Podcasts about miyata

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2023 25:06

SmartHR / Nstock の宮田さんをゲストに、不況下における2社の経営や、親子間のファイナンスの考え方について話しました。⁠Nstockのラジオ⁠も聞いてね！ゲスト: Miyata Shoji / 宮田昇始さん (@miyata_shoji) 2013年に株式会社KUFU（現SmartHR）を創業。2015年に人事労務クラウド「SmartHR」を公開。2021年にはシリーズDラウンドで海外投資家などから156億円を調達、ユニコーン企業の仲間入りを果たした。2022年1月にSmartHRの代表取締役CEOを退任、以降は取締役ファウンダーとして新規事業を担当する。2022年1月にNstock株式会社（SmartHR 100%子会社）を設立。

shoji miyata

#271 前編: エンジェル投資のハードルって？ (w/@miyata_shoji)

The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Touring Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2023 26:52

SmartHR / Nstock の宮田さんをゲストに、エンジェル投資のハードルについて話しました。Nstockのラジオも聞いてね！ゲスト: Miyata Shoji / 宮田昇始さん (@miyata_shoji) 2013年に株式会社KUFU（現SmartHR）を創業。2015年に人事労務クラウド「SmartHR」を公開。2021年にはシリーズDラウンドで海外投資家などから156億円を調達、ユニコーン企業の仲間入りを果たした。2022年1月にSmartHRの代表取締役CEOを退任、以降は取締役ファウンダーとして新規事業を担当する。2022年1月にNstock株式会社（SmartHR 100%子会社）を設立。

shoji miyata

327: The Evolution of Bike Touring Gear

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2023 37:47

Every once in a while it's nice to look back on where it all came from - on this edition, we explore the evolution of bike touring gear from the beginning of the modern era in the 1970s through today's high tech enhancements to bikepacking and more. Plus, a nod to what the future might hold with new materials and tech to make bicycle adventuring more fun and accessible! Bike Touring in the 1970s Discuss the state of bike touring in the 1970s: Bike touring during this era was gaining popularity as a way to explore the world and embark on long-distance adventures. It was a time when people sought alternative modes of travel and embraced the freedom and simplicity that bike touring offered. Overview of the popular bikes used for touring in that era: Steel-framed touring bicycles were the go-to choice for bike tourers in the 1970s. Brands like Raleigh, Peugeot, and Miyata were known for producing reliable touring bikes. These bikes were designed with longer wheelbases and relaxed geometry to provide stability and comfort during long rides. Introduction to the traditional panniers and racks used for carrying gear: Panniers, typically made of canvas or nylon, were the primary means of carrying gear on bike tours. They were attached to racks mounted on the front and rear of the bicycle. These racks were often heavy and made of steel, adding extra weight to the bike. Highlight the limitations and challenges of the gear available at the time: Bike touring gear in the 1970s had some limitations. The panniers were not as efficient at distributing weight evenly, which could affect bike handling and stability. Additionally, the racks added significant weight to the bike, making climbs and maneuvering more challenging. Share anecdotes and stories from notable bike tourers of the era: Renowned bike tourers of the 1970s Thomas Stevens, who completed the first documented bike trip around the world, Anne Mustoe, who cycled around the globe in the 1980s. Bikecentennial 1976 Technological Advancements in the 1980s and 1990s Technological advancements that impacted bike touring gear in the 1980s and 1990s: During this period, advancements in materials, components, and design significantly influenced bike touring gear, making it more efficient and comfortable. Introduction of lightweight materials such as aluminum and titanium for bike frames and components: Aluminum frames started gaining popularity in the 1980s due to their lighter weight compared to traditional steel frames. Titanium frames, known for their strength and durability, also emerged as a high-end option for bike touring enthusiasts. The emergence of clipless pedals and the impact on efficiency and comfort: Clipless pedals, which allow riders to securely attach their shoes to the pedals, were introduced in the late 1980s. This innovation improved pedaling efficiency and comfort, especially during long rides and climbs, by allowing for a more direct transfer of power. Innovations in camping gear, including lighter tents, sleeping bags, and cooking equipment: Camping gear manufacturers started focusing on lightweight designs in the 1980s and 1990s. Tent materials, such as lightweight nylon and aluminum poles, reduced overall weight while maintaining durability. Sleeping bags with improved insulation and smaller pack sizes became popular, and compact cooking stoves provided efficient meal preparation options. The rise of waterproof materials and improved clothing for inclement weather: Waterproof materials like Gore-Tex became widely available during this era. This allowed for the development of waterproof panniers and cycling apparel, keeping riders dry and comfortable in rainy conditions. Clothing advancements included breathable and moisture-wicking fabrics that enhanced comfort during long rides. The Rise of Bikepacking in the 2000s Explain the concept of bikepacking and its differences from traditional bike touring: Bikepacking is a form of self-supported, off-road bicycle travel that emphasizes lightweight gear and the ability to venture into rugged terrain. Unlike traditional bike touring, which often involves paved roads and larger amounts of gear carried on racks, bikepacking focuses on carrying essential gear in frame bags, seat packs, and handlebar rolls. Introduction to bikepacking-specific gear, such as frame bags, seat packs, and handlebar rolls: Bikepacking gear is designed to optimize weight distribution and stability while navigating off-road terrain. Frame bags attach to the bike's main triangle, seat packs secure under the saddle, and handlebar rolls fasten to the handlebars, providing ample storage space while maintaining a balanced load. The impact of mountain biking and gravel riding on the development of bikepacking gear: The rise of gravel riding in the 2000s plus the influence of mountain biking impacted the development of bikepacking gear. These disciplines demanded lightweight and durable gear that could withstand rough trails and demanding conditions. As a result, bikepacking gear evolved to meet the specific needs of off-road adventurers. Discuss the benefits and advantages of bikepacking gear in terms of weight distribution and off-road capabilities: Bikepacking gear allows for a more balanced weight distribution, as the gear is distributed within the bike's frame rather than on racks. This improves handling and stability, especially on challenging terrain. Bikepacking gear is also typically lighter and more compact, enabling riders to navigate through tight trails and rough conditions. Downside... can't carry as much! Modern Bikepacking Gear and Trends Lightweight and durable materials like Dyneema and Cuben Fiber These materials offer exceptional strength-to-weight ratios, making gear lighter without sacrificing durability. Integration of technology with bikepacking gear For example, GPS navigation devices specifically designed for bikepackers have become popular, allowing for easier route planning and navigation in remote areas. Additionally, solar-powered charging systems have been developed to keep electronic devices powered during extended trips. Battery improvements The emergence of bikepacking-specific clothing and accessories: These items are designed to meet the unique demands of off-road riding, such as moisture-wicking and quick-drying fabrics, specialized bikepacking shoes, and rugged yet lightweight helmets. None of this is new, but the tech is improving and costs for basics are dropping Trends in minimalist bikepacking and ultra-distance races: Discuss the rise of minimalist bikepacking, where riders aim to carry the bare minimum gear for maximum efficiency and speed. Explore the growing popularity of ultra-distance bikepacking races, such as the Tour Divide or the RAM , and how gear choices impact participants' strategies and performance. Future Possibilities and Closing Thoughts What's next? More evolution to bikepacking Will "bike touring" ever go away? Wrap up

A neural basis of choking under pressure

PaperPlayer biorxiv neuroscience

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2023

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.04.16.537007v1?rss=1 Authors: Smoulder, A. L., Marino, P. J., Oby, E. R., Snyder, S. E., Miyata, H., Pavlovsky, N. P., Bishop, W. E., Yu, B. M., Chase, S. M., Batista, A. P. Abstract: Incentives tend to drive improvements in performance. But when incentives get too high, we can "choke under pressure" and underperform when it matters most. What neural processes might lead to choking under pressure? We studied Rhesus monkeys performing a challenging reaching task in which they underperform when an unusually large "jackpot" reward is at stake. We observed a collapse in neural information about upcoming movements for jackpot rewards: in the motor cortex, neural planning signals became less distinguishable for different reach directions when a jackpot reward was made available. We conclude that neural signals of reward and motor planning interact in the motor cortex in a manner that can explain why we choke under pressure. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

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A CUG-initiated CATSPERθ functions in the CatSper channel assembly and serves as a checkpoint for flagellar trafficking

PaperPlayer biorxiv cell biology

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2023

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.03.17.532952v1?rss=1 Authors: Huang, X., Miyata, H., Wang, H., Mori, G., Iida-Norita, R., Ikawa, M., Percudani, R., Chung, J.-J. Abstract: Calcium signaling is critical for successful fertilization. In spermatozoa, calcium influx into the sperm flagella mediated by the sperm specific CatSper calcium channel is necessary for hyperactivated motility and male fertility. CatSper is a macromolecular complex and is repeatedly arranged in zigzag rows within four linear nanodomains along the sperm flagella. Here, we report that the Tmem249-encoded transmembrane domain containing protein, CATSPER{theta} is essential for the CatSper channel assembly during sperm tail formation. CATSPER{theta} facilitates the channel assembly by serving as a scaffold for a pore forming subunit CATSPER4. CATSPER{theta} is specifically localized at the interface of a CatSper dimer and can self-interact, suggesting its potential role in CatSper dimer formation. Male mice lacking CATSPER{theta} are infertile because the sperm lack the entire CatSper channel from sperm flagella, rendering sperm unable to hyperactivate, regardless of their normal expression in the testis. In contrast, genetic abrogation of any of the other CatSper transmembrane subunits results in loss of CATSPER{theta} protein in the spermatid cells during spermatogenesis. CATSPER{theta} might acts as a checkpoint for the properly assembled CatSper channel complex to traffic to sperm flagella. This study provides insights into the CatSper channel assembly and elucidates the physiological role of CATSPER{theta} in sperm motility and male fertility. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

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Drug metabolic activity as a selection factor for pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatic progenitor cells

PaperPlayer biorxiv cell biology

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2023

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.02.21.529337v1?rss=1 Authors: Akiyama, S., Saku, N., Miyata, S., Ite, K., Nonaka, H., Toyoda, M., Kamiya, A., Kiyono, T., Kimura, T., Kasahara, M., Umezawa, A. Abstract: As a metabolic organ, the liver plays a variety of roles, including detoxification. It has been difficult to obtain stable supplies of hepatocytes for transplantation and for accurate hepatotoxicity determination in drug discovery research. Human pluripotent stem cells, capable of unlimited self-renewal, may be a promising source of hepatocytes. In order to develop a stable supply of embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived hepatocytes, we have purified human ESC-derived hepatic progenitor cells with exposure to cytocidal puromycin by using their ability to metabolize drugs. Hepatic progenitor cells stably proliferated at least 2^20-fold over 120 days, maintaining hepatic progenitor cell-like properties. High drug-metabolizing hepatic progenitor cells can be matured into liver cells by suppressing hepatic proliferative signals. The method we developed enables the isolation and proliferation of functional hepatic progenitors from human ESCs, thereby providing a stable supply of high-quality cell resources at high efficiency. Cells produced by this method may facilitate cell therapy for hepatic diseases and reliable drug discovery research. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

