Podcasts about operating

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ingrid Jacobs. A veteran enterprise leader, former HR executive, and Chief Growth Officer for The Revenue Retreat, a luxury boutique retreat for executive women who want to build profitable businesses without burnout. She and Rushion discuss her corporate background, her unique approach to customer integration, the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, pricing psychology, common business mistakes, age-related limiting beliefs, and the transformational design of her retreat program.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ingrid Jacobs. A veteran enterprise leader, former HR executive, and Chief Growth Officer for The Revenue Retreat, a luxury boutique retreat for executive women who want to build profitable businesses without burnout. She and Rushion discuss her corporate background, her unique approach to customer integration, the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, pricing psychology, common business mistakes, age-related limiting beliefs, and the transformational design of her retreat program.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ingrid Jacobs. A veteran enterprise leader, former HR executive, and Chief Growth Officer for The Revenue Retreat, a luxury boutique retreat for executive women who want to build profitable businesses without burnout. She and Rushion discuss her corporate background, her unique approach to customer integration, the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, pricing psychology, common business mistakes, age-related limiting beliefs, and the transformational design of her retreat program.

In this live episode from the AHR 2026 Podcast Pavilion, Bryan sits down with Copeland's Josh Souders (Manager of Commercial Unitary Product Management) and Jeff Kukert (Compression Senior Technical Trainer) to dive deep into Enhanced Vapor Injection (EVI) technology and its transformative impact on HVAC systems. This conversation offers both technical professionals and industry newcomers a comprehensive look at how vapor injection is revolutionizing heat pump performance, particularly in challenging climate conditions. The discussion centers on how EVI technology addresses one of the industry's most persistent challenges: maintaining high heat pump capacity in extremely low-temperature conditions. Josh and Jeff explain that vapor injection can deliver up to 20% added capacity and 10% improved efficiency while simultaneously enhancing compressor reliability. This technology, which has been a staple in refrigeration applications for years, is now becoming increasingly prevalent in commercial and residential HVAC systems, especially as cold climate heat pumps gain traction across North America. The guests make the complex topic accessible by breaking down how the system works—taking liquid refrigerant from the condensing line, running it through an expansion device and brazed plate heat exchanger (economizer), and injecting the cooled vapor directly back into the compressor scroll at a specific intermediate point. What makes this episode particularly valuable is the practical guidance offered for field technicians. The conversation moves beyond theoretical explanations to address real-world implementation challenges and troubleshooting strategies. Josh and Jeff emphasize the importance of understanding operating envelopes, pulse-width modulated (PWM) valves, pressure transducers, and modern control systems. They introduce Copeland's latest product developments, including the YAW variable speed vapor injection platform (1.5 to 25 tons) and the upcoming YAB two-stage vapor injection system launching later in 2026. The discussion also touches on applications beyond traditional HVAC, including commercial water heating and boiler replacement systems where high discharge temperatures are crucial. Throughout the episode, the guests maintain an encouraging tone toward technicians who may feel intimidated by these advancing technologies. They stress that while EVI systems may appear complex with additional tubing, heat exchangers, valves, and sensors, the underlying thermodynamic principles remain the same. The key is familiarizing oneself with new components like PWM valves and modern controllers, and leveraging tools like Copeland Mobile to verify system performance against operating envelopes. This episode serves as both an educational resource and a call to action for HVAC professionals to embrace these emerging technologies that are rapidly becoming industry standard. Topics Covered Enhanced Vapor Injection (EVI) fundamentals – How EVI works, its history in refrigeration, and why it's now critical for commercial and residential HVAC applications Capacity and efficiency benefits – Achieving up to 20% capacity boost and 10% efficiency improvement, particularly in low-ambient heating conditions Compressor reliability improvements – How injecting cooled vapor into the scroll set manages discharge temperatures and extends compressor life under high compression ratios Operating envelope management – Understanding compressor operational limits and using tools like Copeland Mobile to verify field conditions stay within safe parameters Cold climate heat pump technology – Meeting DOE's Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge requirements for 100% capacity at 5°F ambient conditions System architecture and components – Detailed explanation of economizers (brazed plate heat exchangers), pulse-width modulated (PWM) valves, pressure transducers, and advanced controllers Compression ratio challenges – Managing the increased work required when outdoor temperatures drop while indoor condensing temperatures remain constant New Copeland product platforms – Introduction to YAW variable speed vapor injection (1.5-25 tons), YAB two-stage vapor injection (launching 2026), and tandem variable speed configurations Applications beyond traditional HVAC – Water heating systems, commercial boiler replacement, and managing high discharge temperatures for Legionella protection Technician training and tools – Practical advice on learning PWM valves, thermistors, transducers, and system controllers; emphasis on using Copeland Mobile for dynamic performance analysis Market trends and adoption – How vapor injection is becoming standard in premium residential systems and increasingly common across commercial rooftop units and dedicated outdoor air systems Installation and service considerations – Proper system design to avoid oversizing, humidity control in hot-humid climates, and troubleshooting techniques for complex control systems   Have a question that you want us to answer on the podcast? Submit your questions at https://www.speakpipe.com/hvacschool. Purchase your tickets or learn more about the 7th Annual HVACR Training Symposium at https://hvacrschool.com/symposium. Subscribe to our podcast on your iPhone or Android. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check out our handy calculators here or on the HVAC School Mobile App for Apple and Android.

Welcome back to The Spiritual Investor Podcast. In this episode, I'm talking about something that came up in one of our mastermind applications, the feeling that money comes and goes and doesn't feel steady. When money feels unstable, it can seem like something outside of you is controlling your access to abundance. Your company. The market. Your audience. A relationship. But nothing in the 3D world can actually block creation. Creation is the most powerful energy there is. And when you operate from certainty, you become a match to what you desire. This conversation is about certainty. About self expression. About stabilizing a new frequency. And about becoming the version of you who no longer waits for permission from the external world. In this episode, I explore: • Why money feels like it comes and goes • The illusion of external blocks to abundance • How control in relationships mirrors control with money • Operating from certainty without ego If you are ready to go deeper into this work in person, I am hosting a private event in San Luis Obispo April 15 through 17.  Visit thespiritualinvestor.com/live2026 to learn more.

What's better than a train show? How about a train show with local operating sessions to make your trip complete?! That's the topic on this episode of Talking Ops with Don Irace as we talk to Mark Herrick, owner of the BNSF Montana Division HO scale layout. Over the last few years, Mark has opened his layout for muliple local events including the Railroad Hobby Show in West Springfield MA, NER regional conventions and to groups in town for any good reason that are just itching to get their turn on Mark's version of the Northern Transcon. Mark shares how he organizes and prepares for out of towners and gives tips for those who are looking to share their layout with others. Learn more about this episode on our website:aroundthelayout.com/214This episode of Around The Layout is Powered By Rapido Trains:https://rapidotrains.com/Thank you to our episode sponsor, Spring Creek Model Trains:https://www.springcreekmodeltrains.com/Thank you to our episode sponsor, ModelTrainBox.com:https://modeltrainbox.com/Visit our website at aroundthelayout.comBecome a member of our Operating Crew for chances to win and much more!aroundthelayout.com/crewAround The Layout Podcast is a production of Thirty Five Productions LLC©2026 Thirty Five Productions LLC. All rights reserved.The views and opinions expressed by hosts and guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Thirty Five Productions LLC or our sponsors.Use of any trademarks or trade names is for identification purposes only and does not imply endorsement.No portion of this podcast may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Thirty Five Productions LLC, except for brief quotations used for purposes of review, commentary, or promotion.

