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Vendor channel consolidation continues to shape decision-making for MSPs, as the industry evaluates tradeoffs between integrated security stacks and maintaining best-of-breed toolsets. The episode's discussion centers on the role of platform consolidation, referencing Guardz as an example of a provider leveraging third-party engines like SentinelOne for EDR and Check Point/Avanan for email, shifting focus from proprietary tool development to deep integration and operational unification. This shift reflects broader industry movement away from fragmented tooling toward unified security operations designed specifically for MSP and SMB environments.The primary evidence highlighted is the operational friction and compromises created by legacy all-in-one approaches, which often involved aggregating standalone tools without meaningful integration, leading to inefficiencies and substandard outcomes. Doni Brass detailed Guardz's initial strategy of building proprietary AV and EDR products, ultimately conceding the inability to match specialist vendors' effectiveness. The current Guardz model combines licensing and unified management for technologies like SentinelOne, managed through a single point of support and tied together with an identity-centric architecture. The operational benefit, according to Doni Brass, is streamlined onboarding, reduced tool sprawl, and simpler day-to-day management.Supporting developments reinforcing the structural channel consolidation theme include user poll data indicating a split among MSPs: some using under three security vendors, others supporting four to eight, and a minority historically managing as many as 15. The discussion also addresses the risks associated with consolidation—namely increased dependency on single-vendor platforms, reduced flexibility to swap components, and potential compliance shortcomings for high-regulation sectors such as CMMC-restricted defense contractors. Doni Brass acknowledged Gardz's lack of CMMC certification and identified large, mature MSPs with internal SOCs as less likely to benefit from consolidated stacks unless targeting downmarket segments.For operators, the main implications concern assessment of operational risk, contract liability, and long-term agility. Single-platform solutions can simplify onboarding and management but may introduce lock-in, especially if multi-year contracts are involved. Doni Brass recommended favoring short-term agreements and avoiding exposing specific vendor brands in client-facing deliverables to maintain stack flexibility. Growing reliance on unified platforms demands thorough trial evaluation and continued scrutiny of channel strategy and compliance postures, as vendor pivots and regulatory expectations can change with little notice. Careful governance remains necessary to mitigate both strategic and operational downside.Sponsored by:GuardzBook a Demo: guardz.com/book-a-demo-v5/?utm_source=Davesobel&utm_medium=Webinar&utm_campaign=Davesobel
Hey friends! We've been on a bit of a Tales of Pentest Pwnage bender lately, so let's keep it rolling with Part 90. (And Mom, relax — this is not one pentest story chopped into 90 parts.) Today is less of an A-to-Z story and more a pile of tips and tricks pulled from a recent string of SCCM-flavored internals — plus a tangent about a video game and a little robot Claude and I built to get my life back. Multi-tier SCCM is having a moment — I've never administered SCCM a day in my life, but 2026 keeps dropping me into these split-role environments. Here's where I go to figure out my attack surface when all I've got is a low-priv cred. SMB signing on? Cool, I'll go around it — relaying from one SCCM box to the one with SQL on it, and the easy-button tool that vacuums the good stuff out of the database once you're there. (NAA creds, clear-text local admin passwords, install scripts with creds baked in…yes please.) Then relay the other direction — when the loot came back stale, a nudge from a Slack channel had me pointing the relay backwards, and I giggled like a little schoolboy at what popped out. Adding yourself to the local admin group: still weirdly undetected — an old episode of ours reminded me of an Impacket tool I don't see written up on many pentest blogs, and it slipped right by. My favorite cheat code hit a snag — the evil-scheduled-task-under-a-logged-in-DA trick kept coughing up permission errors, so I had to get creative. Plus the defensive recs I'm still trying to sharpen up — if you've got a better way to close this loophole, I'm all ears! Tangent: Halloween (the video game) and the lobby watcher — a million players and I'm still staring into the lobby abyss for 10 minutes at a time. So Claude and I built something that watches the screen and texts me when it's time to sprint back to the keyboard. It's not cheating. It's not! (The Texas Chainsaw crowd disagreed, loudly.)
The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Sam Bevan, Global Director, Mid-Market, SMB & Global Expansion at Spotify, the most popular global audio streaming service with 365m users, including 165m subscribers across 178 markets.Follow Sam on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelbevan/Follow Spotify Ads online at: https://ads.spotify.com/You've built SMB and mid-market advertising businesses at Google, Facebook, and Snap before landing at Spotify. What drew you to audio as the next frontier — and why now?Your current remit spans emerging and scaled business, mid-market, SMB, customer success, and market expansion globally. That's a massive scope. How do you think about prioritization when everything is simultaneously “on”?CPG brands have historically been heavy TV and display spenders. What's the honest conversation you have with a CMO who still sees audio as a “nice to have” rather than a core channel?Spotify has stated that audio ads on the platform are two times more effective than display ads for both purchase intent and information intent. How does that data land with CPG performance marketers who are laser-focused on ROAS and attribution?Retail media has exploded as a category because of purchase-signal data. Spotify sits outside the transactional data loop — how do you make the case that listening behavior is a proxy for buying behavior?We talk a lot on this show about the “commerce moment” — the point where brand intent converts to purchase. How is Spotify thinking about bridging the gap between audio impression and point of sale?You joined Spotify from Snapchat, where you led SMB sales, having also held SMB-focused roles at Facebook and Google. What's the universal truth about selling advertising to scaled and emerging businesses — regardless of platform?You described 2025 as a “breakout year” for Spotify's emerging and scaled business, driven by rapid adoption of Ads Manager and Ad Exchange. For CPG brands that haven't yet leaned in — what are they leaving on the table?Agentic AI and programmatic buying are reshaping how media gets planned and purchased. What does Spotify's ad exchange strategy look like in a world where AI agents may soon be making the media buys?We're here at Cannes Lions, the festival of creativity. Spotify sits at the intersection of culture, creativity, and commerce. How do you think about Spotify's role in helping CPG brands show up more culturally — not just commercially?What's one thing CPG brand teams consistently get wrong when they approach audio creative — and how should they fix it?Final question: if you could wave a wand and change one thing about how the advertising industry thinks about audio and Spotify specifically, what would it be?CPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.comFMCG Guys Website: http://FMCGguys.comSheCOMMERCE Website: https://shecommercepodcast.com/Rhea Raj's Website: http://rhearaj.comLara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.
On this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, hosts Daniel Koontz and Caleb Talley sit down with Carl Maloney, founder of FloX, a technology consulting firm helping mid-sized companies replace spreadsheet chaos with AI-driven systems. Carl shares his journey from a decade-plus corporate career and burnout to a six-month sabbatical, and ultimately launching his own consulting business. Plus how he validates customer problems, runs marketing solo, and thinks about privacy and compliance when implementing AI for clients in regulated industries like healthcare.In This Episode:☑️ Warning signs a company has outgrown Excel-based operations☑️ AI implementation, data privacy, and HIPAA compliance☑️ A solo founder's marketing strategy☑️ Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs ⏱️CHAPTERS00:00 – Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast00:59 – Meet Carl Maloney of FloX,01:17 – From Corporate Burnout to Launching His Own Business02:28 – Sabbatical Adventures: Road Trip & Mountain Biking03:06 – The Rebrand: Choosing the Name FloX,03:26 – What FloX, Does for Growing Companies04:15 – AI, Data Privacy & HIPAA Compliance05:17 – Warning Signs You've Outgrown Excel06:05 – Validating the Problem With Customer Discovery07:01 – Marketing & Running FloX, as a Solo Founder09:47 – Why Entrepreneurship Is Harder Than It Looks12:24 – Entrepreneurship as a Mountain Bike Trail13:41 – FloX,'s Growth Vision, Team & the NWA Startup Ecosystem16:52 – Defining Success & Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs21:21 – Advice to His Younger Self, Where to Find Carl & Closing—Connect with Carl
The episode highlights a pronounced governance gap in how small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools and services. New research from GTIA, discussed by Sharon Florentine, identifies that while AI use has become nearly universal among SMB end customers of IT service providers, most lack formal policies, leadership, and budgeting structure around their deployment of AI. This reflects a foundational misalignment between AI adoption rates and organizational preparedness.According to the GTIA study, 97–98% of surveyed SMBs are already using AI to some extent, yet only 20–25% do so strategically. Strategic usage is defined by having AI under a leadership role, with established policies and procedures. In addition, only around one-quarter of respondents reported having a dedicated AI budget. This suggests that despite broad AI integration, most spending is ad hoc or drawn from unrelated IT priorities. The research surveyed 520 SMBs across 11 verticals, reinforcing the generalizability of the findings.Supporting discussions emphasized that this misalignment is both an opportunity and a risk for MSPs and ITSPs. Unaddressed gaps in governance, budgeting, and cybersecurity may undermine value delivery and create liability issues. Practical challenges—such as unclear funding sources, lack of proactive customer engagement, and potential cybersecurity risks tied to unmanaged AI use—were described as persistent pain points. It was also noted that shifting to a proactive approach is essential for building trust and effective client partnerships.For MSPs and IT leaders, the operational implications center on the need to address governance and budget planning for AI while maintaining a focus on established IT infrastructure. Relying solely on existing processes may introduce unmanaged risk, particularly as customers expand AI use without adequate oversight. Providers are advised to prepare by developing frameworks for AI budgeting, security controls, and policy development, rather than diverting focus from foundational IT services. Neglecting core infrastructure and data practices in pursuit of unstructured AI integration was identified as a critical operational miscalculation. Supported by: Pax8 ScalePad
Matt Allison, CEO and Founder of Handraise, joins us to share why he's skipping the SMB trap and building an AI-powered media intelligence platform for enterprise from day one. Drawing on hard-won lessons from scaling TrendKite, Matt breaks down how Handraise is targeting $30K+ deals with brands like Walgreens and Hershey, the importance of patience in early go-to-market, and how AI is helping them build a more thoughtful, scalable, and enterprise-ready product from the start. Matt also talks about: - Why Handraise is skipping the SMB trap and going enterprise from day one - What TrendKite taught him about building for high-value, high-retention customers - Why patience and discipline matter when you're building an enterprise GTM motion - How AI is helping Handraise build a more sophisticated product with a lean team - Why being AI-first changes what's possible in product development - How to build a sustainable business without chasing hypergrowth at all costs Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Matt Allison and Handraise 01:15 Why Handraise Is Going Enterprise From Day One 08:46 The Challenge: Building for $30K+ Enterprise Deals 11:56 Why Patience Matters in Enterprise GTM 15:17 How AI Is Changing Product Development 19:02 Building an AI-First, Enterprise-Ready Product 22:43 Why Handraise Isn't Chasing Hypergrowth 26:00 Matt's Favorite Book and Podcast 28:00 Where to Find Matt and Handraise Try Handraise: handraise.com
[English below]Trong bối cảnh các doanh nghiệp Việt Nam đang vươn ra thị trường quốc tế với tốc độ nhanh chưa từng có, sự khác biệt giữa việc bán hàng ra thế giới (selling globally) và thực sự vận hành ở quy mô toàn cầu (operating globally) đang trở thành bài toán chiến lược cho các nhà sáng lập Việt. Rào cản này không chỉ nằm ở sản phẩm hay tiếp thị, mà xuất hiện ngay ở tốc độ xử lý dòng tiền, sự minh bạch về tiền tệ và hiệu quả của hạ tầng vận hành.Trong tập podcast này, ông Nagesh Devata - Phó Chủ tịch Cấp cao khu vực Châu Á - Thái Bình Dương tại Payoneer, người có 30 năm kinh nghiệm trong lĩnh vực công nghệ, tài chính và thương mại toàn cầu - sẽ chia sẻ những góc nhìn về làn sóng vươn ra thế giới của các doanh nghiệp SMB cùng các nhà sáng lập thế hệ mới tại Việt Nam. Cuộc trò chuyện tập trung phân tích thực trạng chuyển dịch từ mô hình bán hàng quốc tế đơn thuần sang vận hành toàn cầu toàn diện, thế mạnh nổi bật của Việt Nam trong các mảng Gaming, Phần mềm và B2B, cũng như lý do vì sao hạ tầng tài chính chuẩn mực lại đóng vai trò quyết định trong việc loại bỏ lực cản tăng trưởng và thiết lập niềm tin với đối tác quốc tế. Ngoài ra, những tác động thực tế của AI đối với năng lực vận hành của SMBs và giá trị cốt lõi của sự kết nối con người trong các giao dịch thương mại xuyên biên giới cũng sẽ được thảo luận trong tập podcast này. -As Vietnamese businesses expand into international markets faster than ever before, the gap between simply selling globally and truly operating on a global scale has become a defining strategic challenge for founders. This hurdle goes beyond product offerings or marketing strategies, it manifests directly in the speed of cash flow processing, currency transparency, and the efficiency of operational infrastructure.In this podcast episode, Nagesh Devata - Senior Vice President, GTM APA at Payoneer, bringing 30 years of expertise across technology, finance, and global commerce, shares his perspectives on the international expansion wave among Vietnamese SMBs and next-generation founders.The conversation explores the shift from basic cross-border selling to comprehensive global operation, Vietnam's key competitive edges in Gaming, Software, and B2B sectors, and why a robust financial infrastructure is critical to eliminating growth friction and building trust with international partners. Additionally, the discussion touches on the practical impact of AI on SMB operational capabilities and the enduring value of human connection in cross-border trade.-Listen to this episode on YoutubeAnd explore many amazing articles about the pioneers at: https://vietcetera.com/vn/bo-suu-tap/vietnam-innovator-Feel free to leave any questions or invitations for business cooperation at team@vietcetera.com