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083 - I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow vol. 5

PaperPlayer biorxiv neuroscience

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2022 56:04

James and Will talk about the concluding volume of Shunju Aono's adult slice of life manga. Although the manga itself has some upsetting themes, and the genre isn't as popular compared to shonen stories, it however proves to be a genuinely heart-warming experience that deserves to be read and talked about. Skip synopsis @ 4:35 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 083: I'll Give It My All Tomorrow… vol. 5 Chapters 23 and 28, ‘Goodbye for Today' and ‘Suzuko' By Shunju Aono Translation by Akemi Wegmuller Lettering by Steven Rhyse The final volume begins by recapping previous events. Where Shizuo Oguro, a middle-aged man who makes the decision to devote himself to making manga, his daughter is nonplussed by the decision but his father is the one who berates him for it. His editor would butter him up with compliments on his manga despite the rejections. When his editor leaves, he gets a new one, Aya Unami, and she is more brutal with her criticism. Shizuo becomes friends with a young man, Ichinosawa and his best friend, Osamu Miyata sets up a bakery with Ichinosawa's help. Through his days of playing videogames, playing football in the park with kids and working part time at a burger joint he still pushes through towards making manga. Hoping to get published. Aya Unami tells Shizuo that because of his age, the stakes are too high for him to get published. He lacks the hope and future growth that an 18-year-old may bring, yet she also tells him that he has potential to tell better stories because of his age and that life experience can be a benefit for him. She suggests to him that in order to write better stories he should think as if he was writing a letter to someone, to treat his manga making process with the same respect and consideration as if he was saying something to someone special. Soon afterwards Ichinosawa arrives to the bakery to find that Miyata has disappeared, leaving letters addressed to both his friends and the business within Ichinosawa's hands. This adds an incredible amount of stress on Shizuo now that he has to help Ichinosawa with the bakery, but he does so with determination and grace in the hopes that he will see Miyata return. Shizuo also manages to make a manga for Miyata, one that not only tells Miyata's story but gives it hope and a happy ending that both Shizuo and Miyata so desperately need. In the final chapter, we see an epilogue that takes place from Suzuko's point of view, where we ultimately find out what she thinks of her dad, Shizuo Oguro. Topics: Why ‘I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow!' is a great manga despite its genre as a slice of life adult manga being an acquired taste. We find out the name of Suzuko's mother is Akari, which means that Eriko is not the mother and Shizuo didn't have a chance in hell with Eriko. A Hostess/Host club is a bar where people pay for the company of the opposite sex. The type of establishment that Susuzko's mother worked in is similar to what Ichinosawa worked in too. Read here for more information on host clubs. Suzuko as a character and her relationship with her father Shizuo. ‘I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow' is not Shunju Aono's autobiography, the closest thing he has to one is the later manga ‘Slapstick' which portrays his childhood experiences. Not to be confused with the Marvel character that shares the same name. ‘I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow' has a sequel roughly translated by name as ‘I'm Not Serious… Yet', Not too be confused with Nazuna Miki's manga which has a similar name. Aono's companion piece comprises of one single Tankobon volume and acts more as an anthology based on the characters from ‘I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow', with individual stories set before and after Shizuo becoming a mangaka. Million Yen Women… a 4 volume manga, which has been made into a Netflix show, 12 episodes to be precise. A live-action film adaptation of I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow was announced in June 2012. The film is directed by Yūichi Fukuda, starring Shinichi Tsutsumi as Shizuo Ōguro and Renji Ishibashi plays his father. Going against expectation, Aiko does not perform any songs for the movie, instead the girl group Scandal fulfils that role, whilst Gontiti is responsible for the score. Other references: Shizuo's T-shirts: Homerun (a baseball reference), Semi-sparkling, Maradonna (The Argentinian footballer, known by the nicknames The Golden Boy, the Artful Dodger and The Hand of God, because of an incident in the 1986 FIFA world cup), Gum, Team Leader, Baby (Because Shizuo behaves as such), Mi Yata, HP-5 (An unusual one, that may refer to a series of Hewlett Packard's Laser Jet Printers), Organic, Oguro Union, Bunt (another baseball reference), Non Sugar, Dobu, Papa, Figure. Konowata a.k.a Sea Cucumbers is referenced once again. Facebook Instagram Twitter Official Website Email

Assembly of neuron- and radial glial cell-derived extracellular matrix molecules promotes radial migration of developing cortical neurons

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2022

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.09.03.506497v1?rss=1 Authors: Mubuchi, A., Takechi, M., Nishio, S., Matsuda, T., Sato, C., Kitajima, K., Kitagawa, H., Miyata, S. Abstract: Radial neuronal migration is a key neurodevelopmental event for proper cortical laminar organization. Newly born neurons migrate in a complex three-dimensional environment generated by the extracellular matrix (ECM), secreted factors, and neighboring cells. However, the molecular mechanisms by which the ECM controls radial migration remain largely unknown. We herein identified neurocan (NCAN), a risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders, as a major chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan produced by developing cortical neurons. NCAN binds to both radial glial cell-derived tenascin-C (TNC) and hyaluronan (HA), a large linear polysaccharide, forming a ternary complex of NCAN, TNC, and HA. Developing cortical neurons make contact with the ternary complex during migration. The enzymatic or genetic disruption of the ternary complex impairs radial migration by suppressing the multipolar-to-bipolar transition. Furthermore, TNC in the ternary complex promotes neuronal morphological maturation. The present results provide evidence for the cooperative role of neuron- and radial glial cell-derived ECM molecules in cortical development. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by PaperPlayer

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082 - I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow vol. 4

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2022 40:33

Today's episode makes an argument that villains in slice of life manga could be better than Shounen manga villains, and how high school toilets can be quite trepidatious! Skip the plot summary @ 4:36 and feel free to join in on the conversation by emailing to WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 082 – I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow vol. 4 Chapters 17 to 22, '19 Years Younger' and ‘Midlife Crisis' with bonus chapter ‘All about Aya Unami' By Shunju Aono Translation by Akemi Wegmuller Lettering by Steven Ryhse Struggling Manga artist Shizuo Oguro gets a new editor, Aya Unami, she proves to be critical of Shizuo to the point that she is able to send him in a slump. Shizuo even gets a neck hernia due to the stress of dealing with her. However, Unami isn't just critical of Shizuo but she has also lost respect for her father too. For years her father has failed to write a bestselling novel as her mother is forced to be the breadwinner of the household. But things turn around for the better when Shizuo meets his childhood friend, Osamu Miyata, who opened a bakery to be closer to his own son. He reminds Shizuo of the promise that was made, many years ago, reminding Shizuo that he should become the father that his daughter would be proud of. This gives Shizuo enough energy not to quit making manga. Not long afterwards Miyata gets a visit from his ex-wife, claiming that she is to be married once again but this time she is taking herself and her son to live in America with her new husband. She asks Miyata to end his relationship with their son. Miyata becomes hopeless and devastated, and shows no will to fight her on this matter. Meanwhile Unami's father dies of a heart attack, he dies at his desk with a pen in his hand, Unami never spoke to her father in his last days but she realizes why she resented him. It was because Aya Unami was her father's number one fan. She hated her father for not giving her stories to read and now she cries knowing he will never have anything for her to read. Days pass by and Shizuo burns his rejected manuscripts. His meetings with Unami are seemingly non-existent until both Unami and Shizuo run in to each other on the street. Shizuo pleads for Unami's help. And Unami, reminded of her dead father, agrees to help him. Topics: The Akira Nakanishi character looks a lot like the main character of ‘Angel Densetsu', Seiichiro Kitano. For more information on this great OVA you can't go wrong than by starting at Anime News Network. The Antagonists Aya Unami and Miyata's ex-wife. And how most antagonists in slice of life manga compare to the one's in Shonen manga. The trepidation of being inside a High School toilet. James compares Shunju Aono's illustration style to that of the BBC Cartoon ‘Monkey Dust', although the show itself was a series of sketches that used a variety of cartoon styles and studios, it shows a crudeness that is most common in independently funded and cult works. Dan Wilkinson of Vice also made a retrospective piece on the show. Other references: Shizuo's classmate Eriko Osaki reads ‘The Setting Sun' by Osamu Dazai. Shizuo's Shirts: Semi-pro, Italy, Empty, Mie, New and Max. In the chapter ‘Aiko Comes to H burgers' Shizuo offers her Kinako shakes, Kinako itself is a protein powder made from roasted and grounded soybeans. To find out more about Kinako and the many varieties that exist of it just go here. Aiko is a Japanese singer/songwriter, the bonus “omake” chapter Aiko Comes to H Burgers' was created for her tour pamphlet, specifically ‘Love Like Pop Vol. 12'. Do you think Shunju Aono captured her likeness very well?

081 - I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow vol. 3

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2022 46:49

The boys continue reading Aono's slice of life manga, as the story explores the main character's impact on those around him. And after 80 episodes and reading 18 manga, we finally see our first instance of a trans-female character. Here's hoping many more surprises and new stories are told and read! Skip synopsis @ 3:06 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 081: I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow vol. 3 Chapters 11 to 16 ‘The Times' and ‘The Guy's Melody' With Bonus Chapters ‘Mister Murakami, Manga Editor ‘and ‘Life of Tanaka' By Shunju Aono Translation by Akemi Wegmuller Lettering by Steven Rhyse Shizuo's journey to become a mangaka is tested by his father, who refuses to believe that his son has any talent, alongside a job slinging burgers that takes a spiritual toll he struggles. At first Shizuo escapes into a fantasy of what his life may ideally be like in the next five years, only for it to end with an honest conversation with himself and God. To increase his luck of getting published Shizuo gives himself the pen name “Person Nakamura” and works as an assistant for a successful mangaka. Albeit he does the assistant job only as a favour to his crush, the editor Mayumi Meguro. When Shizuo meets his friends Miyata and Ichinozawa, they tell him that they have decided to start a bakery business together, having been somewhat inspired by Shizuo's tenacity and willingness to chase his dreams. Shizuo himself is asked to give a unique name for the bakery shop, but his two friends are not the only ones to take inspiration, Shizuo's editor, Mr. Yu Murakami, leaves Ekke productions to live as their honest self, a woman hostess. Leaving Shizuo stuck to find a new editor. Topics: Discussion on how the main character influences the other characters, and after 80 episodes and 18 manga we finally have the first appearance of a trans female character. Dialog bubbles from characters who are not visible in panel. And whom we never actually see make an appearance. James and Will are not to keen on this type of jarring storytelling in manga form. James talks about his favourite chapter, ‘The Dignity of Middle Age'; where Shunju works with the assistants Yamada and Sakamoto, and often punctuates the chapter with his words… “I'm middle aged and… (I'm very conciliatory, I totally get it, I speak my mind) James and Will take the time to reflect on the themes of the story and use it to talk about their relationship with their fathers as they pursued their own kind of dreams at one time in their lives. The good use of a pen name, in fact the famous singer Freddy Mercury's real name is Farrokh Bulsara, born in Zanzibar. Interestingly the famous horror author Stephen King has used the pen name Richard Bachman, who is also a fictional character created and played by Stephen King himself. Other references: Kojima Yoshio is a japanese comedian. “Beta Nuri” a.k.a. “Spotting the blacks”, this is one of the Jobs Shizuo has as an assistant whilst making Manga. Manju, one of the greatest inventions known to man, a vegan confection that goes well with tea. James highly recommends Matcha Manju. John Lennon, Imagine Chapter “Live to be 300” Errata (Japanese word for Error, meaning typo, spelling mistake) Shizuo's T-Shirts: God, Dobu, Rage (seen on teenage Shizuo), Festa (Possibly misspelling of Fiesta), Bravo, Publication, Revamp, Figure, Semi Pro Facebook Instagram Twitter Official Website Email

god artist figure rage stephen king chapters skip bravo error book club john lennon dignity manga fiesta dialog spotting publication revamp otaku zanzibar tanaka middle age trans woman albeit freddy mercury sakamoto semi pro yamada richard bachman manju dobu farrokh bulsara miyata weaboo shizuo

