brand globally from the ground up in just two years, inspired her to create a proven roadmap called "Rookie to Rockstar." This roadmap guides her clients to accelerate their confidence, visibility, and impact, empowering them to embrace their true selves with joy and purpose. Joyan has been featured in numerous magazines, publications, shows and has spoken at many industry events. In March 2022, Joyan was awarded Outstanding Leadership Award on stage in Dubai, UAE. In the same year, she was also named a successful person by Britishpedia. During her interview with the publication house, she said, “because I took the courage to take the path less taken.” Meet me at joyanchan.com
"Join us on a transformative journey with Jassy Jackson, a seasoned expert with a decade of experience in psychology and body awareness, as we delve into the art of self-empowerment and growth on our latest YouTube episode. Jassy, while not a licensed therapist, has dedicated her career to helping individuals release discomfort and anxiety, guiding them toward a life filled with purpose, meaning, and freedom from limitations. In this enlightening episode, Jassy shares her insights on discovering and harnessing your inner strength and potential. She emphasizes the importance of aligning your life with your core values and heartfelt aspirations, ensuring that every step is deliberate and purpose-driven. We'll also explore how deep-seated trauma, depression, and stress can obscure our judgment and deplete our emotional energy, holding us back from the fulfilling life we all deserve. Jassy offers practical advice and tools for coping with these challenges, including techniques for releasing painful memories, and introduces transformative practices like reiki and other energy work. Prepare to learn effective strategies to reduce depression, stress, anxiety, and panic and gain new skills to thrive in the face of life's challenges. This episode is not just about overcoming obstacles; it's about flourishing and realizing your true potential. Take advantage of this opportunity to empower your growth and live a life that resonates with your deepest aspirations. Tune in, get inspired, and take the first step towards a more deliberate and joyous life." Watch Live: https://youtu.be/g7fjGBwwdhE #EmpowerGrowth #InnerStrength #JassyJackson #MindfulLiving #OvercomingChallenges --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/expansionofconsciousness/support
Boundaries 101: Gearing up for the Holidays with Expert Jassy Jackson In this episode, I had the enlightening opportunity to delve deep into the significance of setting boundaries, especially as the holidays approach, with the insightful Jassy Jackson. We discussed the transformative power of understanding our boundaries, the importance of preparation for the holidays, and how Jassy's incredible resources can aid in this journey. Whether it's through her recordings, worksheets, or the digital journal, Jassy offers invaluable tools to navigate the challenges life throws at us.In this episode we get curious about:The power of understanding and setting boundaries.Preparing mentally and emotionally for the holidays.Accessing Jassy's valuable recordings on boundaries.Benefits of Jassy's digital journal and worksheets.Jassy's online presence: Instagram, Facebook, website, and YouTube.Introduction to "Sacred Arts" YouTube channel and "Beyond Meditation" podcast.Learn more about Jassy Jackson.Bio: Jassy Jackson empowers individuals to realign with who they truly are by leveraging her Masters in Organizational Psychology, her extensive experience as an executive leader and her years as a reiki practitioner. Her teachings are based on a holistic approach that brings together a healthy mix of shamanic ceremonies alongside traditional psychology, allowing her to cater to each individual's needs while creating a safe space for transformation, healing and creation of new pathways in the human experience.Offering:Website: www.crysta-luna.comPodcast: Sacred Arts on Apple Podcasts & Beyond Meditation Podcast on Apple PodcastsIG: Instagram (@crystalunavortex)Book Recommendation: The Time of The Black Jaguar by Arkan LushwalaLinks to Laurin's Appearances on Jassy's podcasts:Sacred Arts: Tuning Into Earth's New Frequency: Beyond the Matrix with Laurin Wittig on Apple PodcastsBeyond Meditation Podcast: Your Body is trying to Talk to you! Are you getting the message? with Laurin Wittig on Apple PodcastsLearn more about Laurin Wittig...Bio: Laurin Wittig is an intuitive healer, spirituality mentor, founder of HeartLight Wellness and the Heartlight Wise Women Circles, host of the Curiously Wise: Practical Spirituality in Action podcast, channel of The Circle of Light, and an award-winning author. Laurin is also a co-facilitator of the Triple Goddess Women's Circle.Laurin's own journey from bad health to great health on a non-traditional path awakened many of her own healing gifts, and illuminated a passion to assist others to travel their paths in this lifetime with less pain, and deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them, bringing them to a place of greater ease, and joy. Heartlight Wellness: Healing the light within you!Laurin on FB:
Steve Tuck, Co-Founder & CEO of Oxide Computer Company, joins Corey on Screaming in the Cloud to discuss his work to make modern computers cloud-friendly. Steve describes what it was like going through early investment rounds, and the difficult but important decision he and his co-founder made to build their own switch. Corey and Steve discuss the demand for on-prem computers that are built for cloud capability, and Steve reveals how Oxide approaches their product builds to ensure the masses can adopt their technology wherever they are. About SteveSteve is the Co-founder & CEO of Oxide Computer Company. He previously was President & COO of Joyent, a cloud computing company acquired by Samsung. Before that, he spent 10 years at Dell in a number of different roles. Links Referenced: Oxide Computer Company: https://oxide.computer/ On The Metal Podcast: https://oxide.computer/podcasts/on-the-metal TranscriptAnnouncer: Hello, and welcome to Screaming in the Cloud with your host, Chief Cloud Economist at The Duckbill Group, Corey Quinn. This weekly show features conversations with people doing interesting work in the world of cloud, thoughtful commentary on the state of the technical world, and ridiculous titles for which Corey refuses to apologize. This is Screaming in the Cloud.Corey: This episode is brought to us in part by our friends at RedHat. As your organization grows, so does the complexity of your IT resources. You need a flexible solution