Tim Ring officially joins on as the new co-host of Bleav In Arizona Cardinals! In this episode, he and Blake Allen Murphy discuss: -Final 53 surprises (No Starling, SMB, B.J. Ojulari) -Hjalte Froholdt Contract -Michael Wilson Contract & AZ dragging heels? -Team Captains: Jacoby in, Paris out? -Injury concerns: Will Johnson, Jeremiyah Love, Isaiah Adams -Expectations for the Chargers game Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Quinn Childress, owner of Willow Street Lawns and founder of the digital lawn care marketplace Lawnly, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast to talk about the first-ever Lawn Care Olympics coming to Fayetteville, Arkansas on September 20th. Quinn shares how he went from experiencing homelessness as a teenager to building a lawn care business, and now a platform designed to funnel local dollars toward nonprofits and people experiencing homelessness in Northwest Arkansas.In This EpisodeWhy Quinn started Willow Street Lawns after experiencing homelessness at 15What the Lawn Care Olympics is and why it's coming to FayettevilleHow Lawnly connects homeowners, lawn care pros, and nonprofitsWhy local dollars, not charity, are the key to breaking poverty cyclesHow Startup Junkie's ecosystem helped Quinn scale two venturesWhat advice Quinn would give his younger self today⏱️ Chapters1:01 – Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast1:42 – Meet Quinn Childress: Willow Street Lawns & Lawnly2:09 – Announcing the First-Ever Lawn Care Olympics2:29 – The Vision: Turning Lawn Care into a Community Sport3:23 – Partnering with Nonprofits to Fight Homelessness4:45 – Quinn's Story: From Homelessness to Business Owner6:30 – Lawn Care Olympics Event Details (Sept 20 at New Beginnings)7:26 – Judges, Challenges, and Who Can Compete11:41 – Inside Lawnly: A Two-Sided Marketplace for Lawn Care14:06 – RISE Arkansas Sponsor Message14:34 – Quinn's Roots in the NWA Ecosystem & Building Lawnly19:18 – The Real Motivation: Helping the Local Economy Thrive22:22 – Time Machine Question: Advice to His Younger Self29:20 – How to Connect with Quinn & Support the Olympics—Connect with Quinn
Don’t miss this massive ecosystem shift! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ Host Vince Menzione sits down with industry leaders Nicole Dziedzic, Erwin Visser, and Mira Ayad to uncover the critical transformations happening across the technology ecosystem and marketplace. The panel explores the impact of Reseller Enabled Offers (REO), the changing role of distribution into aggregation, and the immense opportunities surrounding agentic AI. They also dive into why MSPs need to ruthlessly simplify their technology stacks to make room for business value selling, and how data tools like ASPX are changing the game for proactive channel strategies. https://youtu.be/4Ox507-0l_8 Key Takeaways The marketplace has completely transformed software procurement and is now rapidly expanding into the SMB sector. Reseller Enabled Offers (REO) allow partners to own private offers on behalf of ISVs while maintaining their trusted advisor status. Ingram has introduced the MCP server to help partners automate and pull necessary distribution data seamlessly. The next few years represent a “golden age” for MSPs if they can successfully adopt, build, and operationalize AI agents. Microsoft’s ASPX platform gives partners critical usage and marketing signals to proactively target customer opportunities. MSPs must simplify their bloated technology stacks to create space for selling true business value with agentic AI. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags agentic AI, Reseller Enabled Offers, MCP server, marketplace syndication, ASPX data, Agent 365, precision velocity, managed service providers, hyperscaler enablement, technology stack simplification, Ultimate Partner Experience, cloud solutions strategy, customer zero, ISV go-to-market. Transcript Nicole – Erwin – Mira Podcast [00:00:00] Mira Ayad: I think it’s a very simple formula. Start where your customer is at, like meet the customer. Where they act is not just a generic cliche state statement. [00:00:10] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us, the way hyperscalers are partnering, how AI is remaking the channel. And what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: Welcome to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Menzi, own your host. And each week I sit down with leaders at the intersection of technology, partnerships and outcomes, the voices shaping how ecosystems actually work. We talk about what’s real, what’s changing, and what it takes to lead in this era where the partner channel isn’t just part of the strategy. [00:00:43] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room changes everything. Let’s start. [00:00:53] Vince Menzione: We’ve got some word friends of ultimate partner coming up now, and then I’m gonna have them come up and introduce themselves. Uh, most of these people I’ve had the opportunity to meet Nicole, come on up. Come on. Good to meet you. I’m gonna have everyone introduce themselves. This guy, I never know. I’ve never met this guy before. [00:01:12] Vince Menzione: Mira, great to see you again. We gotta be on stage about a month ago. Yes. And we get to do this again while a different panel conversation. So, terrific. [00:01:22] Vince Menzione: Nicole, we’re gonna start with you on from the far end and come this way. So I’ll have you introduce yourself to, to our audience. [00:01:27] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. So, uh, so I lead our, uh, US business for Ingram, uh, really focused on our customer success and renewals across our vendor stack. [00:01:36] Vince Menzione: Thank you for being here. [00:01:37] Nicole Dziedzic: Okay, [00:01:37] Nicole Dziedzic: thank you. I’m excited. Awesome. [00:01:39] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Uh, great to be here again. Thanks, uh, fin for, for having us and a lot of familiar faces. So, uh, Erman, Viser, uh, I recently changed roles, so four weeks ago, uh, in Microsoft. I’m, uh, I just, uh, started to, uh, to lead the, uh, the Cloud Solutions Strategy team, uh, still in GCPS, so our global channel organization. [00:02:01] Vince Menzione: And Mira, great to see you again. [00:02:03] Mira Ayad: Same here. Yes. I’m looking forward for this conversation. We had so much fun last time. [00:02:07] Vince Menzione: Yes, [00:02:08] Vince Menzione: so [00:02:08] Vince Menzione: good. [00:02:09] Mira Ayad: My name is Mira Ayad . I’m the GM for a global Microsoft marketplace. My team leads the strategy and operations. I’ve been with Microsoft for seven months, I think, but this is not my first rodeo. [00:02:21] Mira Ayad: This is my fourth time boomeranging to Microsoft. Yeah. [00:02:26] Vince Menzione: And for context for people, we have talked about marketplace quite a bit, but the conversation has expanded at Microsoft in, in bigger ways. Uh, before, was it November that. REO was announced. [00:02:39] Nicole Dziedzic: Yes. [00:02:40] Vince Menzione: Yes. We’ll talk about that. But maybe you, you talk a little bit about the reseller enabled, uh, offers and, uh, and maybe we’ll take, we’ll take us through that and then how Ingram has been a great partner, and of course, Erwin’s organization has been really front and center with some of this. [00:02:55] Vince Menzione: So let’s go there for, let’s go first tell us, tell us about, about REO. Sure. For those and, and your, your role is, um, we had Cy on stage yesterday. But your role is front and center with the channel, with the with the reseller community. Right. Taking marketplace into the resellers. [00:03:12] Mira Ayad: Sure. So, uh, Cyril is my partner in crime. [00:03:16] Mira Ayad: He leads the marketing for marketplace. Um, my team focus across all personas that hits marketplace from an ISV to channel partners, buyers, and even the Microsoft sellers themselves. Like how can we bring that vibe and that energy? To bring marketplace, to be front and center. Um, REO is, um, a feature that we’ve launched back in November and it’s, it was a very strong statement from Microsoft of how we’re bringing the channel partners into that marketplace journey. [00:03:45] Mira Ayad: With RE Reseller enabled offers, we allow partners to own the private offer that they can extend to their customers on behalf of the SDCs. So kind of bring that scale mechanism for SDCs to access that channel community and for the channel partner to remain the trusted advisor and provide not only marketplace, um, products, but Microsoft services their own professional services. [00:04:12] Mira Ayad: And wrap that and provide a one-stop shop for customers. [00:04:17] Vince Menzione: And it’s really lit up organizations like Ingram. Nicole, I like, it’s been a maybe a minute here, like talking about the evolution of Ingram. ’cause I think back at the old role of the DTI credit, availability of product and delivery, right? Yeah. The kind of the three things. [00:04:34] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, and those are still really, really important to the core of how we go to market. ’cause I think we heard yesterday, every dollar of software, uh, requires a dollar of hardware. So it’s not anything that we’re getting away from. But I think, you know, the marketplaces and the automation, and really where we’ve been transforming our business over the last six to 10 years is how do we take some of that transactional work away from our partners? [00:04:57] Nicole Dziedzic: Make it simpler so that you can really focus on more strategic areas. Marketplace has been a, a heavy part of our go-to-market and something that we’ve been embracing for many years now, um, and seen a lot of success in helping the partners on that journey and helping the vendors really accelerate that with the partner community and the end customers. [00:05:15] Nicole Dziedzic: But it’s also really enabled us to look at how do we wanna show up into our partners differently, right? So as we automate our business. Help our partners automate their business. We have the opportunity to upskill our own resources. And so some of the key areas that we’ve really been focused on is our post-sales motions, and how do we really ensure that the partners customers are leveraging the technology, optimizing it, and adopting it in a much faster pace. [00:05:45] Nicole Dziedzic: So that the investments that they’re making are netting an ROIA lot quicker. Those, uh, those have been things that we have accelerated across our vendor stack. Um, and I think it’s gonna become much more important as we continue to see technology evolve, especially around AI and co-pilot’s. A huge part of what we’ve been really focused on for the last year. [00:06:05] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, the biggest thing that we’re really seeing in the market today. Not just within the MSPs, but within our end customers is that they struggle in terms of how they really get the ROI out of it quickly. Um, and so our team is very human first. Uh, we do have digital motions, but really human first to really dive into the different personas. [00:06:25] Nicole Dziedzic: How do we help them attack that from an end customer perspective? How do we really help them drive value out of those solutions? [00:06:32] Vince Menzione: So what does enablement look like for them? [00:06:34] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, so, um, I loved the quote, uh, from some of the folks in the last session because it’s really about meeting our customers where they are. [00:06:42] Nicole Dziedzic: And so it is a, I always call it we play in the gray and we love to play in the gray all day. Um, because our partners and our our partners customers wanna interact differently. And so we wanna make sure that we have, um, ways to interact with them across. Stack both from a digital standpoint where you can really drive efficiency through digital messaging and marketing, um, all the way up to high touch. [00:07:03] Nicole Dziedzic: So those larger customers can get, uh, hands-on training and enablement. We can do it on behalf of our partners or with our partners to really drive that into the end customer, and then that enables us to really customize it. So what personas are we going to engage with? What are the key features we’re looking to get out of it? [00:07:20] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, and largely what are the outcomes that that company is driving towards over the next 1, 2, 3 years, so we can always stay ahead of what their needs are. [00:07:29] Vince Menzione: Nice. So Erwin, what is Microsoft doing to enable this distribution channel to be more effective with partners? [00:07:36] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Uh, it’s a great question. And, and Nicole, I I love how you, uh, and, and Ingram is, is kind of really leaning in mm-hmm. [00:07:43] Erwin Visser: In driving these customer outcomes and, and helping your partners that even if needed, kind of working with your partners or stepping in front of your partners to help drive these outcomes. ’cause I, I think that’s, uh, we’re. Uh, it clearly ev you, you need to meet the customer where they is. But, uh, having helping customers adopt ai, adopt these new AI solutions agents, I think that is going to be super important for partners to drive, uh, incremental value and also the ROI for themselves as well as for the, for the customers. [00:08:14] Erwin Visser: But Microsoft is, have we, um, one of the things that we are heavily investing in at this moment is our skills platform, our scaling platform. So we, we, if, if people have followed us, we kind of revamped it in the last three, four months. Uh, and we are really not just investing now heavily in technical skills, but also project readiness skills for partners as well as sales skills. [00:08:37] Erwin Visser: Uh, like how do you sell in this new world of, uh, of ai. So where you can see, uh, uh, incremental, uh, ongoing investment in our scaling platform. Um, the other thing that we’re, we’re really working on at this moment, uh, with our. Tech team is, is building more helping partners to build like standardized service offerings and also understand this what’s, what is the capability they need to be successful in and, and become ed themself. [00:09:05] Erwin Visser: And, and we’re doing that also in partnership with the, with income. So income can use kind of some of these, these frameworks than to, to leverage them for their partners and then help with, uh, with that enablement. [00:09:18] Vince Menzione: So Mira when we think, so we think about it from a couple different lenses here, right? [00:09:22] Vince Menzione: Because we’ve got the Microsoft first party products that are, that are being offered through distribution channel to customers, and then we have what I call third party, right? Mm-hmm. Which is a lot of what the marketplace does. It does both. But I think about the marketplace, I think about ISVs, I think about agentic ai. [00:09:40] Vince Menzione: How do we, how do you bring it all together? [00:09:43] Mira Ayad: Um, the way I think of marketplace, and you and I talked about this before, yes, it’s that intersection where SDCs ISVs services and solutions meet. First party solutions meet professional services provided by system integrator and all wrapped up to provide that complete solution for customers. [00:10:04] Mira Ayad: So marketplace, kind of that perfect intersection for all of those parties to meet, um, from a customer perspective depends on the segment. We all know that marketplace is born and raised to be an enterprise tool. Now we’re seeing more and more s and b customers coming trying to leverage marketplace. [00:10:20] Mira