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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
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
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
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
Welcome back to Fintech Takes. I'm Alex Johnson, joined by David Snitkof (GM of SMB at Ocrolus) to explore one of my all-time favorite topics in financial services: small business lending. Consumer lending is basically homogeneous. People move through predictable life stages, and underwriting comes down to assessing reliability and capacity. Small business lending is nothing like that. Understanding a business well enough to safely lend to it requires context, and context is expensive, which is exactly why small businesses have been underserved by credit for as long as I've worked in financial services (the context margin paradox, if you will). So, can AI finally resolve the tension between personalization and scale for SMBs? We dig into: Why SMBs get caught in the middle between bespoke commercial underwriting and mass-market, and how lenders have tried to cost-engineer their way out of it Why cash flow underwriting shines for SMBs Why the underwriter of the future might be silicon-based instead of carbon-based How AI agents could work both sides of the table: helping owners seek the right credit at the right time (and on the right terms), while lenders deploy agents across underwriting, fraud, servicing, and collections Tune in to explore why SMB credit has been so hard to get right, and why that might be changing. --- This episode is brought to you by Ocrolus. Better lending starts with better intelligence. A borrower's cash flow only tells half the story, so Ocrolus fills in the rest with behavior signals and industry benchmarking. Visit https://www.ocrolus.com/ for more. --- Sign up for Alex's Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/ And for more exclusive insider content, don't forget to check out my YouTube page. --- Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson X: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson Follow David: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsnitkof/
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
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.
DigitalOcean just raised its 2026 growth guidance to 30–31%, and the stock sold off anyway.In this episode we work through what DigitalOcean's (DOCN) Q2 update actually changed. Management lifted full-year 2026 revenue guidance from 25–27% to 30–31% and pointed to a possible 50%+ growth rate exiting fiscal 2027. The driver is a scaling cohort of large enterprise and developer customers landing in a supply-constrained compute market — the same capacity bottleneck hyperscalers like Microsoft have flagged around data center construction.We cover the shift from an SMB cloud provider toward a developer and enterprise-scaler platform, why the co-location approach gives it an edge over hyperscalers building from the ground up, and how management reworked the balance sheet by retiring convertible debt, raising cash, and continuing buybacks. We also run a DCF scenario assuming a 36% five-year per-share profit CAGR, and talk through why the move from small-cap to midcap matters for a fundamentals-first thesis.For the reasoning behind more names like this one, Semiconductor Insider covers the process in more depth. Get access to all our research, weekly live Q&A events, and a growing set of tools to build your process: https://www.chipstockinvestor.comAll our socials: https://linktr.ee/chipstockinvestorIf this was useful, follow the show so new episodes land in your feed.Disclaimer: Content is for general information or entertainment only and is not specific or individual investment advice. Forecasts and information presented may not develop as predicted, and there is no guarantee any strategies presented will be successful. All investing involves risk, and you could lose some or all of your principal. CSI owns shares of DigitalOcean.
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
A full calendar can look like discipline, productivity, and control—until something unexpected happens and there is nowhere for it to go. After spending four days running his business from a chair beside a hospital bed, Ray examines the hidden cost of eliminating every open hour: the loss of margin on your time. What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy a completely allocated calendar can quietly eliminate your flexibility.How time margin provides the same security, optionality, and head space that financial margin provides.Why time margin can disappear without you noticing until something unexpected lands.Three ways to rebuild it: scheduling below capacity, creating real redundancy, and redesigning your ideal week from a blank calendar.Why automatically filling newly available time with more production can recreate the same problem.//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
What do the dog days of summer have to do with a star? What does a coneflower have to do with echinacea? And what might a bald eagle flying over a busy city or a dragonfly resting in the grass reveal when we pause long enough to really look? In this Walk with SMB episode, Susan follows a handful of questions sparked by things she's noticed and learned this summer. The familiar phrase "dog days of summer" turns out to carry an ancient connection to Sirius, the Dog Star. A coneflower and echinacea reveal themselves as different ways of knowing the same plant. An unexpected bald eagle challenges assumptions about where nature belongs. And a close encounter with a female darner dragonfly becomes an opportunity to marvel at something as seemingly ordinary—and astonishing—as a pair of wings. Together, these observations lead to a larger question about curiosity, knowledge, and wonder. We often think explanation removes mystery: once we know how something works or what it's called, perhaps it becomes less remarkable. But what if the opposite is true? Looking closely can reveal how much more there is to notice. Learning one thing can lead to another question. And sometimes understanding a little more about the living world doesn't diminish wonder at all—it deepens it. During these dog days of summer, what are you curious about right now? What might become visible if you looked at something familiar a little more closely? Resources Mentioned Sirius (the Dog Star) and the origins of the "dog days of summer" Echinacea / coneflowers Darner dragonflies Connect with ROOTED https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast
A 20% appointment show rate might look like a sales failure—until you understand what came before it. This episode examines why sales systems have to be improved one constraint at a time, and why abandoning the process when the next problem appears can erase the progress you've already made.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeWhy a bad metric can still represent meaningful progress.How sales constraints reveal themselves sequentially as the system improves.Why fixing hiring, training, qualification, show rates, discovery, and closing in the right order matters.How quitting when the next constraint appears can create the false belief that outbound sales doesn't work.//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
Welcome back to Not Fintech Investment Advice, where Simon Taylor and I do what we do best: talk about companies we're absolutely not giving investment advice on! First up is Natural, an AI agent orchestration layer for payments that just raised a $30M Series A. We explore its wallet architecture (which uses account structure itself as a guardrail for what agents can and can't do), and why a liability framework is still missing once payments move beyond its own network. Next is Sky Fusion, which puts small AI data centers inside people's homes, financed just like rooftop solar. We talk through the appeal of distributed compute over another giant data center nobody wants nearby, and the underwriting risk that already tripped up a wave of residential solar lenders. Then there's Quarters, a home savings rewards platform that inverts the Bilt model: instead of housing spend driving everyday purchases, everyday purchases drive housing spend, with rewards redeemable only through partners for rent, deposits, down payments, or moving costs. Finally, we close with El Dorado, a stablecoin platform with over a million consumer users across 13 countries and a fast-growing SMB base (like Bolivian import/exporters locked out of affordable dollars by the correspondent banking system). We explore stablecoins as a workaround for national monetary control, and why a physical branch is as consequential as the tech. Plus, some manifestations throughout (Simon willing Quarters toward its target renter niche, and yours truly wishing El Dorado's model into full compliance). --- This episode is brought to you by Ocrolus. Better lending starts with better intelligence. A borrower's cash flow only tells half the story, so Ocrolus fills in the rest with behavior signals and industry benchmarking. Visit https://www.ocrolus.com/ for more. --- Sign up for Alex's Fintech Takes newsletter for the latest insightful analysis on fintech trends, along with a heaping pile of pop culture references and copious footnotes. Every Monday and Thursday: https://workweek.com/brand/fintech-takes/ And for more exclusive insider content, don't forget to check out my YouTube page. Follow Alex: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AlexH_Johnson Follow Simon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sytaylor/ Substack: https://sytaylor.substack.com --- Companies featured: https://www.natural.com/ https://www.skyfusion.ai/ https://myquarters.ca/ https://eldorado.io/en
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.
As an AT in Idaho, Tracy Collins shares the beauty of the state and some of the challenges the Athletic Trainers face. With over 300 ATs, the Idaho ATA joins the Sports Medicine Broadcast to discuss work-life balance. Summary: Host Jeremy Jackson sits down with Tracy Collins, Head Athletic Trainer at Lewis-Clark State College, to discuss her long career and the unique life of an AT in Idaho. They cover Tracy's journey from a record-setting high school track athlete to a veteran healthcare professional, the challenges and solutions for AT coverage in the state’s rural settings, and what the Idaho Athletic Trainers Association is working on with their practice act. Tracy also gives her top recommendations for experiencing the stunning outdoor activities and travel destinations that the state of Idaho has to offer. Key Takeaways: Professional Challenges: The rural and geographically spread-out nature of Idaho presents financial challenges for full-time athletic trainer positions in many high schools, though areas like the Treasure Valley are well-covered. Personal Background: Tracy Collins is a record-holding runner from Lewiston High School, an alumna of Boise State, and has been married to a track and field coach for 32 years. Legislation: The Idaho Athletic Trainers Association is focused on working with the new Department of Professional Licensing structure and is considering updating its 23-year-old licensure practice act. Travel and Nature: Tracy’s favorite aspect of living in Idaho is the access to the outdoors, recommending that visitors see Hells Canyon and the volcanic landscape of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Mentioned in the Broadcast: Lewis-Clark State College (LC State) The Idaho Sports Medicine Institute Exotherm heating pads (Product from partner Johan Wing in Boise, Idaho) Idaho Athletic Trainers Association: Idahoata.org Contact Tracy Collins: Email: TCollins@lcsc.edu These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast: Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products. Xothrm – Best heating pad available – Use “SMB” or email info@xothrm.com and mention the Sports Medicine Broadcast Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school) HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast. Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better. Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.
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
Episode SummaryDan sits down with Kevin Bogner along the Chicago River for a candid conversation about his 30+ year sales career: from 18 years at Microsoft to Philips, a CRO stint at a Vista Equity portfolio company, leading global sales at Outreach, and now building the SMB and commercial sales organization at Stripe.Key Topics & TakeawaysThe "How" vs. The "What" in SalesKevin's longtime mentor Geoff Nyheim (now a sales professor at DePaul) instilled a foundational principle: the what you do is table stakes. It's the how you do it that differentiates you and advances your career.What the Best Sellers Do DifferentlyCuriosity – Always-on learners who use technology, listen to Gong calls, and constantly sharpen their craftCross-functional orchestration – The best AEs are "resource brokers," pulling together CSMs, specialists, professional services, and executives to deliver valueMulti-threading with sequence in mind – It's not just who you involve, but in what order. Kevin shares how he sent daily stakeholder updates on his biggest deal, scripting who talks to whom and whenAuthenticity over improvisation – Thinking on your feet includes being comfortable saying "I don't know, but I'll find out"Motivating a Team of 125 Early-Career SellersKevin created a program called "Time to Shine": a weekly one-on-one walk to a shoe shine station near the Chicago Merchandise Mart with a top performer nominated by managers. He records a short best-practice interview, shares it on Slack every Friday, and fosters healthy competition. Simple, creative, and effective.The Challenge of Staying Present as a LeaderKevin is candid about his personal challenge: carrying energy from one back-to-back meeting into the next. He's actively working on showing up fully in every conversation, whether it's a FY27 strategy discussion, a deal close, or a career conversation.AI in Sales – Where It's Making the Biggest ImpactStrategy and ICP targeting – Using AI to monitor deal patterns in real time (fastest activation, highest usage, fastest close) and identify emerging verticals like GLP-1 distributors, cannabis, and gamingLookalike prospecting – The best sellers use AI to find the next customer that looks exactly like their last great winInterview signal – Kevin asks every candidate how they're using AI, both to assess their skills and to learn from themStructure vs. Freedom in Sales MethodologyKevin's take: structure matters, especially early in a career. But AI tools like Gong and Outreach are surfacing MEDDIC elements naturally from calls and emails, freeing sellers from checklist-style questioning and enabling more human conversations.Value Selling at StripeStripe has a proprietary methodology called The Stripe Way, rooted in value selling. It includes AI-powered tooling that scores calls, emails, and decks against value-selling criteria, generating deal health scores and seller performance dashboards.Notable Quotes"The how we do what we do as sellers is what really advances your career.""The best sellers are resource brokers. They bring all the best people to the table.""I value authenticity. Thinking on your feet includes being able to say 'I don't know.'""Football teams don't hit the field with just the first play. They hit the field with the entire drive."Note from the Host: This was Sales is King's first on-the-go recording. The iPhone ran out of storage and cut the interview short. Dan plans to reconnect with Kevin for a follow-up episode!