Send a text

For most of my career, I've been focused on two things: Operating businesses and Multifamily real estate. The strategy has been pretty simple. Take money generated from higher-risk, active businesses… and move it into more stable, long-term assets like apartment buildings. That shift—from risk to stability—is how I've tried to build durability over time. Now, to be fair, the sharp rise in interest rates a few years ago put a dent in that model. But zooming out, it's still worked well for me overall. So I'm sticking with it. That said, there are other ways to think about real estate. In some cases, the real opportunity is when you combine real estate with an operating business. We've done that before in the Wealth Formula Investor Club with self-storage, and the results were excellent. Storage is operationally simple, relatively boring—and that's exactly why it works. But there's another category that sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. Hotels. They're sexier.They're more volatile.And yes—they're riskier. But the upside can be dramatically higher. One of my closest friends here in Montecito has quietly built a fortune doing boutique hotels over the past few years. He started with a no-frills hotel in Texas serving the oil drilling industry. Over time, he combined his operational experience with his talent as a designer—and eventually created some of the highest-rated boutique hotels in the world. He's absolutely crushing it. Of course, most of us aren't world-class designers or architects. I'm certainly not. Still, his success made me curious. Hotels have been on my radar for a while now—not because I understand the business, but because I don't. When I asked him how he learned the hotel industry, his answer was honest: “I figured it out on the fly—starting with my first acquisition and a great broker.” That's usually how real learning happens. So this week on the Wealth Formula Podcast, I brought on an expert in hospitality investing to educate both of us. We cover the basics: How hotel investing actually worksWhere the real risks are (and where they aren't)How returns differ from multifamilyAnd what someone should understand before ever touching their first hotel deal If you've ever thought about buying or investing in hotels—but didn't know where to start—welcome to the club. You don't have to jump in tomorrow. But you do have to start somewhere. This episode is a good starting point. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/545-should-you-invest-in-hotels/id718416620?i=1000748759003 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Lx5Rp4x704lWRazWLqDOK Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GMFf6-g8w_0 Transcript Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by AI and may not be 100% accurate. If you notice any errors or corrections, please email us at phil@wealthformula.com. Welcome everybody. This is Buck Joffrey with the Wealth Formula Podcast coming to you from Montecito, California. Before we begin today, I wanna remind you, if you’ve not done so and you are an accredited investor, go to wealthformula.com, sign up for our investor club. Uh, the opportunity there is really to see private deal flow that you wouldn’t otherwise see because it can’t be advertised. And, uh, only available to those people who are deemed accredited. And then what does accredited mean as a reminder? Well, if you’re married, you make $300,000 per year combined for at least two years with a reasonable expectation, continue to do so, or you have a net worth of a million dollars outside of your personal residence. Or if you’re single like me, $200,000 per year or a million dollars net worth. Anyway, that’s probably, uh, most of you. So all you gotta do is go to wealth formula.com, sign up for investor club because hey, who doesn’t wanna be part of a club? And, uh, by the way, it’s a great price. It’s free. So join it. Just get onboarded and all you gotta do is just wait for deal flow. What a deal. Now let’s talk about different kinds of things to invest in. For most of my career, I, I have really focused on two things I’ve focused on. Either operating businesses, uh, in my case, those operating businesses largely have been medical and multifamily real estate. Uh, the strategy itself, theoretically the way I think about it, take money from sort of these active businesses, a higher risk, move them into more stable long-term assets like apartment buildings. Okay? The idea is that’s how you build some durability over time. Now, to be fair, okay, to be fair. Sharp rise in interest rates a few years ago. Put a little bit of a dent in that model. But here’s the thing is that you can’t throw out the, uh, baby with the bath water. ’cause when I zoom out, still worked well for me overall. So I’m sticking with it and, uh, that’s my story. I’m sticking with it. That said, there are always other ways to think about real estate, right? Real estate is not just multifamily. Um, in some cases, the real opportunity is when you combine real estate and operating businesses. So. We’ve actually done that before in our wealth formula investor club. Um, and we’ve done that through self-storage, for example, and the results were really good. Storage is operationally, generally pretty simple. Probably not that simple, but you know, but more so than other things, relatively boring. Boring is good, and that’s exactly why it works. There’s another category that sits at the opposite end of the spectrum of boring, and it’s sexier and it’s more volatile and it’s riskier. And uh, that is the area of hotels, right, like leisure, that kind of thing. But the upside in those things can be dramatically higher. You know, one of my closest friends here. Montecito, I talk about him all the time. He’s a, he is a little bit of an inspiration to me, although I wouldn’t tell that to in space. He’s built a fortune doing boutique hotels over the past few years and the way he started, you know, and I think it was only about a decade ago because he bought like this no frills hotel in Texas that was serving the oil industry. There was a bunch of guys, you know, drilling needed a place to say, and you know, he had this and he actually. I don’t know that I would recommend this, but he, he told me he bought it sight unseen just based on the numbers. Ah, man, I gotta tell you, I don’t think I’m that lucky. If I bought something sight unseen, it would not work great for me, but it did work great for him. But over time, what he did is he, he combined his operational experience with his talent as he’s like a designer, like designs, homes, an architect, uh, of sorts, although more than that. Um, and he, he used to build houses for like famous people in Hollywood. Anyway, he took that skill and so he combined it with hotels and he created some of the highest rated boutique hotels in the world. And he’s absolutely crushing it. Just crushing it. Of course, the reality is that most of us aren’t world-class designers or architects. I’m certainly not. I’m not artistic at all. Still, um, you know, the fact that he’s had so much success in this space and that he loves hotels. What got me curious? So, hotels have been on my radar for a while, not because I understand the business, but actually because I don’t. And when I asked him how he learned, uh, about the hotel industry, he just said, you know, I figured out on the fly and, uh, you know, started with my first acquisition, had a great broker who taught me everything I, you know, needed to know at the beginning and. That’s a great story. I mean, and ideally that’s how things happen. As you can tell, this guy is, uh, seems to just hit on everything. So good for him. So this week on Wealth Formula Podcast, I wanted to get a little bit of a hotel investing 1 0 1. So I brought on an expert in hospitality investing that could educate both you and me. So we’re gonna cover some of the basics, how hotel actually works, you know, what are the risks returns. Like, what should people do if they even consider, you know, buying their first hotel or investing in one? So if you’ve ever thought about investing, uh, in hotels, or maybe that’s the first time you’re hearing about it and you’re curious, uh, welcome to the club and uh, we will have a great interview for you right after these messages. Wealth formula banking is an ingenious concept powered by whole life insurance, but instead of acting just as a safety net, the strategy supercharges your investments. First, you create a personal financial reservoir that grows at a compounding interest rate much higher than any bank savings account. As your money accumulates, you borrow from your own. Bank to invest in other cash flowing investments. Here’s the key. Even though you’ve borrowed money at a simple interest rate, your insurance company keeps paying you compound interest on that money even though you’ve borrowed it. At result, you make money in two places at the same time. That’s why your investments get supercharged. This isn’t a new technique. It’s a refined strategy used by some of the wealthiest families in history, and it uses century old rock solid insurance companies as its backbone. Turbocharge your investments. Visit Wealth formula banking.com. Again, that’s wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today. My guest on Wealth Farm I podcast is, uh, John O’Neill. He’s a, a professor of hospitality management and director of the Hospitality Real Estate Strategy Group at Pennsylvania State University. Uh, he spent decades studying hotel valuation performance, Cabo flows and economic cycles in in the lodging industry. John, thanks for, uh, joining us. You’re welcome. So, you know, we’re talking offline. You’ve been in the hotel business for a long time. We’re trying to figure out how to frame this thing because you know, I mean there are, I know there are certainly people in. Uh, who in, in my group and my listeners, my community who are in the hotel space, but a lot of ’em aren’t. And you know, they’ve been thinking about, well, you know, we do a lot of apartment buildings, that kind of thing. Um, you know, what else should we be thinking about? And so, you know, when we hear, uh, hotel, um, they’re thinking of hospitality. But from an investor’s perspective, I guess the first question ask is what kind of real estate asset is a hotel? And, and may, may maybe just sort of fundamentally how different it is. From apartments office or retail? Yeah, that’s a great question because hotels are fundamentally different. But what I’ve seen over the past few years as well is hotels have increasingly been considered to be a component of commercial real estate. So we’ve always thought about office and retail and residential and industrial as being components of commercial real estate, but increasingly. Investors are thinking about hotels that way as well, because some of the high risk aspects of hotels have been moderated a little bit. So they are still considered to be a high risk and potentially high reward category, but they’re much more cyclical than those other types of businesses. So if we look at apartment leases, maybe being a year or two. Office leases may be being three to five years and retail leases could be five or 10 years. The leases in hotels are one or two nights, so there’s upside, but there’s risk involved in that as well. So when there’s pressure in a market to increase rates, like here where I am in University Park, Pennsylvania, when we have a home football game. We can see hotels with average daily rates of maybe a hundred to $200 a night charging seven, eight, $900 per night, and filling up on those rates. You can’t do that in an office building or in a retail center. And so there’s great opportunity when demand increases to push up rates and to greatly benefit from that. The flip side of courses on Sunday night when all those guests leave. You might be back to a hundred dollars a night and running 20 or 30% occupancy. Do hotels kind of follow the rest of real estate in terms of market cycles though? Yeah, it depends. I, I would say in many cases they’re actually leaders, which again, double-edged sword there. So for, yeah, when we plummeted in 2020 because of COVID hotels were probably the first category really to see it. Demand dried up overnight, and you go back to September 11th, 2001 on September 12th, 2001, a lot of hotels were empty and that wasn’t the case with office buildings and retail centers. The flip side, of course, is when the economy started improving, hotel operators could start pushing their rates very quickly. And so other categories of commercial real estate didn’t receive those benefits. Yeah, I mean, obviously there’s certainly gonna be. Real estate that’s often used that that’s often using debt and, you know, probably has the same sort of, uh, issues with regard to cap rate compression or decompression based on interest rates as well. Right, right. So, um, where are we? Right? What would you say right now, like, I mean, we know that. Our, we’ve been following very closely on the multifamily side. You know, prices are depressed. I mean, from 2022, we’re looking at probably 30% to 40%. Most, most, uh, large apartment complexes are not moving because people don’t wanna sell into a down market. But when they are, they’re being sold at 30, 40% discounts compared to 2022. Where is the, where is the hotel? Market at right now? It it, it’s challenged because right now we’re seeing discrepancies between where buyers wanna buy and sellers wanna sell. We’ve started to see some movement because some sellers have come down a bit in pricing because of what we’ve seen in 2025, the market really did soften as far as the hotel business is concerned. So in 2025. We really saw no increase in occupancy and in many markets we saw some decreases in occupancy. We are still seeing average daily rates going up a little bit, so yeah. Might be worth maybe a quick step backward that the two key indicators in terms of hotel lodging performance would be occupancy and average daily rate. With occupancy being the extent to which the guest rooms are occupied and average daily rate being the average price somebody is paying. We can talk about the mathematics of those, but, um, just I think conceptually, hopefully that makes sense. But, so, you know, at this point what we’re seeing is average daily rates are still going up a little bit, and the forecasts for 2026 are. Pretty much more of the same, where we’re not expected to see great occupancy increases, but we are anticipating that the average daily rates might go up a little bit. Uh, and, and in fact we might see occupancies decline slightly. And, uh, we might see, uh, average daily rates still possibly going up a little bit. That’s usually an indicator of being late in the cycle, you know, being somewhere near the peak and, and, you know, if the trough was 2020. Which was a pretty deep trough. 2021, we started seeing improvements and we saw great improvements in 22, 23, and 24, and so it’s looking like the end of a cycle. The thing we don’t really know for sure is, is there some reason that we’re going to really go into a substantial down period or are we actually in a situation where we’re going to have another upcycle? Yeah. You know, the other thing I was curious about too, like when you talk about these cycles for hotels, even within hotels, there are certainly, you know, different types of hotels. You know, there’s the boutiquey ones that are pe really pure tourism versus the ones that, okay, well maybe they are, you know, good for football games or. There’s others that are people use for, for, for work frequently, right? They’re, they’re just passing through for, for work trips. Do you, is there, um, is that difficult to extricate those types of different economies running at the same time? It’s not, I, I don’t know that it’s that difficult, you know, just to give you a little bit about my background, I’ve been a professor for some time, but prior to being a professor I worked for. Three of the four major hospitality organizations, namely Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt. Uh, and so going back into the 1980s when I was doing feasibility studies for proposed Marriott hotels, we, in most markets, analyzed three markets segments. And, and you essentially said what they are commercial business, which are your business travelers, leisure business, which are your pleasure travelers, and then groups, which includes conventions and, and those are still the three major market segments in most markets. In, in some markets. For example, if you’re approximate to a major international airport, there’s usually a fourth segment, which is that fourth segment is airline crew business, which is, is very different than the other three because. Whereas the other three go up and down throughout, not just the year, but throughout the week. Airline crew business tends to be stable throughout the year, so it, it, it’s in your hotel 365 nights outta the year. So it’s, it’s a very low risk, but also a very low rated market segment. So it, I don’t know if that’s that complicated, but it just needs to be broken out as you delineated it, which is that there’s. Three or four market segments in any market. And in terms of studying a hotel for development or for investment, it’s necessary to understand not just what’s going on on the supply side, in other words what’s going on in the hotels, but what’s going on in the demand side as well. So give you an example. I recently did a feasibility study in a market, which is a big pharmaceutical market. So I actually spent time with major pharmaceutical people talking about, where are you staying now? Why are you staying there? Are you a member of the Frequent traveler program? How does your business vary throughout the year? What rates are you paying? What facilities and amenities are you seeking? And things like that. So to really understand the demand because that demand segment. So important in that market. So it is ultimately a street corner business and what’s going on in a specific market in terms of the mix of commercial, leisure and group business and possibly other market segments. Really is something that we have to study in depth when we conduct a feasibility study or an appraisal for hotel. I, I don’t know if I mentioned, I’m a licensed real estate appraiser too, and although my licenses allow me to appraise any type of property, I only