Ayad: Yeah, [00:10:20] Vince Menzione: very much so. [00:10:21] Mira Ayad: So the role of enablement and how we activate the channel to really be front and center, more proactive as they go and talk to their SMB customers. Find the ways to monetize their solutions and their services for the SMB customers so they can adopt that marketplace. Because with everything that’s happening in the industry, one thing we know for sure that marketplace transformed how procurement of software happens. [00:10:46] Mira Ayad: Yes. And it’s here to stay. [00:10:48] Vince Menzione: Very much so. Very much so. And Nicole, I’m interested too on, on this side because we, we have, this is the first year that we’ve invited quite a few MSPs into the room as well. Right. We were very much ISV and reseller and, and SI focused. Uh, this time has changed like no other. [00:11:05] Vince Menzione: Right. We’ve been talking all morning about all this agentic ai. As an as an MSPI, my my sense is like I need to have my hands on the steering wheel for my customer at all times. And how are you thinking through it? How are you working with those organizations on driving some of that? [00:11:22] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, so again, it’s about meeting even our partners where they are. [00:11:26] Nicole Dziedzic: And so one of the things that we’ve recently released at Ingram is our MCP server. And so how do we enable our partners to then connect their agent capabilities that they’ve built internally to grab the data from Ingram so that they can interact with us how they want to, you know, we have our platform and, and. [00:11:43] Nicole Dziedzic: We don’t wanna force everybody to go into a platform. And so that server is gonna enable you to build capabilities internally in the tools that you’ve already invested in so that you can, again, refocus your energies and your teams, um, on selling on these new go-to markets that enables you to grab the data that you need and. [00:12:03] Nicole Dziedzic: Essentially a snapshot of your account when you’re buying through distribution, all with a really simple click of a button. I know I, I oversimplify it, but I’m not that technical. Um, but it is really a click of a button. And so as we continue to release capabilities, API feeds, if you’re connected via that server and you have those agent capabilities already internally, then it’s as simple as us just continuing to release and you’ll continue to be able to grab that information. [00:12:28] Vince Menzione: Mira’s gram’s approach, what you’re starting to see across most of the distribution channel. Yeah, [00:12:34] Mira Ayad: more or less, yes. Like we, we’ve seen, we’ve partnering with Ingram on, on multiple fronts. Uh, there’s another feature that we bring and Ingram has been our, uh, partner in crime, which is syndication, which we push the marketplace listings into the Ingram portal to support what Nicole just said. [00:12:52] Mira Ayad: So partners get to use the tools that they are using today. We’re meeting them where they are. We’re not forcing them into one platform over the other. Um, I think enablement. The role of enablement and the distributor as an enabler is going to grow even more. Uh, switching that message of how can you sell a task oriented agent versus a solution [00:13:17] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:13:17] Mira Ayad: Um, is a, is a game changer. And we also see, I I like to say this, like distribution are now becoming an aggregation and a distributor. Yes. So they get to aggregate all that solution between all hyperscalers marketplaces. And find that core enablement so partners can be a plug and play and use their core competency to sell and be that trusted advisor for their customer instead of wasting time trying to figure out where to get enabled or how to get enabled. [00:13:44] Mira Ayad: Mm-hmm. So absolutely a hundred percent the aligned. [00:13:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Enablement seems to be a big theme here, right, Nicole? And, and, and you’ve got some new products is MCP server and. Some of the things you’re doing there as well. [00:13:55] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah, I would say even above and beyond the, the MCP server for the automation, you know, enablement enable is kind of our core function of our enablement strategy and enable ai, enable MSP are two of the most recent ones that we’ve released to market. [00:14:10] Nicole Dziedzic: Um, one of the things that we’ve really identified. Especially within the M-S-P-S-M-B and mid-market partner community is that there’s still a struggle in what does AI actually mean for my strategy and out to my end customers. And so we’ve created paths to enable our partners, MSPs, their end customers on how do you build that strategy for AI that’s both going to create outcomes for your end customers, um, but also be safe and secure as you kind of bring it to market. [00:14:39] Vince Menzione: Erwin on your side, on the marketing side, and you just shifted roles. You were [00:14:43] Erwin Visser: Yeah. Know. Yeah. Piece. Well, I didn’t forget everything that I did. Okay, good. No, I, it was only last week. Right. I’m, I’m getting older, but I still have a little bit of memory. Last year, uh, the, the, um, yeah, I wanted, uh, react quickly on the, on MSPs, especially think it’s incredible time. [00:14:59] Erwin Visser: And, and, uh, and, and so you, I think most people probably know that Microsoft, this, uh, our fiscal year start on July 1st. So May, uh, uh, April, may up to June is like really our crunch time for planning. So we’re in the middle of it. But, and, and without seeing, like giving you too much like insights or details, but. [00:15:18] Erwin Visser: We, we believe there, uh, is an in significant opportunity, almost like the golden age for MSPs in the next years. [00:15:25] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:15:26] Erwin Visser: Uh, if they are able, the, the partners that are able to embrace ai, and we, we kind of think about it in, in maybe in three different like steps or, or framework of clearly, uh, being a customer, zero. [00:15:41] Erwin Visser: And I assume a lot of people, or a lot of people talked about it in the last day and a half, so I don’t have to go in deep here, but hey, you have to adopt the technology itself to be able to deliver and sell it to customers. But then the, the other two steps that we believe one is, uh, uh, built an an agents or an agent accelerator and, uh, that can mean that. [00:16:02] Erwin Visser: Uh, leverage, uh, marketplaces for finding and customizing agents or having competency in-house to build agents for your customers. And then the third step is, is operationalize agents. And I think pe the partners that have experience at this moment with managed services probably have a step ahead. ’cause we had the in. [00:16:24] Erwin Visser: For more and more customers in the future, we’ll rely on a partner to manage and to help support their, their, uh, agent infrastructure. And so, uh, MSPs that can really, uh, jump into that and can help customers to manage, protect, secure, uh, uh, uh, their, uh, their agent in, uh, infrastructure, uh, that will be an an significant opportunity. [00:16:49] Erwin Visser: Um, one of the products that, you know, I’m, I’m not gonna do a product pitch yet, but still, I’m gonna mention you can, [00:16:55] Vince Menzione: and you can also share things that are gonna be announced with us as well. [00:16:58] Erwin Visser: Well, this is, uh, this is, this is announced already, but hey, we, uh, one of the technologies we are very excited about that’s, uh, hopefully can also support MSPs is, uh, agent 365. [00:17:10] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:17:10] Erwin Visser: Which, uh, which really can help partners to, to kind of like secure and manage and, and drive governance around [00:17:17] Vince Menzione: agents. Still, still very new product by the way. [00:17:19] Erwin Visser: Yeah, it’s, uh, uh, [00:17:20] Vince Menzione: makes a big difference. [00:17:21] Erwin Visser: Awesome. [00:17:23] Vince Menzione: So, Mira, this is very, you know, it’s funny because initially when you would think about what you, what you’re doing with REO as being like big ISVs, selling big solutions through marketplaces, we, we now brought the channel in. [00:17:38] Vince Menzione: But now the ag agentic has really changed the things dramatically. Right, right. Let’s talk about that. How does it, how does it fit into your strategy as you go into the SMB market as well? Right. [00:17:48] Mira Ayad: Great question. And um, I’d like to tell a story in a little [00:17:52] Vince Menzione: bit. Please, please. [00:17:53] Mira Ayad: So, one of my greatest mentors, um, I was just having a chat with him a couple of days ago, and I’m just like, the market is changing faster than anyone can catch up. [00:18:02] Mira Ayad: And he told me, Mira. It’s not a chess game anymore, it’s a squash game. So it’s all about being agile, beating the ball with it, what it is, uh, and moving fast. And I think the strategy for marketplace and for the channel, Microsoft has always been a channel first company, so this is not a news for anyone. [00:18:20] Mira Ayad: Next year we’re focusing more into bringing the channel into marketplace. We are having, and I’m sure Sarah talked about it, uh, yesterday a little bit. We’re having very targeted approach to bring. Agents that customer actually wants into marketplace. So not just a, a traffic jam of agents. Uh, we’re being very precise about it from a channel perspective. [00:18:44] Mira Ayad: Alex? Agree. My colleague, she has a, an a a session later. She [00:18:48] Vince Menzione: does for having Alex on stage here. [00:18:50] Mira Ayad: Yes. And she’s gonna talk more about this channel strategy overall, but being customer zero. Is big for us and precision velocity is something else. Like how can we help the partners [00:19:00] Vince Menzione: precision velocity. I like That’s [00:19:02] Mira Ayad: right. [00:19:02] Mira Ayad: And she’s gonna talk a lot about it. I’m [00:19:04] Vince Menzione: not gonna say [00:19:04] Mira Ayad: her thunder. [00:19:05] Vince Menzione: I wanted to hear, I wanna hear more about it. So it’s, it’s compelling. [00:19:08] Mira Ayad: I know. Just, uh, a under session today, [00:19:11] Vince Menzione: well, I think I’m gonna be leading it, but come in this afternoon. Absolutely. [00:19:16] Mira Ayad: Absolutely. Yes. So moving from being a scale player to actually know what you’re really good at and have that precision. [00:19:23] Mira Ayad: To sell and get your customer where they want to be. I think it’s, it’s all how the strategy is aligned, yet shifting a little bit to reflect what’s happening in the industry. [00:19:33] Vince Menzione: And you’re no stranger to marketplace. Right. Um, we talked about your career journey, but you start off in Microsoft. We sort of knew each other back in the day, right? [00:19:43] Vince Menzione: Yes. Public sector. [00:19:44] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:19:44] Vince Menzione: And then you left and you went across the river or across, across the lake. It was a lake or river? The lake. Lake. Yeah. You can tell I don’t live here, but [00:19:53] Mira Ayad: it’s a pond. [00:19:53] Vince Menzione: It’s a pond, yeah. [00:19:55] Mira Ayad: Um, so yes, I did start in, uh, Microsoft as a PDM for public sector focusing on education partners. [00:20:00] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:20:01] Mira Ayad: Um, [00:20:01] Vince Menzione: Anthony Salcito. [00:20:02] Mira Ayad: Anthony STO was the GM back then. And then I spent some time in an ISV. Um, it was a startup. I think I’ve, I had like my MBA on how to start businesses there. Which I boomerang to Microsoft to be part of the architecture team of a tiny program. I’m not sure if you guys are familiar with it. [00:20:23] Mira Ayad: It’s called CSP. So I launched CSP for the channel partners hosting telco’s, distribution. And then, um, our neighbors across the pond called the pond, me to come and help them build a channel program. Um, and then for, for three years, and then I spend the next seven. On AWS marketplace, uh, helping with, uh, channel adoption and strategy and enablement. [00:20:50] Vince Menzione: Nice. Very nice. Okay. And, um, the perspective on that as well. Bringing you, you talking about being precise. I think I heard what I, what I gleaned from your last set of comments is it can be so overwhelming to have all these agents, thousands and thousands of agents out there, how do, how do I decide, what do I go do and do the agents conflict with one another in terms of how they, how they react, and how they maybe start procuring on my behalf. [00:21:18] Mira Ayad: Um, I think it’s a very simple formula. Start where your customer is at, like meet the customer where they at is not just a generic cliche state statement. Customers are gonna lead our MSPs, our channel, our distribution, and our hyperscalers with their marketplaces or what needs to be built and how fast they want it. [00:21:37] Mira Ayad: And we should not lose sight of that. Um, just. Customer win is a win for everyone. That’s the, that’s, I think that’s the simple formula. And across all, uh, hyperscaler marketplaces, I think everyone is trying to win the heart and the mind of the customer first. [00:21:52] Nicole Dziedzic: Yes. [00:21:53] Mira Ayad: And then we, as the platforms and the channel community, we need to work very closely, um, with precision, with high level of, um, depth of knowledge to bring customers faster and make that customer zero. [00:22:10] Mira Ayad: From our perspective as an internal customer first and our first customer that we’re gonna build the case studies around to build that flywheel so we can accelerate that. So the first five offer becomes, the second, becomes the hundreds. Um, and this is how we bring it on. But always start from the customer. [00:22:26] Vince Menzione: I’m thinking about Jay’s slide yesterday, Jim McBain slide about the 28 moments [00:22:31] Mira Ayad: Yes. [00:22:32] Vince Menzione: And all the, all the partner types that are involved in that process. Right. The ISVs. Uh, CSPs, I mean actually lay out more partner types, ISPs, CSPs, distributor, uh, reseller, all all aligned in that customer journey and all. [00:22:49] Vince Menzione: And so just that coordination and that effort. I just wanna get everybody’s point of view on that maybe. [00:22:53] Erwin Visser: Yeah. [00:22:54] Vince Menzione: Or [00:22:54] Erwin Visser: you want start, Nicole? [00:22:55] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I mean, I think it takes an army, right? And I think it’s about how does each. Each kind of persona simplify the process for the next person. And I think that’s probably the key piece of it. [00:23:06] Nicole Dziedzic: And I’ll, I’ll talk from a distribution lens, is that our goal is that we wanna make sure it’s simpler for our vendors, for our partners to be able to transact in the marketplaces. Um, and also be that conduit, right? To provide that feedback back to vendors around what’s working, what’s not working, so we can go faster, right? [00:23:23] Nicole Dziedzic: And so the partners can go faster, um, but also be super sound in how they bring it to market. [00:23:30] Vince Menzione: And I, and I think what I also got outta that conversation, I want to get your point of view on this, is because again, I go back to ISV thinking, direct selling model. [00:23:39] Mira Ayad: Yeah. [00:23:40] Vince Menzione: And oh, there’s this thing called the channel and oh, we have to go do this. [00:23:42] Vince Menzione: But I think what that illustrated, that slide illustrated to me yesterday. Was how important to have all the multiple touch points involved because the deal is happening before you were entering the room. Right. So how, how are you, how and again, why, why do ISVs? I think, I think the answer is right there. [00:24:00] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I, it’s about how do we scale you and how do we simplify. For the partners. Um, I think the biggest challenge that young ISVs really run into is that they do forget about the channel. And the channel is massive. Um, and the channel gives you reach and it gives you scale by leveraging MSPs and better communities. [00:24:24] Nicole Dziedzic: Distribution comes into the fold because we are that scale for the partners themselves. We are that scale for the MSPs, right? And so there has to be a connection between the two to really enable the ISVs that are direct today, um, to scale to probably the levels that they wanna scale, and a trusted partnership where we can bring in. [00:24:46] Nicole Dziedzic: What works, what doesn’t work? Best practices. ’cause we have worked with a lot of vendors and we continue to work with a lot of vendors, um, on how to continue to scale their business. [00:24:55] Vince Menzione: What’s it, what do they get wrong? You mentioned the younger ISVs. Mm-hmm. The newer is more startup ISVs and the startup doesn’t take long. [00:25:02] Vince Menzione: You can get to a billion dollars. Yeah. Pretty quickly these days. What do they get wrong? And then how do you solve for that for them? [00:25:08] Nicole Dziedzic: I, I think what they get wrong at times, um, is building out a true partner program that makes sense for the MSPs, for traditional VARs, um, for sis to actually wanna participate, right? [00:25:24] Nicole Dziedzic: Because there’s a lot of competition out there, and you have to differentiate yourself. And part of that is making sure you’re not forgetting about what you’re. Partner program is gonna be to bring to market. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. The, the other piece is that, you know, there is a lot of solutions out there and so what’s your compelling event, compelling reason, right, for a partner to wanna bring you into their stock, into their end customers. [00:25:47] Nicole Dziedzic: And that is something that we, at times are missing as well, is, is what’s differentiating you from the person next to you. [00:25:55] Vince Menzione: Mira, anything to add to that? [00:25:57] Mira Ayad: Um, I think working with ISBs for the past, I don’t know how many years in my career, um, I always get asked the same question, how can I utilize marketplace? [00:26:06] Mira Ayad: How can I do the pricing? And I listed on marketplace, how come the deals are not falling from the sky? Yes, exactly. And um, my answer has always been. Listing a marketplace is the first step, not the last, right? What is your go-to-market strategy? How are you going to go to market? What’s the role of the channel that they want them to play? [00:26:28] Mira Ayad: Do you want them to become just a reseller and an extended Salesforce arm? Do you want them to take that to implementation and take your support? I think Microsoft kind of between all of the partner types that we have and the great distributors that we partner with, we kind of unlock that for guys because we can have that conversation and help them with their go-to market strategy. [00:26:49] Mira Ayad: But I think first is marketplace need to be in the beginning of the deals, not at the end. So they can always be like, okay, I’m going to be listed to the marketplace when they pitch that to the customer. Bring the marketplace philosophy and the channel into the deal making. Not on the 11th hour. Yeah. [00:27:06] Vince Menzione: Yeah. I liked what an ISV said earlier about actually unlocking their sales organization by putting incentives out there. Yes. To be marketplace first. Erwin, you, you’re the accelerant. Yeah. Go to markets. You’re the marketing guy in the, in this conversation. [00:27:21] Erwin Visser: Yeah. So I, I’m, I’m maybe, uh, I was thinking on the other side, it’s like, and there’s a clearly a role for the ISV. [00:27:26] Erwin Visser: Yeah. And opportunity through marketplace. I also think there’s an opportunity on the MSP side to really, uh, be proactive around, uh, the ISV solutions that you can deliver to your customers. And, and one of the things that, uh, I, I still see is that, uh, some of our partners are not using just the data that is available and that we also have, uh, as Microsoft and with Ingram give to our partners to really see what the opportunities are out there. [00:27:52] Erwin Visser: And, uh, a new, uh, platform that we released, uh, a few months ago. A SPX. Uh, I would kind of be curious to see, uh, hands up like, uh, of the MSPs in the room. Have you heard of a SPX? A few. Okay. So we still have a little bit more eventually to do here, but, uh, yeah. So we we’re, uh, bringing, uh, data sources to our partners, uh, that combine like usage data and marketing signals, other information that we have, licensing data that that really helps our partners also because. [00:28:24] Erwin Visser: To be, to understand where your customer is. Yeah. You first have to understand also the data of your customer and, and the signals that they are giving in the marketplace so you can help understand where the, the next opportunity is. And so we’re, uh, we have another great partnership with, uh, with Ingram around this data sources and in income enriches them and brings them to their resellers. [00:28:45] Erwin Visser: But I think that’s still, uh, uh, clearly if I saw the hands, an opportunity for us to, uh, to bring that more to the market. Yeah. [00:28:53] Vince Menzione: And let’s not forget the MSPs in this conversation, right? Because they are like at, at all, at all levels, whether it be first party, third party, cross marketplace. They are the instrumentation in front of the customer. [00:29:05] Vince Menzione: And I think there’s a great opportunity and know you talk about how you and enabling them. Um, maybe some last comments about how MSPs in this room could be more successful in the coming year, working with your organizations. Yeah. [00:29:18] Nicole Dziedzic: Yeah. I mean, I think for us it’s challenge us, um, bring forward things that you want and need, even if they seem outlandish from a distribution standpoint, right? [00:29:28] Nicole Dziedzic: We wanna continue to make sure we’re meeting you guys where you are with what you need and how you wanna be interacted with. Um, so I think that would probably be my biggest thing. I do. Before we, I just wanna go back to the as PX data real quick. I do wanna give a plug on the as PX data, because I do work with all of our vendors within Ingram and, and I will say the data. [00:29:46] Nicole Dziedzic: Availability that you guys have released has been above and beyond what we’ve seen from most of our vendors. We hear a lot of can’t share that it’s legal, can’t share that it’s legal. Um, this really enables us and the MSPs to, to see not just where their customer needs to go, but where they’ve been. [00:30:04] Nicole Dziedzic: Right. And so how do you really frame a conversation that’s really strategic by leveraging data and data that will intake and be made available for everybody that, um, purchases through distribution so that you can have that ready at your hand. So I just wanna reverse back to that ’cause it is a really great data set, um, and something we don’t see a lot of vendors actually released to the masses within the partner community within distribution to leverage. [00:30:29] Erwin Visser: Yeah. I, I love that quote, by the way, but it’s, thank you, Nicole. Uh, so the, but, uh, uh, your question is around how we are enabling MSPs, correct? Yes. Yeah. Right. So I had the, um, there, there’s a, there’s a few things here. Uh, I think that, am I, if I’m being honest, there’s still some points that we need to improve on our technology and our roadmap Yeah. [00:30:53] Erwin Visser: Of our technology. So this is clearly well understood within Microsoft and there’s areas that we are, uh, that we’re working on and, uh, we’re taking very serious, uh, at this moment. Good. Uh, to help you like, manage, uh, uh, our technology across, uh, uh, significant numbers of, uh, of, of tenants. Um, the, the second thing I would say is that clearly we talked about scaling. [00:31:16] Erwin Visser: We talked about enabling, uh, added technology to help you build out your managed services from, I would say from the, the, or the, the infrastructure to security to also agents. Now with some of the new technology that we, uh, that we have released. The, the third thing, and this is maybe more of an ask to the MSPs, is that, uh, when I talk to MSPs, when I see the research, uh, I believe that still at this stage, uh, you mo uh, the average Ms. [00:31:44] Erwin Visser: P has like 30 different products in the technology stack. That’s crazy. And, uh, and so I, I simplify. Simplify. Yes, I understand how you got here. Uh, it’s a lot of like, uh, best of breed, maybe selection through, through history. But I think, uh, my advice to MSPs is like, if, if, if you wanna create space for selling business value and for building out like an an AI accelerator for your customers, you need to find a also space to simplify your technology stack. [00:32:15] Erwin Visser: ’cause that’s what we believe. That’s not where the, the opportunity sits in the future. Uh, and that’s also not where I think the, uh, the, the margin sits for, for our partners in the future. So simplify your technology stack. We have ideas about that simplification clearly, but, uh, happy to talk to you about it. [00:32:33] Erwin Visser: But, uh, yeah, simplify and then create space for, uh, for really selling business value with, uh, with agenda ai. I think that’s a, a huge opportunity. [00:32:42] Vince Menzione: There any last comments before we start? [00:32:44] Mira Ayad: Um, a very short comment. So from an enablement perspective, we have a very intentional, proactive focus on enabling the MSP and FY 27 and the remaining of FY 26. [00:32:55] Mira Ayad: Um, yes, last year was the year of the channel. I think next year is going to be the year of, uh, marketplace Channel and MSPs. Um, but I do have an ask. We build marketplace. For you and with you, and you are the closest to the customer. So please be the voice of the customer. Bring us that feedback. Let us know how we can build a marketplace that meets your customer needs so it makes your life easier instead of having to spend time figuring out how to incorporate marketplace in your strategy. [00:33:24] Vince Menzione: I love that we had Jose Gomez. K. Uh, with us yesterday and he spent a lot of time with the partners to getting that feedback, so it was wonderful. [00:33:32] Mira Ayad: Another big guy. [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: Thank you so much. [00:33:34] Vince Menzione: Thanks for listening to The Ultimate Partner Podcast. If today’s [00:33:38] Vince Menzione: conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. [00:33:42] Vince Menzione: Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the ultimate partner.com. For show notes related content and the resources for this episode. And if you haven’t already, now’s the time to register for the Ultimate Partner Live Event in Reston, Virginia, October 26th through October 28th. Until next time, keep showing up in the rooms that matter because being in the room changes everything.
Snex walks through inventing an early mass-phishing scheme and a destructive Trojan and a self-replicating worm he ran on IRC.Highlights Include:Learning BASIC at five on a Tandy, then reverse-engineering AOL base files as a teenagerOptimizing the legendary punter Genocide's duplicate-removal routineDowngrading AOL 3.0 back to 2.0 to dodge puntersBuilding a custom menu into the AOL client windowAOL Secrets, the Lithium Node crew, and sneaking into AOL Live's backstageInventing an early mass-phishing scheme with a fake "AOL Adult" siteA destructive Trojan and a self-replicating SMB worm on IRCRunning a victim's AOL bill up to $5,000 with premium MUD gamesLife after AOL: software engineering, and why AI "vibe coding" won't replace senior engineersSurvey Link:https://airtable.com/app7GJNzwDQ8MMINw/shr4yEBKR6AADMOWoGuest: SnexHost: Steve StonebrakerAudio Editor: Sam Fox (sam.fox.london@gmail.com)CoverArt: Created by Broast (https://broast.org), original idea by LampGold.--AOL Underground PodcastFollow us ontwitter - @AOLUnderground, @brakertechReddit -https://www.reddit.com/r/AOLUnderground/Youtube-https://www.youtube.com/@AOLUndergroundPodcastMerch -https://www.redbubble.com/people/AOL-Underground/shopDonate - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AOLUndergroundContact the Host - https://aolunderground.com/contact-host/AOL 3.0 is working again! - https://dialtone.live/AOL Underground Discord - https://discord.gg/GvWuJTcTBaPodcast Community Page -https://aolunderground.com/community/AOL 4.0 is working! - https://nina.chat/connect/aol/Check out my wife's Etsy shop -https://www.etsy.com/shop/Snowbraker
“The biggest misconception is that SMBs are not using AI or benefiting from it.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Sharon Florentine, Manager Research Analyst at GTIA, discusses new research showing that small and midsized businesses are already seeing meaningful benefits from AI—and creating a growing advisory opportunity for MSPs and IT service providers. GTIA, the Global Technology Industry Association, is a nonprofit membership organization serving IT service providers around the world. Its new research, End-User AI Adoption: How ITSP Customers Are Really Using AI, is based on responses from 520 SMB and microbusiness decision-makers. Florentine says the research challenges the idea that AI adoption is primarily an enterprise phenomenon. “The majority of SMBs are using AI, and they are seeing a lot of positive benefits from it,” she says. According to the study, 84 percent of respondents reported positive outcomes from AI. Businesses are using AI to improve productivity, move faster and support areas including marketing, sales, IT and security. Many are starting with tools already embedded in platforms such as Microsoft and Google, along with standalone services such as ChatGPT. Governance becomes the next priority As AI use expands, however, governance and cybersecurity are becoming increasingly important. Florentine says security risks were among the biggest concerns identified by respondents. Attackers are using AI to improve phishing and other threats, while defenders are using it for threat intelligence, vulnerability management and other security functions. “You cannot have AI without governance and cybersecurity,” Florentine says. That creates a significant opportunity for MSPs and ITSPs. Respondents specifically identified AI advisory services as something they would like from their technology providers. Those services could include identifying AI opportunities, evaluating risk, creating acceptable-use policies and helping customers expand successful AI projects. Florentine says the organizations seeing the greatest value tend to take a deliberate approach. They assign responsibility for AI to an executive, team or council, establish guidelines, monitor results and proactively address risks. For MSPs, one of the best places to begin may be their own AI journey. “Take your own experience and use that as an example for guidance,” Florentine says. “Show customers how you have solved problems using AI and help them do the same.” The broader message is that SMBs do not necessarily need to be convinced to use AI. Many are already there. What they increasingly need is trusted guidance on how to use it safely, strategically and at scale. GTIA members can access the full End-User AI Adoption research at GTIA.org.