that lets you deploy, manage, and scale workloads throughout your entire ecosystem. The Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform simplifies the management of applications and services across your hybrid infrastructure with one platform. Look for it on the AWS Marketplace.Corey: Welcome to Screaming in the Cloud. I'm Corey Quinn. You know, I often say it—but not usually on the show—that Screaming in the Cloud is a podcast about the business of cloud, which is intentionally overbroad so that I can talk about basically whatever the hell I want to with whoever the hell I'd like. Today's guest is, in some ways of thinking, about as far in the opposite direction from Cloud as it's possible to go and still be involved in the digital world. Steve Tuck is the CEO at Oxide Computer Company. You know, computers, the things we all pretend aren't underpinning those clouds out there that we all use and pay by the hour, gigabyte, second-month-pound or whatever it works out to. Steve, thank you for agreeing to come back on the show after a couple years, and once again suffer my slings and arrows.Steve: Much appreciated. Great to be here. It has been a while. I was looking back, I think three years. This was like, pre-pandemic, pre-interest rates, pre… Twitter going totally sideways.Corey: And I have to ask to start with that, it feels, on some level, like toward the start of the pandemic, when everything was flying high and we'd had low interest rates for a decade, that there was a lot of… well, lunacy lurking around in the industry, my own business saw it, too. It turns out that not giving a shit about the AWS bill is in fact a zero interest rate phenomenon. And with all that money or concentrated capital sloshing around, people decided to do ridiculous things with it. I would have thought, on some level, that, “We're going to start a computer company in the Bay Area making computers,” would have been one of those, but given that we are a year into the correction, and things seem to be heading up into the right for you folks, that take was wrong. How'd I get it wrong?Steve: Well, I mean, first of all, you got part of it right, which is there were just a litany of ridiculous companies and projects and money being thrown in all directions at that time.Corey: An NFT of a computer. We're going to have one of those. That's what you're selling, right? Then you had to actually hard pivot to making the real thing.Steve: That's it. So, we might as well cut right to it, you know. This is—we went through the crypto phase. But you know, our—when we started the company, it was yes, a computer company. It's on the tin. It's definitely kind of the foundation of what we're building. But you know, we think about what a modern computer looks like through the lens of cloud.I was at a cloud computing company for ten years prior to us founding Oxide, so was Bryan Cantrill, CTO, co-founder. And, you know, we are huge, huge fans of cloud computing, which was an interesting kind of dichotomy. Instead of conversations when we were raising for Oxide—because of course, Sand Hill is terrified of hardware. And when we think about what modern computers need to look like, they need to be in support of the characteristics of cloud, and cloud computing being not that you're renting someone else's computers, but that you have fully programmable infrastructure that allows you to slice and dice, you know, compute and storage and networking however software needs. And so, what we set out to go build was a way for the companies that are running on-premises infrastructure—which, by the way, is almost everyone and will continue to be so for a very long time—access to the benefits of cloud computing. And to do that, you need to build a different kind of computing infrastructure and architecture, and you need to plumb the whole thing with software.Corey: There are a number of different ways to view cloud computing. And I think that a lot of the, shall we say, incumbent vendors over in the computer manufacturing world tend to sound kind of like dinosaurs, on some level, where they're always talking in terms of, you're a giant company and you already have a whole bunch of data centers out there. But one of the magical pieces of cloud is you can have a ridiculous idea at nine o'clock tonight and by morning, you'll have a prototype, if you're of that bent. And if it turns out it doesn't work, you're out, you know, 27 cents. And if it does work, you can keep going and not have to stop and rebuild on something enterprise-grade.So, for the small-scale stuff and rapid iteration, cloud providers are terrific. Conversely, when you wind up in the giant fleets of millions of computers, in some cases, there begin to be economic factors that weigh in, and for some on workloads—yes, I know it's true—going to a data center is the economical choice. But my question is, is starting a new company in the direction of building these things, is it purely about economics or is there a capability story tied in there somewhere, too?Steve: Yeah, it's actually economics ends up being a distant third, fourth, in the list of needs and priorities from the companies that we're working with. When we talk about—and just to be clear we're—our demographic, that kind of the part of the market that we are focused on are large enterprises, like, folks that are spending, you know, half a billion, billion dollars a year in IT infrastructure, they, over the last five years, have moved a lot of the use cases that are great for public cloud out to the public cloud, and who still have this very, very large need, be it for latency reasons or cost reasons, security reasons, regulatory reasons, where they need on-premises infrastructure in their own data centers and colo facilities, et cetera. And it is for those workloads in that part of their infrastructure that they are forced to live with enterprise technologies that are 10, 20, 30 years old, you know, that haven't evolved much since I left Dell in 2009. And, you know, when you think about, like, what are the capabilities that are so compelling about cloud computing, one of them is yes, what you mentioned, which is you have an idea at nine o'clock at night and swipe a credit card, and you're off and running. And that is not the case for an idea that someone has who is going to use the on-premises infrastructure of their company. And this is where you get shadow IT and 16 digits to freedom and all the like.Corey: Yeah, everyone with a corporate credit card winds up being a shadow IT source in many cases. If your processes as a company don't make it easier to proceed rather than doing it the wrong way, people