appraise hotels. Got it. Businesses fundamentally changed pre COVID and post COVID. I would assume that there’s probably less travel. Are you seeing impact? On those types of hotels from that kind of, you know, less travel, more zoom type activity. Yeah. And, and that’s a great, that’s a great follow up because with those market segments, although the segments are the same. The demand from each of those segments really has different, and, and as you said, it really changed substantially in COVID. It, it, it’s fascinating how once we were forced to use Zoom and, and other, you know, Microsoft teams and other technology like that, you know, we, we kind of did a kicking and screaming. But once we figured it out, we realized we didn’t get a lot done. Uh, now I spent last week in Los Angeles at America’s Lodging Investment Summit, and I go to this. Function every year, because I see many of the same people year after year, and the business cards might change, but it’s the same people involved in the hotel business, whether they’re brokers or investors or asset managers or consultants or appraisers. But in between. Each year I do a lot on Zoom with these people and you know, we can keep those relationships going. So it hasn’t eliminated, you know, in my personal case, my need to travel, but it has substantially reduced it. And I think a lot of other business people have seen the same thing. So if we look at the recovery since COVID, it was fascinating because the first market segment that recovered and recovered really strongly was leisure business and people, people see it as their right. To have a vacation and, and people were paying high rates, particularly in, in, in mountain locations and in beach locations. And so those rates came up really quickly. And then the group business followed. If people do wanna go to group functions like I did last week in la what has not recovered to the level of 2019 though is the business travel. Right. Interesting. So I, that’s probably a, uh, you know, and he, I can’t really see a particularly promising future for that Subsect either. Right. I think, in fact, bill Gates said it’s never going to be back to the, you know, he, he’s an investor in Four Seasons hotels, and he said it’ll never be back to the way it was in 2019. I don’t know if he’s right. I mean, because I, I still feel like we get a lot of things done. Face-to-face, person to person that we really can’t do in Zoom. I don’t think Zoom is great for establishing relationships. I, I still think that we need face-to-face, uh, personal contact. But, you know, that might be just my perspective because I’ve been working in hotels since I was a teenager and I’m really far from being a teenager now. And, you know, I, I’ve been indoctrinated in this philosophy of the importance of face-to-face contact. But yeah, you know, that might be generational. You with a younger generation. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, just kind of going back to the difference differences, uh, with compared to other real estate hotels, ultimately the, one of the big differences, they’re operating businesses, right? I mean, they’re not that large. Apartment buildings aren’t, but they’re is I think, a specific sort of operational execution that matters a lot in hotels. So, you know, in invest, when investors are kinda looking at that, I mean, they, they should probably be not looking at it as nearly as passive as other real estate investments. Is that fair? I, I think that’s very fair because I think, you know, it, it shows what’s happened in terms of the market with real estate investment trust. Because I’ve sold my entire position in hotel real estate investment trust and, and as you probably know, if we look at real estate investment trust. Different categories in, in commercial real estate, hotels lag, which is fascinating because everything else we’ve been talking about explains why hotel returns tend to outperform other classes of commercial real estate. More volatility, but higher returns on average. If you can withstand the long period, uh, that you need to be an investor. On real estate investment trust, it’s the opposite. Hotels actually lag and, and I think it really is because of exactly what you’re talking about, which is that they really are like an operating business where there’s also real estate as opposed to a real estate play where it’s almost like there’s an annuity of rent that is very easily projected, uh, in hotels. You know, we, we. Project all the time how they’re going to perform. But you know, you know, I hope my projections are very good, but there’s always things that can COVID. For example, you know, now there’s a virus in, in India that you know might be coming and, you know, we don’t know, will this be substantial or will it be really minor in the Americas? We really don’t know. Uh, that won’t have a big effect on, on other classes of real estate investment trust, but. It could have a big effect in hotels, so, so the unknowns in hotels are very high. And then when you combine that with the fact that they are an operating business, which are very labor intensive and wage rates are going up. So the cost structure and the management of that cost structure becomes. Very important and the expertise of the hotel managers becomes very important. And so, yeah, like you say, other classes of commercial real estate or, or institutional real estate investments have an operational component. It’s much greater when it comes to hotels. So I actually have a friend who’s an, um, owns, uh, a few boutique hotels here in, in California, and he was telling me one of the things that he’s kind of worried about is, um, you know, they, they’re, they have some, um. Some mandates coming up with regard to, you know, minimum wage and, and all these things that, uh, hotel workers have to get, uh, give you just outta curiosity. I mean, most of my audience is not in California. I am, but have you heard about this? Can you tell us a little bit about those pressures? Yeah, I have heard about it. And there’s, there’s forces on the other side as well, namely the American Hotel and Lodging Association, which represents hotel owners, managers, and franchisers. And so they have a voice in these things as well. But the, the, the forest, particularly in places like California and, and in the west coast in general, we’ve seen it in Seattle as well. Um, you know, in, in terms of increasing minimum wages to rates that, that are shocking to me. Um, you know, that’s, that’s a big issue. You know, you don’t see it as much in the middle of the country, but you do see it on the coast and particularly in the, on the West Coast. So, you know, if we’re looking at projections, say into 2026 and, and perhaps beyond, we expect in many cases to be seeing higher growth in wage expenses than we expect to see growth in RevPAR, which is room revenue, preoccupied room, which is just occupancy times average daily rate. So the, the overall revenue is expected, at least in the short term, to grow more slowly. Than expenses and, and wages are really driving a lot of it. And then anything that’s affected by wages, so insurance, for example, property taxes, other expenses are really growing at this stage more than what we’ve seen in terms of revenue growth. So that’s, that’s a challenge right now. The, the question I think really then is how much will AI affect that and to what extent will guests become more comfortable with checking in? On an iPad type of a situation as opposed to seeing a person face to face, and there’s probably generational differences there. What it is forcing hotel operators to do is the same kinds of things that restaurant operators have been forced to do, which is find ways to use technology and actually have the guests face the technology and get the guests comfortable with that. In terms of things like check in and check out, you know, but still in hotels the rooms have to be cleaned and, and although there’s robots that. You know, they’re nowhere near what, where they need to be to actually clean Hotel guestroom jet, at least in any sort of economically viable way. But, you know, the long-term question is to what extent will the industry be adopting AI and other technology in order to address that issue? Because that’s what’s going to happen. It’s, it’s, you know, it’s not just going to be a situation where. The operators will accept paying higher wages and have the same number of employees in each hotel. Right. Um, branding, you know, sort of confusing to a lot of people. Not in the space, but you know, what role do hotel brands actually kind of play in, in protecting revenue and value? Um, and I guess when does a brand help an owner versus become a constraint? Yeah. You know, brands have been very important and, and I, I forget if I mentioned but of the, the big brand companies I’ve worked for three of them and, um. You know, they, they, they typically started as management companies. So originally companies like Hilton and Marriott primarily generated revenue through management fees. And so they own some of the real estate, although they’ve become asset light over the years and own very little, if any, anymore. Uh, but they do still manage hotels. So one thing that the brand companies do have is expertise in terms of management. That’s one of the fees that a branded hotel and a non-branded hotel would have as well, would be a management fee, which is usually expressed as a percentage of revenue. And sometimes there’s an incentive structure in there as well. But then there’s a franchise fee, which is just paying for the brand, and, and that’s usually as a percentage of total revenue, higher than the management fee. But what it does is it, it, it. Puts the property in a global distribution system, so the global distribution systems that brands like Marriott and Hilton and IHG and, and HIA have, uh, they. Generate heads and beds. You know, that’s, that’s the term we always, when I worked at Hyatt and Merritt, we always talked about heads and beds. Every night you’re trying to, trying to get people in the rooms. The brands do a lot to put heads and beds, you know, in a typical hotel with a good brand affiliation. Somewhere between probably a third and two thirds of the occupy rooms actually came in through the brand global distribution system, which historically was a toll free reservation system. And although the, you know, those still exist now, it’s really more of a focus on the online system and, and, and sometimes toll-free reservations and direct reservations. But, but that’s what the brand does. It, it, it ultimately is a generator of. So kind of just focusing on somebody who’s potentially thinking about hotels as an investment. So far, what I gleaned from you, and, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that timing probably isn’t perfect right now. We’re probably, you know, we’re probably in a, you know, a peak and you generally not a great idea to buy in peaks. Um. I personally, from what I understand, would stay outta California. You know, uh, you know, like my friend was saying that it was gonna make it very difficult for a lot of hotels to have their, you know, hotel restaurants even. And so he foresees like a lot of them having to close those down. Um, and then the, the next thing I think is, gosh, you really have to be cognizant of the, of the fact that, you know, work patterns are changing. And so maybe that’s not a good. Way to go, either. What other, what are some other big picture things that you think people ought to be thinking about as they evaluate the space? Yeah. Well, I think there’s a couple of things. One of which is. That is a street corner business. So it really depends on what street corner you’re in. Uh, I’ve done some research just on how hotels perform in university towns versus other locations because, for example, there are brands now called graduate hotels, which eventually was acquired by Hilton, uh, and, uh, scholar Hotels and, and these properties are university town hotels. They’re doing okay. You know, they’re, they’re doing okay. If you look at how universities operate, we’ve seen some Ivy League schools pay 60, $80 million or more just to make sure they keep that billion dollars a year coming in from the federal government that they, they get for research grants and, and we’ve seen, you know, look at what’s going on with NIL now in terms of, of university sports. Universities clearly are willing to. You gen willing to spend a lot of money to keep doing what they do, which is, you know, they, they generate a lot of research and I’m talking about. Big universities now, uh, you know, a lot of research and, and there’s a sporting business aspect to universities as well. So university towns are okay, and, and what I ultimately found in my research is they’re much less cyclical than the average. So, you know, we talk about the risk of hotels as things go up and things go down and things go up and down. That doesn’t happen as much in university towns. You know, big universities don’t close and, and don’t even substantially change their business model. So it really depends on, on where you’re located. And then there’s certain cities as well, you know, people, you know, I, I don’t have to go into detail about my last visit to San Francisco and how weird it was, and I was with students and, and told my female students don’t go out at night alone. I mean, it was, it was, it was really freaky, but. San Francisco now might be a place to invest. Now San Francisco probably has bottomed out. Uh, and the same might be true with New York. So, you know, it really depends on where you’re going. I, I think in general, yeah, you know, there’s, there’s concerns, but even so, you know, I think it’s still might be a good time to invest in. Good quality hotel companies, just, you know, in terms of the stock market and, and equity in, in businesses like Marriott and, and Hilton because their franchise fees and their management fees are a percentage of total revenue. So hotels that are not profitable, that are a member of those brand affiliations are still paying. Into those systems and you know, hopefully the goal is that these properties become profitable, but even while they’re not profitable, they owe franchise fees and in some cases management fees as well. So I think there are a lot of ways to still invest in the hotel business. It’s just what vehicles are being used and where. So, you know, it sounds a little overwhelming, um, for someone who, again, who’s new to the space. Any suggestions on how somebody might just learn more about this ecosystem and, you know, start to go down this path of potentially becoming, you know, a hotel investor? Yeah. Well, first thing is, you know, we talked about ai. AI is pretty good for helping people to learn. So if you wanna learn about the hotel business, you can go and have a really good conversation with chat GPT about what makes it click and where could the opportunities lie today. Uh, you know, I’ve gone over the past year from essentially not using AI at all to using it essentially every day. And so that’s a great way because that’ll access a lot of, there, there’s trade journals, for example, but it’ll access those things. Uh, the conference, like I went to last week, the America’s Lodging Investment Summit, which is in LA every year is a. Is a great place to learn as well. There’s, there’s wonderful sessions and that conference is attended by everybody from Anthony Capano, who’s the CEO of Marriott, down to people involved in real estate and investments in the hotels and, and who essentially make their living. Off of those as brokers, appraisers, consultants, asset managers and things like that. So, so there’s ways online to do it and there’s ways to do it actually by attending conferences as well. Yeah. A good broker as well. Right. I mean, you know, going back to my, my friend who, who’s become a very successful hotelier, the first one he bought, he threw a broker and he said he learned everything about hotels that he knows from that guy. Um. So that’s probably, it probably tells you something as well. Yeah. And, and there are some excellent hotel brokers. There’s some who are national in scope and some who are local in scope. So again, it depends on where you’re thinking you might wanna be investing. Uh, but, but there’s some great local brokers, but then there’s national firms like JLL and CBRE and Hunter, uh, that, you know, they have really good people who are very knowledgeable about the hotel business. Yeah. John, thanks so much for, uh, joining us here on Wealth Formula Podcast and giving us sort of an overview of the, uh, um, hotel, uh, real estate, uh, uh, asset class. You bet you make a lot of money, but are still worried about retirement. Maybe you didn’t start earning until your thirties. Now you’re trying to catch up. Meanwhile, you’ve got a mortgage, a private school to pay for, and you feel like you’re getting further and further behind. Now, good news, if you need to catch up on retirement, check out a program put out by some of the oldest and most prestigious life insurance companies in the world. It’s called Wealth Accelerator, and it can help you amplify your returns quickly, protect your money from creditors, and provide financial protection to your family if something happens to. The concepts here are used by some of the wealthiest families in the world, and there’s no reason why they can’t be used by you. Check it out for yourself by going to wealth formula banking.com. Welcome back to the show everyone. Hope you enjoyed and again, uh, hey hotels. Think about it. I guess. Uh, I continue. I will continue to do so, uh, especially given my buddy’s success in this space. Um. Although, I will tell you, I probably am not a boutique hotel guy. Um, you know, I don’t, I don’t know that I could make it super fancy, you know? And then on the other hand, you hear about these, uh, hotels that are. For the people traveling through and they’re not doing this so great. So maybe wait till that we hit that, um, that trough that he was talking about, he said we’re kind of at a peak right now. Anyway, that’s it for me. Uh, this week on Wealth Formula Podcast. This is Buck Joffrey signing off. If you wanna learn more, you can now get free access to our in-depth personal finance course featuring industry leaders like Tom Wheel Wright and Ken McElroy. Visit well formula roadmap.com.