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
Two pen testers have spent thousands of hours inside client networks, and the most common failure they see isn't a missing security product — it's an EDR nobody ever tuned.In this episode, Spencer and Tyler open up the CrowdStrike Falcon console and walk through the specific settings that decide whether your team catches an attack or never sees it. They start with the story that kicked the whole thing off: Tyler running a pen test where every AMSI bypass gets blocked and detections fire left and right, while Spencer runs nearly identical tooling against the same product at another client and the SOC sees nothing all week. Same CrowdStrike. Same version. Different checkboxes.From there it's a tactical walkthrough of Endpoint Security → Prevention Policies and the settings worth your attention: Enhanced Exploitation Visibility, which unlocks command-line and PowerShell telemetry that Microsoft disables by default; Enhanced DLL Load Visibility for side-loading attacks; WSL2 Visibility, which closes a sandbox threat actors have been using to run Kali tooling under the radar; memory scanning for in-memory C# tradecraft; Office malicious macro removal; file system containment for ransomware over SMB; vulnerable driver protection, the direct mitigation for BYOVD attacks and EDR killers; and cloud-based anomalous process execution for living-off-the-land binaries.They also cover custom IOA rule groups for blocking unauthorized RMM tools, centralized firewall policy management, device policies for USB control, and a warning on exclusions — especially wildcard paths, which Tyler calls a threat actor's best dream.The takeaway is simple: you're paying real money for EDR, and default configurations aren't giving you what you paid for. Open your console, work through the settings, test them against an IT pilot group, and enable what fits your environment.TOPICS COVERED- Why EDR vendors ship deficient defaults on purpose- Enhanced Exploitation Visibility and the telemetry gap in PowerShell attacks- DLL side-loading, WSL2 abuse, and vulnerable driver attacks- Memory scanning and in-memory tooling detection- Blocking RMM tools with custom IOA rule groups- Exclusion hygiene and the wildcard path problem- Device policies, USB blocking, and insider threatSentinel One and Defender for Endpoint are next — let us know what else you want covered.Blog: https://offsec.blogWork with us on an internal pen test: https://securit360.comBlog: https://offsec.blog/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cyberthreatpovTwitter: https://x.com/cyberthreatpovFollow Spencer on social ⬇Spencer's Links: https://spenceralessi.comWork with Us: https://securit360.com | Find vulnerabilities that matter, learn about how we do internal pentesting here.
Alex Pinto, who leads Verizon's DBIR team, joins me to break down the new Breach Impact Study and what data breaches actually cost organizations.For years the industry has argued past itself on breach costs. One camp says the market doesn't care, the other says a single breach ends your business. Alex and his team finally got their hands on roughly 70,000 cyber insurance claims through CyberAcuView, and the Breach Impact Study puts real numbers behind the question. In this conversation we dig into what the data shows, where it stops, and how a security leader should actually use it.Alex Pinto runs the Data Breach Investigations Report team at Verizon Business and has been building the report for close to a decade. The Breach Impact Study is the team's first focused spin-off from the DBIR.In this episode:- How the Breach Impact Study came together and why the DBIR team finally got cyber insurance claims data- Why the study measures insurable loss as a floor, not a ceiling, of real economic impact- The case for reporting medians over averages, and why the team refuses to publish the average- Business interruption versus contingent business interruption, and why downtime moves the needle- Whether an $83,000 median breach impact sends executives the wrong message- The SMB paradox, where the smallest companies take the hardest proportional hit- What the claims data does and does not show about AI on offense and defense- Third-party risk, coverage sub-limits, and the single biggest takeaway for security leadersChapters0:00 Intro0:24 Meet Alex Pinto and the DBIR team2:51 Launching the Breach Impact Study3:26 Getting cyber insurance claims data7:32 Why insurable loss is a floor, not a ceiling11:14 Medians over averages, and why the average is meaningless15:13 Business interruption vs contingent business interruption19:49 Does an $83K median send the wrong message?22:44 The SMB paradox and the cybersecurity poverty line26:05 Where AI shows up, offense vs defense34:48 The CVE explosion and marketing hype36:59 Third-party risk and coverage limits41:34 Wrap-upGuest linksAlex Pinto on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexcpsec/Alex Pinto on X: https://x.com/alexcpsecVerizon DBIR and Breach Impact Study: https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/More from Resilient CyberSubstack: https://www.resilientcyber.ioSubscribe for more conversations with security practitioners and leaders.#cyberrisk #databreach #cyberinsurance #ransomware #aisecurity #dbir
Glen speaks with Rapid Finance's Patrick Lord about Zombie Business Fraud and other threat vectors given a bump by AI. Also, Stripe ponders a big play in AI routing, and new Velera data reveals SMBs sending mixed messages to their multiple (banking) partners. Links related to this episode: Rapid Finance (for FIs and other SMB lenders): https://enterprise.rapidfinance.com/ Rapid Finance (for SMBs): https://www.rapidfinance.com/ Patrick Lord's LinkedIn (he loves to talk fraud!): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lordpcarl/ Velera's SMB report: https://www.velera.com/insights/market-research/cu-growth-outlook-2026 Stripe's reported $10 billion level of interest in OpenRouter: https://www.wellesleyhillsfinancial.com/2026/08/02/stripes-10-billion-bet-on-the-ai-economy-why-openrouter-matters/ Which begs the question, "What about PayPal?": https://www.big-fintech.com/looking-for-the-x-factor-in-stripes-paypal-bid/ Fintech South, Tuesday August 18 at Truist Park in Atlanta: https://www.fintechsouth.com/ USE CODE BEYO15 for a 15% REGISTRATION DISCOUNT Mark your calendar to join us Wednesday August 19 at 3pm ET/Noon PT for our next CU Town Hall. It's free to attend but advance registration is required. Come prepared for a lively discussion! https://www.cutownhall.com/ Check out the Innovation Club- a curated group of credit union tech, data and strategy leaders that meets virtually each month- and twice a year in person- to extend their Learn more to see if this is for you and if so, request a guest pass: https://www.big-fintech.com/innovation-club/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/best-innovation-group/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jbfintech/ https://www.linkedin.com/n/glensarvady/
“It's not easy, but it is absolutely worth it.” In this Technology Reseller News podcast recorded at ChannelCon 2026, Danielle Carpenter of Xceptional discusses how the San Diego-based MSP is helping small and midsized businesses strengthen security and navigate Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements. Xceptional supports a diverse SMB customer base, including organizations within the defense industrial base that handle sensitive government information. The company previously self-attested at CMMC Level 1 and is now preparing for a formal Level 2 assessment. “We've walked alongside our clients and partners on that journey and learned a tremendous amount,” Carpenter says. Xceptional has developed secure environments, reviewed licensing requirements and helped customers build security and compliance into their daily operations. The company is also working with a consultant, completing a mock audit and preparing for an assessment by a certified third-party organization. Carpenter says the process examines every part of the business that may interact with controlled unclassified information. Once certified, organizations must maintain compliance, retain supporting evidence and undergo reassessment every three years. The experience also allows Xceptional to provide practical, real-time guidance to customers undertaking the same journey. For defense contractors, selecting the right technology provider is especially important because compliance responsibilities may be shared between the customer and its MSP. “An MSP that is not following the proper security measures presents a very real threat to its clients,” Carpenter says. Although some MSPs may hesitate to enter the defense market because of its complexity, she says the opportunity is significant—and the security mission is critical as threats increasingly target the government supply chain. Visit Xceptional.com to learn more.
From a live, in-person Chicago studio, we sit down with Tom Madine to unpack what real scale looks like in transportation, and why SMB shipping is still one of the most misunderstood corners of logistics. Tom shares his path from early sales roles into building Worldwide Express, then zooms out to the hard truth: small and midsize shippers don't just buy rates. They buy accountability, fast fixes, and a partner who can “make it right” when the inevitable problems hit.We go deep on business models that divide founders and operators: direct sales vs franchise networks vs agent programs. Tom breaks down the trade-offs of control, the power of entrepreneurial motivation, and why culture and management matter more than the org chart. Then we shift into mergers and acquisitions strategy, including the mistakes that kill deals (like rushing rebrands) and the playbook that helps integrations stick: align on a common vision, align economically, communicate relentlessly, and move fast on the painful synergy work so it doesn't drag on.Finally, Tom explains the big bet behind ShipStation Global and the Auctane combination: pairing logistics software and e-commerce shipping tools with deep carrier relationships and a massive commercial engine, aiming for a true single pane of glass across parcel, LTL, and beyond. If you care about freight brokerage, logistics technology, private equity partnerships, and building a durable platform in a fragmented market, this one is for you. Subscribe, share with a builder in your network, and leave a review: what's the hardest part of scaling a logistics business without losing what made it great?Thanks to our sponsors:Cloneops.ai: Not just AI. Industry-born AI.cloneops.aiBitfreighter: Scale Freight. Not Integration Costs. Win More. Accept More.bitfreighter.comTriumph: Accelerate quote-to-cash with AI-powered invoicing, bank-grade carrier payments, and transaction-based market intelligence.triumph.io/morecapacity
Most restaurants don't survive their first year. This one won five awards in it. Including back-to-back People's Choice titles and a top finish for Best Asian Business in the entire state of Arkansas.Maria Smith left a long corporate career (including years at Sam's Club) to open Lasang Pinoy with her brother, bringing Filipino cuisine, and Filipino karaoke culture, to Northwest Arkansas. In this episode, she breaks down the history behind the cuisine, the real financial and emotional challenges of opening a restaurant, why one specific karaoke song is banned from the building, and her dream of franchising the concept nationwide.⏱️ Chapters00:20 Welcome & Meet Maria Smith 01:46 Maria's Origin Story: From the Philippines to Arkansas 03:06 One Year In: Awards & Milestones 04:58 The Rich History Behind Filipino Cuisine 07:06 Why Northwest Arkansas Connects with Filipino Food 07:36 Karaoke Nights: Go Bananas & Go Coconuts 09:23 The Golden Mic Karaoke Championship 10:00 The One Song Banned From Filipino Karaoke 11:55 Running a Restaurant with Family 14:50 Building the Right Team 16:07 The Power of Small Details 18:11 Biggest Challenges: Cash Flow & Emotional Endurance 21:21 Giving Back to the Community 24:14 The Future: Franchising Filipino Food Nationwide---Learn more about Lasang Pinoy: https://lasangpinoynwa.com/
Gabriel Cruz Avila bought a $1.4M remodeling business, weathered a divorce and burnout, then sold it two years later. Register for the webinar: The 3 Paths to Franchising for Acquisition Entrepreneurs - Thu, Aug 6 - https://bit.ly/4pY7VOXTopics in Gabriel's interview:Lessons learned from his dad's businessGetting bored in the oil and gas industryJoining ETA Circle in HoustonLeaning on his warehouse management experienceAcquiring a tile and marble companyFailing to dig deep into historical revenueUsing technology to eliminate 2 admin rolesNegative working capital in home remodelsGoing through a divorceBurnout led to selling the businessReferences and how to contact Gabriel:gabriel.cruz.avila@gmail.comLinkedInKaty Tile & MarbleETA CircleGet 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
Learn why Cyber criminals hate Huntress, why we use them daily and why they help stop cyber crime in the SMB space. What if the people protecting small businesses had no idea they were already inside?Jeremy Young was employee #19 at Huntress Security. He watched MSPs go from ignoring cybersecurity to being the frontline defense against organized criminal groups running attacks like a business.Here is what stopped us cold: 70% of ransomware attacks now target small and mid-sized businesses. And most of them have no dedicated security team.Chapters00:00 Welcome Jeremy Young from Huntress Security 02:15 From Fortune 500 to Startup Employee Number 19 05:30 How HP Direct Taught the Wrong Way to Work the Channe 08:45 Why Jeremy Left Verizon and Joined the MSP World 12:00 Duo Security, Cisco Acquisition, and Meeting the Huntress Founders 16:20 Huntress Mission: Bringing Cybersecurity to the 99 Percent 18:45 Big Company Skills That Actually Transfer to Startups 22:00 Process Documentation and Building What Does Not Exist Yet 25:30 Two Types of People at Every Company: Fixers vs Bystanders 28:15 Ownership Mentality, Shareholder Value, and Going Beyond Your Title 31:00 Radical Candor, Difficult Conversations, and Remote Work Culture 44:30 Mentorship That Works: Homework, Follow Through, and Self Selection 48:00 How Jeremy Mentors the People Who Actually Do the Work 51:20 Lessons From Thailand Floods: Do Not Bow to a Title 54:45 Respecting Humans First and Hanging Up on Screaming CEOs 57:30 Leadership Lessons, Final Thoughts, and How to Follow Jeremy YoungQuestions? Text our Studio direct. We read these and when helpful we give a special shout out for those to contact us.True crime enters our homes and businesses daily. Learn from actual people who fight it daily and show you how in a thriller story. The Moving Target Trilogy. Book 3 to be released September 22nd, 2026. Start with any of them. Be a Moving Target.Special Author pricing (30% off) The Moving Target Trilogy. Book 3 to be released September 22nd, 2026. Start with any of them. Be a Moving Target.Special Author pricing (30% off) Growth without Interruption. Get peace of mind. Stay Competitive-Get NetGain. Contact NetGain today at 844-777-6278 or reach out at DMauro@NetGainIT.com or find more at www.NETGAINIT.com Support the showWant to Watch? Subscribe and stop reading about it after it happens: https://www.youtube.com/@CyberCrimeJunkies?sub_confirmation=1Hosted by David Dean Mauro. Former trial lawyer, AI Security Advisor, FBI InfraGard member, VP of Strategic Growth at NetGain Technologies, and author of the Moving Target Trilogy (#1 Amazon Hot New Release, 2026).MOVING TARGET TRILOGY. Nonfiction cybercrime thrillers.