are going to be fighting against you every step of the way. Sometimes the only stick you've got is that of regulation, which in some industries, great, but in other cases, no, you get to play Whack-a-Mole. I've talked to too many companies that have specific scanners built into their mail system every month looking for things that look like AWS invoices.Steve: [laugh]. Right, exactly. And so, you know, but if you flip it around, and you say, well, what if the experience for all of my infrastructure that I am running, or that I want to provide to my software development teams, be it rented through AWS, GCP, Azure, or owned for economic reasons or latency reasons, I had a similar set of characteristics where my development team could hit an API endpoint and provision instances in a matter of seconds when they had an idea and only pay for what they use, back to kind of corporate IT. And what if they were able to use the same kind of developer tools they've become accustomed to using, be it Terraform scripts and the kinds of access that they are accustomed to using? How do you make those developers just as productive across the business, instead of just through public cloud infrastructure?At that point, then you are in a much stronger position where you can say, you know, for a portion of things that are, as you pointed out, you know, more unpredictable, and where I want to leverage a bunch of additional services that a particular cloud provider has, I can rent that. And where I've got more persistent workloads or where I want a different economic profile or I need to have something in a very low latency manner to another set of services, I can own it. And that's where I think the real chasm is because today, you just don't—we take for granted the basic plumbing of cloud computing, you know? Elastic Compute, Elastic Storage, you know, networking and security services. And us in the cloud industry end up wanting to talk a lot more about exotic services and, sort of, higher-up stack capabilities. None of that basic plumbing is accessible on-prem.Corey: I also am curious as to where exactly Oxide lives in the stack because I used to build computers for myself in 2000, and it seems like having gone down that path a bit recently, yeah, that process hasn't really improved all that much. The same off-the-shelf components still exist and that's great. We always used to disparagingly call spinning hard drives as spinning rust in racks. You named the company Oxide; you're talking an awful lot about the Rust programming language in public a fair bit of the time, and I'm starting to wonder if maybe words don't mean what I thought they meant anymore. Where do you folks start and stop, exactly?Steve: Yeah, that's a good question. And when we started, we sort of thought the scope of what we were going to do and then what we were going to leverage was smaller than it has turned out to be. And by that I mean, man, over the last three years, we have hit a bunch of forks in the road where we had questions about do we take something off the shelf or do we build it ourselves. And we did not try to build everything ourselves. So, to give you a sense of kind of where the dotted line is, around the Oxide product, what we're delivering to customers is a rack-level computer. So, the minimum size comes in rack form. And I think your listeners are probably pretty familiar with this. But, you know, a rack is—Corey: You would be surprised. It's basically, what are they about seven feet tall?Steve: Yeah, about eight feet tall.Corey: Yeah, yeah. Seven, eight feet, weighs a couple 1000 pounds, you know, make an insulting joke about—Steve: Two feet wide.Corey: —NBA players here. Yeah, all kinds of these things.Steve: Yeah. And big hunk of metal. And in the cases of on-premises infrastructure, it's kind of a big hunk of metal hole, and then a bunch of 1U and 2U boxes crammed into it. What the hyperscalers have done is something very different. They started looking at, you know, at the rack level, how can you get much more dense, power-efficient designs, doing things like using a DC bus bar down the back, instead of having 64 power supplies with cables hanging all over the place in a rack, which I'm sure is what you're more familiar with.Corey: Tremendous amount of weight as well because you have the metal chassis for all of those 1U things, which in some cases, you wind up with, what, 46U in a rack, assuming you can even handle the cooling needs of all that.Steve: That's right.Corey: You have so much duplication, and so much of the weight is just metal separating one thing from the next thing down below it. And there are opportunities for massive improvement, but you need to be at a certain point of scale to get there.Steve: You do. You do. And you also have to be taking on the entire problem. You can't pick at parts of these things. And that's really what we found. So, we started at this sort of—the rack level as sort of the design principle for the product itself and found that that gave us the ability to get to the right geometry, to get as much CPU horsepower and storage and throughput and networking into that kind of chassis for the least amount of wattage required, kind of the most power-efficient design possible.So, it ships at the rack level and it ships complete with both our server sled systems in Oxide, a pair of Oxide switches. This is—when I talk about, like, design decisions, you know, do we build our own switch, it was a big, big, big question early on. We were fortunate even though we were leaning towards thinking we needed to go do that, we had this prospective early investor who was early at AWS and he had asked a very tough question that none of our other investors had asked to this point, which is, “What are you going to do about the switch?”And we knew that the right answer to an investor is like, “No. We're already taking on too much.” We're redesigning a server from scratch in, kind of, the mold of what some of the hyperscalers have learned, doing our own Root of Trust, we're doing our own operating system, hypervisor control plane, et cetera. Taking on the switch could be seen as too much, but we told them, you know, we think that to be able to pull through all of the value of the security benefits and the performance and observability benefits, we can't have then this [laugh], like, obscure third-party switch rammed into this rack.Corey: It's one of those things that people don't think about, but it's the magic of cloud with AWS's network, for example, it's magic. You can get line rate—or damn near it—between any two points, sustained.Steve: That's right.Corey: Try that in the data center, you