Operating at the intersection of raw groove and functional energy, Maze 28 has quickly established himself as one of the Progressive House scene's rising stars, with roots in Albania and a reach that now extends internationally. Maze 28 will perform at Balance Croatia. @maze28 ________________________________________________ BALANCE CROATIA 2026 Under 300 FULL FESTIVAL tickets remian. On sale now via Balance Croatia website. Balance Croatia 2026 Thu 6th Aug - Mon 10th Aug 2026 The Garden Resort, Tisno ________________________________________________ BALANCE CROATIA FESTIVAL LAUNCH PARTY Barbarellas Discotheque, Pirovac, Croatia feat. John Digweed & Danny Howells Thursday August 6th 2026 (Friday August 7th morning finish) 12:00am - 5:00am _________________________________________________ Head to www.balancecroatia.com for more info. IG: www.instagram.com/balancecroatia

Aman Verjee, Founder and General Partner at Practical Venture Capital, shares his view of how venture capital has evolved over the past two decades and why secondary markets now play a critical role in the ecosystem. Drawing from his time at PayPal, eBay, and Sonos, Aman explains how companies today stay private far longer than they used to, what that means for early investors and employees, and how thoughtfully structured secondary transactions can reduce friction and misalignment on the cap table. He also challenges popular narratives around tech bubbles, walking through historical examples to explain why today's AI-driven market looks fundamentally different.In this episode, you'll learn:[01:11] Aman's journey from Wall Street to Practical VC[03:40] What made the early PayPal team exceptional[06:32] Follow the customer, not the original plan[10:44] Why are startups staying private longer today?[11:17] What secondary transactions actually are[18:41] How founders should handle secondary requests[26:11] Are we in a tech bubble today?The nonprofit organization Aman is passionate about: AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization)About Aman VerjeeAman Verjee is the Founder and General Partner of Practical Venture Capital, a secondary-focused fund providing liquidity to early investors in late-stage private companies. Before launching Practical VC, Aman spent over a decade in finance and operations roles at PayPal and eBay, joining PayPal in 2001 before its IPO and witnessing its transformation from a money-beaming mobile app to the dominant payment platform for eBay. Earlier, he worked in investment banking in New York after studying economics at Stanford and constitutional law at Harvard Law School. Aman was recruited to PayPal by Peter Thiel and worked directly for David Sachs during the company's pivotal early years. Now partnering with Dave McClure, he focuses on Series C and D investments in SaaS and FinTech companies with $200M+ in revenue and clear paths to liquidity within 5-7 years. He's also writing a book on the history of financial bubbles and co-hosts the Trading Places podcast, analyzing private company valuations.About Practical Venture CapitalPractical Venture Capital is a secondary-focused venture firm that provides liquidity solutions for early investors, employees, and funds. Operating with a 7-year fund structure instead of the traditional 10-15 years, Practical VC targets 20-40% discounts to last-round valuations in Series C and D companies with $200M+ in revenue and clear paths to exit. The firm specializes in SaaS and FinTech but has made exceptions for exceptional opportunities like SpaceX, now their biggest winner despite violating their typical investment criteria. Founded by Aman Verjee and Dave McClure, Practical VC evaluates roughly 50 companies at any given time, making 5-10 investments annually. The firm also offers SPVs for deals that don't fit their main fund and covers LATAM opportunities through an operating partner in Argentina. Their approach recognizes that modern venture capital requires new liquidity solutions as companies like SpaceX (23 years private), Airbnb (17 years), and Palantir (20 years) redefine what "patient capital" means.Subscribe to our podcast and stay tuned for our next episode.

OpenAI's twin initiatives to monetize ChatGPT's free tier through ads and launch the Frontier enterprise agent platform represent a shift in the AI provider's business model, with substantial implications for compliance and operational governance. Free and low-cost ChatGPT users will now see sponsored links unless they opt to reduce daily usage; only customers paying $20 or more per month retain an ad-free experience. OpenAI is concurrently marketing Frontier to enterprise clients such as HP, Intuit, and Uber, offering AI agent orchestration and deploying a team of consultants to support custom AI applications. The company projects enterprise revenue will constitute 50% of its income by year-end, up from 40% the prior month.Operating in both the consumer funnel and the enterprise layer, OpenAI combines top-of-funnel data monetization with vertical integration of services. The ad-supported free tier raises compliance concerns, as user interactions become subject to additional data collection and monetization. For organizations, this means enforcement decisions around whether and how employees may use free AI tools in regulated or sensitive environments. The more consequential development, however, is the introduction of enterprise agent orchestration through Frontier, where questions persist regarding liability, governance, production stability, and how organizations are protected from errors committed by autonomous agents.Related market movements include Anthropic's release of Claude Opus 4.6—which enables multi-agent collaboration with context windows up to 1 million tokens—and Microsoft's planned shift for Windows to a signed-by-default trust model. Anthropic's enhancements to agent functionality remain constrained by key gaps, such as conflict arbitration mechanisms, rollback procedures, and documented cost models, and the expanded context remains limited to beta testers. Microsoft's strategy to enforce signed apps by default mirrors iOS's approach to application trust, but its operational viability depends on how override mechanisms are managed by both users and IT administrators. Additional developments in backup, asset management, and AI governance (as seen with NinjaOne, JumpCloud, and Zoom) reflect a general trend towards increased integration and platform consolidation, though with ongoing gaps in security and compliance as AI adoption accelerates.The practical takeaway for MSPs and IT service leaders is the need to re-evaluate policies around free AI tool usage, invest in governance and auditability for enterprise AI, and prepare operational systems for stricter software trust and exception management requirements. Structural changes in software security and AI orchestration are transferring costs and risks from incident response to ongoing policy enforcement and exception handling. Those offering AI services should prioritize model-agnostic governance and avoid reliance on a single vendor's automation layer, as vertical integration by platform providers is reducing the defensibility of narrow service offerings.Four things to know today:00:00 OpenAI Adds Ads to Free ChatGPT; Launches Frontier Platform for Enterprise Agents04:07 Anthropic Ships Opus 4.6 Agent Teams; Model Found 500 Zero-Days in Testing06:43 Microsoft Announces Signed-App-Only Mode for Windows 11; Phased Rollout Planned10:19 NinjaOne Adds Asset Management; Zoom Launches AI Workspace Tool; JumpCloud Opens VC ArmThis is the Business of Tech.   Supported by:  CometBackup IT Service Provider University

Looking for daily inspiration?  Get a quote from the top leaders in the industry in your inbox every morning.   Leading a team can feel like a roller coaster—big climbs, sudden drops, and moments where you wonder why you got on the ride in the first place. Matt Heller, founder of Performance Optimist Consulting helps leaders and teams stay focused and performing at their best. Through engaging keynotes, hands-on workshops, and practical coaching, we turn fear into confidence and discomfort into momentum. This means fewer breakdowns and more breakthroughs. If your organization is ready to start building real forward motion, it's time to take action and make better performance and growth your main attraction. Visit performanceoptimist.com/attractionpros for an exclusive offer! Melissa Lockwood is the General Manager of Baha Bay at Baha Mar Resort. Growing up in central Missouri, she got her start as a teenage lifeguard and worked her way into municipal parks and recreation leadership before taking a leap into international water park operations. That decision led her to open and operate major projects abroad, including seven years on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and then a move to Nassau in 2019 to help open Baha Bay, the 15-acre resort water park on the same property as Baha Mar's Rosewood, Grand Hyatt, and SLS hotels. In this interview, Melissa talks about boots on the ground, being comfortable being uncomfortable, and operating a luxury waterpark. Boots on the ground “Be boots on the ground management by walking around, and just being able to interact with our guests as well.” Melissa's leadership style is rooted in showing up where the work is happening, especially during peak periods. During the holiday rush, her routine centers on briefings, checking in with teams, and spending most of the day circulating throughout the park and resort pools. That presence is not performative. She wants team members to know she's there to support them, and she wants to hear guest feedback directly, in real time, so improvements can be made faster. That mindset connects to her earliest days in the industry, when she did everything in a municipal setting, from cleaning restrooms to selling concessions. Those experiences shaped a servant leadership approach where she avoids asking anyone to do something she is not willing to do herself. For Melissa, morale and operational consistency are built in the trenches, side by side with the team. Being comfortable being uncomfortable “Sometimes, you've got to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” Melissa describes her career as a series of intentional stretches. Moving abroad “sight unseen,” navigating language barriers, and leading teams with wide-ranging backgrounds all required patience, humility, and a willingness to learn in public. Her takeaway is that discomfort is not a warning sign, it's often a growth signal, especially for emerging leaders who are encountering challenges like upset guests, unfamiliar policies, or communication gaps for the first time. She coaches her team to keep perspective when situations feel hard. Her reminder is simple: it is temporary, and the comfort zone expands through repetition. She reframes growth as progress toward proficiency, not perfection. Over time, those once-intimidating moments become more natural, and she loves seeing team members make that shift and then turn around and train the next wave. Operating a luxury waterpark “We are a 15-acre luxury water park, which is a little bit of a tricky thing to piece together.” Baha Bay is both a resort amenity and a destination that sells day passes, which creates a unique operational balance. Melissa explains that “luxury” is not just a label, it's reflected in design details like landscaping, finishings, and elevated cabanas that feel like permanent structures rather than temporary setups. The goal is alignment with Baha Mar's broader brand promise as a high-end resort experience. Luxury also shows up in service expectations and consistency. Whether guests arrive from Rosewood, Grand Hyatt, SLS, a cruise ship, or an Airbnb, Melissa emphasizes that everyone deserves the same high-level experience. Her team uses shared core values across resort services to meet those expectations, and she reinforces the standard from onboarding forward. The challenge, as she puts it, is sustaining that grand-opening energy year after year, which she tackles through daily briefings, ongoing training, and recognition programs like the park's Elevation Awards. Melissa invites listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn. To learn more about the water park and resort, visit bahabay.com and bahamar.com.   This podcast wouldn't be possible without the incredible work of our faaaaaantastic team:   Scheduling and correspondence by Kristen Karaliunas   To connect with AttractionPros: AttractionPros.com AttractionPros@gmail.com AttractionPros on Facebook AttractionPros on LinkedIn AttractionPros on Instagram AttractionPros on Twitter (X)