Hey friends! Today's episode comes to you from a parking lot in the rain, with a mint hot cocoa in hand and your host absolutely dragging his butt (D-R-A-G-G-I-N-G, not D-R-A-G-O-N – I've never seen a dragon's butt and can't speak to how mine compares). I've had a bunch of internals back to back lately and I'm basically a drooling dog who found a frisbee and refuses to put it down. Sleep be darned. So instead of walking through one test start to finish, I want to share a few things that have helped me claw out a foothold in environments that are otherwise really locked down: The "good problem" of a mature client – several of these engagements are third- or fourth-year tests, and the clients actually clear findings off the board. Which is great for them and rough for me, because this year's test shouldn't look anything like last year's. All my favorite go-tos came up empty – machine account quota set to zero, no broadcast traffic tomfoolery (Responder and mitm6 got me nothing), SMB signing on everywhere, ADCS either absent or buttoned up, and a low-priv account that BloodHound says has zero interesting permissions and zero local admin anywhere. Cool cool cool. When the network's clean, go file-hunting – which means firing up Snaffler and letting it comb the shares. Normally that wraps up in about an hour. On these engagements it was running three and four hours. Then Windows told me I was out of disk – I like having Snaffler pull down copies of interesting files so I can review them locally instead of authenticating to each share. Turns out it had grabbed 50-60 gigs and left me with about eight gigs of breathing room. Tip #1: put a 1 TB drive in your drop boxes – I ran with tiny drives for years early in the 7MS days and it was always a pinch. Beyond situations like this one, sometimes you find a giant backup file or VMDK on a share and you need somewhere to put it so you can crack it open and go shopping. Tip #2: you can grow a VM disk on the fly – in Proxmox you can resize the disk on a running VM, then hop into Disk Management inside Windows and extend the C drive. Instant elbow room, no downtime. Death by a million tiny files – the real culprit was one file extension I should have excluded, and the client had hundreds of thousands of them. Rather than restart a run I was already hours into, I had AI whip up a little PowerShell loop that swept the Snaffler dump folder every 10 minutes and deleted the extensions I didn't care about. Woke up the next morning to a finished run and plenty of free space. Making a gig-sized log file readable – I fed the log into Chimas, a slick web interface for Snaffler output that lets you filter down to just the red stuff or just the likely-credential files, and sort by modified date. Watch those timestamps – I kept finding AD creds in documents, then comparing the doc's date against the account's last password reset in BloodHound and discovering the file was a year stale. Son of a biscuit. The tool that actually cracked it open: Copernic Desktop Search – my pal Jeff McJunkin recommended this to me years ago, I talked about it on the show once, and then inexplicably forgot about it. Not a sponsor, no kickbacks, just a paid tool that's earned its keep. It's basically Google for your hard drive. How I use it – install it on the Windows VM, clear out the default indexing scope entirely, and point it only at the Snaffler dump folder. The top tier (about a hundred bucks a year) will chew through PSTs, DWGs, Office docs, PDFs and more, and it OCRs images too. Indexing took the better part of a day on these engagements, but then search is instant, and it previews basically every file type without Office installed. Years ago this same tool surfaced a photo on a file share of a piece of printer paper where a sysadmin had handwritten a 40-character admin password in Bic pen. OCR for the win. What I search for – the obvious stuff like "password," plus the domain name, "plain text," and things like "=sa" to sniff out SQL admin creds. Nuggets and threads to pull – sometimes a hit is the gold. Other times it just tells you where to go dumpster-diving like a raccoon on the live share. That's how I found upgrade project plans with multiple teams and contractors involved, half-cleaned-up temp work, and high-privilege system, database and local admin creds just sitting there. Worth the hours – these didn't all end in domain admin, but they were rich, real findings, and a great teaching opportunity about what's sitting wide open to Domain Users. (Bonus: Copernic can also point straight at a UNC path with your AD creds and index it live.) Know a free alternative? – one of my favorite parts of doing this podcast is when someone writes in with "hey, there's an open source thing that does that." If that's you, I'd love to hear it! Also, on this week's TuesdayTOOLSday I walked through getting a self-hosted Bitwarden password vault (and file sender) up and running on Linux, and there's now a cheat sheet over at 7MinSec.wiki that'll get you there in about seven minutes – all the commands from the official install guide in one place, with a couple of gotchas flagged. Last thing: subscriptions to 7MinSec.club are free, but paid subs help cover hosting and the time this takes each week, and they're getting some exclusive content soon. No guilt trip here, Mom – I'm going to keep barfing up everything I learn either way. But if you've got the means, I'd sure appreciate it.
Our guest in this episode is Kyle Hanslovan, Co-Founder and CEO of Huntress. When Kyle started Huntress in 2015, most investors believed protecting small and mid-sized businesses wasn't a venture-scale opportunity. The contracts were too small, customer churn would be too high, and the market simply wasn't attractive enough. Kyle heard “no” more than 60 times from VCs before raising his first institutional round.Ten years later, Huntress has just crossed $250M ARR, protects more than 270,000 businesses, and has become one of the defining cybersecurity companies serving the 99% of organizations that don't have dedicated security teams. Even more remarkably, Huntress achieved this growth without abandoning its original mission or moving upmarket.On Inside the Network, Kyle shares the unconventional story behind building one of cybersecurity's fastest-growing companies. We discuss why he ignored investor advice, why customer revenue mattered more than venture funding, how Huntress built a partner-first go-to-market strategy that became a lasting competitive advantage, and why serving the SMB market turned out to be a much bigger opportunity than most people realized.We also dive deep into AI and what it means to build an AI-centric cybersecurity company. Kyle explains why Huntress didn't start as an AI-native business, how years of automation and data science laid the groundwork for adopting modern AI, where large language models are genuinely changing security operations, and why he believes technical founders with deep research DNA will have a significant advantage in the AI era.Finally, Kyle shares candid lessons about leadership, founder psychology, and the personal cost of building venture-scale companies. He reflects on growing up “pretty darn broke,” what drove him to become an entrepreneur, why founders often underestimate the sacrifices required to build enduring businesses, and how he has learned to balance relentless ambition with building a company around a mission larger than himself.
Edgar Galindo and his partner bought 2 businesses with SBA loans. Now he's facing the consequences of shuttering both.Topics in Edgar's interview:Construction background in his family business“Google-funded search”Wanted flexibility to start a familyAustin-only geographic search Found partner through SearchfunderFirst deal: Austin landscaping companyBuying a second business within 6 monthsMaking quick changes to the businessUndisclosed liabilities and customer-stealing employeesClosing both businesses and facing bankruptcyReferences and how to contact Edgar:LinkedInWork with an SBA loan team focused exclusively on helping entrepreneurs buy businesses:Pioneer Capital AdvisoryGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamDownload the New CEO's Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.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
In the latest episode of Executive Function, Brett sits down with Lindsey Scrase, COO of Checkr. Before joining Checkr as CRO and later stepping into the COO seat, Lindsey spent nearly a decade at Google Cloud as global managing director for SMB, mid-market, and startups. In this conversation, she breaks down why moving upmarket into enterprise trips up so many startups looking to scale, how Checkr rebuilt its sales compensation model to keep pace with growth, and where AI is already reshaping her operations and go-to-market teams. In today's episode, we discuss: Why operators who thrive at massive-scale companies often struggle when they join a startup The hard-won lessons from Checkr's early enterprise push that nearly failed Why Checkr's C-suite meets every morning with no specific agenda The surprising challenges moving from CRO to COO How Checkr turned AI experiments into operating systems References Amazon: https://www.amazon.com Checkr: https://checkr.com Claude: https://claude.com Daniel Yanisse: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanisse/ DoorDash: https://www.doordash.com Google: https://www.google.com Lovable: https://lovable.dev Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com Where to find Lindsey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-scrase-0702442/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Lscrase Where to find Brett LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson Where to find First Round Capital Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 00:06 Why big-company executives often struggle in startups 02:18 What Checkr's first CRO needed to accomplish 03:33 How to take on an entrenched category leader 06:58 Why leaders underestimate how hard the jump to enterprise really is 10:23 Separating a true deal-blocker from a customer's nice-to-have request 18:30 Why Lindsey hired enterprise-scarred sales leader over a market leader's résumé 22:08 The biggest challenges of moving from CRO to COO 28:03 Why Checkr names a single decision-maker for every major decision 34:42 Why Checkr rebuilt their sales compensation model 40:39 What actually separates a team's best seller from everyone else 45:03 Inside Checkr's daily, no-agenda, c-suite meeting 50:23 How following data can sometimes lead you in the wrong direction 57:27 Why hitting 130% of a goal isn't always a good thing 58:57 Where AI has changed how Checkr's teams operate day to day 1:04:33 Advice for all aspiring COOs
As UCaaS platforms become increasingly commoditized, Akixi says service providers can rebuild differentiation, customer value and revenue by connecting analytics, CRM, recording and AI into one experience. By Doug Green “Fragmentation doesn't just cost service providers on renewal—it knocks their ability to win business too.” UCaaS was once one of the communications industry's clearest growth stories. Today, however, many service providers are facing slower growth, tighter margins and declining revenue per seat as the major platforms become increasingly similar in their core capabilities. In this Technology Reseller News podcast, Andrew Cantle, Chief Revenue Officer at Akixi, explains why the next competitive opportunity is no longer the underlying communications platform alone. It is the connected experience that service providers and MSPs can build around it. Akixi began as a provider of real-time communications analytics. The company has since expanded its portfolio to include CRM integrations, call recording, AI-powered call scoring and sentiment analysis. These capabilities are brought together in the Akixi CX Suite, a value-added services layer designed to sit above platforms including BroadWorks, Webex and Microsoft Teams. Cantle says service providers are experiencing two pressures at the same time. Customer expectations are moving beyond basic reliability, while revenue per user continues to erode. The major UCaaS platforms now perform the fundamentals well, making it harder for providers to charge a premium based on the platform itself. That leaves providers looking for differentiation in the services surrounding the platform. Yet many are still managing separate vendors, dashboards and logins for analytics, recording, CRM integration and other capabilities. The result can be a fragmented customer experience and an equally fragmented sales story. At renewal, that fragmentation can push the conversation back toward price. A customer may value the individual services, but without a connected view of the business impact, the provider has little protection against a cheaper competitor. The same problem can hurt new sales when solution engineers must switch among multiple systems to demonstrate what is supposed to be one solution. AI is accelerating the shift. Capabilities that recently appeared advanced are quickly becoming expected. Akixi uses AI to analyze and score calls, evaluate sentiment and review far more customer interactions than a manager could assess manually. Instead of sampling a small number of calls, organizations can examine nearly every interaction and identify patterns in near real time. Cantle also points to compliance as an increasingly important use case, including for smaller businesses. AI can help organizations locate key statements, identify when specific terms were used and create a clearer evidence trail across call recordings, analytics and CRM records. Capabilities that were once affordable only to large enterprises are now becoming accessible to SMB customers through their service providers. Success, Cantle says, means giving customers direct visibility into measurable business outcomes—not simply adding another reporting layer. A connected experience can reveal productivity gains, staffing needs, coaching opportunities, agent performance, cost optimization and compliance evidence in one place. For service providers, the benefits extend beyond customer experience. Consolidating several value-added services under one vendor can simplify procurement, product management, training and support. It can also make it easier to develop a coherent proposition that sales teams can demonstrate and customers can understand. The larger message is that service providers remain well positioned because they already own trusted customer relationships. Those that connect their value-added services, demonstrate measurable outcomes and move beyond disconnected point solutions may be better able to protect renewals, win new business and rebuild average revenue per user. Listen to the podcast to learn why Akixi believes connected experience is becoming the new differentiator for UCaaS providers, MSPs and their customers. Learn more: https://www.akixi.com/