080 - I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow vol. 2

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2022 51:39

James and will continue reading Shunju Aono's slice of life manga, reflecting on their own attitudes around women and their fathers. At the end of the episode, they review the conclusion to the Evangelion Rebuild movies ‘Evangelion 3.0 +1.0: Thrice Upon a Time'. Beware of spoilers and sensitive subject matter! Skip the manga's plot synopsis @ 5:53 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 080: I'll Give It My All… Tomorrow vol. 2 Chapters: 5 to 10 ‘Miracle' and ‘Master' with Bonus Chapters ‘Back Then' parts 1 and 2 By Shunju Aono Translation by Akemi Wegmuller Lettering by Steven Rhyse 42-year-old Shizuo Oguro surmises that to become a successful manga he must make a cry from the heart; or as the French say a ‘Cri De Coeur' and less of materialistic desire in his work. A manga that only he could draw. So, he makes an autobiography. And he gets rejected. He is also rejected again, when he makes a pass at a female editor. Shizuo makes himself feel better by drinking with his long-time friend Miyata, but Miyata will not let Shizuo stay at his place following a disagreement with his father, deeming it inappropriate for two middle aged friends living together. Instead, the 26-year-old Shuichi Ichinosawa is the one who tolerates Shizuo as a house buddy. Meanwhile, Ichinosawa dyes his hair, possibly due to peer pressure from his workplace peers. He witnesses one of his work colleagues bully the new guy, he punches the bully in the face then loses his job and speaks to Shizuo's dad who tells him that to fail is normal, and it is what everyone does. Because at the age of 45, Shizuo's dad set up an Izakaya and seemingly he was able to only make ends meet with it until it went bust after 20 years. Throughout these years Shizuo's dad would have been a widow, Shizuo was only 15 when she, Sakiko Oguro passed. Later that night, the mention of Shizuo's mother is enough to make him return home to his dad. In the bonus chapters, we see that Ichinosawa is paid a visit by his sister Yukako and we learn that the two of them have lost a father to suicide as teenagers. Topics: Things we liked (kicked out of home humour) Things we did not like (Hard to tell who is speaking due to the layout of speech bubbles) Real Talk (Women rejecting creepy men and father troubles) Shizuo's list of shirts as they appear in order of this volume: Homerun, Curse, Hawaii, Hijiki (edible seaweed), Rejected, Oguro Productions, 4649, 42, Ekke (possibly slang for daydreamer), Paris, Zico (Brazillian football coach), Pele (Brazillian footballer) Other references: Izakaya, a bar or tavern. Most common are the types where a red lantern is outside. Yakitori Shiro, Yakitori is grilled chicken, the “Shiro”, could stand for Shizuo's dad's name, as the food Shiro is really Ethiopian cuisine and not traditionally Japanese. Feel free to follow us on our socials and get in touch! Facebook Instagram Twitter Email

time master french japanese hawaii curse chapters skip book club rejected manga ethiopian evangelion otaku shiro hikikomori izakaya yakitori evangelion rebuild miyata weaboo topics things shizuo

079 - I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow vol. 1

Jury Duty: The Trial of Robert Durst

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2022 53:20

Continuing with our season of manga about being a manga artist, we talk about the first volume of Shunju Aono's fictional story ‘I'll Give It My All.. Tomorrow', (Orewamada Honkidashitenaidake). Where a 42 year-old Salaryman quits his job to become a successful manga artist. How delusional is such a man is something we will find out. Skip synopsis @ 5:08 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 079: I'll Give It My all… Tomorrow vol. 1 By Shunju Aono Translation by Akemi Wegmuller Lettering by Steven Rhyse Synopsis: The middle aged Shizuo Oguro quits his fulltime job as a salary man to become a manga artist, or colloquially speaking a mangaka. Much to the malaise of his father and his teenage daughter, Suzuko, who he lives with. In between drawing manga and meeting publishers he works part time slinging burgers and serving fries. Shizuo is an easily distracted man, he likes spending time drinking with his long-time friend Miyata and playing videogames at home, during one of his distractions he discovers that Suzuko is a sex worker, as a favour he asks her to leave and instead to focus on her exams. He is also quickly swayed by the influence of others, he'll do stunts on his bike when he sees kids are off school, simply to gain some semblance of glory. Shizuo will also project his insecurities onto Miyata and when he sleeps, he dreams of a person, presumably the voice of God if not Shizuo's subconscious, confronting Shizuo on his laziness. When Shizuo meets the 26-year-old Shuichi Ichinosawa he finds inspiration to draw up a hard-boiled delinquent manga. In a bonus chapter we are also introduced to Yukiko, a young woman who struggles to find purpose and meaning in her life. And it seems that by befriending Shizuo it has in some ways saved her life. Topics: Shunju Aono's humour, particularly Shizuo's dad crying when told his son wants to be mangaka. And walking in on Shizuo as he sees him dressed in school uniform. Shizuo's beliefs and tenants, how they are formed by the people around him. We see characters have fully formed beliefs in fiction all the time but it is a sign of a good writer when you can see how the character develops them and reflects the views of other characters if not project their views on to others. James compares the Shizuo character to Alita in Yukito Kishiro's Gunnm series; both characters have strong beliefs yet one is amnesiac. People who have found success later in life and the stakes of attempting to do so. Purpose and Meaning of Life. What the Shizuo character and the story tells us on a personal level and how it speaks to our own fears of growing old. Other references: Aika – At the time of the manga's original published run she was a very popular real life Japanese singer and saxophone player that Suzuko listens to. Her music tends to be categorized under the pop genre with rock and jazz influence. Furthermore, in 2011, Aika released “Dancing Arrows” that was used as the official theme song/promotion song of the Hollywood movie “Ironclad” featuring Academy Award nominee and golden globe winner Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version, 12 years a slave), Brian Cox (Troy, X-men), Kate Mara (House of Cards), James Purefoy (The following). Aika also sings the theme song for the award-winning movie “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” featuring Tina Fey. Furthermore, Aika co-wrote the song “Save Your Life” for platinum artist Daniel Powter, featuring Ayaka Hirahara. Her latest release “Heard and Angel” debuted at Spotify “Best of Indie” playlist. Konowata, despite the name “Sea Cucumber”, this is not a vegan food and is basically salty seafood. Apparently, Suzuko reads “Dazai”, most likely a reference to the Japanese writer/author Osamu Dazai. His most famous work outside of Japan is ‘No Longer Human', which has been adapted to manga form twice now by Usamaru Furuya and Junji Ito. Its fair to say that this has been an influence on Shunju Aono. Facebook Instagram Twitter Official Website Email

S2 E14: The Interview

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2021 43:07

In this episode, The Interview, host Kary Antholis and co-host Brittany Bookbinder examine the very first meeting of Robert Durst and Deputy DA John Lewin: A wide-ranging, Mirandized interview in the New Orleans Parish Prison in March 2015. Over several hours, Deputy DA Lewin interviewed Robert Durst about his favorite subject: Robert Durst. Kary and Brittany are joined by Charles V. Bagli, who is covering the trial for The New York Times and CrimeStory.com, to discuss what can be expected as the prosecution rests their case and the defense begins theirs.Also in this episode we report on a strange turn of events that happened in court on Tuesday, August 3, 2021. That day, defendant Robert Durst spoke up, objecting to prosector Eugene Miyata reading aloud from the document known as 'The BD Story' – Durst's diary and unpublished autobiography. Moments later, he turned his chair around, looking incredulously at Miyata. Video of this encounter — which must be seen to be believed — is available at CrimeStory.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

interview new york times video moments durst robert durst charles v miyata mirandized

#167 The backstage of SmartHR's SeriesD Round (with @miyata_shoji)

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2021 45:18

もはや準レギュラー的な存在であるSmartHR CEO宮田さん(@miyata_shoji)をお呼びして先日世間を騒がせたシリーズDラウンドのファイナンスの舞台裏について伺いました。 --- 今回の資金調達の狙いユニコーン、はいつから考えていた？会社の中での反応は？錚々たる機関投資家勢。彼らはSmartHRにどういった見立てを立てているのか？印象的なディスカッションコロナ停滞時の経営陣や株主の雰囲気狙う業界をシフトする時、大変だったことは？エンプラ比率上がる中でのプロダクトの難しさ --- 参考宮田さんのツイート 156億円でなにするの？エンジニアリーダーたちに聞いてみた絶賛採用中とのこと！ Arena FerozさんとYapli庵原さん宣伝 SmartHRも素晴らしいですが、大変勢いのある10XでもBizDevとソフトウェアエンジニアを中心に超絶採用しています！！！ぜひ以下のリンクをご覧ください。 https://jobs.10x.co.jp/