Big Spoon Roasters was founded by husband-and-wife team Mark and Megan Overbay. The duo shared a love for nut butter: Mark, having spent time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zimbabwe, originally learned how to hand-make his favorite food, peanut butter, while living abroad, and Megan's experience as an endurance athlete led her to craft her own nutrient-dense nut butter bars that both tasted good and fueled her training.Big Spoon Roasters is a small-batch food company handcrafting innovative, wholesome nut butters and bars with thoughtfully sourced ingredients in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Operating since 2011, Big Spoon Roasters is proudly independently owned and operated.IG bigspoonroasters | bigspoonroasters.comFind Me:IG + TikTok citrusdiaries.studiocitrusdiaries.com | hello@citrusdiaries.comCreate your ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ today! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#madeonzencastr

Our Sunday Morning Worship Experience streamed live on February 8th, 2026. Experience life with people, power, and purpose. Connect with us! https://www.kcalaska.com/ https://www.facebook.com/kingschapel.alaska/ https://www.instagram.com/kingschapelalaska/ Give: https://www.kcalaska.com/give/

Are you running a photography business—or just an expensive hobby? In this episode of Difference Maker Revolution, Jonathan Ronan, Jeanine, and Steve reveal why knowing your numbers isn't optional—it's the lifeline of your business. If you want to take control, make consistent profit, and avoid the financial pitfalls that sink so many photographers, this episode is your wake-up call.

Support the show and receive a link to the private discord channel: ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcastAJ of Flip a Coin in Colorado is back to discuss the current affairs of operating brand new pinball machines in the year 2026 and beyond. AJ buys lots of new games from Stern, Barrels of Fun, JJP, and CGC and he's here to cut through all the marketing talk and just discuss the business side of buying NIB games and trying to make money with them on route.As always though, we might swear a bit throughout...Support the show

LLC asset protection expert Garrett Sutton, Rich Dad advisor and Corporate Direct founder, joins attorney Ted Sutton to reveal entity structuring strategies that protect entrepreneurs from lawsuits while optimizing tax savings. Operating as a sole proprietor exposes you to five times greater IRS audit risk and unlimited personal liability—this episode provides proven frameworks successful business owners use to build wealth without risking everything. You'll discover: why Wyoming LLCs offer superior charging order protection for real estate investors and crypto assets at just $62 annually, how S corp taxation eliminates 15.3% payroll tax on distributions (saving $6,000+ yearly on $100K income), the catastrophic mistakes DIY entity formation creates, and proper multi-state holding company structures. Garrett shares Robert Kiyosaki's asset protection philosophy from Start Your Own Corporation and Loopholes of Real Estate, explaining how entity structures integrate with trust planning to avoid probate. Ted addresses Corporate Transparency Act compliance and March 2026 FinCEN reporting requirements for cash real estate transactions. Perfect for established entrepreneurs with $100K+ income seeking business growth frameworks that integrate tax planning with asset protection. Essential topics include: choosing between Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming jurisdictions, structuring holding companies for rental properties, protecting crypto in LLCs, building your money team with CPAs and attorneys, and avoiding the sole proprietorship trap. This conversation bridges startup entity selection with advanced scaling strategies for coaching businesses, real estate portfolios, and service-based enterprises prioritizing sustainable growth with integrated liability protection.

Key Takeaways: Integrity Always Wins: In business, truth builds over time, while shortcuts and distortions eventually fall apart. Operating with honesty creates stronger and more lasting results. Get Reliable Tax Advice: Taxes are complex. It's better to rely on qualified professionals than social media tips that can be incomplete or misleading. Know Your Numbers: Regularly reviewing your finances and being transparent about performance helps you spot problems early and grow with confidence. Plan Based on Reality: Strong businesses are built on clear facts, not wishful thinking. Making decisions grounded in reality leads to steady progress. Build for the Long Term: Focusing on long-term relationships and smart financial systems creates stability and sustainable growth over time.   Chapters: 0:00 Truth Compounds While Lies Collapse Over Time 1:25 Avoiding Tax Advice From TikTok 2:27 Honesty and Optimism in Entrepreneurship 4:34 Balancing Tax Obligations and Investment Strategies 7:45 Building Strong Business Foundations for Long-Term Success 9:26 Decision-Making Anchors for Business Success Powered by ReiffMartin CPA and Stone Hill Wealth Management   Social Media Handles    Follow Phillip Washington, Jr. on Instagram (@askphillip)   Subscribe to Wealth Building Made Simple newsletter https://www.wealthbuildingmadesimple.us/   Ready to turn your investing dreams into reality? Our "Wealth Building Made Simple" premium newsletter is your secret weapon. We break down investing in a way that's easy to understand, even if you're just starting out. Learn the tricks the wealthy use, discover exciting opportunities, and start building the future YOU want. Sign up now, and let's make those dreams happen!   WBMS Premium Subscription   Phillip Washington, Jr. is a registered investment adviser. Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Medical malpractice is one of the most established specialty lines—and one of the hardest to modernize. In this episode of the InsurTech Leadership Podcast, Joshua Hollander sits down with Jared Kaplan, Co‑Founder & CEO of Indigo Technologies, to unpack why MedMal is finally ready for a different underwriting and distribution model. Indigo's bet: you can make MedMal dramatically easier for physicians and brokers without relaxing underwriting discipline—by replacing slow, form-heavy workflows with alternative data, machine learning, and tight operational execution. Guest Bio Jared Kaplan is the Co‑Founder and CEO of Indigo Technologies. Indigo is rethinking medical malpractice insurance with an approach that combines broker-friendly distribution, faster quoting, and underwriting models informed by large-scale claims data and alternative data signals. Key Topics -Why MedMal is “built to resist change”: entrenched processes, long feedback loops, and the real cost of underwriting mistakes. -Underwriting without an application: what replaces the traditional intake and how you maintain discipline. -Alternative data in a high-stakes line: how Indigo uses a broad feature set (beyond prior claims history) to improve risk selection. -Risk segmentation and value creation: lowering premiums for the “overpaid” majority while avoiding the concentrated loss drivers. -The 80/20 claims reality: the small portion of physicians that drives a disproportionate share of MedMal claims. -Brokers as the distribution partner of the future: what modern carriers/MGAs must do to earn broker trust and share. -Operating model over buzzwords: where the real leverage is—quote speed, workflow simplicity, and consistency. Quotes -Jared: “We started with the premise that you don't need an application.” -Jared: “I would argue Indigo is the baby of both… online distribution… and underwriting using alternative data and machine learning.” -Jared: “There's no one else there that can figure out the twenty percent of docs that are driving sixty percent of the claims.” Resources Indigo Technologies (company site): https://www.getindigo.com/ Jared Kaplan (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-kaplan-683412/ If you work in specialty insurance, broker distribution, MGAs, or underwriting modernization, this one is a pragmatic look at where AI actually earns its keep. Subscribe for more operator-grade conversations on insurtech, insurance innovation, and leadership—and if you found value here, leave a review to help more executives discover the show.

Send us a text

Darren Blasutti, VP of Corporate Development for Minera Alamos, joins the podcast today to provide his corporate editorial comments on Pan now being fully integrated into the Minera portfolio. The onboarding happened sooner than originally anticipated. We walk through the moving parts of the integration, the optimization works happening at Pan, and a walk-through of their production and costs guidance recently published by the company.

Harsh Hemnani, senior debt research analyst at Green Street, joined the REIT Report podcast to review current trends across the commercial and residential mortgage REIT (mREIT) sector.Hemnani discussed the size and breakdown of the mREIT market, the current operating environment, macroeconomic forces impacting performance, valuation and total returns for MREITs, risk profiles, and the outlook for the sector over the next 12 to 24 months.Commercial mREITs are able to underwrite idiosyncratic, property-level risk, Hemnani said. Not only can they execute the loan quicker than other lenders, but they also provide certainty as to who the loan counterparty will be throughout the life of the loan. “mREITs take out that uncertainty and that's the value proposition they provide to the commercial real estate market,” he noted.Hemnani described the backdrop for commercial mREITs today as encouraging. “If you think about commercial real estate credit, it's fairly attractive on a risk adjusted basis. Property values have declined roughly 20% from their peak and they seem to have stabilized. So the risk of a broad-based property value decline from there is fairly low.”

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ingrid Jacobs. A veteran enterprise leader, former HR executive, and Chief Growth Officer for The Revenue Retreat, a luxury boutique retreat for executive women who want to build profitable businesses without burnout. She and Rushion discuss her corporate background, her unique approach to customer integration, the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, pricing psychology, common business mistakes, age-related limiting beliefs, and the transformational design of her retreat program.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ingrid Jacobs. A veteran enterprise leader, former HR executive, and Chief Growth Officer for The Revenue Retreat, a luxury boutique retreat for executive women who want to build profitable businesses without burnout. She and Rushion discuss her corporate background, her unique approach to customer integration, the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, pricing psychology, common business mistakes, age-related limiting beliefs, and the transformational design of her retreat program.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ingrid Jacobs. A veteran enterprise leader, former HR executive, and Chief Growth Officer for The Revenue Retreat, a luxury boutique retreat for executive women who want to build profitable businesses without burnout. She and Rushion discuss her corporate background, her unique approach to customer integration, the challenges women face in entrepreneurship, pricing psychology, common business mistakes, age-related limiting beliefs, and the transformational design of her retreat program.