Sujith Shankar left 25 years in corporate to buy cash-flowing businesses: a $1.2m repair shop and a $2m body shop.Topics in Sujith interview:How Rivian layoffs changed everythingFalling down the Warren Buffett rabbit holeWhy auto repair beat real estateFunding a deal without an SBA loanRunning a business while keeping a W-2Winning over skeptical employees after closingPlanning a mini Berkshire HathawayIs EV adoption really a threat?Buying a second business just months laterCollision shops vs. repair shopsReferences and how to contact Sujith:LinkedInThe Billionaire Who Wasn't by Conor O'CleryEdgar Galindo on Acquiring Minds: How 1 SBA Loan Brought Down 2 BusinessesContact Jenny to learn how Engage can run people operations in your acquisition:Jenny Thear: jthear@engagepeo.comWork with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:Pioneer Capital AdvisoryThe ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:The Acquisition LabConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
Enterprise sales teams routinely let the majority of inbound leads go untouched simply because there isn't enough team bandwidth to work them all. In this episode, Vanessa Tabbert, VP of Agentic Transformation and Sales Development at Salesforce, breaks down how her own team deployed an AI SDR agent to recover leads that would otherwise go cold, without replacing the humans who convert the best ones. The conversation covers how to identify a low-risk first use case, why an AI agent should be coached and measured like a team member rather than launched and left alone, and how the same approach scales down to a small SMB sales team. This episode is sponsored by Salesforce. To learn the exact strategies we use to help leading AI brands and startups connect with their ideal enterprise AI buyers, visit: emerj.com/AD1
In this episode of the Finovate podcast, host Greg sits down with Luca Terragni, Chief Revenue Officer and co-founder of Prestatech, a finalist in the Risk Management category for the 2026 Finovate Awards. Luca shares his fascinating journey from traditional investment management in New York and London to launching PrestaCap, an alternative lending platform in Europe in 2016. What started as a direct lending business using their own balance sheet evolved into a powerful technology solution when Luca and his team discovered that traditional financial data points weren't sufficient for accurately assessing SMB creditworthiness. Their breakthrough came from analyzing real-time bank account transaction data, which provided a much clearer picture of a business's current financial health compared to backward-looking financial statements and credit bureau reports.The conversation delves into how Prestatech transformed from being a lender competing with banks to becoming their technology partner. After successfully exiting PrestaCap to a private equity fund in 2020, Luca and his co-founder realized their bank account data analytics technology could serve a much larger purpose. Rather than lending to a few hundred businesses annually with their own capital, they could empower banks to make better lending decisions for millions of businesses. The technology focuses on monitoring loan book health by processing SMB bank account transactions on a regular basis, identifying distress signals much earlier than they would appear in traditional credit bureau reports—a capability that's particularly valuable for regional and community banks sitting on vast, underutilized bank account data lakes.Now expanding into the U.S. market, Prestatech is bringing its battle-tested European technology to address the acute challenges American financial institutions face in the current tightening credit cycle. Luca explains that their cash flow analytics layer helps banks identify creditworthy businesses that might otherwise be filtered out by traditional underwriting methods, especially newer or "thinner-filed" companies that lack extensive credit histories but demonstrate strong real-time financial performance. With their technology already regulated and audited by the European Central Bank, Prestatech is positioning itself as a trusted partner for U.S. banks looking to enhance their risk management capabilities through smarter use of bank account transaction data.More info:Prestatech: https://www.prestatech.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/goprestatech/Luca Terragni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terragni/Greg Palmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregbpalmer/Finovate: https://www.finovate.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/finovate-conference-series/Finovate Awards: https://informaconnect.com/finovate-industry-awards/#Finovate #FinovateAwards #fintech #financialinstitutions #finalist #smb #risk #riskmanagement #modernization #technology #strategy #fintechstrategy #personalization #data #transactiondata #digitaladoption #podcast #fintechpodcast #financialservices #innovation #digitraltransformation #fintech #finserv
S6:E76 Security is ultimately a promise of trust. So what happens when that trust gets broken? Karim Toubba has had to answer that question in circumstances few CEOs would choose. He joined LastPass as their CEO only months before the company experienced a significant and highly publicized 2022 security breach. In this candid conversation, Karim acknowledges that LastPass initially communicated too slowly and explains the systemic changes, transparency, investment and cultural work required afterward. Queue up this episode of Small Business Stories for a conversation that goes well beyond passwords. Because the threat itself is changing. Karim says AI is producing a meaningful productivity advantage for small businesses, but it is simultaneously allowing malicious websites and other threats to be generated at much greater velocity. Employees are also adopting AI applications faster than many organizations can establish policies around what data those applications should be allowed to access. If people don't trust you, reassuring them that you're trustworthy isn't enough. If customers cannot see credible evidence supporting what you say, they'll increasingly turn to third-party communities and other sources to interpret your credibility for themselves. And if inaccurate or incomplete information about your organization remains unchallenged, the external interpretation of your company can begin separating from the reality inside it. That's where Karim's cybersecurity experience intersects powerfully with Dr. LL's work on misinterpretation risk.
Watch a team lose and you can usually list ten things that went wrong. Fixing all ten feels like the responsible thing to do, and it's often the reason nothing changes. Ray breaks down what happened when his son's 10-year-old basketball team got massacred in the first round of a tournament, and how their coach turned them around in two days by ignoring almost the entire list and drilling one thing — using a rope, not a whiteboard. The same discipline separates sales coaching that sticks from sales coaching that gets nodded at and forgotten.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy a list of ten fixable problems usually produces zero real improvement.What a youth basketball coach did with a rope that no amount of explaining could accomplish.How to find the single change that makes everything else on the list easier or unnecessary.Why drilling one thing until it's permanently installed beats covering everything once.What happens when a coaching session ends with ten action items instead of one.How compounding one improvement at a time produces outsized returns on a person and a business.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
S6:E76 Security is ultimately a promise of trust. So what happens when that trust gets broken? Karim Toubba has had to answer that question in circumstances few CEOs would choose. He joined LastPass as their CEO only months before the company experienced a significant and highly publicized 2022 security breach. In this candid conversation, Karim acknowledges that LastPass initially communicated too slowly and explains the systemic changes, transparency, investment and cultural work required afterward. Queue up this episode of Small Business Stories for a conversation that goes well beyond passwords. Because the threat itself is changing. Karim says AI is producing a meaningful productivity advantage for small businesses, but it is simultaneously allowing malicious websites and other threats to be generated at much greater velocity. Employees are also adopting AI applications faster than many organizations can establish policies around what data those applications should be allowed to access. If people don't trust you, reassuring them that you're trustworthy isn't enough. If customers cannot see credible evidence supporting what you say, they'll increasingly turn to third-party communities and other sources to interpret your credibility for themselves. And if inaccurate or incomplete information about your organization remains unchallenged, the external interpretation of your company can begin separating from the reality inside it. That's where Karim's cybersecurity experience intersects powerfully with Dr. LL's work on misinterpretation risk.
Employer health care costs have risen 70% over the last decade while wages have grown just 30%. Kirat Kharode, CEO and Founder of HealCo, joins the Startup Junkies Podcast's Fuel Accelerator health tech series to break down why self-funded employer health plans are becoming unsustainable, and how HealCo's governance layer helps route employees to lower-cost, high-quality care before costs spiral.In this episode:Why self-funded health plans are under more scrutiny than everThe site-of-entry problem driving up specialty care costsHow HealCo's governance and routing model worksWhat a real cost-savings diagnostic looks like for employersWhy Northwest Arkansas is fertile ground for this kind of infrastructureThis episode is part of our Fuel Accelerator series⏱️ Chapters: 00:18 – Welcome & the Fuel Accelerator health tech cohort00:42 – Meet Kirat Kharode, CEO & Founder of HealCo01:00 – 20 years inside hospital C-suites 01:26 – Inside the self-funded health plan landscape 02:07 – Why costs are outpacing wages 03:06 – Site of entry: where health costs really start 04:02 – Specialty care and the $15K vs. $50K cost divide 05:33 – HealCo's origin story and validation lab 06:36 – Building the governance layer and how employees benefit 09:06 – Sponsor: RISE Arkansas 09:33 – Validating the model & where self-funded care is headed 11:48 – HealCo's 5-year vision, case studies & broker demand 15:49 – Why Northwest Arkansas, plus advice for CFOs 18:50 – Connect with Kirat + episode wrap-up—Connect with Kirat & HealCo
FreightWaves Today hits the road for a special episode live from ShipStation Global headquarters in Austin, Texas, as Craig Fuller and Zach Strickland break down the latest forces shaping freight, logistics and the broader economy. The show opens with a look at the current freight and economic environment, including rising transportation and warehousing costs, inventory management challenges and the growing gap between truckload and intermodal pricing. Craig and Zach discuss why shippers are becoming more selective with inventory and SKUs, how uncertainty around demand and interest rates is influencing supply chain decisions, and what elevated costs could mean for the remainder of the year. They also dive into the extraordinary investment surrounding AI and data centers. With corporate profits climbing and massive infrastructure projects driving industrial activity, Craig and Zach examine how the AI boom is affecting railroads, construction, manufacturing and blue-collar employment. They also discuss the growing community backlash against hyperscale data centers and why the technology industry's messaging around AI could become an increasingly important part of the conversation. Then, ShipStation Global CEO Tom Madine joins the show to discuss the combination of ShipStation and Worldwide Express and what the newly integrated company is building for shippers. Madine explains how ShipStation Global is bringing together ShipStation's e-commerce shipping technology with Worldwide Express' transportation and freight expertise to create a more unified logistics platform. The goal is to give small and midsized businesses the ability to manage more of their supply chain from a single place instead of jumping between different providers and systems. A major focus is ShipStation's newly launched LTL offering. Madine explains why LTL was one of the most requested additions from ShipStation customers and how integrating freight directly into the platform can simplify inbound inventory movements, middle-mile transportation and other shipping needs that previously required merchants to leave the ShipStation ecosystem. The conversation also explores why transportation decisions can't simply come down to finding the cheapest rate. Service reliability, damage risk, estimated arrival times, carrier selection and the consequences of a failed shipment can all dramatically change what "best" means for an individual shipper. Craig, Zach and Madine discuss how data and intelligence can help businesses make better transportation decisions, particularly for smaller companies that don't have dedicated logistics teams or the resources to constantly monitor freight market cycles. Madine also lays out ShipStation Global's larger vision: bringing parcel, LTL, truckload, final mile and potentially additional transportation modes together into a more unified experience. He explains why simplifying logistics could be especially valuable for entrepreneurs and SMBs already balancing everything from finance and accounting to marketing, inventory and product development. Finally, the conversation turns global. Madine discusses ShipStation's presence across North America, Europe and Australia, the company's hundreds of parcel-carrier API connections and its ambition to become a truly global shipping technology platform. Topics include: • ShipStation Global's new LTL offering • The ShipStation and Worldwide Express combination • Bringing parcel, LTL and truckload together• Freight market cyclicality and SMB shippers • Using data to improve carrier and shipping decisions • Why the lowest freight rate isn't always the best option • Rising transportation and warehousing costs • Inventory management and changing shipper behavior • Truckload versus intermodal economics • AI, data centers and industrial freight demand • Corporate efficiency and the AI investment boom • The growing economic importance of hyperscale data centers • ShipStation Global's international expansion • The future of multimodal shipping technology FreightWaves Today brings together the latest freight market intelligence, transportation news and conversations with the leaders shaping global supply chains. Subscribe to FreightWaves for more interviews, market analysis and breaking news from across trucking, logistics, technology and the global supply chain. Follow the FreightWaves Today Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