backstage shoji miyata

BGBS 066: Gregg Bagni | Alien Truth Communications | Only the Clever Survive

Baby Got Backstory

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2021 58:54

BGBS 066: Gregg Bagni | Alien Truth Communications | Only the Clever SurviveGregg Bagni is the founder of Alien Truth Communications. He works behind the scenes with organizations in the outdoor, bike and natural food worlds where he offers up energy, direction and expert business strategy around branding, marketing & product development. He is also a partner with White Road Investments and claims to be the luckiest being on this planet. ‍ ‍ ‍ In this episode, you'll learn…Define your goals and keep them somewhere you can see so when you're discouraged, you can always remind yourself where you are headed. It will give you the motivation to make it happen Greg's experience turning a dead brand around in the public's minds and helping it succeed It does take incredible intensity and tenacity to get from $0-10 million, but always remember, only the clever survive ResourcesLinkedIn: Gregg Bagni Quotes[21:33] I have always been a product developer, first and foremost. I don't know jack about brand, or marketing, or sales or investment, and I've got experience in all those areas but at the end of the day, I'm a product geek. I love building stuff and building it from the ground up. [49:24] I'm hoping to get another 20 years on this planet, but I'm planning for 20 seconds. [55:16] Saying no is probably one of the most important pieces of doing business. [56:13] I've always over-delivered. I've never been afraid to go the extra mile. It's just the little sh*t sometimes. Have a Brand Problem? We can help.Book your no-obligation, Wildstory Brand Clarity Call now. Learn about our Brand Audit and Strategy process Identify if you need a new logo or just a refresh Determine if your business has a branding problem See examples of our work and get relevant case studies See if branding is holding your business back and can help you get to the next level Book Your Brand Clarity Call TODAY Podcast TranscriptGreg Bagni 0:02 In that guy's little sort of work area, he had one of our ads cut out of the magazine taped up on the side of the wall. And I'm not kidding you, I went in the bathroom and I kind of wept for a second. And I walked back out, I said, Hey, dude, what's up with the ad in your cube? There he goes, Hey, and then the headline was no calves nor glory. That was the headline. He goes, What do you mean? no gas, no glory. And I wept again. I thought this could work. We might get over on this one. It was such an exciting time to to be able to take a dead brand and turn around both financially and perceptually. You know, in people's minds, it was just, I had to tell you, it's hard to put it into words how exciting it was. Marc Gutman 1:00 podcasting from Boulder, Colorado. This is the Baby Got Back story Podcast, where we dive into the story behind the story of today's most inspiring storytellers, creators and entrepreneurs. I like big backstories and I cannot lie. I am your host, Marc Gutman, Marc Gutman, and today's episode of Baby got backstory. We're talking to a real life alien. Well, sort of, for all you Earthlings that only understand Earthling type labels. We're not an alien. We're talking to a career brand builder than mission driven investor. And before we get into the alien episode of this show, I am asking all you Earthlings to rate review this other worldly podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify, Apple and Spotify use these ratings, this part of the algorithm that determines ratings on their charts. And when life from other planets does come to earth, and learns about podcasts. Don't you want it to be the baby got backstory podcast that is representative of all our human accomplishments. I thought so. Thanks for the review. Today's guest is Greg bagni. Greg is you'll hear has been on this planet for most of his life, and currently is the founder of the brand consultancy alien truth communications, as well as a partner at the esteemed mission driven investment firm, white road investments. Greg works behind the scenes with organizations in the outdoor bike and natural food worlds, where he offers up energy direction and expert business strategy around branding, marketing and product development. As you'll hear in today's episode, Greg claims to be the luckiest being on this planet. And I believe him. Greg's experience is vast. from helping to turn around the then bankrupt iconic brand Schwinn to advising mission driven businesses and entrepreneurs. Greg doles out the golden nuggets and my notepad is full of stars and scribbles. And I think yours will be too. Here's Greg bagni. In this is his story. All right. I am here with Greg bagni, the founder of alien truth, communications and partner at White road investments. Greg, welcome to the show. Greg Bagni 3:40 Ack ack Nice to be here. I can't tell you how happy I am to be here today. Ack Ack that's Marc Gutman 3:47 such a great lead in because why don't you tell us a little bit about kind of what Ack Ack means to you and why you open up that way? Greg Bagni 3:56 Well, you know, actually, the greatest movie ever made on this planet? Is Mars attack. I mean, that's it. I mean, I'm not saying there aren't other good movies but that is the greatest movie that's ever been produced. And if you watch the movie, all the aliens in that movie sort of say Ack Ack I got that good. It's that's how they communicate. So I brought it up as a just kind of a greeting and actually have colleagues and friends that we will talk back and forth on the phone for several minutes just using that one word and it's actually kind of interesting. Marc Gutman 4:35 Well, I like that social experiment and and why I ask as well is that you are a how do you how do you say it? I want to say it right? You're a self described alien or you are an alien. How do you phrase it? Oh, you know, Greg Bagni 4:52 I'm trapped here on planet earth and my only escape is mind adjustment. Yeah. You know what, I will We'll say this, you know, I've always struggled to fit in here, I had to try extra hard to sort of get in the groove here. I've always been a bit of a dork and a geek. So with that said, I never really felt like I was from here. So, you know, when I went out on my own 21 years, four months, in one day ago, I sort of said, Well, you know, let's call a business alien truth communications, LLC. You know, I mean, I'm sort of into what we call for authenticity, fa UX, where, you know, there are times when you'll talk to me where I am dead serious about not being from here. And there are other times where you know, that I'm absolutely foolish it. So it's, it's kind of by design that way. And I've always tried to solve problems a little differently. And things do look differently when you're standing on the earth, or whether you're orbiting, it's a completely different viewpoint. And I think that's kind of the alien truth is to sort of look at problems from a different viewpoint, and solve them differently. So you really can be distinct and strategic about it. Right? Marc Gutman 6:07 Absolutely. I love that. I love that. That perspective that's rooted in your, in the name of alien truth. And let's talk a little bit about what you said about this idea of never really feeling like you fit in here feeling like that, you know, you're been a bit of an outsider. And is that something that has always been with you from as long as you can remember? I mean, was little Greg having trouble to fit in? Greg Bagni 6:31 Dude, I need to lay down on your couch now, don't I? Is that what's going down here? Well, perhaps perhaps, I'll be vulnerable doc. I'm okay. You know, I'm physically I'm different. You know, it's funny, I'm, I'm old now. So it's been I've always been a ginger. So I was the redheaded, freckled, short, little chubby black glasses geeky, you know, one in the neighborhood. So that was the first step of really not fitting in, I don't know what the percentages of redheads versus others, but it's a small percentage, and that automatically set me apart. And I and so because of that I I think that was part of it, you know, just not fitting in. So because of that, because you didn't have that visual. Now, dude, you're a good looking humanoid, you know, you got that look about you, I can see you here on zoom. And you're, you're there. I always had to sort of rely on humor and being clever to survive. And then finally, when I was about a senior in high school, I actually started to grow. And I went from like, I grew like six inches, and in a year, year and a half, something like that. So that helped a little bit. But I've always been, I've always been a little bit off that way. Without a doubt. Marc Gutman 7:56 Oh, thank you for your kind words about my appearance. It must be my my zoom filter. I appreciate that very much that is it in my head a little bit. But in so where did you get your start? Where did you grow up? Greg Bagni 8:09 You know, when I basically grew up in the Chicago Chicago suburbs, born on East Coast, but got dragged here when I was relatively young, and grew up in Chicago suburbs and learned to cut my teeth here. You know, I was, since I'm on your couch, you know, I was supposed to be my parents told me I was supposed to either be a dentist or an insurance agent. That was the plan. Excited? Yeah. And I was kind of, I was not on that program. And you know what, when I, when I was in college, I read I got into college radio, and was a DJ and ran the radio station for a year we had staff, volunteer staff of 70 people, you know, I mean, it was a really great experience for me. But I've always been a music lover I I still play my cello and and I'm a bad drummer and a terrible guitar player. But I was always into music. And then when I got out of college, I just couldn't get close enough to it. I worked in a couple of small commercial stations in the suburbs that sucked. Wk DC the sound of D page. Okay, I don't know. I don't see anything else more than that. And, you know, when I got into the music business in a really roundabout way, I just had some friends that were in bands and I started I started as a roadie and started pushing cases around road cases and setting breaking shit down. And then I built a commercial stage lighting system from the ground up. And at the time, as it was a bicycle shortage and outdoor gear shortage. Now there was a lighting instrument shortage at that time and this was this is way back. This is like in the Oh probably 1979 or 80 shows you how old I am. And I ended up selling my system to somebody who wanted all my gear. I was ready At the time to, usually to rock, commercial and fashion is what I was doing and making a living, it was actually pretty cool. I was in my 20s. And so I sold all my stuff I did the smartest financial move I ever made. And I put a down payment on a house with that money. And then one of the bands that I was working with, I went to work for them. And I became their tour manager on a scale of one to 10. If one's a GarageBand, and 10 is a national act, we were about a seven and a half. So between maybe, I don't know, I don't know, between like 81 and 84. I was in it for about seven years. But that last three years, we opened or did double bills for everybody. We had a couple of hit singles and some records out. And it was a really great learning experience. And I had a crew 13 and trucks and motorhomes and hotels and shit and all the rest of that stuff. So I learned all about management by crisis Marc Gutman 10:55 was the name of that Greg Bagni 10:56 bad and professional babysitting. So it was really a great sort of that was really kind of my first job. But then, in the meantime, I did all these other crazy stuff. I became a I was a carpenter, I you know, I worked retail, I promoted events. You know, I did all sorts of crazy shit on the side. And then when I was I was a late bloomer. When I was 37, I got my first real job. And that's when I went to work for Schwinn, I was lucky, I was an independent sales rep at the time, driving around about a nine state Midwest region, selling bikes and bike parts, shitty ones, actually, to retailers. And I was standing in the right place at the right time. And I got that gig at Schwinn. And then we picked them up and moved them from Chicago to Boulder. They were bankrupt. And it took us four years. And we brought him back to number one in the US and units. And then we were owned by typical private equity. And they got ready to flip this for the third time in seven years. And I said, You know what, I think I know enough now that I can do this on my own. I don't want 2000 employees anymore. So alien truth is a one person shop by design with, you know, 2030 years of subcontractor experience around me, you know, people I've known that long. And I just started working for brands, mainly helping them figure out who they are and what to sell and who to sell it to. And can I drop an F bomb? Marc Gutman 12:21 Of course, friendly. So, Greg Bagni 12:23 So was this it was like, Who are you? What were you sell who you sell it to? And what the fuck Will you say no to? And that was it. That was kind of the start of it. And I started, I started getting people hiring me. And it was amazing. I mean, great brands. But you know, I had a target. I usually worked with companies somewhere between 10 and 20 million in revenue up to about maybe 250 300 million, because after that was really tough for them to sell me. And yeah, we get this guy is one person shop, he says he's an alien, and we really want to work with them, the board would be like, get the fuck out of here. Marc Gutman 13:03 Market Fit, right? Greg Bagni 13:04 There's my story in like two to three minutes. And so I went out on my own. And I've been doing that ever since. And then about 10 years ago, I started working 1011 years ago, I started working part time for white road investments. And we're a mission driven investment fund. And we're kind of a family office, we Gary Erickson and Kate Crawford, the founders of Clif Bar, they've done very well. And they always wanted to give back to small companies. And that's what we do. So I'm, I can't tell you how lucky I am. First of all, to not be a dentist or an insurance agent, and second to have landed