wind into massive congestion with top-of-rack switches, where, okay, we're going to parallelize this stuff out over, you know, two dozen racks and we're all going to have them seamlessly transfer information between each other at line rate. It's like, “[laugh] no, you're not because those top-of-rack switches will melt and become side-of-rack switches, and then bottom-puddle-of-rack switches. It doesn't work that way.”Steve: That's right.Corey: And you have to put a lot of thought and planning into it. That is something that I've not heard a traditional networking vendor addressing because everyone loves to hand-wave over it.Steve: Well so, and this particular prospective investor, we told him, “We think we have to go build our own switch.” And he said, “Great.” And we said, “You know, we think we're going to lose you as an investor as a result, but this is what we're doing.” And he said, “If you're building your own switch, I want to invest.” And his comment really stuck with us, which is AWS did not stand on their own two feet until they threw out their proprietary switch vendor and built their own.And that really unlocked, like you've just mentioned, like, their ability, both in hardware and software to tune and optimize to deliver that kind of line rate capability. And that is one of the big findings for us as we got into it. Yes, it was really, really hard, but based on a couple of design decisions, P4 being the programming language that we are using as the surround for our silicon, tons of opportunities opened up for us to be able to do similar kinds of optimization and observability. And that has been a big, big win.But to your question of, like, where does it stop? So, we are delivering this complete with a baked-in operating system, hypervisor, control plane. And so, the endpoint of the system, where the customer meets is either hitting an API or a CLI or a console that delivers and kind of gives you the ability to spin up projects. And, you know, if one is familiar with EC2 and EBS and VPC, that VM level of abstraction is where we stop.Corey: That, I think, is a fair way of thinking about it. And a lot of cloud folks are going to pooh-pooh it as far as saying, “Oh well, just virtual machines. That's old cloud. That just treats the cloud like a data center.” And in many cases, yes, it does because there are ways to build modern architectures that are event-driven on top of things like Lambda, and API Gateway, and the rest, but you take a look at what my customers are doing and what drives the spend, it is invariably virtual machines that are largely persistent.Sometimes they scale up, sometimes they scale down, but there's always a baseline level of load that people like to hand-wave away the fact that what they're fundamentally doing in a lot of these cases, is paying the cloud provider to handle the care and feeding of those systems, which can be expensive, yes, but also delivers significant innovation beyond what almost any company is going to be able to deliver in-house. There is no way around it. AWS is better than you are—whoever you happen to—be at replacing failed hard drives. That is a simple fact. They have teams of people who are the best in the world of replacing failed hard drives. You generally do not. They are going to be better at that than you. But that's not the only axis. There's not one calculus that leads to, is cloud a scam or is cloud a great value proposition for us? The answer is always a deeply nuanced, “It depends.”Steve: Yeah, I mean, I think cloud is a great value proposition for most and a growing amount of software that's being developed and deployed and operated. And I think, you know, one of the myths that is out there is, hey, turn over your IT to AWS because we have or you know, a cloud provider—because we have such higher caliber personnel that are really good at swapping hard drives and dealing with networks and operationally keeping this thing running in a highly available manner that delivers good performance. That is certainly true, but a lot of the operational value in an AWS is been delivered via software, the automation, the observability, and not actual people putting hands on things. And it's an important point because that's been a big part of what we're building into the product. You know, just because you're running infrastructure in your own data center, it does not mean that you should have to spend, you know, 1000 hours a month across a big team to maintain and operate it. And so, part of that, kind of, cloud, hyperscaler innovation that we're baking into this product is so that it is easier to operate with much, much, much lower overhead in a highly available, resilient manner.Corey: So, I've worked in a number of data center facilities, but the companies I was working with, were always at a scale where these were co-locations, where they would, in some cases, rent out a rack or two, in other cases, they'd rent out a cage and fill it with their own racks. They didn't own the facilities themselves. Those were always handled by other companies. So, my question for you is, if I want to get a pile of Oxide racks into my environment in a data center, what has to change? What are the expectations?I mean, yes, there's obviously going to be power and requirements at the data center colocation is very conversant with, but Open Compute, for example, had very specific requirements—to my understanding—around things like the airflow construction of the environment that they're placed within. How prescriptive is what you've built, in terms of doing a building retrofit to start using you folks?Steve: Yeah, definitely not. And this was one of the tensions that we had to balance as we were designing the product. For all of the benefits of hyperscaler computing, some of the design center for you know, the kinds of racks that run in Google and Amazon and elsewhere are hyperscaler-focused, which is unlimited power, in some cases, data centers designed around the equipment itself. And where we were headed, which was basically making hyperscaler infrastructure available to, kind of, the masses, the rest of the market, these folks don't have unlimited power and they aren't going to go be able to go redesign data centers. And so no, the experience should be—with exceptions for folks maybe that have very, very limited access to power—that you roll this rack into your existing data center. It's on standard floor tile, that you give it power, and give it networking and go.And we've spent a lot of time thinking about how we can operate in the wide-ranging environmental characteristics that are commonplace in data centers that focus on themselves, colo