FreightWaves Today hits the road for a special episode live from ShipStation Global headquarters in Austin, Texas, as Craig Fuller and Zach Strickland break down the latest forces shaping freight, logistics and the broader economy. The show opens with a look at the current freight and economic environment, including rising transportation and warehousing costs, inventory management challenges and the growing gap between truckload and intermodal pricing. Craig and Zach discuss why shippers are becoming more selective with inventory and SKUs, how uncertainty around demand and interest rates is influencing supply chain decisions, and what elevated costs could mean for the remainder of the year. They also dive into the extraordinary investment surrounding AI and data centers. With corporate profits climbing and massive infrastructure projects driving industrial activity, Craig and Zach examine how the AI boom is affecting railroads, construction, manufacturing and blue-collar employment. They also discuss the growing community backlash against hyperscale data centers and why the technology industry's messaging around AI could become an increasingly important part of the conversation. Then, ShipStation Global CEO Tom Madine joins the show to discuss the combination of ShipStation and Worldwide Express and what the newly integrated company is building for shippers. Madine explains how ShipStation Global is bringing together ShipStation's e-commerce shipping technology with Worldwide Express' transportation and freight expertise to create a more unified logistics platform. The goal is to give small and midsized businesses the ability to manage more of their supply chain from a single place instead of jumping between different providers and systems. A major focus is ShipStation's newly launched LTL offering. Madine explains why LTL was one of the most requested additions from ShipStation customers and how integrating freight directly into the platform can simplify inbound inventory movements, middle-mile transportation and other shipping needs that previously required merchants to leave the ShipStation ecosystem. The conversation also explores why transportation decisions can't simply come down to finding the cheapest rate. Service reliability, damage risk, estimated arrival times, carrier selection and the consequences of a failed shipment can all dramatically change what "best" means for an individual shipper. Craig, Zach and Madine discuss how data and intelligence can help businesses make better transportation decisions, particularly for smaller companies that don't have dedicated logistics teams or the resources to constantly monitor freight market cycles. Madine also lays out ShipStation Global's larger vision: bringing parcel, LTL, truckload, final mile and potentially additional transportation modes together into a more unified experience. He explains why simplifying logistics could be especially valuable for entrepreneurs and SMBs already balancing everything from finance and accounting to marketing, inventory and product development. Finally, the conversation turns global. Madine discusses ShipStation's presence across North America, Europe and Australia, the company's hundreds of parcel-carrier API connections and its ambition to become a truly global shipping technology platform. Topics include: • ShipStation Global's new LTL offering • The ShipStation and Worldwide Express combination • Bringing parcel, LTL and truckload together• Freight market cyclicality and SMB shippers • Using data to improve carrier and shipping decisions • Why the lowest freight rate isn't always the best option • Rising transportation and warehousing costs • Inventory management and changing shipper behavior • Truckload versus intermodal economics • AI, data centers and industrial freight demand • Corporate efficiency and the AI investment boom • The growing economic importance of hyperscale data centers • ShipStation Global's international expansion • The future of multimodal shipping technology FreightWaves Today brings together the latest freight market intelligence, transportation news and conversations with the leaders shaping global supply chains. Subscribe to FreightWaves for more interviews, market analysis and breaking news from across trucking, logistics, technology and the global supply chain. Follow the FreightWaves Today Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ChatGPT Ads are live in 31 European markets — but your account can't use tROAS, remarketing, demographics or an API yet. Here's what to actually expect.OpenAI announced on 18 August that ChatGPT Ads are rolling out across Europe, and advertiser demand is already enormous. Mike Ryan and Chris Scharmueller go through what advertisers really get on day one — and where the expectation gap is going to hurt.The headline: this is not a self-serve platform in Europe yet. Right now you need a certified agency or ad tech partner to run ChatGPT Ads, with self-serve promised "later this summer" (at the time of recording, that window is closing fast). Advertisers already live on self-serve in markets like the US can target Europe today, which makes international teams the unintentional early winners.Then we go feature by feature against Google Ads, using our own comparison table:Keyword targeting: doesn't exist. You get contextual hints, roughly equivalent to Google's search themes — and there's a real question whether OpenAI ever adds keywords, because keyword targeting would make ChatGPT look like Google Search.Demographics: not available. No age, gender or income targeting, at a time when Google is giving that control back even in PMax.Geography: country level only. No region, postcode or radius targeting — workable for national brands, a problem for anyone local.Customer Match: hashed emails and phone numbers, but with a ~25,000-match minimum that rules out most SMB lists. Google has no minimum.Remarketing and lookalikes: not available.Bidding: CPM, CPC and a conversion objective (oCPC) — but no tROAS and no value-based bidding of any kind. Nothing that connects your bids to your actual margin.Measurement: pixel plus a conversions API, Meta-style, with up to a two-day lag — against Google Tag's near real-time data and enhanced conversions.Product feed: genuinely good. OpenAI's ACP feed specs are strong enough that Google has borrowed from them. This is where they're closest to parity.Campaign management: no public API yet.The one structural advantage ChatGPT Ads have in Europe: Google hasn't launched ads in AI Mode here. For now, ChatGPT is the only way to buy placement next to an AI answer — and that window will close.Which leads to the real argument of the episode: if every platform claims your revenue, you need a measurement layer above the platforms. Marketing mix modelling stops being a nice-to-have and becomes priority number one — including a live client example where MMM showed Meta contributing far more than platform reporting suggested.Our take: arrive at the party early, but don't judge it by quarter-one performance, and don't spend a euro you can't attribute independently.Key Takeaways:Europe gets the stripped-down version. No keyword targeting, no demographics, country-level geo only, no remarketing or lookalikes, no tROAS or value-based bidding, and no public API. Add a 25,000-match minimum on Customer Match and most SMB lists are out. Plan your test around what the platform can actually do, not around what you assume it does.The one real advantage is temporary. Google has not launched ads in AI Mode in Europe, so ChatGPT Ads are currently the only way to buy a placement next to an AI answer. Expect Google to close that gap in Q3/Q4 — so if that is your reason to test, test now.Measurement is the decision, not the channel. Every platform will claim your revenue, and ChatGPT will be no different — on a pixel plus conversions API with up to a two-day lag. Marketing mix modelling stops being a nice-to-have: without an objective layer above the platforms, you cannot prove whether ChatGPT Ads are incremental or just re-attributing clicks Google would have won anyway.Three months is not a verdict. Demand right now is FOMO-driven and expectations are running ahead of the product. Go in framed as a test, give it longer than the usual quarter, and do not shift performance budget until incrementality is proven.—Resources & Links:Access all our webinars, reports, and playbooks in our Knowledge Hub: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/knowledge-hub/How is your industry stacking up in the market? Find out with smec's Google Ads Benchmarks: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/smec-market-observer/Earlier episode on OpenAI's CPC model and the $60 effective CPM: Don't Buy ChatGPT Ads Until You Watch This (Plus: The Google Cloud vs AWS Cage-Match)About Smarter Ecommerce (smec):Smarter Ecommerce (smec) empowers e-commerce brands with AI-driven PPC automation that optimizes for profit and business outcomes while maintaining strategic control.The platform activates first-party data - profit margins, customer lifetime value, and key business metrics - to automate campaign optimization toward goals like profitability and efficient growth, while detailed campaign insights provide full transparency and enable PPC teams to focus on strategic oversight rather than manual execution.As a Google Premier Partner and three-time Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year, smec manages over €500 million in ad spend and drives €5B+ in annual e-commerce revenue for 350+ global retail clients including THG, Snipes, REWE, and Intersport.Make sure to follow smec - Smarter Ecommerce for more performance marketing insights:smec - Smarter Ecommerce: https://www.smarter-ecommerce.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/smarter-ecommerce-gmbhNewsletter: https://smarter-ecommerce.com/en/newsletter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smarterecommerce/
Courtney and Jonathan Dunn bought a fast-growing SaaS at 3-4x ARR, doubled it, then merged for a life-changing exit.Register for the webinar: Architecture of an Entrepreneurial Roll-Up - TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/4gXkwPtTopics in Jonathan & Courtney's interview:Their background in oil & gasTurning down an offer from AppleImproving their investor pitchTraveling extensively to searchAcquiring a niche healthcare software company Using all equity, no debt, for the dealUsing an earn-out to resolve valuation disagreements Having a baby during the acquisition processThe hire they wish they'd made sooner Advice for couples considering building a business together.References and how to contact Jonathan & Courtney:Jonathan's LinkedInCourtney's LinkedInCerboNed Tomasevic spelling on Acquiring Minds: How to 4x EBITDA in 3 Years Without Growing SalesGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamGet a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring MindsGet a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.Connect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
You can make a perfectly logical case for almost any belief you already hold—which makes it difficult to recognize when the belief itself is driving the problem. Ray sits down with psychologist and author Owen Fitzpatrick to explore how “inner propaganda” shapes the way business owners interpret information, make decisions, lead people, and define what they believe they're capable of.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeHow your brain can build narratives that feel like objective reality.Why intelligent people can become exceptionally good at defending beliefs that aren't serving them.How to identify beliefs that may be limiting your business without realizing it.Why asking “How is this belief working for me?” can be more useful than asking whether it is simply true.How identity influences decisions around sales, leadership, and entrepreneurship.How changing the story you tell yourself can open up a more useful way of operating.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
A full pipeline feels like good news—until you realize you have no idea why it happened. Ray uses a conversation with an MSP seller to make the case that sales should be treated as a system: when the output changes, something upstream changed with it.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy a good quarter you can't explain is the same management problem as a bad quarter you blame on the market.How to think about sales as inputs, process, output, and feedback.Why changes in pipeline should trigger investigation rather than celebration alone.How marketing and outbound sales function as R&D when they're measured over time.Why tracking what drives results gives sales leaders more control over future performance.How to move from explaining quarters after the fact to understanding what is driving them.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Andrew Sova and Alex Clark revived sales at a 40-year-old sign manufacturer, the first acquisition of their holdco.Register for the webinars:New SBA Rules: What Business Buyers Need to Know - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4hGNwMiArchitecture of an Entrepreneurial Roll-Up - Tue, Sep 1 - https://bit.ly/4qc7dxxTopics in Andrew & Alex's interview:Meeting at BCGPartnership provided accountability and motivationLooking for direct-impact rolesPrioritizing speed with brokered searchTheir vision to build a holdcoWinsor Fireform makes uniquely durable signageEmployee growth = key success metricSeller chose buyers based on trust, not priceCustomers include parks, transit systems, and stadiumsLong negotiation over working capitalReferences and how to contact Andrew and Alex:Andrew Sova's LinkedInAlex Clark's LinkedInNovo FoundryCayne CrossingWinsor FireformPioneer Capital AdvisoryGet a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.Contact Jenny to learn how Engage can run people operations in your acquisition:Jenny Thear: jthear@engagepeo.comGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
Mentors, consultants, and AI can give you better information, but they cannot make the decisions that depend on your goals and context. Ray argues that repeatedly outsourcing the thinking itself can weaken your intuition—and that the better use of outside expertise is to form your own hypothesis first, then invite someone else to challenge it.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy knowing what to do is often not the real problem.What outside expertise can tell you—and what it cannot know about your business.Why your goals and context make some decisions impossible for an advisor to make for you.How to use advisors without becoming dependent on their answers.Why forming your own hypothesis before asking for advice protects your judgment.How AI makes information cheaper while making independent judgment more important.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
In this episode of the Startup Junkies Podcast, host Caleb Talley sits down with Permjot Valia, founder of Mentor Camp, and Ross Webb, a longtime AI product manager and returning Mentor Camp mentor, to unpack the philosophy behind one of the most unusual mentorship models in the startup world.This is a masterclass for founders on how to actually get value out of mentorship, and for mentors on how to build relationships that last well beyond a single conversation.In this episode:✅ The origin story of Mentor Camp✅ How to build genuine trust and social capital as a mentor or founder✅ The question that ruins a mentoring session ✅ Advice Permjot and Ross would give their younger selves⏱️ CHAPTERS0:24 – Welcome & Meet the Guests1:09 – Permjot Valia's Sales Background 2:24 – Ross Webb: From Cape Town to AI Product Management 3:06 – Building an AI Product That Hit $50M in Revenue 4:18 – The Origin Story of Mentor Camp 5:19 – Why the Mentor Is the Client, Not the Startup 6:35 – Creating a White-Glove Mentor Experience (and Why Top Mentors Keep Coming Back)10:25 – Real Relationships vs. One-Way Mentoring 13:29 – Fixing Transactional Mentorship in the Fuel Accelerator 13:52 – Social Capital: Why Mentors Shouldn't Hand Over Contacts Right Away 15:55 – Ross Webb's Charity "Gating System" for Mentoring Requests 19:19 – Spotting an Uncoachable Mentee (and the #1 Advice for Every Mentee) 22:10 – Asking for Insights, Not Opinions, in a Mentoring Session 24:29 – Advice to Their Younger Selves & the Shoelace Story That Changed Lives—Connect with Permjot Valia & Ross Webb
Jeff Homer returns with an update: revenue past $100m, a new dance division, and 50% growth expected this year. Register for the webinars:Licenses & Regulatory Issues When Buying a Business - TOMORROW! - https://bit.ly/4ccatTWNew SBA Rules: What Business Buyers Need to Know - Thu, Aug 27 - https://bit.ly/4c3b6zjArchitecture of an Entrepreneurial Roll-Up - Tue, Sep 1 - https://bit.ly/4zdTbj2Topics in Jeff's interview:Building a music school roll-upScaling through monthly acquisitionsExpanding into dance schoolsBack-office value creationTransitioning from operator to CEOBuilding middle managementAvoiding private equity pitfalls100x return for early investorsConstant travel as CEOFuture vision for EnsembleReferences and how to contact Jeff:LinkedInEnsembleJeff's first appearance on Acquiring Minds: How to Buy 40 Businesses in 4 YearsWebinar:Architecture of an Entrepreneurial Roll-UpGet a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring MindsThe ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:The Acquisition LabWork with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:Pioneer Capital AdvisoryConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
The core structural shift addressed in this episode centers on the unbundling and modularization of vendor platforms in the MSP technology market. This shift is exemplified by ThreatCaptain's launch of its Gen 4 product, which transitions from an all-encompassing platform to discrete modules aligned to specific MSP business challenges—lead generation, sales enablement, and ROI/risk analytics. The move is designed to align product structure and pricing more closely to the diverse operational maturity levels of MSPs, as described by Brad Powell, co-founder of ThreatCaptain. ThreatCaptain's Gen 4 is available in three modules priced at $199, $399, and $599, most notably a move away from the earlier $1,499 per month pricing reported in March. According to Brad Powell, this change was driven by limited adoption among smaller MSPs, with the prior model better suited to larger firms already equipped with mature sales teams. He cites customer Novus Insights as an example, attributing $80,000 in professional services revenue over three months and more than $1 million in expected ARR, but acknowledges this reflected a highly mature CISO-led operation. The vendor currently reports approximately 65 active paying MSP partners, intending to scale significantly. Supporting developments include the influence of insurance risk modeling and industry threat intelligence frameworks on new MSP toolsets. ThreatCaptain originally built its risk engine leveraging data from the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report and the Verizon DBIR, adapting these for SMB scenarios. The episode also highlights the role of information sharing organizations (ISAOs), with Brad Powell noting the challenges of translating technical threat data into actionable intelligence for SMB-focused MSPs and illustrating ongoing coordination and separation of threat feeds between vendor sales processes and industry sharing mechanisms. Operational implications for MSPs include increased need for prudent selection among modular product offerings, clarity around the scope and accountability of vendor-delivered analysis, and awareness of potential misalignments between vendor risk models and actual business outcomes. The trend underscores cost versus capability tradeoffs, especially for smaller providers balancing limited resources against the operational benefits of specialized tools. For MSPs participating in threat intelligence programs, there is also an ongoing requirement to maintain clear boundaries around shared data to prevent unintentional exposure or misapplication in commercial contexts. Supported By: ScalePad Pax8