here in this spot that I'm standing on right now. Dude, it's incredible. And I'm not kidding you. I really mean that when I say it. Marc Gutman 13:52 I believe. Let's back up a little bit. What was the name of the band that you were the tour manager for? Greg Bagni 13:58 They were called the kind? Ghandi. Yeah, and and I know that's playing for good weed. But at the time, it was more slang for not fitting in, it was more about the band would walk into somewhere like a restaurant or whatever, and then say we don't serve your kind here. And, and so I fit right in with that group, you know, and it was really, it was really a fascinating way to hit singles. And we're based out of Chicago, and it was an incredible experience. And I played from the shittiest clubs, you know, where they've, you know, it's a couple 300 people to 20,000 seat halls. So it was all sorts of just a really good well rounded experience of I learned so much about production. I learned so much about people. I learned a lot about scheduling. And you know, the show when they tell you when you're opening for another band and there's 20,000 people in a room and then You start exactly at 805. It takes a lot of management skill and execution of skill to get everybody together there at 805 claim. So I learned a shitload about that. And it was a fascinating education. And I had a lot of fun too at the same time. Marc Gutman 15:16 Yeah. And what is what's hard about running a band like that? You know, from from the outside, it seems like it's all fun. And it's, it's a bit like a mash up of like, almost famous or something like that, you know, like, we're all hanging out and just being with the band. But what's hard about it? Greg Bagni 15:32 The character, the personalities, there, you know, did you get banned level personalities Did you get to put together, and then there's this crew level personality, too, you got to go out and be out on the road, y'all got to get along. You know, you know, as a matter of fact, on a side note, I live by three rules. One of them I learned in the music business, and that rule, and I still use it today, my colleagues, we refer to it all the time. It's called one asshole comment per day. So I believe that everyone is allowed one asshole comment per day, when you're out on the road, and you got to live with these guys. And you got to get along because guess what you're on that night at 805. You know, and you have to get along. The asshole comet roll comes in. So the way it works is pretty simple. You say something to me, we're in a, we're in a vehicle driving from point A to point v b for hours. And you say something to me. And like, it is not nice. And I look at you and I go, Hey, man, that is your one answer or comment per day, you know, I'm going to give you a flyer on that one, I'm going to give you a pass at the same time, when you get to know the rule, you can actually use it in reverse. I'm about to say something to you that I know might piss you off. So I'm gonna say excuse me, but can I make my one asshole comment for the day? And then they say yes. And then it's a really, it kind of breaks a wall down. And when I say hey, you know, about 10 minutes ago, you did this or you said something or you know, this went down. And then you can kind of talk about it. So, to this day, I learned about the one household comment per day. The problem is most people say is resent mean, I can make an SEO comment per day per person. And when and then I go, Hey, when you're starting to ask questions like that you're abusing the rule, right? You're only making one per day in general to all humanoids as a as a group, right? Marc Gutman 17:29 Yeah, let's let's lay that, that framework down one per day, don't go crazy with the one asil comment rule. But I love that that's so great. And when you're going through that experience, I mean, it's quite a, it's quite a jump from being in the music business and being on the road and doing those sorts of things to the bike business. Like what, what was that gap? And what was going on at that time? Can you set the stage for us? Like, where was Schwinn? What did it look like? Like I was, Greg Bagni 18:01 I made the mistake of making my hobby, my business. I've always loved bicycles from a little kid. It was to me as close as you could get to flying while still being on the planet. So I was always a bike freak. I love bicycles. And then you know what I said, you know, I'm going to I'm going to try and get a job in a bank business and no one would hire me. I finally convinced a Japanese company whose product was overpriced, the wrong color, the wrong SPECT and weighed too much, you know, I convinced them to hire me and I became a sales rep and then eventually started doing the marketing forum. And I was there for about three, three and a half years. But it was really a setup. It was like playing pool, I was setting up an X shot Schwinn was in Chicago, this company was in the suburbs. And I started positioning myself and really learned that the retailer base in the Midwest. And that's kind of how and why I ended up in the bike business. But I thought, you know, this is perfect. It's something I really love. And I think I can kind of take that love that what we call the intensity of complete attention as a monomaniac around it. I mean, I purposely put myself out of balance for that seven years, 49 dog years, that was that chillin. And I knew what I knew that I needed to do that, but all that road time that I spent, and all the time I spent with unique personalities. And it really, it really paid off for me, you know, I mean, hey, I'm not proud of this, but I spent a lot of time in hotel rooms, you know, I mean, I haven't flown since March 2 of last year. And I think that that year before I did, like, I don't know 60 to one ways, you know what I mean? I know people that are traveling more, but at the same time, so a lot of travel and you know, music business kind of warmed me up for that. So I was ready to go out on the road and do what I needed to do. So getting a Schwinn was Kind of a, you know what, I am a little bit of a weirdo I had this thing in my head, I've always been pretty goal oriented is goofy as that sounds or is stayed is that is I said, you know what I'm going to go to work for a US based company, they're going to either be number one, number two, or number three in the marketplace. And I'm either going to run or be an integral part of their marketing department. And I had that written down on a little piece of paper and I looked at that mofo every single day. After I went on a sales call the company I work for what's called Miyata is a Japanese company, I would go on and call on a retailer, and I would just get my ass kicked. I mean, it was a great exercise and understanding and dealing with rejection. So every time I get my ass kicked, I pull that little piece of paper on my pocket and look at and I'm gonna, I'm, this is where I'm added. And then I got lucky again, and started meeting some people that were connected inside the Schwinn building. And I knew enough to be dangerous to say the right things to sort of say, hey, the reason you guys are going bankrupt? I'll give you a couple of thoughts around that, you know. So I started there, and it worked out. But back up Marc Gutman 21:14 a little bit like you're getting your tail handed to you, at this Japanese company, like what makes you think that you can go into some other company, and and fix it and be the hero, if you're, you know, working for this competitor? That's not very strong. Greg Bagni 21:30 You asked good questions. By the way, you know what, I have always been a product developer. First and foremost, I don't know jack about brand, or marketing, or sales or investment. And I've got experience in all those areas. But at the end of the day, I'm a Product geek. I love building stuff and building it from the ground up. So I really understood the product side of things. And I understood how much potential there was, you know, this was 1993, when I went to work for twin, and the mountain bike boom was on fire. It was starting, it was rolling. And it was just like Schwinn had gotten behind on that they were to lock down and sell it and varsities and collegiates and all the other junk they were selling. And I just saw this huge opportunity to have this brand with unbelievable awareness. You know, and not in the bike industry in the sporting goods industry. They had like, top 5%, but their association sucked. You knew about them. But when you heard the name, you went, Oh, those guys. They suck. So I thought, Well, you know what? I understand rejection. So well, I bet you we can go in there. And we can start changing the product and start changing the perception of the brand and turn this baby around. And we got lucky and it worked Marc Gutman 22:49 out. And so how did you do that? Like, what was the insight you had about Schwinn? I mean, you mentioned a little bit that they had great awareness. But everyone thought there wasn't a cool brand. Like, it's one thing to see that like Then how did you go about actually turning that ship? Greg Bagni 23:05 Well, to get two years of bad press around bankruptcy, and I'm not kidding, it was two straight years of just bad press, always talking about the bankruptcy. And so we came up with this three step deal. The first one was you know what Schwinn gets it. So we started running, advertising and content, and creative all around the fact that we were different. And we kind of get it and we weren't afraid to admit what happened. We had an ad, we had a headline that said, we've see when you we've had one line and said that when you were bleeding like we were there's only one tourniquet, clean, wicked new product. We fell we got up and up apology was another one. So you know, I mean, from that standpoint, once they saw that we understood what it was like to be a hardcore cyclist and understand the market. And we hired when went to Boulder. We started with 75 people in that office. And when I left there was like 375. And everybody, you know, the customer service reps, when we got there were all people that didn't ride. They weren't fit, they smoke cigarettes, you know, and that was the customer service person to the retailer, the trade person, and we ended up bringing a bunch of bike geeks in so that first step was we get it and then it took us two years for the product development group to catch up. The second step was Schwinn builds it so all of a sudden we started coming out with product that was the right color that was the right spec that was lightweight that performed really well. You know, they told us that we would never sell a bike over $1,000 and I was just like that belt that thing came at the perfect time. Did it just perfect. Marc Gutman 24:57 Yeah, it's like a like a sideboard. Greg Bagni 24:59 Whoa. Can I turn that better? But you know, we said no, we will sell bikes over $1,000. And we did. And so then Schwinn gets it. Schwinn builds it. Step two. And finally, the third step was Schwinn is it? Meaning? Can we get to a point where people say, Hey, you know what, I'm gonna buy a new mountain bike. And I'm looking at this specialized. And I'm looking at a Yeti. And I'm looking at that Schwinn homegrown. And so you became part of that considered set. And it took us about five or six years, but we got there. And every single high end bike that we made, and we made limited runs, we sold out, we were backordered, our biggest problem was being on time for delivery. And I would always get pissed off at the product department. And technically, my title there was, what was it Senior Vice President of Marketing and product development. So I ran the marketing in the product group when I left when I was finally out of there, but I had a business card that said, balloons, banners and marketing on it. That was my technical title. That would be the card I would hand out. And then when the bankers came in, I'd give them the other card. Marc Gutman 26:13 That's why is it important to have a card like that, that says balloons, Greg Bagni 26:17 banners, and marketing? Because we all take ourselves way too seriously? Yeah. And you know, what, the, here's the thing, you know, I used to get in these huge arguments with the product group about this, they'd say, Well, you know, we ate this, this is, uh, you know, this particular ad, it's got to have, you know, we got to talk about the double butted spokes. And you know, it's got to, you know, but tubing, and it's all assuaged. And this and that, I'm not saying any of that stuff was cool. But in the first couple, three, four years on, we talked about, we just saw escape. That was it. We just, you know, there was an emotional attachment to the brand. And we sold escape, rather than getting down and dirty was back. And you know, what the goal was, and that was when magazines were still around. Now, granted, listen, I have adapted Well, I mean, I work with, with white row, we've done 25 deals. In 10 or 11 years, I work with 16 different companies, sometimes on a daily basis, it's an informed boards. With that said, I understand what it's like now. But at that time, when you had a magazine, we'd run these spreads. And the objective was the, the ads were so cool and so beautiful, that we wanted somebody to cut it out and tape it together, and then hang it on the inside of their cube. You know, about two years into this thing. I walked into a retailer, I don't even remember where it was somewhere in America. I walk into a retailer and I walked back to the area, the wrench area, the shop area. And in that guy's little sort of work area, he had one of our ads cut out of the magazine, taped up on the side of the wall. And I'm not kidding you. I went in the bathroom, and I kind of wept for a second pulled my shit together. And I walked back out. I said, Hey, man, What's up, dude, what's up with the ad and your cube there? And he goes, Hey, in that the headline was no calves nor glory. That was the headline. He goes, What do you mean, no gas, no glory. And I wept again. I thought, holy shit, this could work. We might we might get over on this one. It was such an exciting time to to be able to take a dead brand and turn it around both financially and perceptually. You know, and people's minds. It was just, I had to tell you, it's hard to put it