Everyone's racing to bolt AI onto everything, but Foreko co-founders Homero Ruiz and Alexis Rodas found the biggest opportunity in something almost boring: 76% of procurement teams are still running on spreadsheets. In this episode, they break down why they deliberately avoided fully automating decisions with AI, how a food truck's stock-out problem turned into a company, and why they think the real Silicon Valley advantage is knowing which advice to ignore.⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:59 – Welcome & Meet the Founders 1:32 – What Is Foreko? The AI Operating System for Procurement 2:11 – The Founders' Journeys: From Red Bull and Pepsi to Foreko 4:11 – Turning Experience Into Expertise 5:49 – Starting With Restaurants: Seeing the Problem First 6:52 – The Pivot to CPG and Why It Made Sense 8:29 – The Food Truck Story Behind It All 9:12 – Why They Said No to Full AI Automation 10:49 – Built at the University of Arkansas 13:59 – Growing Up in the Northwest Arkansas Startup Scene 16:05 – The Silicon Valley Reality Check 18:15 – From Idea to Paying Customers 19:58 – The AI Bubble, Patience, and the Tortoise-and-Hare Mindset 21:58 – The Five-Year Vision and Where to Find Foreko—Foreko's Website: https://www.foreko.app/enConnect with Homero: https://www.linkedin.com/in/homero-ruiz/Connect with Alexis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisrodas/
Being an AT in Georgia is a lot like being an AT in Texas. Rob Dicks knew he wanted to become an AT by the time he started high school. He is now leading the Georgia Athletic Trainers Association. Podcast Summary This episode features Jeremy Jackson and Rob Dix, the current President of the Georgia Athletic Trainers Association (GATA). Rob shares his journey from a 14-year-old aspiring ‘sports doctor’ to a seasoned Athletic Trainer, driven by an early interaction with an AT after an MCL sprain. He recounts his experience balancing a high-achieving student life and a career that included internships with the Buccaneers and the Falcons. Rob eventually prioritized family, leading him to a 22-year career at Lagrange College, where he transitioned through several administrative and leadership roles, culminating as an Associate AD before returning to high school athletics at Callaway High School. Rob discusses his leadership philosophy, ‘We are better together,’ and his role as a servant leader for GATA members. He highlights his commitment to mentorship, including co-founding a large support group/think tank for brown and black athletic trainers. On the legislative front, Rob addresses current challenges facing AT in Georgia, such as opposition to updating the Practice Act and the exclusion of athletic trainers from a dry needling bill that could make the practice illegal for ATs in the state. Despite the challenges, Rob notes Georgia’s leadership in the profession: the state is now number one nationally for heat illness policies and is a top contender for secondary school AT hiring and salary data. The ultimate goal is to place an AT in every school system with athletics. Show Notes: The State of AT in Georgia with Rob Dix Host: Jeremy Jackson Guest: Rob Dix, President of the Georgia Athletic Trainers Association (GATA) Website Link: sportsmedicinepodcast.com/ATinGeorgia Episode Highlights Rob Dix discusses his passion for athletic training, his pivot from an NFL career path to collegiate and high school settings, and his dedication to leadership and mentorship within the profession. Key Takeaways for AT in Georgia: The Journey to AT: Rob’s interest began at 14, influenced by his high school coach and solidified by his first AT, Jenny, after an MCL sprain in 10th grade. A Career Pivot: After working with the Falcons, Rob chose a career path at Lagrange College (22 years) to better prioritize his family life. Leadership Philosophy: Rob leads with the motto, ‘We are better together,’ viewing his role as serving the needs of GATA members. Mentorship & Community: Rob is a dedicated preceptor and helped start a support group/think tank for brown and black ATs, which has grown to over 1,600 members. Practice Act Challenges: A major focus for GATA is navigating legislative challenges, including opposition to the Practice Act update and the exclusion of AT in Georgia from a dry needling bill. Georgia as a Leader: Georgia is ranked number one in the nation for heat illness policies and is a leader in secondary school AT hiring and compensation, making it an attractive state for practicing AT in Georgia. Connect with Rob Dicks: Email: rob.dicks.sr@gmail Instagram: Rob_dsr Facebook: Rob Dicks Group: The Brown and Black AT Think Tank (contact Rob for involvement) These people LOVE Athletic Trainers and help support the podcast: Frio Hydration – Superior Hydration products. Xothrm – Best heating pad available – Use “SMB” or email info@xothrm.com and mention the Sports Medicine Broadcast Donate and get some swag (like Patreon but for the school) HOIST – No matter your reason for dehydration DRINK HOIST MedBridge Education – Use “TheSMB” to save some money, be entered in a drawing for a second year free, and support the podcast. Marc Pro – Use “THESMB” to recover better. Athletic Dry Needling – Save up to $100 when registering through our link.
Raj Mahajan bought a salon software business, tripled it to $11M ARR. Then his biggest customer launched a competitor.Register for the webinar:Tax Issues: Entity and Deal Structuring - TOMORROW!! - https://bit.ly/4frQstmTopics in Raj's interview:Wanting to move “from coach to quarterback”Buying a niche point-of-sale software companyConverting to cloud-based SaaSGrowing recurring revenue from $4 to $11 millionEstablishing a headquarters for the remote companyA failed exit to private equityHis biggest customer stealing his softwareEmotional turmoil of Covid + lawsuitChoosing to protect his teamLessons learned from good and bad yearsReferences and how to contact Raj:LinkedInJaan CapitalLessons for New Operators - 2020The ecosystem for serious acquisition entrepreneurs—education, capital, community, and post-close support to buy and grow a business:The Acquisition LabGet a complimentary IT audit for acquisition diligence or post-close transition.Visit inzotechnologies.com/eta.Get 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
According to Salesforce, sales professionals spend up to 40% of their time searching for the information and knowledge they need to do their jobs. For go-to-market teams stretched across multiple products, multiple acquired businesses, and a sprawling tech stack, that number can feel like a conservative estimate. So how does a solo enabler cut through the chaos and build something an entire go-to-market organization actually uses and actually trusts? Riley Rogers: Hi, and welcome to the Win/Win Podcast. I’m your host, Riley Rogers. Join us as we dive into changing trends in the workplace and how to navigate them successfully. Here to discuss this topic is Heather Darling, senior sales learning and development manager at HSI. Thanks so much for joining us today, Heather. Super excited to have you here. Wondering if you can kick us off and just tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and your role. Heather Darling: Yeah, absolutely, and thank you so much for having me, Riley. Appreciate it. My background actually started on the customer side. I spent a few years in customer success at HSI, working directly with our customers, building relationships, identifying growth opportunities, and helping them drive product adoption. So over time, I realized I really loved helping teams get better at that work and not just doing it myself. So I got my master’s, and I moved into the sales learning and development role, where I now design onboarding and ongoing learning for our sales reps and CSMs. And a big focus for me is practical application, so I spend a lot of time building programs around how to position our solutions with buyers, how to teach reps about our solutions without overwhelming them with information that they don’t need. Recently, I’ve been focusing on how AI can help sales teams show up more strategically with customers, so I’m really focused on how you turn enablement into something that actually changes behavior. And because I came from customer success, I think a lot about the full customer life cycle. So a lot of my work is in helping teams connect the dots across sales, onboarding, and long-term success. In enablement, I just think it’s important to focus beyond training and think about how we build a culture where people are continuously improving. RR: Your intro tells me we’re going to have a great conversation about how you’re bringing all of that to life. But before we do, I’d love if you could maybe give us just a little high-level view of HSI, just so we have a little bit of a framework as we’re going into the conversation. HD: HSI is a workplace safety training and compliance company in the environmental health and safety space. Ultimately, our goal is to help companies operate safer, smarter, and with less complexity. So we sell to SMB and enterprise organizations across a wide range of industries. Within those companies, our buyers are typically EHS leaders, HR and L&D teams, and operations leaders. So basically anyone who’s responsible for tracking workforce performance, compliance, and risk. RR: Love it, and that is, to your point, just about every company aims to do that, so broad customer base to serve, broad prospect base to target. One thing that you mentioned to me when we spoke last was that HSI’s growth has come from acquisition. So can you tell us a little bit about what’s challenging about working in an environment that’s constantly changing and trying to enable your teams through that change? HD: Honestly, it’s a tough environment to run enablement in. Growing through acquisition, you’re constantly dealing with new products, old branding, different messaging, new systems, and even different workplace cultures converging. So, it sometimes feels like nothing is ever fully standardized. You’re always evolving, working towards a moving target, and the teams are always needing to absorb new information. So you’re trying to help reps understand what to sell, how it fits together, and how to tell a simple story even when the business itself is still getting aligned. On top of that, priorities are shifting with a moment’s notice, products are getting rebranded, positioning is evolving. So enablement needs to stay really plugged into the business and be flexible. There’s long periods of waiting to bring a new product to market sometimes, and then suddenly it’s go time, and you need to be ready, and you have to get everyone else ready. At the end of the day, it’s just a balance between driving consistency and accepting that some level of change is always gonna be your reality. So if you wanna be successful without driving yourself crazy, you work to have a structure in place to bring consistency to your own role in those moments. RR: I would love to know what your personal process for creating consistency amid that chaos is. I think that’s something that’s often challenging to do. HD: That’s a good question. I spend a lot of time meeting with our leaders. I touch base with them at least once a month. I go to team meetings when I can. I just try to stay as plugged in as possible to all the different things that are happening within the organization. For me personally too, I have a mission, vision, and values for my team of one, and so it’s a touchstone for me to go back to. Like, “Hey, am I meeting the goals and the principles that I’ve set out for myself?” Make sure that we’re doing the things that are not out of scope, but also that we are doing the things that we need to be doing to address what’s happening at the moment. RR: I think that’s one of the things that’s really hard, and something that when you talk to solo enablers is probably one of the hardest things, is that wherever you are, enablement is a game of change. It’s a never ending project. There’s always new things for people to learn, always new things for people to do. But when it is just you, and when things are changing fast, staying true to those north stars and that scope that you’ve set, beginning of the year, beginning of fiscal, gets hard. So I really appreciate those tips for how to maintain structure, how to not go crazy, and how to keep yourself on a path that supports your work and the business. So thank you for that. You alluded to a little bit of this in your introduction. Acquisitions aren’t easy. They add new product lines, they add new collateral, they add all sorts of different branding, messaging, et cetera. So what are you seeing that cause for reps? HD: For reps, I think the biggest challenge is just suddenly they’ve got a bigger portfolio of things that they can sell, but it’s not always clear how the pieces fit together, what they need to lead with. If you’re not on top of that as an organization, rep’s confidence drops, your sales cycles get longer. You tend to see people fall back on doing and selling what they already know. People can be reluctant to bring up a new solution that they might feel like they don’t fully understand. And so again, I think that’s where it’s really important to make sure all those pieces are in place as much as possible before you bring the reps in, because they don’t fully understand something, they don’t feel confident in talking about it, so sometimes those new solutions, they don’t get brought up as much as they should. That’s definitely a challenge. For the broader go-to-market team, it creates a lot of inconsistency too. We’ve got different messaging, different positioning, overlapping collateral. It’s really easy for marketing, sales, and customer success to get slightly out of sync, and that shows up pretty quickly in the customer experience. Your risk really with that is not a lack of resources, it’s almost in having too many. It makes it hard for people to find or trust what’s relevant. So you might have reps sharing old collateral with legacy branding because they feel comfortable, they feel like that’s something that they trust. They’re measured on results, so when something is working for them, they don’t wanna risk messing that up. And so change can feel like it really slows them down or it puts deals at risk. So when you’re introducing new products, new positioning, or new tools, especially all at once, that can create some hesitation. Reps are gonna tend to default back to what they know, what they trust, what they’re comfortable talking about. RR: Hearing all of those challenges and also some of those questions that you asked, when there are so many priorities swirling around, so many new things coming in, how do you find that clarity, and how do you create that clarity? And I think one of the things that you shared was an answer to that was, “We needed some tooling.” And so you started looking for some tools to help with that, that problem of reps don’t feel confident with our new solutions. And so I think you were looking initially maybe for something more aligned to an onboarding tool, and then