facilities, and the like. So, that's really on us so that the customer is not having to go to much work at all to kind of prepare and be ready for it.Corey: One of the challenges I have is how to think about what you've done because you are rack-sized. But what that means is that my own experimentation at home recently with on-prem stuff for smart home stuff involves a bunch of Raspberries Pi and a [unintelligible 00:19:42], but I tend to more or less categorize you the same way that I do AWS Outposts, as well as mythical creatures, like unicorns or giraffes, where I don't believe that all these things actually exist because I haven't seen them. And in fact, to get them in my house, all four of those things would theoretically require a loading dock if they existed, and that's a hard thing to fake on a demo signup form, as it turns out. How vaporware is what you've built? Is this all on paper and you're telling amazing stories or do they exist in the wild?Steve: So, last time we were on, it was all vaporware. It was a couple of napkin drawings and a seed round of funding.Corey: I do recall you not using that description at the time, for what it's worth. Good job.Steve: [laugh]. Yeah, well, at least we were transparent where we were going through the race. We had some napkin drawings and we had some good ideas—we thought—and—Corey: You formalize those and that's called Microsoft PowerPoint.Steve: That's it. A hundred percent.Corey: The next generative AI play is take the scrunched-up, stained napkin drawing, take a picture of it, and convert it to a slide.Steve: Google Docs, you know, one of those. But no, it's got a lot of scars from the build and it is real. In fact, next week, we are going to be shipping our first commercial systems. So, we have got a line of racks out in our manufacturing facility in lovely Rochester, Minnesota. Fun fact: Rochester, Minnesota, is where the IBM AS/400s were built.Corey: I used to work in that market, of all things.Steve: Really?Corey: Selling tape drives in the AS/400. I mean, I still maintain there's no real mainframe migration to the cloud play because there's no AWS/400. A joke that tends to sail over an awful lot of people's heads because, you know, most people aren't as miserable in their career choices as I am.Steve: Okay, that reminds me. So, when we were originally pitching Oxide and we were fundraising, we [laugh]—in a particular investor meeting, they asked, you know, “What would be a good comp? Like how should we think about what you are doing?” And fortunately, we had about 20 investor meetings to go through, so burning one on this was probably okay, but we may have used the AS/400 as a comp, talking about how [laugh] mainframe systems did such a good job of building hardware and software together. And as you can imagine, there were some blank stares in that room.But you know, there are some good analogs to historically in the computing industry, when you know, the industry, the major players in the industry, were thinking about how to deliver holistic systems to support end customers. And, you know, we see this in the what Apple has done with the iPhone, and you're seeing this as a lot of stuff in the automotive industry is being pulled in-house. I was listening to a good podcast. Jim Farley from Ford was talking about how the automotive industry historically outsourced all of the software that controls cars, right? So, like, Bosch would write the software for the controls for your seats.And they had all these suppliers that were writing the software, and what it meant was that innovation was not possible because you'd have to go out to suppliers to get software changes for any little change you wanted to make. And in the computing industry, in the 80s, you saw this blow apart where, like, firmware got outsourced. In the IBM and the clones, kind of, race, everyone started outsourcing firmware and outsourcing software. Microsoft started taking over operating systems. And then VMware emerged and was doing a virtualization layer.And this, kind of, fragmented ecosystem is the landscape today that every single on-premises infrastructure operator has to struggle with. It's a kit car. And so, pulling it back together, designing things in a vertically integrated manner is what the hyperscalers have done. And so, you mentioned Outposts. And, like, it's a good example of—I mean, the most public cloud of public cloud companies created a way for folks to get their system on-prem.I mean, if you need anything to underscore the draw and the demand for cloud computing-like, infrastructure on-prem, just the fact that that emerged at all tells you that there is this big need. Because you've got, you know, I don't know, a trillion dollars worth of IT infrastructure out there and you have maybe 10% of it in the public cloud. And that's up from 5% when Jassy was on stage in '21, talking about 95% of stuff living outside of AWS, but there's going to be a giant market of customers that need to own and operate infrastructure. And again, things have not improved much in the last 10 or 20 years for them.Corey: They have taken a tone onstage about how, “Oh, those workloads that aren't in the cloud, yet, yeah, those people are legacy idiots.” And I don't buy that for a second because believe it or not—I know that this cuts against what people commonly believe in public—but company execs are generally not morons, and they make decisions with context and constraints that we don't see. Things are the way they are for a reason. And I promise that 90% of corporate IT workloads that still live on-prem are not being managed or run by people who've never heard of the cloud. There was a decision made when some other things were migrating of, do we move this thing to the cloud or don't we? And the answer at the time was no, we're going to keep this thing on-prem where it is now for a variety of reasons of varying validity. But I don't view that as a bug. I also, frankly, don't want to live in a world where all the computers are basically run by three different companies.Steve: You're spot on, which is, like, it does a total disservice to these smart and forward-thinking teams in every one of the Fortune 1000-plus companies who are taking the constraints that they have—and some of those constraints are not monetary or entirely workload-based. If you want to flip it around, we were talking to a large cloud SaaS company and their reason for wanting to extend it beyond the public cloud is because they want to improve latency for their e-commerce platform. And navigating their way through the complex layers of the networking stack at GCP to get to where the customer assets