into words how exciting it was. And I moved to Boulder from Chicago, which was great. And I and I rode my bike into work every single day. Even when it was snowing. I wouldn't give a shit. And people were like, dude, you're the most hardcore guy in the office. I'm like, Chicago, it's nice here. You get me? As long as it was above 18 degrees I would ride is Marc Gutman 29:08 a common question I get all the time is Mark, can you help me with our brand? Yes, we help companies solve branding problems. And the first step would be to schedule a no obligation brand clarity call, we'll link to that in the show notes or head over to wildstory.com and send us an email, we'll get you booked right away. So whether you're just getting started with a new business, or whether you've done some work and need a refresh, or whether you're a brand that's high performing and wants to stay there, we can help. After you book your brand clarity call, you'll learn about our brand audit and strategy process will identify if you need a new logo or just a refresh will determine if your business has a branding problem. And you'll see examples of our work and get relevant cases. studies will also see if branding is holding your business back and can help you get to the next level. So what are you waiting for? Build the brand you've always dreamed of. Again, we'll link to that in the show notes, or head over to wildstory.com and send us an email. Now back to the show. It makes me think, like, how deprived this generation this kind of upcoming younger generation is that they don't have print media the way that we did, because as we're talking, I remembered, I mean, so much of like, how I would self actualize or how I would see myself was by taking like magazine adverts and spreads and put them on my bulletin board and whether it was, you know, a Burton ad or kaitou or, you know, something from a bike company. I mean, there was just this really interesting and and that that Now today's I don't know what they do, like, what do they do they pin something digitally, right, like, you just don't have that same. And I remember like the adverts on my bulletin board. I mean, some of them are like taped together, you know, like I had to like, mock them up. And it wasn't it wasn't pretty, but it like, I have one that I remember specifically from Vernay. And to this day, I still wear Vernay sunglasses as a result. But that's really cool. Greg Bagni 31:22 Yeah, there is something to be said about the tactile paper and ink thing. It's sensory, you know. So you're not only taking the visual side of it, but actually you can feel in touch it, you're flipping the page, or ripping Marc Gutman 31:36 it out, right and interacting and then putting it somewhere on your cube. I mean, that's a whole kind of interaction you're having with that advert that you just don't have. There's something Greg Bagni 31:44 he said for that. And you're right, it is missing. But I mean, now with visual displays and everything else, you can still get their reproduction. And now, you don't put you don't put the ad on the wall in your office or your bedroom. Now it's the wallpaper on your screen, right? Yeah. So it's all everything's still the same. It's just the medium changes. It's, I swear to God, you know, I'm watching some movie last night online streaming and in our ads that are coming on every 15 or 20 minutes, and I'm just laughing. When I see him. My wife goes, it's so funny, I go, nothing's changed. It's still the same. It's just Marc Gutman 32:22 just a different medium. So you were talking a bit about the turnaround plan. And it all sounds like hey, you had it together yet a three step plan, you hammered it and you did execute. You did awesome. But I have to imagine it wasn't all that easy. That it was like, from the beginning. It was like staring into the abyss. You mentioned you had two years of just trying to live down, you know, bankruptcy and what you had done, like, how did you keep the faith? Like how did you know that this plan was gonna work? Because I see so many marketers who are really quick to attack, you know, like they they set a plan, they have a strategy, they start to put it in place. But whether it's because of impatience and marketing pressures from things like you know, external boards and and investors, I see people tack all the time, and I even look back at my career, I look, if we just would have stayed on this one strategy, we would have been way better off, like, how did you keep it together and fight through what I have to imagine were dark times. Greg Bagni 33:28 Oh, it was, I'm glad you brought that up. Because it was not easy. It was very difficult. And there were a lot of personalities and, and you had the retailer base, there was no such thing as direct to consumer at that time, you know. So it was, it was really challenging. It was not easy. But the one thing we all had in common in the office was we all kind of had a Schwinn when you were a kid. So there was this emotional attachment, not just with the consumer, but between us in the office and, and we were given the big ftu to the industry. We were all all of us there had a chip on our shoulder. You know, we're like, we're gonna turn this mofo around whether you like it or not. And if you don't want to get on cool, you don't have to get on, you know, but we're going to do this really differently. And we, we shook it up, meaning whether it was the way we communicated the way our tradeshow booths looked, the way we ran advertising the way we use paint and colors and graphics on bicycles. We just shook it all up and went absolutely nuts. And, you know, I was just a piece there. It was a piece of that team. You know, there were so many other people there that had this incredible intensity to make it happen. So we managed to bounce back nicely from rejection because it happened to us a lot where people would say no to us, but then it got to a point where it was hard to say no, you know, and there was something to be loved about us because We were scrappy. And we took this, here it is, we took this iconic brand. And we acted like a challenger brand. That was really what it was. How do I become a lighthouse identity? How do I, you know, how do I really communicate to people? And how do I talk like number two or number three, even though they think you're number one, just trying harder all the time. And, and actually having some fun at the same time, because we always said, Hey, we're not selling nuclear bombs, or cigarettes, these are bicycles, and it's a lot of fun. And we all love the product. It was what we lived for. So with that attitude, drove the whole building who we hired was, you know, we were the way we hired and the way I mean, I'm still I still stay in touch with people I worked with 20 years ago. I mean, that that I talked to somebody yesterday that I cash Monday, he was the he took the VP of Marketing role when I left in cash was homeschool on a ranch in javas, New Mexico. That's how he started. And he sent us a letter and said, I want to work for you guys. And I read the letter, and I set it aside, then he sent a second one. And then we brought him in and we hired. I mean, it was that's the kind of stuff that scrappy, and people recognize that and really appreciated it. So we always made people laugh and had a lot of fun with stuff too. And I think that was what attracted people to us. But you're right, it was not easy. It was really difficult. It was two steps forward one step back all the time. But we just kept at it, you know. And the next thing, you know, I mean, a year passes, you know, and then all of a sudden another year passes, and then you're starting to get some traction, and the numbers are looking good and more retailers are picking you up. And the reviews and the expert were reviewing product and said this is really a great bicycle, you know, it's pretty cool. I mean, like, again, I was super lucky to be there. I didn't, I didn't really belong there. But I just kind of weaseled my way in, Marc Gutman 37:02 let's put it that way. Cash Monday, what a good name, right? Like that just sounds like born to be like a movie star or a VP of something for sure. You made the comment about that you made your hobby, your career, and that that was a mistake. What did you mean by that? Greg Bagni 37:20 Well, I have gray hair now. And that's part of the reason. You know, some, sometimes what happened to me was, every time I was on my bike, I was it was a rolling focus group. If I'd pull up next to somebody else, I'd be looking at what they were riding what they were wearing, I'd start asking them questions, you know this, that everything was all wrapped around that. And during that period, I kind of lost that true reason that I was on a bicycle. I did, I lost it. And then when I got out of the industry, and I kind of when I got out of the bike business, I sort of said, you know what I again, I wrote down on a little piece of paper, I'm going to get into natural foods world. And first I'm going to shift to outdoor, and then I'm going to shift to natural foods. And I work a lot in those two categories. Now I still work in a bike business a little bit. Not every day, though. But when I got out of the industry, then I started riding bikes, and oh my god, it was fun. Again, you know, this is cool, you know, and then I was living in Boulder. So climb in all the canyons there and all the dirt roads and every I mean everything we did at all. So for me, making your hobby, your business is a little dangerous. I mean, you got to keep your head on straight. And it's really hard to keep your head on straight. When you're trying to turn a brand around at the same time. You know, there's a lot of pressure that way. And I did, I worked a lot of hours. At one point, my partner there, his name is skip pass brilliant, brilliant product guy pain in the ass, but a brilliant product guy. He'd say the same thing about me, by the way. And I would say that to his face and he would laugh and say so are you but one point we looked at each other and I said, you know dude, I spend more time with you than I do with my wife. And that is a little bit you know, you got a little bit of an issue with your work hours and the intensity of what you're working at. I wrote this article fuse go it's called addicted to intensity. Boom, that was it, bro. I was way addicted to intensity or that seven year period. Marc Gutman 39:29 So with Schwinn being this amazing experience and turning the ship, why did you ultimately leave? Greg Bagni 39:38 Well, we were owned by private equity, typical private equity, which you know, at White road, we call ourselves a typical private equity. We're small, we're patient. We work directly on the ground with our companies. Typical private equity is the exact opposite. You either make your number or go get pick your mom up and go over to the corner there and start selling or off the street. You know, they don't give a shit. And so when they got ready to flip us for the third time, my job had changed so much. It was just one management presentation after another, they were just always trying to flip, sell, raise more money, do whatever it was, and I stopped being a marketing and product geek. And I turned into this presentation machine. And it kind of sucked. And so that last year, I knew I was gonna leave. And then they hired a CEO who was a total jackass. And, you know, I was raised in the Chicagoland area, and you know, there's a phrase you are, who you hang out with. And I realized who I was hanging with, and said, I can't do this anymore. And I don't even care if I'm unemployed and don't make any money, I am not going to do this anymore. So I made a decision, I gave him six months notice I said, I'm out of here in six months, because I don't want to screw you around and will have announced three weeks before I leave. And in the meantime, I'll set up a total succession plan for this place to run without somebody like me here. And we did, and it worked. And it was fun. And then it's funny, I have this little book called the Zen lessons that I've been carrying around with me for 25 years, it's beat to shit. And they're number 59 is called selecting your associates. And basically, it's like, you know, if you can honor and respect and model or mirror your behavior from your associates, then you should find another teacher, you know, and when the the guys that own the company at the time, flew in on their private jet. And he said my office and he said, I heard you want to leave. And then I opened the book up and showed him number 15. And I said, read this and he read it. And he said, You're right. You gotta go. I said, cool. He goes, if you ever need anything call me. I, you know, this was at the time. You know, there's a there's a firm on wall street called Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette dlj. They were the first sort of brokerage house to go public back in the 70s. And Dan Lufkin was the guy that flew in, and Dan was raised on a ranch and he's in the rodeo, like cutting horse Hall of Fame or something came from nothing. I was in some fancy restaurant with him. And they they serve soup, and he picked the ball up and drank out of it. I knew this was he was cool, but all the rest of more assholes. So, you know, he sort of made some tough decisions. And I moved on and said, I don't want to 1000 employees anymore. It's just gonna be me. And that's when I started in the truth. And I've worked with some incredible brands, and I met Gary Erickson, from Clif Bar, when I was a twin, he was a $15 million dollar company. When I met him, they're a little bit north of that now. And I just hit him and I hit it off. I was like, wow. And then when I left when I started doing some projects for him, and the projects, nobody else would take, he called me up and say, Hey, I can't find anybody to do this. One project was so weird. I said to him, I'll do this. But you know what, you can't expect any results, meaning if I fail, you won't punish me. He goes, I'm cool. I'm good. We ended up succeeding with it. But I met Gary and Gary and I just hit it off. And then he started inviting me on these bike rides, because he knows that the Dolomites in Italy, like the back of his hand has been going there 30 years. And we were on one of these bike rides. Just all and that's