https://directtoconsumer.typeform.com/DTC-Brand?utm_source=podcast-640&utm_medium=podcastTo Subscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupHannah Fleming runs performance marketing at Carve Designs (carvedesigns.com), the Northern California swim and apparel brand founded in 2003 and acquired by Komar Brands in December 2025. Before Carve she spent years at Amer Sports on the digital team behind Salomon, Atomic, Suunto, Arc'teryx and Wilson.If you run retention or growth at a brand with a seasonal core product and a loyal base you have not fully mined, this one is for you.What's inside:The retention rebuild: what was already working at Carve after 20 years, and the one thing they were not doing with their customer dataMapping the full customer journey in Figma, then finding the gaps where nobody was talking to the customer and the places where they were talking too muchRFM segmentation as the floor, then layering category purchase behavior on top to move a swim buyer into denimThe cohort analysis that changed the media mix: dresses and accessories produced the highest-LTV customers, so those categories now lead the creative and seed the look-alikesDirect mail as a performance channel: 5 to 6 catalogs a year to prospects and past buyers, plus programmatic postcards that only drop if the email win-back does not convertEmployee-generated content, and how one test turned into a full content pipeline with the organic social team shooting UGC-style video on the catalog shootsConnected TV without a commercial budget: an agency turns UGC and EGC into the spot, the founder does the voiceover, and success is measured on cost per site visit with MMM picking up the Amazon haloLoyalty built on early access and product feedback instead of percent-off, with roughly 2x the LTV of a non-memberQ4 without heavy discounting: point multipliers and added value inside the tentpole momentsWhat she is using AI for right now, from LTV dashboards in Moby 2 to Orita surfacing customers when they are most likely to buyWho this is for: retention and lifecycle leads, growth marketers at seasonal brands, and operators who moved from a big portfolio company to an SMB.What to steal: run LTV by first-purchase category before you plan next season's creative mix. And give partnership content 6 to 12 months before you call it. Hannah says that is how long it took at Carve before influencer content started working.Follow Hannah: LinkedIn, Hannah Fleming | carvedesigns.comTimestamps:00:00 Building Loyalty Beyond Discounts05:00 Using Customer Segmentation for Retention10:00 Direct Mail as a Performance Channel16:00 Building a High-Value Loyalty Program24:00 Testing Direct Mail and Connected TVSubscribe to DTC Newsletter - https://dtcnews.link/signupAdvertise on DTC - https://dtcnews.link/advertiseWork with Pilothouse - https://dtcnews.link/pilothouseFollow us on Instagram & Twitter - @dtcnewsletterWatch this interview on YouTube - https://dtcnews.link/video
Benson Chidester has seen thousands of businesses up close—from his early days at Elite CEOs to running sales at Acquisition.com. In this conversation, he breaks down the stages businesses move through as they scale, including the bottlenecks that show up at each stage and why the problem you're facing may be less unique than you think.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeThe four client archetypes Benson sees repeatedly.How the bottleneck changes as a business moves through different stages of growth.Why only a portion of businesses actually implement what they learn.When it makes sense to separate setter and closer roles.The one-minute filter Benson uses to evaluate salespeople.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Neil Finneran returns 3 years after buying a business so small it barely paid him a salary — now on pace for $800k.Register for the webinars: Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason Acquisitions Fail - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4qg4P9kLicenses & Regulatory Issues When Buying a Business - Tue, Aug 25 - https://bit.ly/4wTADDfTopics in Neil's interview:Neil's previous appearance on Acquiring MindsHis background in hedge fundsPain of buying smallManaging labor and no-showsImplementing a hybrid-pay model for techsThe acquisition that tripled his revenueChristmas lights services in the off seasonRising customer acquisition costsBarriers to entry in pest controlWhy his outcome diverged from Jesse Sunquist'sReferences and how to contact Neil:LinkedInMosquito Joe of Andover-PeabodyNeil's first appearance on Acquiring Minds: How to Survive Going from Hedge Funds to SMB OwnerJesse's most recent appearance on Acquiring Minds: 3 Years, $80k In: An Honest UpdateJesse's first appearance on Acquiring Minds: How to Widen Your Search to Buy a BusinessWork with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:Pioneer Capital AdvisoryGet a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.Contact Jenny to learn how Engage can run people operations in your acquisition:Jenny Thear: jthear@engagepeo.comConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
The episode identifies a structural shift within the IT services market, highlighting a bifurcation between two distinct economic models in the channel: the advisory economy, paid upfront for transformation and integration, and the operational economy, paid on the backend for managed outcomes and recurring support. Techaisle's 2026 Global Channel Partners Survey, referenced by Anurag Agrawal, underscores that most vendors operate single partner programs that implicitly favor one of these models, often without recognizing the divergence. This mechanism exposes gaps in vendor strategies and underscores uneven access to resources and incentives across partner segments. Data from Techaisle's study involving 5,450 partner firms in 24 countries illustrates the impact of these structural choices. Firms under $10 million in revenue project just 8.4% growth, while partners over $500 million forecast 16.8% growth, with 41% of the largest landing in top-tier vendor programs versus only 2% of smaller firms. Anurag Agrawal contends that allocation decisions—such as capital, leads, and support—by vendors drive part of this gap, independently of partner capabilities. The allocation process forms a closed loop, where larger partners consistently receive and convert the best leads, reinforcing their tier status. Furthermore, most vendor incentive spend lands at deal close, benefiting partners focused on new transactions over those delivering ongoing operational value. Supporting developments include evidence that smaller MSPs face higher customer acquisition costs (absorbing 31% of first-year deal value for contracts under $25,000) and operate with little error margin, as opposed to larger firms with more resilient economics. The transcript points out that tier progression within most vendor programs primarily reflects transaction volume and headcount, not actual customer outcomes or quality—making tiers unreliable as indicators of partner value. Additionally, practical AI deployments are now accelerating infrastructure refresh cycles and shifting the center of gravity for services revenue from break-fix to consulting and integration, further complicating the operational landscape for SMB-focused providers. For MSPs and IT service leaders, these findings imply increased dependency on vendor program design and expose operational risk due to imbalanced allocation of leads and support. Smaller providers should expect continued pressure on margins and incentives unless vendors alter their models to recognize operational contributions beyond new logo acquisition. Specialization—vertical or workload-focused—is suggested as a cost-control mechanism, while pricing and packaging transformation work around a recurring services base could mitigate risk. Governance challenges posed by AI adoption, such as managing large numbers of intelligent agents, call for enhanced identity, entitlement, and monitoring capabilities as table stakes for ongoing operational relevance. Supported by: ScalePadProofpoint
When work gets demanding, you feel guilty about your family. When you pull back from work, you feel guilty about your clients and team. Ray explores why this cycle keeps founders and operators feeling like they're failing on both sides—and why the answer isn't finding the perfect daily split.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy guilt at work and guilt at home tend to reinforce each other.How the surfing analogy helps you recognize what season you're actually in.Why continuing to paddle after you've caught the wave can create unnecessary problems.How trying to divide every day evenly can leave you mentally absent in both places.The zoom-out test Ray uses to evaluate work and family across a longer period.Why sometimes the highest-value thing you can do for the business is leave it alone.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Most founders think you need a $250,000 VC check to get funded, but angel investors will write you a check for $5,000, actually get to know you, and stick around as a mentor long after the money lands.In this episode, Chris, the new director of 412 Angels, explains the real difference between angel investors and VCs, why founders should start building investor relationships long before they need the money, the most overrated (and underrated) traits he sees in early-stage founders, and what's next for 412 Angels — including plans to launch a fund and lead their own deals.In this episode:✅ The real difference between angel investors and venture capital✅ When founders should start reaching out to investors (hint: earlier than you think)✅ Where to actually meet investors in Northwest Arkansas✅ The most overrated trait in early-stage founders✅ Chris's advice to his younger, first-time-founder self⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 – Why 90% of a founder's job is networking 00:21 – Meet Chris Ehrhardt, back after 10 years01:24 – From Germany to Arkansas: Chris's origin story 02:23 – Building a startup and moving to Canada on a startup visa 05:22 – What is 412 Angels? 06:28 – Why keeping funding local matters for founders 08:20 – Angel investors vs. venture capitalists 10:24 – When founders should start talking to investors 11:51 – Where to actually meet investors in NWA 14:21 – The most overrated trait in early-stage founders 15:36 – The most underrated trait: coachability 18:09 – How 412 Angels pays it forward 19:50 – What's next for 412 Angels 22:53 – Advice to his younger self 25:26 – Where to find Chris and 412 Angels—Connect with Chris & 412 Angels
Jayesh Patel is the CEO of Wio Bank, the digital bank that in less than four years has become the account 1 in 3 new UAE businesses choose and the fastest way to see how AI, ownership and the Gulf economy are actually changing on the ground. Before Wio, Jay built Liv. at Emirates NBD. Before that, he was a Deloitte and IBM consultant on the road to Fortune 500 clients, an MBA at Tuck, an engineer at three different universities. In this conversation with Loulou he opens the whole playbook: how he turned down a dream job offer for 12 months to close three skill gaps a mentor named, how he rebuilt Wio's org around AI so a lawyer could build an SMB onboarding platform on a weekend and a Chief Commercial Officer could vibe-code an auto loan product, and why he now describes himself as "a better founder than a CEO." For founders, operators, career changers and anyone deciding what to do next in the Gulf economy, this one is essential. Subscribe for weekly conversations on business, investing and what's really happening in the Arab world. Chapters 02:11 Inflection points: engineering, IBM, Deloitte, the road to Liv 11:45 The 12-month pause: turning down a dream job to close three skill gaps 16:33 "The loneliest job in the world", what CEO actually feels like 17:16 The AI bet: pushing an org that didn't want to be pushed 28:53 How Wio actually decides what to build (the five-question filter) 32:22 The 50/50 rule: consistent revenue and crazy ideas 35:13 Rebuilding the org around AI: the lawyer, the CCO and Claude 43:13 Middle managers, the education system and who is at risk 50:50 Employment to ownership: why Wio is optimistic on the SME shift 57:29 The magic wand question, going to Mars 59:01 Loulou's close: ownership, curiosity, why you have to adapt Follow Loulou Khazen Instagram: /louloukhazen LinkedIn: /louloukhazen X (Twitter): /louloukhazen Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Complaining can feel like a release, but Ray argues that repeatedly giving voice to frustration can reinforce the very position you're trying to escape. This episode examines what complaining costs you, from the energy it takes away from solving the problem to the effect a persistent complaining habit can have on the people around you.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy venting can reinforce frustration instead of releasing it.The three ways complaining compounds against you: lost energy, unchanged behavior, and damaged relationships.Why complaining directly to someone rarely changes their behavior.How a persistent complaining habit can eventually filter useful people out of your circle.The difference between accepting reality and pretending you like it.Why changing the words you say out loud can change how you respond to a situation.//Welcome to The Ray J. Green Show, your destination for tips on sales, strategy, and self-mastery from an operator, not a guru.About Ray:→ Former Managing Director of National Small & Midsize Business at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he doubled revenue per sale in fundraising, led the first increase in SMB membership, co-built a national Mid-Market sales channel, and more.→ Former CEO operator for several investor groups where he led turnarounds of recently acquired small businesses.→ Current founder of MSP Sales Partners, where we currently help IT companies scale sales: www.MSPSalesPartners.com→ Current Sales & Sales Management Expert in Residence at the world's largest IT business mastermind.→ Current Managing Partner of Repeatable Revenue Ventures, where we scale B2B companies we have equity in: www.RayJGreen.com//Follow Ray on:YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Jesse Sunquist put a GM in charge and stepped back to 5 hours a week — proud of the experience, restless about the outcome.Register for the webinar: Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason Acquisitions Fail - Thu, Aug 13 - https://bit.ly/4wPHY6RTopics in Jesse's interview:Buying a business for flexibilityGeographical search in New JerseyLowering his minimum SDE threshold to $300KAcquiring 2 Mosquito Joe territoriesHis plan to build wealth through franchise roll-upsModest growth followed by shrinkHow other owners handle the off-seasonTaking a W2 with the intent to sellInability to find a buyerHiring a great GM to run itReferences and how to contact Jesse:LinkedInMosquito JoeJesse's previous interviews on Acquiring Minds: Reflections After 1 Year of Searching Full Time A Reward for Widening Search to $300k SDENeil Finneran on Acquiring Minds: How to Survive Going from Hedge Funds to SMB OwnerThe ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:The Acquisition LabGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamGet a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring MindsConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