are that are in colo facilities, adds lag time on the platform that can cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. And so, we need to think behind this notion of, like, “Oh, well, the dark ages are for software that can't run in the cloud, and that's on-prem. And it's just a matter of time until everything moves to the cloud.”In the forward-thinking models of public cloud, it should be both. I mean, you should have a consistent experience, from a certain level of the stack down, everywhere. And then it's like, do I want to rent or do I want to own for this particular use case? In my vast set of infrastructure needs, do I want this to run in a data center that Amazon runs or do I want this to run in a facility that is close to this other provider of mine? And I think that's best for all. And then it's not this kind of false dichotomy of quality infrastructure or ownership.Corey: I find that there are also workloads where people will come to me and say, “Well, we don't think this is going to be economical in the cloud”—because again, I focus on AWS bills. That is the lens I view things through, and—“The AWS sales rep says it will be. What do you think?” And I look at what they're doing and especially if involves high volumes of data transfer, I laugh a good hearty laugh and say, “Yeah, keep that thing in the data center where it is right now. You will thank me for it later.”It's, “Well, can we run this in an economical way in AWS?” As long as you're okay with economical meaning six times what you're paying a year right now for the same thing, yeah, you can. I wouldn't recommend it. And the numbers sort of speak for themselves. But it's not just an economic play.There's also the story of, does this increase their capability? Does it let them move faster toward their business goals? And in a lot of cases, the answer is no, it doesn't. It's one of those business process things that has to exist for a variety of reasons. You don't get to reimagine it for funsies and even if you did, it doesn't advance the company in what they're trying to do any, so focus on something that differentiates as opposed to this thing that you're stuck on.Steve: That's right. And what we see today is, it is easy to be in that mindset of running things on-premises is kind of backwards-facing because the experience of it is today still very, very difficult. I mean, talking to folks and they're sharing with us that it takes a hundred days from the time all the different boxes land in their warehouse to actually having usable infrastructure that developers can use. And our goal and what we intend to go hit with Oxide as you can roll in this complete rack-level system, plug it in, within an hour, you have developers that are accessing cloud-like services out of the infrastructure. And that—God, countless stories of firmware bugs that would send all the fans in the data center nonlinear and soak up 100 kW of power.Corey: Oh, God. And the problems that you had with the out-of-band management systems. For a long time, I thought Drax stood for, “Dell, RMA Another Computer.” It was awful having to deal with those things. There was so much room for innovation in that space, which no one really grabbed onto.Steve: There was a really, really interesting talk at DEFCON that we just stumbled upon yesterday. The NVIDIA folks are giving a talk on BMC exploits… and like, a very, very serious BMC exploit. And again, it's what most people don't know is, like, first of all, the BMC, the Baseboard Management Controller, is like the brainstem of the computer. It has access to—it's a backdoor into all of your infrastructure. It's a computer inside a computer and it's got software and hardware that your server OEM didn't build and doesn't understand very well.And firmware is even worse because you know, firmware written by you know, an American Megatrends or other is a big blob of software that gets loaded into these systems that is very hard to audit and very hard to ascertain what's happening. And it's no surprise when, you know, back when we were running all the data centers at a cloud computing company, that you'd run into these issues, and you'd go to the server OEM and they'd kind of throw their hands up. Well, first they'd gaslight you and say, “We've never seen this problem before,” but when you thought you've root-caused something down to firmware, it was anyone's guess. And this is kind of the current condition today. And back to, like, the journey to get here, we kind of realized that you had to blow away that old extant firmware layer, and we rewrote our own firmware in Rust. Yes [laugh], I've done a lot in Rust.Corey: No, it was in Rust, but, on some level, that's what Nitro is, as best I can tell, on the AWS side. But it turns out that you don't tend to have the same resources as a one-and-a-quarter—at the moment—trillion-dollar company. That keeps [valuing 00:30:53]. At one point, they lost a comma and that was sad and broke all my logic for that and I haven't fixed it since. Unfortunate stuff.Steve: Totally. I think that was another, kind of, question early on from certainly a lot of investors was like, “Hey, how are you going to pull this off with a smaller team and there's a lot of surface area here?” Certainly a reasonable question. Definitely was hard. The one advantage—among others—is, when you are designing something kind of in a vertical holistic manner, those design integration points are narrowed down to just your equipment.And when someone's writing firmware, when AMI is writing firmware, they're trying to do it to cover hundreds and hundreds of components across dozens and dozens of vendors. And we have the advantage of having this, like, purpose-built system, kind of, end-to-end from the lowest level from first boot instruction, all the way up through the control plane and from rack to switch to server. That definitely helped narrow the scope.Corey: This episode has been fake sponsored by our friends at AWS with the following message: Graviton Graviton, Graviton, Graviton, Graviton, Graviton, Graviton, Graviton, Graviton. Thank you for your l-, lack of support for this show. Now, AWS has been talking about Graviton an awful lot, which is their custom in-house ARM processor. Apple moved over to ARM and instead of talking about benchmarks they won't publish and marketing campaigns with words that don't mean anything, they've let the results speak for themselves. In time, I found that almost all of my workloads have moved over to ARM architecture for a variety of reason, and my laptop now gets 15 hours of battery life when all is said and done. You're building these things on top of x86. What is