what the meaning of a white road is. Wide roads, you know, a red road is the major superhighway, the yellow on the map is the medium and then the little white road is the little shitty road. That's going to be super adventurous and really cool. And it might take you longer to get there. But oh, it's going to be pitching stories afterwards, you might have to pick your bike up and hop over a few fences and run away from some charging ball or something. But you'll get there. And I was on a white road trip with him where we just go point to point with a little bag underneath our saddle. And that's it. You wash your shorts every night. There's your unsupported. Some goes wrong, you're looking for a bike shop, and you're speaking broken Italian, and I don't do that he does that. But we're on a trip and he said, Hey, we're going to start this small investment fund and we want to help companies like we wish we would have been helped and are you interested? Talk to your wife and I'll talk to my wife, but I'm in dude. And then about a year later, we were on another crazy bike ride in Northern California. Another area he rode what knows? Well, we, we did snow pass. We did Tioga, we went to Yosemite we did 300 miles in three days and climb 30,000 feet. I can't do that anymore. But he said well, it was June. He said we're really going to start it now. And so we started in August to September in 2010. And I the only three of us and I had no idea what I was doing. We noticed it and I didn't even know the other two guys. Gary said you're gonna love these other two dudes you don't know but you'll you'll work well together. I'm like, sure okay, because I trusted Gary company. In, it all worked out really, really well. And a lot of that experience from being in the music business, working retail, pounding nails, you know, being having a couple of small businesses, my own, all that really came into play with this whole white road gig, the last 10 years have been incredible. And we've had such impact, you know, in natural foods and outdoor on the environment, because we like these little mission driven companies. And it's been, it's the only reason I'm still working. Because the people are so cool, and they're younger, and they're energetic, and then it's like a magnet. It's bitchin, I can't believe I get to do this. That kid. Yeah, Marc Gutman 45:43 I believe you, I believe you. And for me, you know, white road almost represents like what I always dream about and my career, you know, you work in on other brands, you get to help them realize their vision, their mission base, I mean, it's just, it's something that that I aspire to myself and hearing you talk about it, it sounds just frankly, quite awesome to like, blast the question again, that I'd asked earlier. Like, what's hard about that business? What's hard about the investment business that that maybe we don't know? Like, you know, cuz to me from the outside, I'm like, oh, man, those guys are awesome. They just go by companies and help them out. And they have the good job, but I'm sure it's not all easy. Greg Bagni 46:22 Well, we've been unbelievably successful. I mean, my boss, Devin Clements, who's our Managing Director, and it's still there's only four of us. He told me, we're our results, our returns are like in the top five or 10% of all investment firms in the US, which Now granted, we're smaller, but we still have done very, very well. So that's the good the good news, the not so good news is the challenge is the exact same one is in the music business. It's people it's getting everybody on the same page. And founders can be really entrepreneurs and founders can be really interesting cats. But let me tell you, they are sometimes you know, it's an amazing thing. We have this, I'm writing a little trying to write a book around this, you want to help me all you can talk about that on site. It's called founder itis. So and I understand that so well. And that started for me in the music business. Because you know, everybody is an entrepreneur in the news business, everybody thinks they're gonna make it big, you know, but how do you get there. So I think the biggest challenge is the people side of things. And then the second challenge is getting from zero to $10 million. That is real. And I'm talking to annual revenue, I can't tell you how difficult that is, once you hit 10. Getting to 20 is easier, again, from 20 to 40, maybe even a little easier, but that zero to 10. That's the hardest part. And you got to be scrappy. And you got to be clever, because it's not only the strong survive, it's only the clever survive. And you need a level of tenacity and strength, power of the founder that that he or she has to have. And we're proud to say we work a lot with, with he's and she's, you know, which is really great. But people, people the humanoids are incredibly complex and interesting and unpredictable. So but you know, there's nothing cooler than I had happen to me yesterday, CEO from one of our companies, you know, they're probably 15 million now. So they broke that 10 million. And he called me up and he's in his mid 30s. And he called me up and he said, Hey, I really need to talk to you. And he's asking me all sorts of these really good questions wrapped around people wrapped around his own personal growth wrapped around his view worldview. And to me, that is where it's at, that you can have that kind of relationship with somebody, where and it's professional, don't get me wrong, it's not personal, it's professional, where you can really have that kind of relationship. And you can speak with good heart and mind. You know, good heart, mind, it's both sides of the equation. So you're really looking out for them, and you want them to succeed. And that part to be able to give back like that, boom. You know, as I always joke, and I'm not joking, I'm hoping to get another 20 years on this planet, but I'm planning for 20 seconds. So when you hang up a phone call like that, you know, it's just super rewarding. Nothing's better. Marc Gutman 49:37 Speaking of rewarding what portfolio company, I want to say, are you most proud of because I know they're probably like children, like you don't want to single them out. But if you could, if you could talk about one that you're like, really proud of like, which one might you mention? Greg Bagni 49:52 Why, you know, it's kind of funny at I, in a way I don't want to do that because then it sounds like there's a little bit of favoritism. But you know, right now this five minutes of my life, because like for example, sometimes you can only live your life five minutes at a time. That's how I was like a twin. And that's how it was the first couple years a wide road, that's how it was like you're only living in five minutes at a time. That's how expedient things can be. I get to that I'm really excited about one is rumble on a mana poetically spelled ru MPL, and they're in the blanket business, and they make high tech blankets for everywhere. I have one way to go. And their founder Wiley Robinson, it's just a piece of work, man. He's just and he's been through some hardship. You know, there's that thing hardship benefit, you got to get a little ass whipping to get to the benefit. We were talking about that earlier. He's been through some hardship benefit. And I think he's doing really, really well. Right now it's going well, the other one would be nice recovery, which is it's cool little cold and compression device that you don't need ice for it's got little refrigerator inside of it. And the guy who invented it, Michael Ross, the CEO there the founder, said Gary Erickson story, you know, Gary, get tired of after the fifth power bar. And along Ryan said I'm going to make something better. This guy got injured to use the competitive product and said this sucks, and then made some better. And then I'll give you one more skies from rare form AR ar e fo RM. They take PVC billboards, which end up in landfill. And then they clean them and cut them up and turn them into bags and accessories. And a couple of brothers Alec and Eric, just amazing story and amazing impact that this stuff doesn't end up in landfill. So it's, you know, yes, we want to give you three that I'm pretty excited about right now. That it's like, wow, these guys are gonna, this is gonna work. You know. Marc Gutman 51:59 That's awesome. And, you know, we I won't ask you what are the next 20 years look like for alien truth communications and right road investments. But how about the next five minutes? Like what's what's that look like? What's What are you looking forward to? Greg Bagni 52:14 Well, we're working on a couple of deals right now that are hopefully going to close that we're working on a couple of them ones in the bike industry. We can't tell you too much once in the bike industry. And it's very specialized. And that would be the wrong word. It's not specialized, but it's a very focused category. And the other ones in the workwear category that we're just very excited about. So I have my head down on these two and really want to see them come together. Not only is the product in the category, great, but the founders are like, really, really good people. So you know, there's this thing about a, I get this thing called IQ, you know, that's the number that you give your brain right. And then there's EQ, emotional intelligence, or what I call the equanimity quotient. And then, the last one I put up top is called v q, that's your virtue quotient. And these have high virtue quotients wrapped around them, the founders and the product and the category. And that's what we love. Jason is hi v q stuff. We The other way to say it is we'll talk on the phone, we have a weekly call with why road and we talked about a business and we'll say, Oh, you know that one has a lot of goodness in it. We like businesses with goodness in them, you know, where it's just, everybody's happy. Hey, if you want your marketing PhD, since up fire hosing you today, I'll continue on. If you want your marketing PhD in seven words, here it is. solve my problem. Make me feel good. There it is. And so when we see businesses that sell by problem and make me feel good, we're instantly attracted to them. We want to know more about them. So that and, and again, no cigarettes, no nuclear bombs. Right? Absolutely. Really quick side story. And then I know you got to go enough. Tell it quick. When I was a twin, this is a long story. We had pro racing teams promo by teams, pro stunt teams, you know, X Games, the whole deal. And we were always struggling. Those are multi million dollar programs. And we were always struggling to fund those. And Marlboro came to us because that's when Marlboro was heavy into motor racing and auto racing before the laws changed. And they came to us and offers a multi million dollar deal to sponsor our mountain bike teams. And it was the hardest no we ever said because that's where that term came. We don't sell cigarettes and we don't sell nuclear bombs. We all got around a conference room table. We all kind of literally held hands. And I and we stood up and said you know, we can't do this. Do we sell way too. Kids bikes, and we sell way too much goodness here, we got to say no to it. So with that said, that would be sort of one last little fire hose story that, you know, hardship benefit. That was, that was a tough note to say. But saying no is probably one of the most important pieces of doing business. Right? Marc Gutman 55:20 Absolutely. And Greg is we've come to a close here. I want you to think back to that. That little boy who loved bikes back in Chicago probably came down to this planet saying act back and back on the couch, back on the couch. And if he was looking back and he saw you today, what do you think he'd say? Greg Bagni 55:42 Well, he'd be looking forward, not backwards, right? That's right. He'd be yes. Correct. Yeah, he'd be looking forward. He'd say, dude, you have been one lucky mofo. That's what he would say. It's a I never thought you'd be doing what you're doing. So I still believe I'm super lucky. You know, just to turn it. Some of it being in the right place at the right time, some of it being prepared for the opportunity. But I've always, I've always over delivered. I've never been afraid to go the extra just the extra mile just it's the little shit sometimes. It's everything from the little stuff you do for your employees to making sure you hire the best drum roadie, you can find some when the drummer gets behind his kit. Everything is absolutely perfect in its right spot. And he can play and perform to the nth degree and then comes out the stage after the gig and says dude, man, I love PD. That was my the best drummer the ever had. I love PT that guy has got me down. That's over delivery. And I've always been into that man it's it's really cool when you can do it with product with people with the planet with community and and make some money while you're doing it. Dude, you got me all you may be go off today. And I'm not even drinking caffeine. Marc Gutman 57:17 And that is Greg bagni, founder of alien truth communications and partner at White road investments. Well, I'm glad Greg never became a dentist or an insurance salesman. No offense to you enamel and premium lovers out there. Because Greg was dropping brand and marketing bombs that entire conversation. And his enthusiasm is infectious. You know, the good kind of infectious, his seven words summation of how to succeed in brand and marketing his genius. solve my problem? Make me feel good. And I absolutely love his goodness metric. Can you imagine what the world would be like if we all were striving to increase a goodness metric? The big thank you to Greg bagni alien truth communications, white road investments in the aliens who have loaned Greg to this planet all these years. We will link to all things Greg bagged me in the show notes. And if you know the guest who should appear on our show, please drop me a line at podcast at wildstory.com. Our best guests. Like Greg come from referrals from past guests and our listeners. Well that's the show. Until next time, make sure to visit our website www.wildstory.com where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher or via RSS so you'll never miss an episode. A lot big stories and I cannot lie to you other storytellers can't deny. ‍