How is the consulting industry changing as technology, AI, and new buyer expectations reshape the market? In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott W. Luton speaks with Amber Salley, Founder and Managing Director of the Amber Salley Advisory Group, about the changing consulting landscape and what supply chain leaders should consider when hiring outside expertise. With experience as a practitioner at IBM, consultant at Booz & Company and Accenture, Gartner analyst, and vendor executive, Amber shares her perspective on why traditional consulting models are under pressure, how AI is accelerating existing changes, and why specialization matters more than ever. Listeners will learn why companies are moving toward smaller technology investments, faster results, and decision-focused advisory support. Amber also discusses how consulting firms must adapt, the future of outcomes-based pricing, and why organizations should evaluate partners based on their ability to deliver measurable value quickly. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Intro (02:19) Meet Amber Salley (03:14) How Amber Salley's career shaped her consulting perspective (08:47) Why specialized supply chain expertise matters (16:16) What is changing in the consulting model? (23:16) Why buyers are moving toward faster technology wins (28:39) How consulting firms must rethink software partnerships (33:08) Can outcomes-based pricing become the future of consulting? (36:36) What should SMB operators ask before hiring consultants? (43:12) Why companies should avoid layering AI onto outdated foundations (49:53) Where to connect with Amber Salley Additional Links & Resources: Connect with Amber Salley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambersalley/ Learn more about Amber Salley Advisory Group: https://www.salleyadvisory.com/ Learn more about our hosts: https://supplychainnow.com/about Learn more about Supply Chain Now: https://supplychainnow.com Watch and listen to more Supply Chain Now episodes here: https://supplychainnow.com/program/supply-chain-now Subscribe to Supply Chain Now on your favorite platform: https://supplychainnow.com/join Work with us! Download Supply Chain Now's NEW Media Kit: https://supplychainnow.com/media-kit/ WEBINAR- From Disruption to Stability: Building Resilient Logistics Solutions in a Rapidly Changing Global Market: https://bit.ly/3TguZMt WEBINAR- SAP AI Inside the Supply Chain: From Silo to Orchestration: https://bit.ly/4bvpz6K This episode was hosted by Scott Luton and produced by Trisha Cordes, Joshua Miranda, and Amanda Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/how-choose-right-supply-chain-consultant-1623 The content in this episode, including all audio, videos, visuals, and graphics, is the property of Supply Chain Now and is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, modification, or re-uploading of this content in any form is strictly prohibited without explicit written permission from Supply Chain Now.For licensing inquiries or permissions, please contact us at production@supplychainnow.com© 2026 Supply Chain Now. All rights reserved. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Come see us in Las Vegas. Get your Sin City Tickets: https://thespacelv.com/event/side-scrollers-presents-sin-city/Mike Clum: https://www.youtube.com/@Mike-Clum https://www.instagram.com/mikeclum BananaJuJu: https://www.youtube.com/@BananaJuju_00:00 Intro08:20 JuJu's Birthday / VTuber Drama20:43 Hard News21:00 Melania's Mask26:23 SMB 1-1 Achievement31:05 RIP Hayden Panettiere54:17 PBS Lots Its Data!56:50 Mike Clum Interview01:25:26 Insomniac's Wolverine Game01:45:08 Today's Sponsor01:4720 Blabs The Bully01:48:29 Nick Calandra X Saber Interaction02:01:35 Gaming History
Greyson Boerner traded startup life for a 28-year-old niche business — now on pace to grow revenue 50% in year one.Register for the webinar:Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason Acquisitions Fail - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4z0fkBxTopics in Greyson's interview:Founding software startupsETA as a path to stabilityGetting his education with Acquisition LabFinding business brokers through Google MapsUncovered niche church pew restoration businessCompetitor closure created significant growth opportunityChurch visit reinforced acquisition decisionHired bilingual ops manager to bridge communicationStolen truck fiascoRevenue up 50%, margins pressured by investmentsReferences and how to contact Greyson:LinkedInWorship Interiors GroupContact Jenny to learn how Engage can run people operations in your acquisition:Jenny Thear: jthear@engagepeo.comWork with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:Pioneer Capital AdvisoryGet a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.Connect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
Siemens says a small manufacturer can start production optimization for $2,000 a year. Martin Valkysers and Flemming Kongsberg explain what that buys you.Most digital transformation advice assumes a budget and an engineering bench most plants do not have. Flemming Kongsberg, who runs the SMB focus inside the Siemens CTO organization, discards the usual revenue and headcount definitions: an SMB is any manufacturer without the skills to absorb a complex digital change, and that includes some very large companies. He describes one customer running 900 devices across 17 locations where 90 percent of the machines are 30 years or older with zero connectivity. Siemens research also found 40 percent of SMB customers have no IT department.Martin Valkysers frames Siemens Xcelerator as the open digital business platform tying hardware, software, data, and services together, with more than 600 partners today. The SMB starter package is where that becomes concrete. Instead of asking a plant with no IT staff to assemble something from hundreds of apps, Siemens curated roughly 10 to 12 into one bundle covering device connectivity, Performance Insight dashboards for OEE and quality, and a slice of Mendix. A partner installed it in a lab in 24 minutes on an ordinary Windows machine, against the roughly 60 hours a traditional Industrial Edge deployment takes. It is $2,000 per year for three machines with the first three months free, and PROFINET, Ethernet/IP, and the standard protocols are supported, so competitor PLCs connect too.The most useful argument here has nothing to do with buying anything. Flemming makes the case that reaching for AI before you own your data is a losing move, because a model built on information everyone else can reach produces no strategic advantage. You also do not need AI to build a Pareto chart of where your quality losses sit. Martin adds the discipline that gets skipped most: be clear about the problem before you pick the tool.About the GuestsMartin Valkysers is Head of US Market Launch and Growth for Siemens Xcelerator, Siemens' open digital business platform spanning industrial, building, grid, and manufacturing sectors. He has been with Siemens roughly 12 years, previously leading a US operations consulting team focused on lean manufacturing.Flemming Kongsberg leads Global Technology Partners at Siemens Digital Industries Software and runs the company's SMB focus in the US. Before Siemens he spent nearly eight years at Amazon Web Services building partner infrastructure and strategic ISV alliances.Timestamps0:00 Introduction2:20 Martin Valkysers on his path to Xcelerator4:20 Flemming Kongsberg from AWS to Siemens SMB7:10 Four challenges facing manufacturers13:40 Why data comes before AI18:00 What Siemens Xcelerator actually is22:30 Partner ecosystem: build, service, sell31:40 Inside the SMB starter package35:50 What the package costs38:20 A 24 minute install and non Siemens PLCs45:50 Redefining what counts as an SMB53:50 The future of industrial marketplacesReferencesGetting Started with Production Optimization: https://www.siemens.com/en-us/products/industrial-edge/production-optimization-get-started/Operational Efficiency Pack for Small Manufacturers: https://news.siemens.com/en-us/siemens-small-manufacturers-operational-efficiency-pack/This episode is sponsored bySiemens is a global technology company operating across industrial automation, digital software, smart infrastructure, and mobility. Siemens Xcelerator is its open digital business platform and marketplace.https://www.siemens.comAbout Your HostsVladimir Romanov is a co-host of The Manufacturing Hub Podcast and the founder of Joltek, an independent manufacturing and industrial automation consulting firm specializing in modernization strategy, digital transformation, and workforce development. Joltek works with manufacturers and investors to de-risk modernization and build the internal capability to sustain results.Connect with Vlad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladromanov/Want to go deeper? Vlad and the team at Joltek have covered related topics here:Digital Transformation in Manufacturing: https://www.joltek.com/blog/digital-transformation-in-manufacturingEdge Computing and the AI Value of Manufacturing Data: https://www.joltek.com/blog/edge-computing-ai-value-manufacturing-dataDave Griffith is a co-host of The Manufacturing Hub Podcast and founder of Capelin Solutions, an industrial automation firm helping manufacturers adopt smart manufacturing technology. He brings 15 years of experience in industrial automation and digital transformation.Connect with Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegriffith23/Subscribe to Manufacturing Hub: https://www.manufacturinghub.liveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/manufacturing-hub-networkYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ManufacturingHub
He slept on the floor of a radio station he couldn't afford to staff, got told by the local coffee shop crowd he'd be out of business in six months, and ran that station for 45 years.Before he was a U.S. Congressman, Steve Womack was a Startup Junkie: a broadcaster's son who talked his way into a shoestring AM station in Rogers, Arkansas, and built it into an institution. In this episode, he sits down with Daniel Koontz, Jeff Amerine, and Caleb Talley to trace the throughline from that station to the Rogers mayor's office to Congress, and the entrepreneurial instincts that never really left him along the way.⏱️CHAPTERS0:27 – Welcome, Congressman Steve Womack1:06 – His "Marvel Origin Story"4:13 – Building a Radio Station From Scratch8:37 – Proving the Skeptics Wrong11:07 – Lessons From Football, the Army & "Make Your Bed"17:18 – Underwriting "Errors of Enthusiasm" as a Leader23:09 – The Vision Behind Rogers' West Side25:04 – "You're Not Thinking Big Enough": The Pinnacle Promenade Story27:16 – Northwest Arkansas' Growth Challenges32:06 – The Walmart Origin Story (and What Comes After It)38:21 – The Case for a Skilled Trades Campus41:27 – Government, Debt & a Coming Social Security Reckoning47:40 – Advice for Entrepreneurs and His Younger Self54:17 – A Tribute to Lt. Jason Hunt---
For most of the history of lending, approval and access were two separate events. A borrower gets approved, then waits days or weeks for an ACH to clear before the money is usable. For small businesses managing tight cash flow, that gap can be the difference between catching an opportunity and missing it. Cards are changing that. When a lender issues a virtual card at the moment of approval, credit becomes spendable right away, with no ACH delay and no separate account.In this webinar, Lithic product marketer Claire Jacobs sits down with Sarvesh Baveja, Chief Risk Officer at Fundbox, and Declan Callisto, Product Manager at Lithic, to break down how Fundbox built a loan-to-card program on Lithic and took it live in seven weeks. They cover the borrower experience from application to spend, the spend controls that let a lender manage risk at both the business and card level, the four partners required to stand up a program like this, and where SMB underwriting goes as static credit limits give way to dynamic ones. Fintech Layer Cake and Lithic webinars are powered by Lithic, financial infrastructure that helps teams build better card and payments products for consumers and businesses.Chapters00:00 Why approval and access became two separate events01:32 Sarvesh and Declan introduce themselves02:00 Why loan-to-card is a new innovation02:19 The SMB cash flow timing problem03:21 Why the choice of issuer processor matters04:13 The Fundbox borrower experience, from application to spend06:00 What Lithic built behind the scenes: the credit ledger06:56 Why spend controls work at both the business and card level08:30 Where else card rails apply beyond SMB lending09:36 The rent payment use case10:29 The four partners required to launch a program like this12:42 Why embedded payments matter for reaching borrowers14:08 What Lithic offers that legacy processors don't16:05 The biggest misconception about program timelines18:15 Where SMB underwriting is headed: from static limits to dynamic ones20:03 Closing thoughtsSubscribe for more on card infrastructure and modern lending.
An old Linux box powers down for the last time as we unwind its history, and the entire show, back to the beginning.Sponsored By:Jupiter Party Annual Membership: Put your support on automatic with our annual plan, and get one month of membership for free!Managed Nebula: Meet Managed Nebula from Defined Networking. A decentralized VPN built on the open-source Nebula platform that we love.Support LINUX UnpluggedLinks:Web Boost — Send us a boost via sats or USD
Chibunna Chimezie's seller left $15k in the account. His post-acquisition liquidity is the only reason he made it. Register for the webinar:Learn to Avoid the #1 Reason Acquisitions Fail - Thu, Aug 13 - https://bit.ly/4wUCNSYTopics in Chibunna's interview:His family's immigration story from NigeriaInterest in how American healthcare worksLearning to manage risk in business schoolAcquiring a service provider for veteransGovernment shutdown meant no revenue first 2 monthsPost-acquisition liquidity for the winChallenges veterans face back homeAnswering the after-hours phone himselfHis journey from banking to behavioral healthInvestment from New Majority CapitalReferences and how to contact Chibunna:LinkedInVeterans RoomNew Majority CapitalGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamGet a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring MindsThe ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:The Acquisition LabConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
Randy Rempp turned around a $17m insurance business as a rookie CEO, then used that track record to raise a search fund. Register for the webinar: The 3 Paths to Franchising for Acquisition Entrepreneurs - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4yGEhSeTopics in Randy's interview:From insurance lawyer to business operatorLeading 300 employees at age 29Why ownership beats being the hired gunSwitching to a traditional search fundInvestors bet on operators, not deal findersRiver guides unlock industries and warm introductionsInside the $31 million acquisition structureWhy every CEO needs a strong CFOThe F-reorg that saved the dealRefinancing to return capital and fuel growthReferences and how to contact Randy:LinkedInMeridian Title CorporationYoung Presidents Organization (YPO) Get a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.Contact Jenny to learn how Engage can run people operations in your acquisition:Jenny Thear: jthear@engagepeo.comGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron
Jennifer Lipschultz, Sr. Director Merger & Acquisition Integration and Corporate Project Management Due diligence covers deal terms, but it doesn't cover what happens once you're running payroll, benefits, and banking in a country you've never operated in before. A legal entity change can lock a company out of its own bank account overnight. Benefits plans get frozen in by local law. A language rollout can hit five systems on the same go-live day. And having handled one acquisition in a country doesn't guarantee the next one plays out the same way. Jennifer Lipschultz has led integration on more than 20 acquisitions across the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and India for ECI Software Solutions, a PE-backed SMB software company operating in 80 countries. If your next acquisition involves operating somewhere new, this is the walkthrough to have ready before you find yourself improvising in real time. What You'll Learn Why a legal entity change can freeze a company out of its own bank account How Swedish per diem rules can turn expense reimbursements into taxable income What actually goes into a change engagement session, and why managers get briefed first How one go-live day can trigger a five-system language rollout Why fluency in one acquisition doesn't guarantee the next What belongs on a pre-close global integration checklist If you're dealing with a cross-border acquisition where the back office keeps breaking in ways diligence never caught, DealPilot, powered by M&A Science, has integration playbooks pulled from practitioners running 20-plus deals, to help you build your pre-close checklist before the surprises hit instead of after. ____________________ The Buyer-Led M&A™ Summit is back August 18th, free and virtual. We're releasing the State of AI in M&A 2026 report live at the event before it goes public. Benchmark your program, hear from practitioners across the industry, and leave with a clearer picture of where dealmaking is headed. Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q04kBhzV0 ____________________ Episode Chapters [00:00] Introduction and Guest Background [03:05] From Engineering to Global Integration [06:20] What Full Absorption Really Means [08:17] The Pre-Close Integration Playbook [13:41] What Breaks First Abroad [15:49] When English Fluency Is Assumed [20:21] A Same-Day Language Rollout [22:07] Locked Out of a Bank Account [24:35] Sweden's Expense Reporting Maze [27:59] Harmonizing Benefits Across Borders [34:09] Running a Change Engagement Session [42:30] Earning Trust With Senior Leadership [44:19] Finding Risk in the Data Room [46:36] A Pre-Close Global Checklist [48:56] Lessons From Walking the Floor
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