the deal there? I do not accept that if that you hadn't heard of ARM until just now because, as mentioned, Graviton, Graviton, Graviton.Steve: That's right. Well, so why x86, to start? And I say to start because we have just launched our first generation products. And our first-generation or second-generation products that we are now underway working on are going to be x86 as well. We've built this system on AMD Milan silicon; we are going to be launching a Genoa sled.But when you're thinking about what silicon to use, obviously, there's a bunch of parts that go into the decision. You're looking at the kind of applicability to workload, performance, power management, for sure, and if you carve up what you are trying to achieve, x86 is still a terrific fit for the broadest set of workloads that our customers are trying to solve for. And choosing which x86 architecture was certainly an easier choice, come 2019. At this point, AMD had made a bunch of improvements in performance and energy efficiency in the chip itself. We've looked at other architectures and I think as we are incorporating those in the future roadmap, it's just going to be a question of what are you trying to solve for.You mentioned power management, and that is kind of commonly been a, you know, low power systems is where folks have gone beyond x86. Is we're looking forward to hardware acceleration products and future products, we'll certainly look beyond x86, but x86 has a long, long road to go. It still is kind of the foundation for what, again, is a general-purpose cloud infrastructure for being able to slice and dice for a variety of workloads.Corey: True. I have to look around my environment and realize that Intel is not going anywhere. And that's not just an insult to their lack of progress on committed roadmaps that they consistently miss. But—Steve: [sigh].Corey: Enough on that particular topic because we want to keep this, you know, polite.Steve: Intel has definitely had some struggles for sure. They're very public ones, I think. We were really excited and continue to be very excited about their Tofino silicon line. And this came by way of the Barefoot networks acquisition. I don't know how much you had paid attention to Tofino, but what was really, really compelling about Tofino is the focus on both hardware and software and programmability.So, great chip. And P4 is the programming language that surrounds that. And we have gotten very, very deep on P4, and that is some of the best tech to come out of Intel lately. But from a core silicon perspective for the rack, we went with AMD. And again, that was a pretty straightforward decision at the time. And we're planning on having this anchored around AMD silicon for a while now.Corey: One last question I have before we wind up calling it an episode, it seems—at least as of this recording, it's still embargoed, but we're not releasing this until that winds up changing—you folks have just raised another round, which means that your napkin doodles have apparently drawn more folks in, and now that you're shipping, you're also not just bringing in customers, but also additional investor money. Tell me about that.Steve: Yes, we just completed our Series A. So, when we last spoke three years ago, we had just raised our seed and had raised $20 million at the time, and we had expected that it was going to take about that to be able to build the team and build the product and be able to get to market, and [unintelligible 00:36:14] tons of technical risk along the way. I mean, there was technical risk up and down the stack around this [De Novo 00:36:21] server design, this the switch design. And software is still the kind of disproportionate majority of what this product is, from hypervisor up through kind of control plane, the cloud services, et cetera. So—Corey: We just view it as software with a really, really confusing hardware dongle.Steve: [laugh]. Yeah. Yes.Corey: Super heavy. We're talking enterprise and government-grade here.Steve: That's right. There's a lot of software to write. And so, we had a bunch of milestones that as we got through them, one of the big ones was getting Milan silicon booting on our firmware. It was funny it was—this was the thing that clearly, like, the industry was most suspicious of, us doing our own firmware, and you could see it when we demonstrated booting this, like, a year-and-a-half ago, and AMD all of a sudden just lit up, from kind of arm's length to, like, “How can we help? This is amazing.” You know? And they could start to see the benefits of when you can tie low-level silicon intelligence up through a hypervisor there's just—Corey: No I love the existing firmware I have. Looks like it was written in 1984 and winds up having terrible user ergonomics that hasn't been updated at all, and every time something comes through, it's a 50/50 shot as whether it fries the box or not. Yeah. No, I want that.Steve: That's right. And you look at these hyperscale data centers, and it's like, no. I mean, you've got intelligence from that first boot instruction through a Root of Trust, up through the software of the hyperscaler, and up to the user level. And so, as we were going through and kind of knocking down each one of these layers of the stack, doing our own firmware, doing our own hardware Root of Trust, getting that all the way plumbed up into the hypervisor and the control plane, number one on the customer side, folks moved from, “This is really interesting. We need to figure out how we can bring cloud capabilities to our data centers. Talk to us when you have something,” to, “Okay. We actually”—back to the earlier question on vaporware, you know, it was great having customers out here to Emeryville where they can put their hands on the rack and they can, you know, put your hands on software, but being able to, like, look at real running software and that end cloud experience.And that led to getting our first couple of commercial contracts. So, we've got some great first customers, including a large department of the government, of the federal government, and a leading firm on Wall Street that we're going to be shipping systems to in a matter of weeks. And as you can imagine, along with that, that drew a bunch of renewed interest from the investor community. Certainly, a different climate today than it was back in 2019, but what was great to see is, you still have great investors that understand the importance of making bets in the hard tech space and in companies that are looking to reinvent certain industries. And so, we added—our existing investors all participated. We added a bunch of terrific new investors, both strategic and