Discover the fascinating world of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) and what it takes to keep historic aircraft like FIFI flying. In this episode, Randall Haskin shares insights into the organization's origins, the challenges of maintaining vintage planes, and how volunteers of all skill levels can get involved. The origin and mission of the CAF, with a focus on FIFI, the iconic B-29 SuperfortressHow the CAF acquires, restores, and maintains World War II aircraftThe importance of volunteer support, including maintenance, flying, and outreach effortsThe financial realities of keeping historic aircraft operational—costs, insurance, and parts sourcingPilot and crew training pathways for vintage aircraft, including skills like tailwheel experienceThe operational structure of CAF's touring programs and base locationsThe future outlook for flyable warbirds amidst regulatory and insurance challengesPersonal stories from flight experiences and the significance of sharing history through flight00:00 - Introduction and episode overview01:09 - Randall Haskin's background and connection to FIFI04:40 - History and mission of the CAF07:59 - The significance of FIFI in aviation history11:57 - The story of how FIFI was acquired and her journey to flying status14:05 - The costs of maintaining FIFI and other vintage aircraft15:32 - Operating ride programs and funding efforts17:29 - Recruitment of new volunteers and the importance of training20:02 - Parts sourcing and restoration techniques23:47 - Developing future pilots and mechanics34:22 - Tour schedules and deployment locations36:56 - Volunteer maintenance and crew rotations39:18 - The challenges and opportunities facing warbird preservation41:53 - The importance of professional standards and safety44:30 - Flying FIFI: cockpit experience and flight dynamics54:42 - The personal and emotional significance of sharing aviation history61:19 - Randall's call sign and closing thoughts ⁠Air Power Tour⁠⁠Air Power Squadron⁠⁠Commemorative Air Force⁠⁠FIFI The B-29 Superfortress - Official CAF Info⁠⁠Volunteer Opportunities with CAF⁠⁠Kermit Weeks' Collection of Warbirds⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠CAF Membership & Volunteer Info⁠Thank you for listening and exploring the dedicated efforts to keep aviation history alive through active restoration, education, and volunteer work!Preserving Living History: Inside the CAF and the Flight of FIFIKey Topics:Timestamps:Resources & Links:Connect with Randall Haskin: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A farewell to Rob R.; Fire and Ash; Derry final episode; Operating vehicles while watching the internet; Bill and Ted Franchise

This week I'm joined by my good friend Chenell Basilio, creator of Growth in Reverse and one of the most thorough newsletter analysts in the space. We spent over an hour diving deep into what's really working in email right now — from the death of newsletter hype to the opportunity hiding in recommendation networks. Chenell shared her framework of "insanely valuable content" (the one thing that matters more than any growth hack), and we got surprisingly honest about using AI to create short-form content from our long-form work. We also tackled the big question: how do you grow an email list if you refuse to use social media? Turns out there are more options than you think — from public homework challenges to old-school guest posting making a comeback. Plus, I introduced a new segment called "Unhinged Questions" where we played kiss, marry, kill with email platforms. Growth in Reverse (Chenell's newsletter) The Dink (pickleball newsletter with great referral program) Lenny's Newsletter (guest posting example) Ship 30 for 30 (public homework example) Tweet 100 (my old challenge that drove email growth) ⁠Full transcript and show notes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Introduction (02:21) Email maturity and the end of newsletter hype (05:16) Why CPC advertising doesn't work for small creators (06:08) Chenell's focus: turning recommendation subscribers into fans (09:01) James Clear had 250K subscribers in 2012 (email inflation is real) (11:20) "It's never been easier to reach someone, harder to sustain a relationship" (12:33) "Insanely valuable content" — the one metric that matters (15:28) The struggle with AI-generated content that performs well (20:11) Short-form repurposing: employee vs. AI debate (24:18) What's no longer working: recommendations (before the reframe) (24:53) YouTube to email is massively underrated (29:25) How to grow without social media (5 strategies) (34:50) Public homework challenges (75 Hard, Tweet 100, Ship 30) (43:31) Unhinged Questions: Kiss, Marry, Kill email platforms (44:44) Operating on hunches without data (45:31) "I hate that I'm not doing deep dives every week" *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → #147: Chenell Basilio – How the best newsletter operators grow to 50K+ subscribers *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Submit your question here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** WHEN YOU'RE READY

882. Rachel shares how to design operating rhythms that create space for meaningful work instead of just adding more meetings to your calendar. Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.Have a question for Modern Mentor? Email us at modernmentor@quickanddirtytips.com.Find Modern Mentor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or subscribe to the newsletter to get more tips to fuel your professional success.Modern Mentor is a part of Quick and Dirty Tips.Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-mentor-podcast/https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/modern-mentor-newsletterhttps://www.facebook.com/QDTModernMentorhttps://twitter.com/QDTModernMentor Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Behind the Stays, Zach Busekrus sits down with Rohit Bezewada, CEO of AirDNA, to unpack what may be the most important shift yet in short-term rentals. From Airbnb's evolving relationship with hotels to the fading “thrill” of discovery, Rohit shares what happens when a marketplace grows up — and what comes next for brand building, investing, and operating at scale. Drawing on his experience at Uber and now at the helm of one of the industry's most influential data platforms, Rohit offers a clear-eyed view of a sector moving from side hustle to institutional asset class. The conversation explores: Why Airbnb's move toward hotels signals a deeper strategic shift How short-term rentals are professionalizing — and who benefits most What the data reveals that headlines miss The coming consolidation of STR tech and the real role of AI Why confidence, not just inventory, is the next competitive edge This is a candid, future-facing conversation about where short-term rentals are headed — and how the next frontier will be built. Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world's top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. Your host is Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. If you are a hospitality entrepreneur who has a stay, or a collection of stays with soul, we'd love for you to apply to join our Alliance at journey.com/alliance.

Superpowers for Good should not be considered investment advice. Seek counsel before making investment decisions. When you purchase an item, launch a campaign or create an investment account after clicking a link here, we may earn a fee. Engage to support our work.Watch the show on television by downloading the e360tv channel app to your Roku, LG or AmazonFireTV. You can also see it on YouTube.Devin: What is your superpower?Clint: I just don't give up.Farming has relied heavily on chemicals for decades, but Greenfield Robotics is changing that. Founder and Head of Product Clint Brauer has developed robots that help reduce—or even eliminate—chemical use while improving the efficiency of farming practices. This innovative approach not only protects workers from exposure to harmful substances but also addresses growing concerns about the safety of food and its environmental impact.Clint's journey began with a deeply personal motivation. “Greenfield comes from my dad,” he explained. “I got Parkinson's years ago, about 20 years ago. And so I decided to do something about it. And I thought it was from farm chemicals.” His mission quickly evolved into creating technology that could solve problems for all farmers, regardless of their stance on chemicals.The robots Clint and his team developed are capable of cutting weeds and providing precise foliar feeding. “We weed by day and we foliar feed by night,” Clint shared. By targeting the stomata of the plants, these robots can deliver nutrients effectively while avoiding the need for excessive synthetic fertilizers. This process not only protects crops but also helps regenerate the soil, creating a more sustainable farming ecosystem.Greenfield Robotics has already seen promising results. Operating in 17 states with about 80 robots in the field, the company is steadily scaling its operations. Clint emphasizes that the work is still in its early stages, but the potential for widespread adoption is clear.In addition to its technological breakthroughs, Greenfield Robotics is raising capital through a regulated crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. Clint's goal is to make the company a grassroots movement, with farmers and consumers becoming co-owners. “We want farmers and consumers to own Greenfield,” Clint said. “Food is one of the very few things we all share.”By reducing chemical use and fostering a more sustainable future, Clint and his team are paving the way for a revolution in agriculture. It's an inspiring story of innovation and determination, with robots leading the charge for cleaner, healthier food.tl;dr:Greenfield Robotics uses robots to reduce farm chemicals, improving safety, efficiency, and sustainability.Clint Brauer's mission is personal, inspired by his father's Parkinson's diagnosis linked to chemicals.The innovative robots weed and feed crops, helping farmers transition to regenerative practices.Greenfield Robotics is scaling operations and raising capital via StartEngine crowdfunding.Clint's relentless perseverance drives his mission to revolutionize agriculture for farmers and consumers alike.Guest ProfileClint Brauer (he/him):Founder & Head of Product, Greenfield RoboticsAbout Greenfield Robotics: Greenfield Robotics is revolutionizing weed control with autonomous farming robots designed to reduce operational and maintenance costs while removing herbicides from the process. Demand has been exceptional: Our entire fleet is sold out this year and with reservations already filled for 2026, our BOTONY™ fleet of robots is helping drive our mission to eliminate all chemicals from farming and food.Website: greenfieldincorporated.comCompany Facebook Page: facebook.com/greenfieldroboticsInstagram Handle: @greenfieldrobotics Other URL: startengine.com/offering/greenfield-roboticsBiographical Information: Clint is a third-generation regenerative farmer turned agtech entrepreneur, with deep roots in Midwest agriculture and a career spanning both broad-acre and greenhouse growing. Before returning fully to farming, he was an early data science systems pioneer at Sony, where he helped launch Sony's e-book systems in North America. He later bridged technology and agriculture by creating a regeneratively grown ingredients supply chain for Canidae Pet Food, proving that scalable, soil-first farming models can succeed inside global consumer brands.Clint's work is deeply personal. His father developed Parkinson's disease after years of chemical exposure on their family farm and ultimately passed away from it—a tragedy echoed across the Midwest, where Parkinson's rates among farmers over 50 have reached epidemic levels linked to long-term herbicide and pesticide use. Greenfield Robotics was born from this reality and a single driving question: What if we could farm without poisoning the people who feed us? Today, Clint is building technology to remove toxic chemicals from agriculture, protecting farmers, restoring soil, and redefining what modern farming can—and must—be.LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/clintbrauerThe Super Crowd, Inc., a public benefit corporation, is proud to have been named a finalist in the media category of the impact-focused, global Bold Awards.Support Our SponsorsOur generous sponsors make our work possible, serving impact investors, social entrepreneurs, community builders and diverse founders. Today's advertisers include rHealth, and Make Money with Impact Crowdfunding. Learn more about advertising with us here.Max-Impact Members(We're grateful for every one of these community champions who make this work possible.)Brian Christie, Brainsy | Cameron Neil, Lend For Good | Carol Fineagan, Independent Consultant | Hiten Sonpal, RISE Robotics | John Berlet, CORE Tax Deeds, LLC. | Justin Starbird, The Aebli Group | Lory Moore, Lory Moore Law | Mark Grimes, Networked Enterprise Development | Matthew Mead, Hempitecture | Michael Pratt, Qnetic | Mike Green, Envirosult | Nick Degnan, Unlimit Ventures | Dr. Nicole Paulk, Siren Biotechnology | Paul Lovejoy, Stakeholder Enterprise | Pearl Wright, Global Changemaker | Scott Thorpe, Philanthropist | Sharon Samjitsingh, Health Care Originals | Add Your Name HereUpcoming SuperCrowd Event CalendarIf a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.SuperCrowd Impact Member Networking Session: Impact (and, of course, Max-Impact) Members of the SuperCrowd are invited to a private networking session on February 17th at 1:30 PM ET/10:30 AM PT. Mark your calendar. We'll send private emails to Impact Members with registration details. Upgrade to Impact Membership today!SuperCrowdHour February: This month, Devin Thorpe will be digging deep into my core finance expertise to share guidance on projections and financial statements. We're calling it “Show Me the Numbers: Building Trust with Financial Clarity.” Register free to get all the details. February 18th at Noon ET/9:00 PT.Superpowers for Good Live Pitch: The top-raising Reg CF campaign of 2025 won the June 2025 Superpowers for Good Live Pitch. We're taking applications for the March 17, 2026, Live Pitch now. There is no fee to apply and no fee to pitch if selected! Apply here now!Community Event CalendarSuccessful Funding with Karl Dakin, Tuesdays at 10:00 AM ET - Click on Events.10 Years of Reg CF: How It Started vs. How It's Going: Join the CfPA on Feb 11, 2026, for a special anniversary webinar reflecting on a decade of Regulation Crowdfunding. Hear from Jenny Kassan on Reg CF's origins and Woodie Neiss on what 10 years of data reveal about what's worked, what hasn't, and what's next—followed by live Q&A. Register here.If you would like to submit an event for us to share with the 10,000+ changemakers, investors and entrepreneurs who are members of the SuperCrowd, click here.Manage the volume of emails you receive from us by clicking here.We use AI to help us write compelling recaps of each episode. Get full access to Superpowers for Good at www.superpowers4good.com/subscribe

In the latest episode of the Data Center Frontier Show Podcast, Editor in Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Sailesh Krishnamurthy, VP of Engineering for Databases at Google Cloud, about the real challenge facing enterprise AI: connecting powerful models to real-world operational data. While large language models continue to advance rapidly, many organizations still struggle to combine unstructured data (i.e. documents, images, and logs) with structured operational systems like customer databases and transaction platforms. Krishnamurthy explains how vector search and hybrid database approaches are helping bridge this gap, allowing enterprises to query structured and unstructured data together without creating new silos. The conversation highlights a growing shift in mindset: modern data teams must think more like search engineers, optimizing for relevance and usefulness rather than simply exact database results. At the same time, governance and trust are becoming foundational requirements, ensuring AI systems access accurate data while respecting strict security controls. Operating at Google scale also reinforces the need for reliability, low latency, and correctness, pushing infrastructure toward unified storage layers rather than fragmented systems that add complexity and delay. Looking toward 2026, Krishnamurthy argues the top priority for CIOs and data leaders is organizing and governing data effectively, because AI systems are only as strong as the data foundations supporting them. The takeaway: AI success depends not just on smarter models, but on smarter data infrastructure.