you wound up here with a sales enablement platform. HD: Yeah. Yeah, it was an interesting shift because early on I really was thinking about this as an onboarding problem. So how do we get new reps ramped faster, especially with how complex our business has become? But as I got deeper into it, I realized that the bigger issue wasn’t just onboarding, it’s ongoing development, coaching, creating and tracking certifications. So the challenge doesn’t stop after those first 30, 60, or 90 days. The business is still changing. We’re adding new products all the time, messaging keeps evolving, and that can be really a struggle for reps to keep up with. So there’s just so much information coming at them about buyers and products, and not to mention our internal processes that can sometimes change on a moment’s notice. So my thinking shifted from how do we ramp people to how do we continuously enable reps in a way that makes it easy for them to consume and keep up with the pace of the business? I didn’t really know, I think, that enablement platforms were something that existed. Turns out that in addition to hosting ongoing learning and coaching, an enablement platform could help us centralize content, which is something that we were really struggling with actually. So it really became clear that what I thought I wanted was actually not what I wanted. RR: So when you did land here, and you found there is a tool that will support not just the initial ramp-up on a difficult business to learn, but also will keep our reps continually enabled, everboarding as things change, and then also able to access all of the content, resources, et cetera, that they need. So you found something that worked, but that’s only step one. The next one is getting approval, getting the internal buy-in that this is the right choice, and it sounded like there was some degree of internal skepticism. There was a worry that it wouldn’t work. So how did you make the case for enablement platform and say, “We need this. It’s worth it. I promise you, it’ll, it’ll work out the way we want it to”? HD: We’ve had some challenges with platform adoption in the past, and so there was definitely some skepticism in the organization. And it’s always tempting to, we have a problem, let’s throw a tool at it. So I think for us, the turning point was reframing the problem. So instead of just, “Hey, we need a new tool to address this,” it was a focus on what the leaders were already feeling and seeing, which was longer ramp times, inconsistent messaging and branding, reps struggling to navigate a more complex sales cycle and complex sales processes. So we were incredibly lucky to find an internal champion, somebody high up and respected in the organization who also saw the problems that the sales org was facing firsthand. He believed in the impact that Highspot could have and really helped us connect the dots across leadership teams, and that made a big difference in building internal momentum and credibility. When we could confidently say, “This helps us ramp reps faster and has the potential to increase cross-sell by even 10 or 15%,” that conversation shifted pretty quickly, and at that point, it was about solving a real business problem. RR: Yeah, and there are a couple of really, I think, compelling things that anybody who’s trying to make a business case really for anything but for an enablement platform, expanding an enablement platform, anything like that. One, have a champion. That’s so huge when you have somebody who can speak the language of everybody else that you need to get bought in. Two, be able to reframe it to the value to you, as opposed to, yes, we have problems, but what would it look like in a future state if we didn’t have those problems? And so once you did have that, that buy-in, you had that moment where everybody was like, “Okay, we see the vision. Let’s move forward.” How did you drive adoption? HD: We, like I said, we’ve had a history of challenging or failed software adoptions, so I think that goes back to the idea of sales reps being a little allergic to change. So we definitely had some skepticism. And I got that. I was nervous about it. I had put myself on the line. So knowing that, I was just really intentional up front. I spent a lot of time organizing things the right way, building out Spots, overviews, Sales Plays, and Digital Room templates so that when our reps got in there, it actually made sense and it felt cohesive to them, like something that they understood and that they could use. So I created pages that, as much as possible, mirrored a lot of our internal and external resources, so it looked familiar. We used team homepages that linked to a lot of the other sites outside of Highspot that they use in their daily lives. We were integrated with Gong and Salesforce, which added a lot of value for them. So it was something where you could come in in the morning, you could open up your Highspot, you could have your links out to some of the other resources that you need, and you could start your day there. I also didn’t just blast it out to the entire organization at once. I launched to a small group of reps and got their feedback, made some adjustments based on that, and then after about a month, I started rolling it out more broadly. I spent some time with each team, walked them through some of how to use Highspot, answered their questions, got them set up linking all of their accounts and setting up profiles to make sure everything was ready to go, because I wanted to make it easy for them to engage with it and to be ready to use it to engage with their buyers. We started off slow, but reps started to see the payoff. So it was easier to find what they needed. That was really helpful. And at the same time, we gave them the ability to see how their prospects were engaging with content that they shared. That’s when I think it clicked for a lot of them. And at the same time, we reinforced that internally. So I trained our internal teams, like marketing, finance, sales ops, to point reps back to Highspot. So anytime they were asking for help locating content or processes, I asked them, “Hey, instead of giving them the answer, please let them know that it’s in Highspot and that they can easily find it.” I started to feel the shift a few months in. We would be in meetings, and people would say things like, “Hey, make sure that document you just showed us gets into Highspot.” Like, “Can you drop this PowerPoint deck in Highspot?” That’s when I knew we had crossed a line. It stopped being something that I was pushing, and it became the source of truth that sales team had been missing. RR: Can you walk us through what you built, what the platform looks like today, and then what you would point to as some of the things that have contributed to the success you’ve found so far? HD: The platform today is the central hub for how our go-to-market teams operate. We’ve got structured Spots with clear overviews, Sales Plays for all of our solutions, Digital Rooms that they’re using directly with customers. It’s really become the place where a lot of work happens. So as far as what’s driven the success, I think the biggest thing for me is having the right mindset. This isn’t a set it and forget it project. If you go in, I guess, thinking like, “Hey, I’m gonna be done with this at some point,” it’s not gonna work. It gets easier to manage over time, for sure, but it should always be evolving as your organization evolves, because you really have to keep refining, updating, and listening to your internal stakeholders. That ongoing care and feeding is what actually makes it stick and provides ongoing value. RR: And that’s, I think, the bitter truth of enablement, is that you’re constantly driving to all of these goals, new objectives that come up, and you hit one and you go, “Great. We’re done.” And then there’s a new one that comes in, and all of a sudden, again, you have that bomb of Sales Play training, Digital Room template that I need to build and equip my reps to get out there and drive that new initiative. So I think you’re 100% right to say that that is the right approach. And I would be curious, just because it sounds like in our conversation so far, you’re a firm believer that enablement is the connective tissue between marketing, sales, some other go-to-market functions that you called out. And you mentioned being in team calls and keeping a good pulse on the organization, but how have you built such strong connections between all of these teams and the leaders behind them? HD: Yeah, that’s a great question. A lot of what enablement does is really connect those dots across the business. And so for me, it just comes down to staying close to the work. I’m regularly attending team meetings. I’m joining product updates. I’m meeting with sales leaders on a monthly basis. I try to spend time one-on-one with our reps as much as I can, just to understand what they’re dealing with day to day. And that builds trust, but it also keeps me grounded in what they actually need and not just what I think they need. More importantly, I’m just thinking about how it can solve real problems for the different teams. So whether that’s helping marketing get their messaging in front of reps or giving sales ops and finance a better way to communicate priorities, it becomes a shared tool. Not just a sales tool, but a way for everybody to get things in front of sales when they need to have their attention or they need something that’s going to live somewhere people can easily access it. And I think that’s really where the connective tissue happens. When those stakeholders see Highspot and enablement more broadly as a way to amplify their own work and reach across teams, they lean in, and at that point, it stops feeling like enablement is a separate function, and it starts to just feel like part of how the business runs. RR: I really appreciate that call-out that you have to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your partners, understanding what they’re prioritizing, understanding what their KPIs are, what their goals are, what they’re driving towards, and then how can I serve that? It sounds like you’ve gotten to a point that you can be proud of, and I would really love to hear a little bit more about what business impact or achievements are you proudest of? HD: Yeah. This past year has been really exciting for us with Highspot, just to see the level of adoption and to see how often people refer to it. When we first rolled it out, our goal wasn’t just adoption. It was actually to change how our reps sell and how our buyers experience us, and we’re really starting to see that come to life. We have reached 100% adoption across our North American team, which is great, but what I’m most proud of is it’s not just surface level usage. The reps who are leaning in the most are seeing real results. So for example, reps who complete our learning path certifications are winning 15 to 20% more often. They’re generating more revenue because they’re creating and closing more opportunities. There’s a similar story with our Sales Plays. So the reps who use them are consistently outperforming. And on the buyer side, we’ve completely changed how we show up. We’ve had over 6,000 external shares this year, including more than 2,000 Digital Rooms that have gone out, and those are not only sales meeting follow-ups. Reps are using them for everything from onboarding new customers to supporting partners to running webinar follow-ups and supporting platform migration campaigns. Reps are seeing exactly how buyers are engaging with what they’re looking at, what’s resonating, and that helps them coach their champions internally. So it’s a much more informed, more intentional way of selling. Overall, it feels like we’ve built a system that’s actually driving better selling behaviors and better outcomes. RR: I think the thing that’s most powerful about what you shared just there is when you were talking about how did we earn buy-in. And you walked us through how you made that reframe, and you showed here is what is possible. And I think you threw out something there, like, “What if we could improve cross-sell by 15%?” And you can look at your data today and say, “Our training is actually increasing the number of opportunities we can create.” So that initial stretch goal that you set to earn buy-in on the vision, you have achieved, and you can prove it out, which is crazy, and I hope feels very gratifying. So with a strong environment in place, high adoption, less content chaos, an easy way to get folks ramped up, what’s next? HD: Yeah. I mean, we’re in a good spot right now. I’ve been able to start to have some fun with things because the foundation is there. Adoption is pretty strong, so the focus right now is really shifting to impact. So a big area for me right now is expanding learning, and that’s what I set out to do over a year ago. So I’m building structured learning paths with certifications so reps can prove readiness across different parts of our solution set. So ironically, my project had to take a bit of a backseat to building out the other areas of the platform, but I think that had to happen first to drive that learning portion and to see success there. So we’re also starting to scale globally. We are bringing our EMEA team into Highspot in a way that aligns with how HSI as an organization operates but also still respects the differences in their processes and products. We’ve started to explore the AI coaching functions, which is really exciting. So the goal there is to help reps tighten up their messaging faster, especially around product launches, and to support both onboarding and ongoing development. And at the same time, a lot of the focus is just continuing to evolve what we’ve already built, finding new ways to add value, keeping content fresh, refining Digital Rooms, making sure content stays aligned with the business. So I’m always diving into analytics to determine some new ways to deliver value and prove impact. I think it goes back to the idea that this isn’t a project with a defined endpoint, so our Highspot will always be evolving in the same way our products and our sales org is evolving, and I think that’s what makes it such a successful and valuable resource. RR: Such a full circle point to end on. There’s a lot to look forward to, and the one truth and the one consistent factor is that it’s gonna change, and you’re going to adapt. So who knows what’s coming next specifically, but it sounds like you’re ready to face it when it does come. Heather, it has been so wonderful to hear about your journey, the work that you’ve been doing, the way it’s showing up for HSI, so thank you so much for taking the time to come and share, and give us a little bit of a peek into your world. HD: Yeah, absolutely. So happy to be here. Thank you so much, Riley. RR: No, thank you. And to our listeners, thank you for tuning into this episode of the Win/Win Podcast. Be sure to tune in next time for more insights on how you can maximize go-to-market success with Highspot.