institutional.And you know, this capital is going to be super important now that we are headed into market and we are beginning to scale up the business and make sure that we have a long road to go. And of course, maybe as importantly, this was a real confidence boost for our customers. They're excited to see that Oxide is going to be around for a long time and that they can invest in this technology as an important part of their infrastructure strategy.Corey: I really want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me about, well, how far you've come in a few years. If people want to learn more and have the requisite loading dock, where should they go to find you?Steve: So, we try to put everything up on the site. So, oxidecomputer.com or oxide.computer. We also, if you remember, we did [On the Metal 00:40:07]. So, we had a Tales from the Hardware-Software Interface podcast that we did when we started. We have shifted that to Oxide and Friends, which the shift there is we're spending a little bit more time talking about the guts of what we built and why. So, if folks are interested in, like, why the heck did you build a switch and what does it look like to build a switch, we actually go to depth on that. And you know, what does bring-up on a new server motherboard look like? And it's got some episodes out there that might be worth checking out.Corey: We will definitely include a link to that in the [show notes 00:40:36]. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.Steve: Yeah, Corey. Thanks for having me on.Corey: Steve Tuck, CEO at Oxide Computer Company. I'm Cloud Economist Corey Quinn, and this is Screaming in the Cloud. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave a five-star review on your podcast platform of choice, whereas if you've hated this episode, please leave a five-star review on your podcast platform of choice, along with an angry ranting comment because you are in fact a zoology major, and you're telling me that some animals do in fact exist. But I'm pretty sure of the two of them, it's the unicorn.Corey: If your AWS bill keeps rising and your blood pressure is doing the same, then you need The Duckbill Group. We help companies fix their AWS bill by making it smaller and less horrifying. The Duckbill Group works for you, not AWS. We tailor recommendations to your business and we get to the point. Visit duckbillgroup.com to get started.
I interviewed Jassy Jackson on Episode #176 which I highly recommend that you listen to. Jassy kindly shared this Meditation for my listeners. Jassy Jackson teachings are based on a holistic approach that brings together a healthy mix of shamanic ceremonies alongside traditional psychology, allowing her to cater to each individual's needs while creating a safe space for transformation, healing and creation of new pathways in the human experience. ----------- Please Consider Donating so I may Continue to Create FREE Content https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/support/ --------------------- Meditation Podcast Social Media / Coaching My Other Podcasts https://bio.link/podcaster Store https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/store/ Donations https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/support/ ==================== Bio of Jassy Jackson: Jassy Jackson empowers individuals to realign with who they truly are by leveraging her Masters in Organizational Psychology, her extensive experience as an executive leader and her years as a reiki practitioner. Her teachings are based on a holistic approach that brings together a healthy mix of shamanic ceremonies alongside traditional psychology, allowing her to cater to each individual's needs while creating a safe space for transformation, healing and creation of new pathways in the human experience. How to Contact Jassy Jackson: https://www.crysta-luna.com/ https://www.instagram.com/reikibyjassy/ Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/5PxkUmt80w4PI1DnIuGoPz?si=3f326cba7af54fac&nd=1 =============== More about the Meditation Podcast All Episodes can be found at www.meditationpodcast.org Store https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/store/ Donations https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/support/ All Social Media + Donations link linktr.ee/meditationpodcast Our Facebook Group can be found at www.facebook.com/meditationpodcast.org All my 5 Podcast or Podcast Coaching can be found at bio.link/podcaster
Jassy Jackson teachings are based on a holistic approach that brings together a healthy mix of shamanic ceremonies alongside traditional psychology, allowing her to cater to each individual's needs while creating a safe space for transformation, healing and creation of new pathways in the human experience. ----------- Please Consider Donating so I may Continue to Create FREE Content https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/support/ --------------------- Meditation Podcast Social Media / Coaching My Other Podcasts https://bio.link/podcaster Store https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/store/ Donations https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/support/ ==================== Bio of Jassy Jackson: Jassy Jackson empowers individuals to realign with who they truly are by leveraging her Masters in Organizational Psychology, her extensive experience as an executive leader and her years as a reiki practitioner. Her teachings are based on a holistic approach that brings together a healthy mix of shamanic ceremonies alongside traditional psychology, allowing her to cater to each individual's needs while creating a safe space for transformation, healing and creation of new pathways in the human experience. What we Discussed: - Corporate Ladder success to her healing journey - Understanding Rekki - The power of Words - Knowing how to spot a fraudulent healer - Her Podcast with a co-host - Workshops to help people learn - Limiting beliefs about money - Breathwork - Social Media Recommendations and more How to Contact Jassy Jackson: https://www.crysta-luna.com/ https://www.instagram.com/reikibyjassy/ Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/5PxkUmt80w4PI1DnIuGoPz?si=3f326cba7af54fac&nd=1 =============== More about the Meditation Podcast All Episodes can be found at www.meditationpodcast.org Store https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/store/ Donations https://www.podpage.com/meditation-podcast/support/ All Social Media + Donations link linktr.ee/meditationpodcast Our Facebook Group can be found at www.facebook.com/meditationpodcast.org All my 5 Podcast or Podcast Coaching can be found at bio.link/podcaster