Kris Beevers is the CEO at NetBox Labs, working on turning NetBox into the system of record and automation backbone for modern and AI-driven infrastructure.Speed and Scale: How Today's AI Datacenters Are Operating Through Hypergrowth // MLOps Podcast #359 with Kris Beevers, CEO of NetBox LabsJoin the Community: https://go.mlops.community/YTJoinInGet the newsletter: https://go.mlops.community/YTNewsletterMLOps GPU Guide: https://go.mlops.community/gpuguide// AbstractHundreds of neocloud operators and "AI Factory" builders have emerged to serve the insatiable demand for AI infrastructure. These teams are compressing the design, build, deploy, operate, scale cycle of their infrastructures down to months, while managing massive footprints with lean teams. How? By applying modern intent-driven infrastructure automation principles to greenfield deployments. We'll explore how these teams carry design intent through to production, and how operating and automating around consistent infrastructure data is compressing "time to first train".// BioKris Beevers is the Co-founder and CEO of NetBox Labs. NetBox is used by nearly every Neocloud and AI datacenter to manage their networks and infrastructure. Kris is an engineer at heart and by background, and loves the leverage infrastructure innovation creates to accelerate technology and empower engineers to do their best work. A serial entrepreneur, Kris has founded and helped lead multiple other successful businesses in the internet and network infrastructure. Most recently, he co-founded and led NS1, which was acquired by IBM in 2023. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is based in New Jersey.// Related LinksWebsite: https://netboxlabs.com/Coding Agents Conference: https://luma.com/codingagents~~~~~~~~ ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ~~~~~~~Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://go.mlops.community/TYExploreJoin our Slack community [https://go.mlops.community/slack]Follow us on X/Twitter [@mlopscommunity](https://x.com/mlopscommunity) or [LinkedIn](https://go.mlops.community/linkedin)] Sign up for the next meetup: [https://go.mlops.community/register]MLOps Swag/Merch: [https://shop.mlops.community/]Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: /dpbrinkmConnect with Kris on LinkedIn: /beevek/Timestamps:[00:00] Observability and Delta Analysis[00:26] New World Exploration[04:06] Bottlenecks in AI Infrastructure[13:37] Data Center Optimization Challenges[19:58] Tech Stack Breakdown[25:26] Data Center Design Principles[31:32] Constraints and Automation in Design[40:00] Complexity in Data Centers[45:02] GPU Cloud Landscape[50:24] Data Centers in Containers[57:45] Observability Beyond Software[1:04:43] Tighter Integrations vs NetBox[1:06:47] Wrap up

Operating conditions in advanced manufacturing are changing fast as organizations push to modernize operations while navigating quality requirements, long lead times, and increasingly complex supply chains. As leaders look to apply AI across the physical world, many discover that technology alone is not enough. Success depends on strong operating fundamentals, clean master data, and a culture that aligns teams around execution, accountability, and continuous improvement.In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton is joined by special guest host Wiley Jones to kick off a new 2026 series, Enterprise Unleashed, powered by the DOSS team. Together, they sit down with Garuth Acharya, investor at 8090 Industries and former operator with experience across GE, SpaceX, and Blue Origin, to explore what it really takes to build AI ready operations in advanced manufacturing. The conversation examines why AI initiatives often fail in industrial environments when data hygiene is weak, and why clean, correct, actionable data and disciplined master data practices are foundational to any successful transformation.The discussion also emphasizes practical ways AI can unlock value, from accelerating work instructions to improving shortage detection, surfacing procurement anomalies, and strengthening quality feedback loops. The panel returns to the human side of transformation: mission alignment, cross functional collaboration, clear ownership, and spending time on the shop floor before deciding what to build, buy, or partner for.Jump into the conversation:(00:00) Intro(00:47) Introducing the new series for 2026(01:32) Focus on AI-ready operations and advanced manufacturing(02:44) Special guest: Garuth Acharya(03:31) Guru's background and career journey(04:31) Rattlesnake wrestling and early career adventures(06:52) Experiences at SpaceX and Blue Origin(10:27) The importance of culture in high-stakes environments(14:59) AI in manufacturing and supply chain(20:10) Challenges and solutions in AI implementation(25:17) The importance of clean master data(26:22) Engineering and production challenges(27:26) Operational insights and red flags(29:47) Building a culture of clarity and ownership(33:35) Prioritizing modernizing operations(41:42) Advice for AI-ready operationsAdditional Links & Resources:Connect with Wiley Jones: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wileycwjones/Learn more about DOSS: https://www.doss.com/Connect with Garuth Acharya: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garuthacharya/Learn more about 8090 Industries: https://www.8090industries.com/Connect with Scott Luton:

Why do some recruitment agencies collapse during recessions while others keep growing? Gerard Koolen has watched his business expand through three major crises: the 2008 financial collapse, COVID-19, and the war in Ukraine. Each time, Lugera grew. Not by working harder, but by building the business differently. Gerard is the founder of Lugera, a recruitment agency with 11 offices, over 500 employees, and €243 million in annual revenue. Operating across a region tested by economic downturns and geopolitical instability, his firm has been forced to adapt repeatedly. Instead of relying on a single revenue stream, Gerard built what he calls an “all-seasons service portfolio.” Over time, Lugera developed eight distinct revenue streams. When permanent hiring slowed, outplacement surged. When clients froze recruitment, other services stepped in. One stream compensated for another, keeping the business resilient when markets turned. That approach created a new problem. Managing eight revenue streams manually nearly broke the company. Gerard invested 10 years and €2.2 million in building technology to automate work that once required a team of 30 people. Today, one part-time employee handles what used to take an entire department. In this episode, Gerard breaks down how the model works. He explains how to monetise the 99% of candidates most agencies never place, why traditional ATS systems quietly limit growth, and how outplacement can become a counter-cyclical revenue stream. If you want to build a recruitment business that grows through uncertainty instead of being crushed by it, this conversation will change how you think about revenue, technology, and resilience. What you'll learn: Why Lugera grew 20% during the 2008 recession What an “all-seasons service portfolio” looks like in practice Why most agencies monetise only 0.2% of their candidate database How eight revenue streams reduce risk and smooth volatility Why your ATS may be capping your growth without you realising How automation replaced 30 staff with one part-time role Why does outplacement generate revenue when hiring stops Episode highlights: [03:30] Growing during the 2008 recession [05:53] The all-seasons service portfolio [08:01] Monetising the 99% of candidates you never place [14:34] The real cost of building the technology [19:42] Why most ATS platforms restrict growth [27:02] Doubling placements without doubling effort [31:33] Turning outplacement into a €1M revenue stream [45:25] Automated outreach that converts job ads into leads Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Recruiterflow. Recruiterflow is an AI-first ATS and CRM built to help recruitment businesses run and scale more efficiently. It combines ATS, CRM, sequencing, data enrichment, marketing automation, and AI agents in one platform. Many leaders in our coaching community rely on Recruiterflow to streamline operations and improve execution. Learn more or request a demo at recruitmentcoach.com/recruiterflow Guest Bio Gerard Koolen is the founder of Lugera, a recruitment and staffing agency with 11 offices across Eastern Europe, over 500 employees, and €243 million in annual revenue. After investing 10 years and €2.2 million developing proprietary AI matching technology, Gerard created the Recruitment Revenue Platform to help recruitment agencies build multiple revenue streams beyond traditional placement fees. This is Gerard's third appearance on The Resilient Recruiter. Connect with Gerard LinkedIn: Gerard Koolen Website: lugera.com Recruitment Revenue Platform: recruitmentrevenueplatform.com Special offer: Get 100 free credits plus personal onboarding at recruitmentcoach.com/staa Connect with Mark Free strategy session: recruitmentcoach.com/strategy-session LinkedIn: Mark Whitby Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

The renewable energy sector faces a fundamental disconnect. Cybersecurity teams generate endless alerts and vulnerability reports, while operational managers focus on asset performance and site availability. Neither group speaks the other's language, leaving executives struggling to make informed decisions about where to invest limited resources. Rafael Narezzi, Co-Founder and CEO of Centrii, has built his company specifically to bridge this gap, translating technical cyber risks into the financial business outcomes that drive executive decision-making.Centrii, emerging from its predecessor Cyber Energia, represents a new approach to OT security in the energy sector. The name itself carries meaning: the sentinel of industrial intelligence, signified by the double I at the end. Rather than simply identifying vulnerabilities and presenting red alerts, the platform contextualizes risks in terms that matter to the business. How does a potential compromise affect your power purchase agreements? What happens to your revenue when energy prices fluctuate and your site goes offline? These are the questions that Centrii answers.The company prices its services per megawatt hour, demonstrating its commitment to speaking the language of energy rather than traditional IT security. This approach reflects a deeper understanding that renewable energy assets present vastly different risk profiles. A biomass facility with 24/7 personnel on site faces different challenges than an unmanned offshore wind installation. Solar farms, hydrogen facilities, and battery storage systems each require tailored risk assessments that account for their unique operational characteristics and regulatory requirements.Recent attacks on distributed energy resources, including the compromise of Poland's renewable grid, underscore the urgency of this work. With regulations like NERC CIP 15 in the United States, NIS 2.0 in Europe, and the UK Cyber Security Bill now holding asset owners personally accountable for cybersecurity failures, organizations can no longer afford to treat OT security as an afterthought. Narezzi observes that compliance has become the driving force pushing companies to take responsibility for their critical infrastructure assets.What sets Centrii apart is its ability to help executives identify which risks actually matter. When every cybersecurity tool reports critical alerts, organizations face paralysis. Which red is the red that demands immediate attention? Centrii provides clarity by mapping technical findings to financial impact, reputational damage, and operational consequences specific to each asset type and technology.The company's presentation at DistribuTECH 2026 focuses on battery energy storage systems, an area of explosive growth driven by data center demand and the expanding role of AI. Narezzi draws a parallel to Ocean's 11, where coordinated manipulation of power systems creates cascading failures. As batteries become essential for grid balancing, the risks of compromised dispatch commands affecting multiple installations simultaneously represent a scenario that demands serious attention from asset owners and regulators alike.Operating across 16 countries with diverse energy technologies, Centrii provides a unified platform for organizations managing hundreds of sites across different regions and regulatory environments. The goal is straightforward: give every stakeholder, from technical teams to the C-suite, a common language for understanding and acting on cyber risk in the energy sector.This is a Brand Story. A Brand Story is a ~35-40 minute in-depth conversation designed to tell the complete story of the guest, their company, and their vision. Learn more: https://www.studioc60.com/creation#fullGUESTRafael Narezzi, Co-Founder and CEO, Centriihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/narezzi/RESOURCESCentriihttps://centrii.comCyber Energiahttps://cyberenergia.comAre you interested in telling your story?▶︎ Full Length Brand Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#full▶︎ Brand Spotlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#spotlight▶︎ Brand Highlight Story: https://www.studioc60.com/content-creation#highlightKEYWORDSRafael Narezzi, Centrii, Sean Martin, brand story, brand marketing, marketing podcast, brand story, OT security, renewable energy cybersecurity, battery energy storage systems, BESS, critical infrastructure protection, energy sector cybersecurity, NERC CIP, NIS 2.0, power purchase agreements, distributed energy resources, industrial intelligence, cyber risk quantification Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Monday, February 2nd