Don’t miss this massive SMB partner shift! Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this pivotal episode, we sit down with Jose Gomez Cueto, Microsoft’s SMB leader for the Americas, to uncover the monumental shifts happening within the partner ecosystem and the $20 billion cloud opportunity currently on the table. The discussion dives deep into Microsoft’s commitment to the CSP channel, the explosion of AI agents, and why shifting from traditional headcount growth to outcome-based results is critical for survival. From navigating the complexities of the marketplace to the urgency of becoming “Customer Zero” with AI tools, this conversation provides the roadmap every MSP needs to thrive in the new era of technology. https://youtu.be/QE-1w7GeyPM Key Takeaways Microsoft operates a $20 billion cloud revenue business in the Americas alone, with 80% driven by the channel. The Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program is now Microsoft’s primary hero motion for the fourth region. The currency of SMB growth is shifting away from headcount and moving directly toward AI-driven outcomes. MSPs must transition from traditional IT outsourcing to strategic business process consulting to survive. Failing to proactively adopt and secure AI tools creates massive liability and shadow AI risks for organizations. IT providers are urged to become “Customer Zero” by deploying and testing Copilot and autonomous agents internally before selling them. 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 CSP, Agent 365, SMB cloud revenue, outcome-based selling, Copilot for business, Defender for business, shadow AI risks, AI agent deployment, Purview data security, Marketplace API integration, autonomous agents, Customer Zero, Microsoft Americas segment Transcript Jose Gomez Cueto AUDIO PODCAST [00:00:00] Jose Gomez Cueto: And, and you know, if I might say something that is confidential, avid Vince, uh, to be quite honest, please, please, uh, by definition, a marketplace is eliminating intermediaries. [00:00:11] Vince Menzione: You can feel it happening. [00:00:13] Vince Menzione: 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. [00:00:23] 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. [00:00:45] Vince Menzione: It is the strategy because being in the room changes everything. Let’s start. [00:00:55] Vince Menzione: I am absolutely thrilled for our, our next guest. Um, some of you heard me talk about this maybe earlier or in various pockets of conversation. Um, I believe both the SMB market is an, is an incredible opportunity. We’ve called it the Acre of Diamonds at Ultimate Partner at previous events. And then the MSP community, which I want to thank so many of you to for coming, coming on board now. [00:01:25] Vince Menzione: ’cause we’ve had some MSPs that have come to all our events. And doubled, tripled, quadruple the sizes of their business. From what they’ve learned in these rooms. And so we invited our next guest to come. Oh, Jose, come on up. Jose Gomez Cuerto is the leader of Microsoft’s SMB business for the Americas. Come on. [00:01:43] Vince Menzione: Come on over. Come on over. Sit down with me. And I was so thrilled to get this gentleman to come join us. His team is doing incredible work. I got to meet some of his team actually earlier this year. And we know each other for many years ago. [00:01:56] Jose Gomez Cueto: We do. [00:01:56] Vince Menzione: When I was at Microsoft, right? Yeah. So, so great to see you again. [00:01:59] Jose Gomez Cueto: It’s a pleasure to be here. Uh, thanks for the invitation. I’m thrilled to be here. And thank you all for making time, uh, or traveling here. Uh, this is the best time. To be in the industry. [00:02:10] Vince Menzione: It’s an incredible time. [00:02:11] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah, [00:02:11] Vince Menzione: it’s an incredible time. So sit down. Yeah, sit down. Let’s, yeah. So let’s talk about you and your organization. [00:02:17] Vince Menzione: Um, let’s talk, well, I, I, I wanna bring this up because it was like, the noise I heard in the room when I was, I went to Interven earlier this year. Yeah. Is, does Microsoft Care about this market? And, um, I was at Microsoft many years, we worked together when I was a, a gm. And, uh, it was run differently back in the day. [00:02:37] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And there’s been a lot of changes to what we call the SME and C business now. Mm-hmm. Uh, and the SMB business, which you run. So let’s talk a little bit about your organization, where you sit in the organization, and then I want to kind of dive in a little bit about what’s changed. ’cause a lot has changed for the better. [00:02:54] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah, it’s a great question and I think that that’s what a lot of people think about, uh, SMB and, and who’s SMB and, and who’s at Microsoft and who do I talk to. So, [00:03:02] Vince Menzione: yes. [00:03:02] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, even though I know a lot of, uh, friendly faces in the room, I think it’s a great, uh, starting point. Vince, so. Basically, uh, I am responsible for what we call the small and medium business, uh, segment. [00:03:15] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, we can also call it small and medium enterprises. Uh, I would say that it is not a monolith. Uh, we do have, uh, subsegmentation, I think that our friend Jay was talking about up to 20 subsegmentation. Uh, we think about it for simplifi simplification purposes on three. Uh, so we have, uh, the smaller organizations, the medium-sized organizations. [00:03:36] Jose Gomez Cueto: And then what we call top point manage, which is basically large enterprise that we simply don’t have an account management team, uh, assigned to. And we are the happy recipients of many of those, uh, every year. Uh, so I would say that, uh, a best definition would be also anything that is unmanaged and is primarily driven through the channel. [00:03:54] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, we run in the Americas approximately more than $20 billion of revenue, uh, on cloud. Uh, that’s [00:04:01] Vince Menzione: crazy. [00:04:01] Jose Gomez Cueto: So, and 80% of that is done. Through companies that are here, [00:04:05] Vince Menzione: $20 billion of business. [00:04:07] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah. So, um, the, the Americas region that I’m, uh, representing and under my responsibility includes basically three sales units, the United States, Canada, and Latin America. [00:04:18] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yes. Latin America is more fragmented because we have multi-country and multi, uh, subsidiary, uh, structure. Just to recap a little bit of what you asked me rewinding on what has happened in the last two or three years. Yeah. We brought basically, uh, probably something that you might remember from you were there. [00:04:36] Jose Gomez Cueto: I, yes. Uh, which is bringing the segment, uh, with the channel together. So, uh, I think that, um, uh. Earlier in the morning, uh, Steven was, uh, talking about it, what we call S-M-U-N-C, which is, uh, this segment with the channel. And the main reason is to drive, uh, that synergy, uh, and making, uh, a very bold statement that many of you might remember in the last two years, uh, Judson and Ralph, uh, heter or, or new, uh, president for this, uh, fourth region. [00:05:05] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, ’cause we call it fourth region. Yeah. ’cause the other one is our enterprises. [00:05:08] Vince Menzione: Yeah. So Asia, Americas Exactly. And, and EMEA. Then you’re the fourth region. [00:05:13] Jose Gomez Cueto: We’re the fourth region. So, so, um, making CSP, uh, our hero motion, and that is fantastic news. I, I started, uh, part of my journey, uh, in, in the channel, uh, way earlier in distribution in the year 2000. [00:05:30] Vince Menzione: Yep. [00:05:30] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, and fast forward, I would say 2011, we were launching the first commercial SaaS offering, which was Office 365. Um, I had the privilege to be, uh, leading the launch globally for that. Uh, but then we, the first thing we did was build a channel, and that was called syndication. And basically the precursor of that, uh, became CSP, basically putting, uh, the partner or customer in the middle, the partner around it for the, not only the, the opportunity, but also the responsibility to serve the customer. [00:06:04] Jose Gomez Cueto: 360 from, uh, presales all the way to, uh, uh. Upsell cross sell, and in between deployment, uh, things, uh, around, um, servicing, bundling offers, uh, troubleshooting and support, et cetera. So, uh, back to your question was, this is a very important thing because we’re basically, uh, making our channel the scale and, and the vision that we have is, is that we are gonna be continuing to scale through the channel. [00:06:33] Jose Gomez Cueto: So, um, one last thing I say, uh, in terms of the organization that I think is important for everyone to understand, and I’m gonna go a little bit into more org structure, is that we, we have these three sales units that are geographic. But, uh, what we’ve done this year is to have, uh, more depth on the solution area. [00:06:50] Jose Gomez Cueto: So you might remember that, uh, we’ve simplified them, uh, same as we used to have 8, 13, 13 areas. Now we have only three Oh yeah, same, same, uh, in the solution area. So we have, uh, the AI business solutions. Uh, cloud and AI platforms. And then, uh, security and my team basically mirrors that structure. And we have, uh, team members, uh, primarily, um, our partner, solutions specialists that are, their job is to work with companies like you. [00:07:17] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, some few we do, uh, direct in others. What we do is work with, uh, our top distributors, and I think we have, uh, in the room many of those. I think Google is gonna follow up, uh, for PAX eight, and that’s, uh, how we’re going to market now. [00:07:31] Vince Menzione: So just a little bit of context too for me. ’cause I, I, I had heard this at another event. [00:07:36] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And I just wanted to share this. Um, when I was at Microsoft, we, we did not put the right emphasis and energy and resources in the s and b market when I was there, or, or it was fragmented. Every group did it differently. You remember those days too, right? Well, with public sector, we didn’t necessarily have a team focused, and every business did it a little bit differently. [00:08:00] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. And I think one of the contexts you, you mentioned Ralph and being in Ralph’s organization. Yeah. Pulling that all together and creating the fourth region created a lot of focus that didn’t exist. And consistency in terms of execution. I think that’s what you’re talking about here. Right? And then also the fact that like, we didn’t, I don’t think we had a sep, an SMB leader back in, back in the day. [00:08:22] Vince Menzione: Like we didn’t have somebody that we can go to to think about the MSP community the way we do today. Mm-hmm. Right. We were just, they were just almost like unmanaged entities out there. Yeah. Was that, would you, would you agree with that? [00:08:32] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah, I, we went through several iterations that, uh, you might argue, uh, were painful or not. [00:08:38] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, ultimately what we’re committed is to simplify the partner experience. And make that the same for the customers. But what we have is now one center of gravity, uh, a global SMB organization. We have three area leaders. And uh, and that helps us, uh, to be quite honest and in confidence. And you and I talked about it, Jose, this is a forum for, uh. [00:08:58] Jose Gomez Cueto: Speaking the truth. Uh, we, we, we have to fight the gravitational force of the managed space. The company has a big enterprise footprint, so, uh, many of us have become, uh, the chief agitators, uh, to fight the good fight, uh, for SMB. Uh, try to under unpack, uh, in every single conversation with senior Execut. [00:09:17] Jose Gomez Cueto: What is an MSP? And no, it’s not data consulting or one of the large, uh, global design. Uh, and then we explain what they do and then what is a two tier channel, how do distributors work? And, uh, and what about this and what about that? So I think that that has been, uh, a great, uh, progress and a lot of that can be reflected, uh, into how we’re, hopefully everyone in the room is seeing it in how we’re going to market. [00:09:40] Jose Gomez Cueto: I’ll give you two examples. [00:09:41] Guest: Yes. [00:09:42] Jose Gomez Cueto: Um, for, for quite some time. We, we have very limited, uh. Product truth. That’s what the lingo that we use internally, uh, related to offer that were targeted to SMB. And I would say that, uh, business premium, uh, for M 365, uh, was the fact to offer. But now we’ve been able to in, uh, increase, uh, the not so not only commitment, uh, but also the investment that we’re doing as a company into launching offers. [00:10:08] Jose Gomez Cueto: So we have a co compiler for business that is. At a lower price point that has, uh, the same capabilities at the enterprise, uh, that we’re, uh, doing that we also have some security, uh, offers, uh, that are now unattached to business premium, which is our hero motion for sub 300 space. So you start to see, uh, an important trend and it’s great to have jobson at a CEO, uh, of the commercial business capacity because, uh, we’re making things happen. [00:10:34] Jose Gomez Cueto: So what I would say is that I love coming here to these forums. A lot of my team members are here. We’re here to learn. We’re the learner. All we, we, we don’t know much. We need to learn more. Uh, and, and just keeping us honest in terms of bringing that, uh, ethos of, of the customer that most of you are serving and, and, and things that we can improve to get better to deliver value. [00:10:58] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And the speed at which you’re moving has been pretty fast. It’s been very nimble. Like I, I, I’ve been watching this progression. It’s really like you, you’re