#139 Why aim for a unicorn(with @miyata_shoji)

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2021 30:40

#137, #138に続き、SmartHR宮田さんとの対談3部作の最終回です。起業直後からのCEOのお財布事情 ONとOFFは切り分けてる？ HARD THINGSに全然共感できないとき CEOとして急変化、モチベーションと戦っている話 Why aim for a unicorn? 時価総額の考え方

ceo unicorns shoji miyata

#137 7th value of SmartHR (with @miyata_shoji)

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2021 22:52

SmartHR CEO 宮田さんをゲストに、ゆるい話、宮田さんの話、SmartHRの話をカジュアルにお聞きしました。3部作の第1部です。宮田さんってPodcast聞くの？ SmartHRの文化 7つめのバリュー策定の背景 https://blog.shojimiyata.com/entry/2020/09/24/180342 バリュー浸透はどうやって

shoji miyata

#138 Why Sushi for 1 year anniversary (with @miyata_shoji)

sushi 1 year anniversary shoji miyata

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2021 22:00

#137に続き、SmartHR CEO宮田さんにいろいろと聞きました SmartHRの会社の成長に伴う宮田さんの居心地の変化言ったほうがお得神格化されたくない美味しいご飯はお金よりも重要なインセンティブ Why 寿司 10Xのギャップって？

Three-dimensional convolutional autoencoder extracts features of structural brain images with a diagnostic label-free approach: Application to schizophrenia datasets

PaperPlayer biorxiv neuroscience

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2020

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.08.24.213447v1?rss=1 Authors: Yamaguchi, H., Hashimoto, Y., Sugihara, G., Miyata, J., Murai, T., Takahashi, H., Honda, M., Hishimoto, A., Yamashita, Y. Abstract: There has been increasing interest in performing psychiatric brain imaging studies using deep learning. However, most studies in this field disregard three-dimensional (3D) spatial information and targeted disease discrimination, without considering the genetic and clinical heterogeneity of psychiatric disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a 3D convolutional autoencoder (CAE) for extracting features related to psychiatric disorders without diagnostic labels. The network was trained using a Kyoto University dataset including 82 patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and 90 healthy subjects (HS), and was evaluated using Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) datasets including 71 SZ patients and 71 HS. The proposed 3D-CAEs were successfully reconstructed into high-resolution 3D structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans with sufficiently low errors. In addition, the features extracted using 3D-CAE retained the relevant clinical information. We explored the appropriate hyper parameter range of 3D-CAE, and it was suggested that a model with eight convolution layers might be relevant to extract features for predicting the dose of medication and symptom severity in schizophrenia. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

John John Festival RADIO vol.8 - 飲み会 - (w/Yosu-ke, Azumi Miyata)

John John Festival RADIO

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2020 68:10

John John Festival がお送りするインターネットラジオ、聴く人も喋る人も幸せにする「John John Festival RADIO」オンライン飲み会 / Guest : ヨース毛、宮田あずみ /- BGM Thanks -「君とカフェ巡り」「ザッハトルテ・スウィング」「雨宿り」「天国への道のり」「水玉の窓」「ユーモレスク」/ 収録日　2020年5月30日

john john azumi miyata festival radio

How to market your vacation rental for direct bookings w/ Natacha Parmantier

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2019 38:39

Today I had the honor of speaking with Natacha Parmantier. Natacha is a world-traveling host who has settled down in Valencia Spain. Natacha manages two short term rentals while also caring for her 1.5yo baby. In this episode, Natacha shares her experience as a vacation rental marketer and gives us her top 3 tips to getting your direct booking site up and running. Natacha shares some really good information on finding your target customer and how to use Pinterest to get more bookings.

How to choose the right short term rental insurance

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2019 13:30

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk all about short rental insurance vs airbnb insurance vs homeowners insurance for your airbnb vacation rental.

Best wholesalers to work with for airbnb

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2019 11:56

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk all about how to save money on your airbnb by working with wholesalers.

From 0 to 50 Airbnb Short Term Rentals in 1.5 years w/ Jeremy Schmitt

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2019 55:10

Today I had the honor of speaking with Jeremy Schmitt. Jeremy is the founder of the Pasion Group, a Short Term Rental property management company servicing primarily in the Chicago area. Jeremy started 2.5 years ago with no prior experience and partnered as a Junior Investor working with an experienced property manager in the UK. Jeremy was able to build his first management company, Help Host, to over 50 properties in a little over a year. Jeremy sold off his share of the company to his partner to be able to start his style of management in the Pasion Group.

How to design your vacation rental

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2019 12:50

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage are talking about how to design your airbnb vacation rental so that you can optimize your listings performance by reducing cleaning time, and saving money. Design your next room(s) with Modsy https://shorttermsage.com/modsy

Airbnb Welcome Baskets and Amenities your Guests Expect

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2019 19:18

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk about welcome baskets, what should be in them, and amenities in your home that your guest should expect.

How to Find and Hire airbnb Cleaners w/ Rick Carlson

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2019 39:35

Today I had the honor of speaking with Rick Carlson. Rick hosts out of Kodaline, Idaho and owns 2 duplexes managing 4 units. Rick is a real estate agent, host, and cleaning company owner and shares his experiences managing these three different aspects of the business allowing him to be a full-time entrepreneur. Rick shares a lot of really great information all about his experiences in growing a cleaning company and finding reliable cleaners. Acuity Scheduling: https://shorttermsage.com/acuity Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/str26 ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm

The Complete Airbnb Shopping Checklist ✔️

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2019 20:47

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk about all the equipment you will need in your Airbnb short term rental unit. Equipment in our listings https://ShortTermSage.com/kit Facebook group https://ShortTermSage.com/HostNation Store https://ShortTermSage.com/store Show notes Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm

Airbnb Photography Tips vs Real Estate Photography

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2019 23:50

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk about their best tips on airbnb photography and how it is different from traditional real estate photography. Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

What its like scaling a Rental Arbitrage business in Mexico City w/ Nathan & Raquel Carillo

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2019 54:50

Today I had the honor of speaking with Nathan and Raquel Carrillo. Nathan and Raquel are full-time hosts who currently reside and manage 5 units in Mexico City which they've scaled up to in 5 months. Their portfolio of 5 consists of 2 properties which they own and 3 which they are subletting. In this conversation, Nathan and Raquel share their experience of growing this business in a short 5 months, how they've organized their business for easy scalability, how to create units that stand out, and what it's like managing multiple properties in Mexico. Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/str25 ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm

How to TRAIN and BUILD your Airbnb Cleaning Team

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2019 14:33

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon and Julian will be talking all about one of the most crucial members of your team, your cleaners, and how to properly train them. Vacation Rental Machine Show Notes: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm15⁠ ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

How to build a team for making money on airbnb

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2019 12:16

Jon Bell and Julian Sage talking about the most important members of your team if you are trying to start a successful airbnb business. Vacation Rental Machine Show Notes: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm14⁠ ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

Converting 40 long term rentals to short term rentals for airbnb cashflow w/ Adam and Asury Johnson

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2019 51:36

Today I had the honor of speaking with Adam & Asury Johnson, a power couple coming out of Clarksville Tennessee who owns 41 properties which they've acquired through subject-to financing. Adam and Asury have been converting these properties into short term rentals since 2017 and are now operating 13 units which they own due to creative financing. Adam and Asury share their journey of transitioning from active duty military and medical technician to full-time real estate investors, how they have been able to grow a portfolio of 41 properties, and how anyone can acquire properties through creative financing. Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/str24 ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm

Airbnb Cohosting: Things you need before meeting clients

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2019 9:58

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon and Julian talk about the top things you need to bring before meeting with your potential cohosting client. Store: https://shorttermsage.com/store Vacation Rental Machine Show Notes: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm13 ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

How to find airbnb Cohosting clients

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2019 10:40

Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk about some of the various ways you can find clients for your vacation rental property management business. Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

Tips to succeed for new Rental Arbitrage Airbnb hosts w/ Charles McPike

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2019 45:34

Today I had the honor of speaking with Charles McPike. Charles is a Forex trader and host, based out of Hollydale California area who operates 2 units that he's acquired using rental arbitrage. In this episode, Charles shares his experience of turning his life around through the power of positive affirmations by reprogramming his brain to think more positively, his fears and failures of starting a new business, and many practical tips to starting on the right foot. Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/str23 ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm

most common landlord objections when pitching your airbnb rental arbitrage business

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2019 21:07

In this episode of Vacation Rental Machine, Jon Bell and Julian Sage talk about the most common objections you can face when pitching your Airbnb rental arbitrage business and how you can overcome these landlord concerns or rules. Vacation Rental Machine Show Notes: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm11⁠ ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

Rrental Arbitrage community questionnaire (pitching landlords, insurance, objections)

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2019 22:43

Jon Bell and Julian Sage are speaking with one of the members in The Host Nation facebook group, Cole Allen, answering some of his questions and overcoming the fears he has before going to pitch to apartment complexes and landlords. Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation Short Term Rental Success Stories: https://shorttermsage.com/str

Insurance tips from the Airbnb insurance expert w/ Kate Birtch

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2019 42:47

Today I had the honor of speaking with the amazing Kate Birtch from episode #2. Kate is a host with multiple properties and is also the founder of Property Protect, a short term rental insurance company that fills a pretty unique space in between Airbnb's resolution center and your primary home insurance. In this episode, Kate educates us on what to look for with insurance, what you need to be covered for different business models such as subleasing and cohosting, what property protect covers and the steps you need to take when an incident does happen. Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/str22 Learn how to start, automate, and scale a Vacation Rental business. Vacation Rental Machine: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation

Airbnb Rental Arbitrage: Things to know before you Pitch to a Landlord

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2019 19:55

Are you ready to start pitching your Airbnb rental arbitrage subleasing business to potential landlords and apartment managers? We'll be covering some important things to consider before you go into your offer. Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm10⁠ ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/HostNation

Rental Arbitrage: Finding the Landlord for Apartment Complexes

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2019 11:00

Are you ready to start pounding the pavement and knocking on the doors of owners and apartment complexes? If you plan on pitching your rental arbitrage business you need to know who to talk with first. In this episode, we break down who you're supposed to talk to, when is the best time to find them, as well as what to do when they aren't there. Podcast show notes available here: https://shorttermsage.com/vrm9⁠ ⁠ The Host Nation Facebook Group: https://shorttermsage.com/hostnation⁠

CAUTION: Things to consider before investing in Airbnb property