Presented by Priority Electric. Contact Patrick Sandridge today! (769) 798-9355 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calgary Market Shifts & How to Scale Using Equity (Without Running Out of Money) Real Estate Investing Morning Show – Hosted by Wayne & Gabby Hillier Today's episode dives into two big topics investors are asking about right now: how to properly scale a portfolio using equity without over-leveraging, and what's actually happening in the Calgary real estate and rental markets heading into spring 2026. Wayne breaks down complex concepts in plain language, walks through real examples, and shares why "mastering your market" matters more than ever.

Michael McKee pleaded not guilty on January 23rd to four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Dr. Spencer Tepe. The evidence police have described is damning—ballistic analysis allegedly linking a firearm from his property to shell casings at the crime scene, surveillance footage reportedly capturing his vehicle at the scene, and a firearm suppressor. Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant called it a "targeted" and "domestic violence related attack." The couple was found shot to death in their Columbus home while their two young children were discovered unharmed inside. But here's the part that should terrify everyone: for eleven days after the alleged killings, McKee was still employed as a vascular surgeon at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Illinois. His Nevada medical license had expired in June 2025. Court records show he was added to a malpractice lawsuit just months before the murders. He allegedly provided fake addresses. Yet he was credentialed to operate on patients. How does this happen? In this episode, we expose the broken system of state medical boards that allows problem doctors to hop from state to state without disclosure. We dig into the National Practitioner Data Bank—a database Congress created specifically to catch doctors like McKee—that the public cannot access and many state boards don't even check. The data is staggering: over 500 doctors disciplined in one state are practicing elsewhere with clean records. More than 250 who surrendered their licenses are working in new states with zero consequences. There's no federal law requiring disclosure. No real accountability. Just a system built to protect physician mobility over patient safety. McKee faces life without parole if convicted. But how many other doctors just like him are operating right now?#MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #SpencerTepe #TepeMurders #MedicalMalpractice #NPDB #StateMedicalBoard #DomesticViolence #TrueCrime #HiddenKillersJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Show #2590 Show Notes: Men of Iron Conference: https://www.menofironconference.org/ Crazy man arrested: https://www.facebook.com/reel/885088201121295 IQ by Country: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-iq-by-country Tulsi Gabbard docs: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/tulsi-gabbard-releases-documents-that-prove-it-was/ Fulton County Trouble: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/materials-sought-fulton-county-fbi-warrant-revealed-difficult/ ‘Abortion is Healthcare’ funny: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2826069981067215 Operating in 2 Realms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLN8V0QXVcY Back to marriage between men and women: https://notthebee.com/article/watch-christian-coalition-launches-campaign-to-get-supreme-court-to-overturn-obergefell-ruling-on-gay-marriage Coach’s Weekly Word: 2 Peter 2:6-8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20peter%202%3A6-8&version=KJV Communion verses: Hebrews 9:20-18 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%209%3A%2020-28&version=KJV Matthew 26:26-29 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026%3A26-29&version=KJV

Send us a text

Operating conditions in the freight and logistics industry are evolving rapidly, driven by shifting market dynamics and ongoing disruptions. With the freight market's volatility, capacity constraints, and changing cost structures, leaders must adapt quickly to make informed decisions and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly uncertain environment.In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott Luton is joined by special guest host Jake Barr. Together, they talk to Bobby Holland, Vice President/Director of Freight Business Analytics at U.S. Bank, and Dr. Chris Caplice, Chief Scientist at DAT Freight & Analytics, to dive deep into the inaugural Q1 2026 U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index (Rates Edition), a comprehensive resource that provides crucial insights into freight rates, spot and contract rates, fuel prices, and more. The panel explores how supply chain leaders can leverage this data to optimize freight strategies, anticipate market shifts, and make data-driven decisions with confidence.The discussion also highlights the importance of scenario analysis and flexibility in managing supply chain risks, emphasizing how agility can turn disruption into opportunity. The conversation wraps up with practical takeaways on building more resilient supply chains, improving forecasting accuracy, and preparing for the next phase of freight market evolution.Jump into the conversation:(00:00) Intro(01:24) Introducing the Q1 2026 U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index Rates Edition(02:52) Meet the experts Bobby and Chris(03:26) Fun warmup: Football playoff talk(06:05) Exploring DAT Freight and Analytics(07:32) Understanding the US Freight Payment Index(13:11) Spot vs. contract rates: Key insights(16:11) National and regional freight market trends(22:26) Agricultural impact on spot rates(22:59) Regional driver challenges and shortages(23:46) Treasury data and regional observations(24:50) Actions supply chain leaders should take(29:02) Future predictions and tariff impacts(33:35) Manufacturing activity and automation(41:04) Leadership takeaways from the panelAdditional Links & Resources:Download the Q1 2026 U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index—Rates Edition: https://www.usbank.com/corporate-and-commercial-banking/industry-expertise/transportation/freight-payment-insights.html?ecid=OTHE_80042Connect with Jake Barr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-barr-3883501/Connect with Bobby Holland: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-holland-4a9355/Learn more about U.S. Bank:

As Texas battles another bout of bitterly cold weather, Energy Gang looks at the lessons that one generation and transmission electric co-operative learned from Winter Storm Uri in 2021. The freeze and subsequent shock to energy prices showed providers how dangerous it can be to rely on the market alone.For Rayburn Electric, a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative, incurring years of power costs in just days was a catalyst for a fundamental reset of its approach to risk and resilience.Host Ed Crooks is joined by Rayburn's President & CEO David Naylor, and General Counsel Chris Anderson, to hear the story of how they rethought how the co-op could best serve its members, and implemented its new strategy. The crucial steps included a first-of-its-kind securitization for a co-op, to spread costs over decades, and a strategic pivot toward owning generation as a natural hedge for its electricity sales. The co-op bought a power plant, now called the Rayburn Energy Station, and has RES 2 in the works, to meet reliability needs amid rapid load growth. David and Chris share what changedinside the organization too, driven by the principle that ‘status quo is not company policy.' Operating exclusively within ERCOT, Rayburn provides power to approximately 625,000 Texans across sixteen counties, working collaboratively with four local distribution co-ops. Its infrastructure includes more than 265 miles of transmission lines and more than 1,000 MW of owned generation capacity, including the Rayburn Energy Station, a combined-cycle natural gas plant added to strengthen reliability after Winter Storm Uri.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Michelle Hackman, Wall Street Journal reporter covering U.S. immigration policy, talks about the legality of the tactics ICE agents are using in Minneapolis and elsewhere, including entering people's homes without warrants, and the ways they are dealing with bystanders in the wake of the two recent fatal shootings in Minnesota.

What does it actually take to run a successful play café once you're past the opening phase—especially when your space is larger than most independent, non-franchise-chain locations?In this episode of the Profitable Play Podcast, I sit down with Kristina Lai, owner of Busy Bee Play Cafe in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their 8,500+ sq ft facility is on the larger side for a non-chain indoor playground business, which brings its own unique challenges and advantages.On the challenge side, a larger space means a bigger team (often with a high number of teenage staff), higher capacity to manage, more moving parts operationally, and the ability—and pressure—to run a high volume of birthday parties every single week. On the flip side, that size also creates real opportunities: multiple parties running at once, diversified revenue streams beyond open play, a full balloon bar, stronger café potential, and more flexibility in how the business actually makes money.In this conversation, Kristina shares a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how she navigates both sides of that equation.We cover:...Operating a larger independent play café without franchise systems...Managing a large, mostly teenage team in peak seasons...Running a high volume of birthday parties each week—and why systems matter...Hosting multiple parties at the same time without overwhelming staff or guests...Real revenue breakdowns: open play, parties, memberships, café sales, retail, and balloons...Building a profitable balloon business after Party City closures...Using reservations and memberships to control capacity in a high-traffic space...When memberships attract the wrong families—and how to handle it...Letting go of problem members and employees (and why some money isn't worth it)...Launching hot food in a play café without turning it into a full restaurant...The emotional toll of running a large play business and being “always on call”...How ownership impacts family life when your kids grow up alongside the businessThis episode is especially helpful if you:...Own or are planning on opening a play café or indoor playground...Are considering (or already running) a larger-than-average independent space...Run frequent birthday parties and want better systems...Want multiple revenue streams without burning out...Are managing staffing, capacity, or boundaries

Recorded live at FMI 2026, Omni Talk Retail hosts Anne Mezzenga and Chris Walton wrap up their conference coverage with Benjamin Bond, SVP, Strategy & Client Success at Simbe, from the Simbe booth. In this final interview of the conference, Ben shares how Simbe thinks about long term strategy while working day to day with retailers to ensure value realization at scale. He explains why shelf intelligence succeeds when entire organizations align around the store associate, and how Simbe's technology helps teams prioritize, act in real time, and run better stores. The conversation goes beyond the robot demo to explore how retailers move from pilot programs to full chain deployments, how CFOs evaluate emerging technology investments, and why shelf data is becoming one of the most foundational datasets in retail. Ben also looks ahead to how Simbe's platform, AI, and computer vision continue to evolve across grocery and other retail verticals. Key Topics Covered - Ben Bond's role spanning strategy and client success at Simbe - Empowering store associates with real time shelf intelligence - Moving from pilot programs to large scale deployments - Building the business case and ROI for retail robotics - Operating models that drive long term retailer success - The future of computer vision, AI, and multimodal platforms - Expanding beyond grocery into additional retail sectors This conversation closes out Omni Talk Retail's live coverage from FMI 2026, recorded at the Simbe booth. #FMI2026 #OmniTalkRetail #Simbe #RetailTechnology #ShelfIntelligence #RetailOperations #StoreExecution #RetailRobotics

You formed your LLC. Good job.But many business owners unknowingly make critical mistakes after formation that quietly destroy liability protection, trigger audits, and limit growth.In this episode, Mike walks through the 10 most common LLC mistakes business owners make in 2026 and explains exactly how to fix them. From mixing personal and business finances to ignoring tax planning and misclassifying owner compensation, this episode gives you a practical framework to audit your business and protect it the right way.If you want your LLC to survive and thrive, not just exist on paper, this episode shows you what to fix now before it becomes expensive later.