really leaning in. I was actually hoping because I could ask you a bunch of questions. Yeah. But we have such a great audience and for the first time we really have opened it up to a lot of MSPs in the room. [00:11:18] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And I know you, you wanna get some interaction with some of these folks as well. I thought maybe we would open if you’re okay with this. Yeah, absolutely. I’d rather than I go off script a little bit. I’d rather open it up to some of the MSPs in the room. We’re sitting here eager to learn how and, and what Microsoft is going to do to help. [00:11:35] Vince Menzione: Because I think the opportunity, I personally think the opportunity is huge right [00:11:38] Jose Gomez Cueto: now. Yeah. Let’s do that and well, we get, uh, warmed up. I would say that. [00:11:43] Vince Menzione: So we need some mics. Yeah. [00:11:43] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, something that I’m, that I’m seeing, uh, Vince, and, and, and a question that many of you might have is why now? And, and why this an, an exciting, an exciting time. [00:11:54] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:11:54] Jose Gomez Cueto: Um, and I would say that, uh. Right now we’re seeing, obviously Jay talked about it and, and the big transformation, but it’s a once in a generation or one in a lifetime. Yeah. Uh, shift of the entire platform. Uh, and, and a lot of the scenarios are even maybe scary, but what we see is huge opportunity. And from an SMB perspective, uh, the biggest thing that excites me is moving from, um, something that was. [00:12:23] Jose Gomez Cueto: More related to size, and now we’re moving to outcomes. So, so think about the future of SMBs, uh, with agents and things being measured on outcomes. And, and what this leads to is, uh, Jay talked about it as well, and sorry Jay, it’s such a good job that I keep quoting you. Um, we do that a lot. Uh. You got it. [00:12:49] Jose Gomez Cueto: So you talked about, uh, I noticed that Bill Gates when he said, you know, uh, uh, a pc, uh, in every desk and what we see is every human empowered with agents. Yeah. Especially in work. And what does that mean, that the currency changes being, because what you’re gonna be able to, to envision. Not in the, in the, in the near future, but now is an agentic explosion where then, uh, the currency is outcomes? [00:13:14] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yes. So if you think of an SMB growing, it’s not growing on, on, on full-time employees or headcount. It’s growing on the ability to do more through agents. So, so I think that’s an important thing and, and that’s something that we’re working very closely with our all, all our channel and the offerings that we’re launching to market as well. [00:13:32] Vince Menzione: I also think about the MSPs as being perfectly positioned because what you described, the new, the new model, the future customer and the outcomes is gonna require hands on the steering wheel at all times. [00:13:44] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yes. Yeah. So on that one, and still waiting for some, uh. Someone that is not shy to ask questions, but we’ll, we’ll keep going in the meantime. [00:13:52] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, I, I think that, uh, we are learning, all the [00:13:55] Vince Menzione: MSPs are lined up over here. I’m marching them all. [00:13:57] Jose Gomez Cueto: We, and, and I almost know by name all everyone in the first two rows. Yes. Uh, so, so, uh, I might pick on them. Uh, they’re too shy, but, but we’re learning together. Uh, Vince, uh, the important thing is, is the transformation, uh, and the opportunity, but also the risk of, uh, not acting. [00:14:17] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, what we were seeing, uh, for the first, uh, year or two was kicking tires, people testing, uh, ai. And now what we’ve seen is basically, uh, a full adoption. Uh, of the agentic technology, not even adoption of the tools, but embracing the technology. So I, I want to give you, uh, two specific, uh, examples or data points we have, uh, just in the Americas, more than almost 9 million, uh, people using copilot chat. [00:14:49] Vince Menzione: Wow, that’s amazing. [00:14:50] Jose Gomez Cueto: So imagine, uh, the, the potential that is there for people that are actively using the tool. Yeah. Uh, to en enable new scenarios of doing things. Uh, another example, and I think I have, uh, someone in my team here, is Amber in the room. Amber Kinney? No, she left. Okay. So Amber runs, uh, cloud and ai, uh, uh, or Azure platform. [00:15:12] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, her team has deployed, uh, more than, uh, 11 agents internally for our partner solution specialist, uh, from. Simple agents that will, uh, tell is if a specific deal is eligible for a pre-sales or post-sales program. And comparing all the complexity of our programs, oh my [00:15:29] Vince Menzione: goodness. [00:15:30] Jose Gomez Cueto: All the way to, to, to managing a pipe more effectively of opportunities. [00:15:34] Jose Gomez Cueto: So what we’re seeing is real. This is not something that people are just kicking the tires. It’s like this is the opportunity. So back to, to the point of m ms. P uh, is, is about learning together on how to transition. To, uh, a model that is gonna be based on outcomes. And, and we were discussing, uh, I was with some of our distributors, uh, many of them in the last two months in, in a specific partner advisory, uh, councils and, and some people were just sharing their experiences. [00:16:04] Jose Gomez Cueto: Oh, I decided to charge X amount for an agent. And how do you come up with that number? I don’t know. We’re just testing. Okay. And what about their current revenue? Uh, and, but what about the tokens? What if, uh, the agents start to consume and they’re gonna do the metering? So, so I think that we’re learning together in this space. [00:16:22] Jose Gomez Cueto: Um, but what it is important is just to think about the important, the, the, the critical role that the MSPs are gonna have in leading. And the biggest challenge that we’re seeing and, and we see it over and over and over is, uh, the part about scaling. [00:16:38] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:16:39] Jose Gomez Cueto: The skilling is not, uh, about learning how to use the copilot tool or to do, uh, some, uh, you know, tuning and that, because thankfully our, at least our, our technology as a platform, uh, pretty much carries the same, uh, security, uh, and compliance configurations that you have in your Microsoft 365 tenant. [00:17:00] Jose Gomez Cueto: But it is more the, the, the skilling about understanding how to do. Customer outcome conversation. What is your AI strategy? What [00:17:08] Vince Menzione: that’s scaling? Yes. [00:17:09] Jose Gomez Cueto: What really matters? Not [00:17:10] Vince Menzione: the technical skill. It’s, it’s really the approach that they’re taking. [00:17:14] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah. [00:17:14] Vince Menzione: With the organization. I, it seems that MSPs for many years were down in the weeds. [00:17:20] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah. [00:17:20] Vince Menzione: They were turning the, the wrench, so to speak, in the organization, and yet now it seems like this. Kevin Piker, your old boss used to use this term. The, the CIO. The CEO is the new CIO. In other words, you need to be selling upstream. You need, you need to be having the conversations in the organization that are strategic [00:17:40] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah. [00:17:40] Vince Menzione: To that organization. [00:17:41] Jose Gomez Cueto: So, two, two twofold on, on that, uh, point, which is very important. One is, uh, not our, a lot of our MSPs are equipped right now. [00:17:49] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:17:49] Jose Gomez Cueto: To have a, a conversation about business strategy. Because traditionally has been more outsource it. [00:17:56] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:17:56] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, we started with, you know, managing the networks, then adding services, support tickets, et cetera. [00:18:03] Jose Gomez Cueto: So being able to have that conversation is important. Uh, we, we see through a lot of our tooling that, uh, the shadow AI is everywhere. And what I always tell in any MSP conversation that I have is risk security. You’re on the hook if something happens. That’s right. So if you’re not acting. Uh, then it is a liability. [00:18:22] Vince Menzione: You’re letting things take off in your own organization. Yeah. People are using [00:18:25] Jose Gomez Cueto: philanthropic on their own. The company can go, uh, bankrupt or get sued or get, uh, if they’re in a regulated industry, they can be taken out, et cetera. So, so that’s an important point, uh, related to, to that transformation. Uh, and, and the other part of the skilling that you mentioned that is super important is being in the weeds. [00:18:45] Jose Gomez Cueto: That is where the innovation is happening. Yeah. The later research that we have is being in the front line because it’s all about, uh, reinventing those processes. So I think that it’s a, it’s a good combination that if we have the MSPs, um, and we’re working, uh, not only internally but with our distributors to develop the right skilling around those other type of, uh, consulting skills. [00:19:07] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, data skills, uh, business process, uh, redesign and flows. Uh, that is where, where we see the big opportunity. [00:19:14] Vince Menzione: So it’s balancing out the technical skills with the business process skills, the consulting skills. Yeah, exactly. I think we have a question over here. Yeah. [00:19:22] Guest: Good afternoon, Vince. Good. Sorry. Thanks for the great content. [00:19:26] Guest: The question is around small medium businesses and the cost around cybersecurity. So. Basically, as new tools are coming up that are AI based, such as co-pilot for security, defender for AI, are also consumption based, is there a risk that SMEs will be left out under that cybersecurity poverty line? [00:19:52] Jose Gomez Cueto: I don’t think, uh, it is, uh, a risk to being left out, uh, in the country that the, the SMBs, I would say are more help is needed. And, and the way we think about it from a perspective of, of ai and specifically I’m want to talk about agents, uh, it was mentioned by Steven in, uh, in the morning, and I’m gonna talk a little bit high level and then I’m gonna try to bring it down to, to more tangible is this concept of intelligent and trust. [00:20:19] Jose Gomez Cueto: So on the intelligence, what, what we’re, what we’re trying to say here is that your AI is not just generic stuff that you just prompt and you get like anything that is on the web, but there’s contextual. Data, and, and that’s what we do, uh, with what you might be familiar with, which is the iq. Uh, so we have, um, iq, uh, also in Foundry and on our different data products. [00:20:40] Jose Gomez Cueto: So basically bringing the context of your work, of your contacts, of the people you interact, uh, of the meetings of, of the emails, of the SharePoint files, but also important connectors that are in line of business applications that you can bring to copilot. And then. That intelligence, uh, is relevant and that that basically increases innovation. [00:21:01] Jose Gomez Cueto: And the part about trust, uh, uh, not exactly in cybersecurity, but, but related is basically, uh, agent 365. Uh, can I see, show of hands, who’s aware of Agent 365? Maybe like [00:21:14] Vince Menzione: in the front two rows, [00:21:15] Jose Gomez Cueto: 20%? Yeah. So, um, that is basically, uh, an, an amazing opportunity for our MSP channel because it gives you opportunity to. [00:21:25] Jose Gomez Cueto: Basically observe, uh, govern and apply security to the, the agent activity that is happening. So we think in the context of ai, I think that that’s a, a, a super important, uh, aspect to mitigate any risk of, of what can happen if there’s not, uh, the right, uh, posture. Uh, and then, uh, on, on, on the other part of security, I would say that something, I mentioned something about offers. [00:21:51] Jose Gomez Cueto: We brought the capabilities of the enterprise, uh, SKUs and solutions into these add-ons to N 365. So I would say that with, uh, defender for business, uh, plan two, and sorry to go into the SKU language, uh, it, it is important to, to understand that you have those advanced capabilities. And then another one that we’re pushing, uh, hard and, and is had great receptionist, um, uh, purview, uh, and purview. [00:22:15] Jose Gomez Cueto: What allows you is just to really do everything related to data. Data security policies of what data should be prompted by the model, what information to stay or, or, or not stay. Uh, and I think that’s, that’s also a good opportunity that we’re seeing to bring those, uh, advanced capabilities into the SMBs. [00:22:33] Jose Gomez Cueto: The challenge that we have is how do we get them faster, uh, to everyone, especially when there’s, uh, you know, competing, uh, so solutions around it. [00:22:44] Vince Menzione: We have one more question, and I think we’re probably gonna have to break after that. I know we’re over time already and you’ve got a busy rest of your day. I got, well, we got one back there and we’ve got a mic up here, so, so we have two questions. [00:22:57] Vince Menzione: Yeah. We’ll do Tim first and then we’ll get the [00:22:59] Vince Menzione: mic up. I’ll go for the first 30 minutes and we’ll go from there. Yes. Long time listener. Great to see you again. Jose. Um, business premium, we did E seven. We talked about getting a voice from the MSP space. To build out a business premium, like additional offering. [00:23:13] Vince Menzione: Is there any context to that you have any vision in your crystal ball for October? [00:23:17] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, I cannot say or, or deny. Uh, but yeah, I think that what, what you I love it in, in all seriousness team. Uh, thanks for the question. Uh, I think that what you should expect is, uh, I call it product truth, uh, more, uh, SMB built purpose built for solutions. [00:23:35] Jose Gomez Cueto: So an equivalent of, of any seven as well. Yeah. [00:23:40] Vince Menzione: You still have, we have another question in the back? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. [00:23:43] Guest: Yeah. Uh, Jeremy here with Integral, um, there’s this kind of idea going around that while CSP has been very successful for many of us as MSPs and, and since the beginning, it’s been a great program that was focused on s and b and it’s come up now. [00:23:57] Guest: There’s this kind of shift saying, and CSPs and you think about being marketplace companies where CSP is, the plumbing and marketplace is, is the lead. If that is true, or maybe you comment on that, that idea. How does marketplace strategy playing into kind of, I guess I’m plugging serials piece now from behind, but how does marketplace strategy then play into the s and b market if CSPs are focused on that marketplace mechanism? [00:24:21] Guest: Where CSPs now are and the, and the modern work and all the things that we’ve been doing really well for a long time become, maybe plumbing is too far down the stack, but really marketplace being a focus, is that a strategy piece that we should be thinking about for CS p strategy overall? [00:24:36] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah, it’s a great question and I’ll try to keep it brief. [00:24:39] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, I think you need my v The vision that we have is we’re doing both. Uh, we’re empowering, uh, and customers to find what they need. Uh, in the marketplace. Uh, zero talked about also the opportunity for resellers to get enrolled and start to add services and other things. There’s also, another part of the is, is multifacet, uh, to work with ISVs to make it easier and recruit them to bring the right offers. [00:25:03] Jose Gomez Cueto: For SMBI would say that the feedback that we need is to make sure that the right SA ISVs are the ones that serving SMV are represented. Then from another front, I would accept that yes, we have some, uh, plumbing work to do because right now, uh, some part of the billing is not really that nimble for a two tier model if you’re working through a distributor. [00:25:23] Jose Gomez Cueto: So we made some great progress. Uh, we, we, uh, have, uh, announced something and Ignite, if you missed it, I think we might talk about it, uh, soon. Uh, but we have that, that connection via APIs with, uh, the four largest, uh, global distributors. So we’re making progress towards something that will be seamless. Uh, but I think that the biggest opportunity that we have is, is to crack the code, uh, for marketplace. [00:25:46] Jose Gomez Cueto: And, and, you know, if I might say something that is confidential, avid Vince, uh, to be quite honest, please, uh, by definition a marketplace is eliminating intermediaries. So that’s the dilemma. How do you bring the channel in between to help you expand, [00:26:02] Vince Menzione: right? [00:26:03] Jose Gomez Cueto: That that is really the, the, the, the, the holy grail, if I may use those words. [00:26:07] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, but that’s something that, that we’re working towards. And I think, uh, we have a great opportunity ahead and, and you should expect, uh, more announcements as we head into the summer events on how we’re gonna make that more seamless. [00:26:19] Vince Menzione: And REO really lit up the channel Yeah. In, in a big way. ’cause that a hundred percent, that was a blocker before. [00:26:24] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah. [00:26:24] Vince Menzione: Yeah. But CSP is also an incredible opportunity if it, you know, I know, I know there’s other sessions and conversations around it. And it does feel, and I’ve heard this before, like I wanna buy from my MSP because they’re the ones I trust. [00:26:37] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yes. [00:26:37] Vince Menzione: But yet I go, I have to go around the system in order to transact my Microsoft licenses. [00:26:43] Vince Menzione: Right. Yeah. And that’s, [00:26:45] Jose Gomez Cueto: I think the scenario getting the gentleman was mentioning is related to marketplace. But yeah. Vince, uh, uh, I just wanted to perhaps close, uh, please. Because I think we’re outta time, right? Yeah, we [00:26:54] Vince Menzione: are. [00:26:54] Jose Gomez Cueto: Yeah. Uh, just in terms of what to expect, uh, we are continuing to be, uh, partner centric. [00:27:01] Jose Gomez Cueto: You should expect as we go into the next fiscal year, uh, more refinement into the customer subsegmentation, we have this concept of above 300 and below 300, uh, working even closer with our distributors to help us scale and amplify the efforts that we do around recruitment, scaling, go to market, uh, co-sell, et cetera. [00:27:22] Jose Gomez Cueto: Uh, and then, uh, obviously expect, uh, we, we, a call to action that I have for everyone is become customer zero. Vince, I’m gonna put you on the spot here. How many agents did you use today? [00:27:37] Vince Menzione: None. [00:27:37] Jose Gomez Cueto: Okay. [00:27:38] Vince Menzione: I, I’ve been in the room leading the room today, [00:27:41] Jose Gomez Cueto: even with more reason. [00:27:42] Vince Menzione: No, I, in, I need to do [00:27:43] Jose Gomez Cueto: more. Put your autonomous agents. [00:27:44] Vince Menzione: I do. [00:27:45] Jose Gomez Cueto: I’m not kidding you and I didn’t, I need to be [00:27:47] Vince Menzione: more of [00:27:47] Jose Gomez Cueto: a frontier for myself. The answer I get usually is like one hand raiser, by the way. Uh, but, but, uh, jokes aside, uh, I think. Becoming customer zero is critical. We cannot be deploying and selling what we’re not using. Uh, we have, uh, great tooling for low-code scenarios, uh, in, in, in, now, I don’t wanna say like in a few months now we have no one, uh, people that have zero knowledge and coding already developing and deploying agents into a secure environment. [00:28:19] Jose Gomez Cueto: It is happening. [00:28:20] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:28:20] Jose Gomez Cueto: So, uh, then, uh. Copilot. It is not a competitor charge, GVP or cloud. It is a platform we have both included. [00:28:29] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:28:29] Jose Gomez Cueto: Do we have multimodal, we have iq. That is everything, uh, closed in terms of, uh, your intelligence. It is secure by default. Uh, and then allowing you to, to do, um, agents and then agents 365 to manage it. [00:28:41] Jose Gomez Cueto: So basically those three stages, customer zero. Uh, copilot agents and Agents 365 as your tool to, to manage them [00:28:50] Vince Menzione: and don’t go rogue and start doing your own things with anthropic and setting up your own instances because you’re gonna compromise your, your instance in your environment. [00:28:59] Jose Gomez Cueto: Well, actually, uh, if you do it in the copilot interface [00:29:02] Vince Menzione: Oh, well, I’m saying do it. [00:29:03] Vince Menzione: Yeah. I’m, I’m at RO going off, off, off, uh, [00:29:06] Jose Gomez Cueto: off. Yeah. Yeah, [00:29:07] Vince Menzione: yeah. Great. Well, thank you, sir. Appreciate you. Thank you. Thanks for listening to the Ultimate Partner Podcast. If today’s conversation resonated, share it with a partner leader in your network. Subscribe where you listen, and head over to the Ultimate partner.com for show notes related content and the resources for this episode. [00:29:29] Vince Menzione: 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.
A miserable mammogram turned into a patented product, and the customer validation process behind it is a masterclass for any founder building a physical product from scratch. Debbie and Troy Sutton, the mother and son co-founders behind The Healing Bras, bootstrapped warming and cooling therapy pads for women's breast pain at every stage of life, from first cycles to breastfeeding to menopause.It started with one cranky drive home from a painful mammogram, when Troy asked his mom how it went and then did something most people never do: he went looking for a better solution, found only clunky, outdated ice packs, and invented one himself. What followed is a product development story every entrepreneur should hear.A biomedical engineer and former college catcher ended up designing an intimate product for women he could never use himself, and the approach was simple: ask, listen, and stay humble. Debbie and Troy donated over 500 pads to partner organizations to get real feedback on shape, size, and fit before selling a single unit. They brought a two-time breast cancer survivor onto their board to guide the design, partnered with an FDA-regulated manufacturer in New Jersey, and built the entire company self-funded from their garage.We also talk about the harder side of co-founding with family: how a mother and son learn when to be business partners and when to be family, why the relationship sometimes matters more than being right, and how they pivoted their original product based entirely on what their customers told them. They are now scaling toward hospitals, universities, female college athletes, and insurance approval.If you are building a product from a problem no one else has bothered to fix, this one is worth your time.Chapters:
Patrick Beal left tech to buy an HVAC business with 90% seller financing, no SBA. He's on track to hit $3.5m this year. Register for the webinar: Working Capital: One of ETA's Most Expensive Mistakes - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4f8pSGYTopics in Patrick interview:Entrepreneurship in his familyZoom fatigue from remote workSearching in Northeast OhioFinding a business through his networkMeeting with the seller for almost a yearStructuring 10% down, 90% seller noteUnderestimating working capital needsKeeping his W-2 until the business grewQuadrupling revenue in 2 yearsWorking on getting his HVAC licenseReferences and how to contact Patrick:LinkedInTemperature Control MaintenanceLinh Tran on Acquiring Minds: The Dream Outcome: From $300k to $5m EBITDASteve Carroll on Acquiring Minds: ETA Unicorn: $1 Billion in Revenue in 5 YearsDownload the New CEO's Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.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
Less than 1% of U.S. businesses that ever raise outside money end up raising venture capital, and most founders chasing it don't actually need it.In this entrepreneur interview, Jeff Amerine — a venture capital investor and longtime advisor in the startup ecosystem — breaks down the real landscape of startup funding: when to bootstrap, when to raise, and why most companies burn time chasing the wrong kind of capital. He and co-hosts Daniel Koonce and Grace Gill also dig into what VCs actually look for, the most common fundraising mistakes founders make, and the difference between convertible notes and SAFEs.Whether you're bootstrapping your first idea or getting ready to pitch investors, this conversation will change how you think about who to raise from and when.What you'll learn:The three main ways founders fund a business and how to know which one fitsWhy raising venture capital has only gotten harder, and what VCs are really evaluatingThe most common fundraising mistakes founders make (and how to avoid them)Convertible notes vs. SAFEs, explained in plain EnglishWhat a strategic investor actually offers and when it's worth taking their money⏱️Chapters 1:26 Welcome to the Startup Junkies Podcast 2:03 The Three Ways to Fund a Small Business 3:43 What Is Bootstrapping? 5:33 Does Venture Capital Only Fund Tech Companies? 6:46 The Truth: Less Than 1% of Businesses Raise VC 7:33 When Is a Founder Ready to Raise Money? 9:59 Why Raising Venture Capital Has Gotten Harder 11:15 Inside a VC Firm: From 1,000 Deals to 3 or 4 12:43 How to Actually Find Investors 14:19 Common Fundraising Mistakes Founders Make 16:43 Convertible Notes vs. SAFEs, Explained 21:27 Why Startups Actually Need Money 23:35 What Are Strategic Investors — And Are They Worth It? 27:16 The Deal Jeff Wishes He'd Invested In
Brian Jungles bought a $400k direct mail business in Atlanta and skipped SBA by pledging his portfolio as collateral.Register for the webinars:Don't Rush: How to Prepare for a Quality of Earnings Report - TOMORROW! - https://bit.ly/3T4OQOJWorking Capital: One of ETA's Most Expensive Mistakes - Thu, Jul 23 - https://bit.ly/3T1aELeTopics in Brian's interview:Leaving his corporate career at AdobeFinding a business through his networkAcquiring for $400k cashGetting a personal line of credit through his bankDirect mail is still effectiveGrowth is a lot of workHumbling experience of learning QuickbooksPicture-perfect transition of ownershipLearning to translate “corporate speak”“The entrepreneur community all wants to help each other.”References and how to contact Brian:LinkedInCity Publications AtlantaGet 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
Rob Belk networked his way to "the most caffeinated guy in town" searching for a local business — then found it online. Register for the webinars:From Working IN the Business to ON the Business: How Owners Make the Transition - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4aKP3fYDon't Rush: How to Prepare for a Quality of Earnings Report - Tue, Jul 21 - https://bit.ly/4feY1DPTopics in Rob's interview:Geographic search in the Triad of North CarolinaNetworking with local business ownersFinding a business through AxialBuying a marketing and consumer research agencyHis choice to stay out of the weedsBringing in a consultant (maybe too) earlyHow his agency intersects with the tradesStructuring a 50% earnoutConsensus-based leadership styleFinding clients through SubstackReferences and how to contact Rob:LinkedInSales FactoryAdam Duggins on Acquiring Minds: How to Build a Holdco of 4 Blue Collar Businesses in 10 YearsJoe Soelberg on Acquiring Minds: Buying Small to Then Buy Larger $1m SDEBryan Houck on Acquiring Minds: 4th Time's the Charm: 3 Broken Deals to Buy a Great BusinessScott Alexander on Acquiring Minds: Rebuilding from 80% Collapse to Mid 7 Figures Revenue Rob's 10-page Search LearningsGet 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 MindsDownload the New CEO's Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.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
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