Podcasts about tech stack

- Rivian Rolls Out Impressive AV Tech Stack - Ford JV With SK On Is Off - Renault Kills Off Car Sharing Service - Daimler Truck Launches “Semi Public” Charging Network - Mercedes Shows Off Sustainability Efforts - Ford Aims to Close Global Pickup Gap with Toyota - Geely Prototype Features 90-Degree Steering - Autoline RFQ Webinar Today!

- Rivian Rolls Out Impressive AV Tech Stack - Ford JV With SK On Is Off - Renault Kills Off Car Sharing Service - Daimler Truck Launches “Semi Public” Charging Network - Mercedes Shows Off Sustainability Efforts - Ford Aims to Close Global Pickup Gap with Toyota - Geely Prototype Features 90-Degree Steering - Autoline RFQ Webinar Today!

Cix Liv challenges the Silicon Valley consensus that humanoid robots belong in the warehouse or the battlefield. By explicitly rejecting the “Terminator” military arbitrage and the “Jetsons” domestic servant model, REK validates a new thesis: entertainment is the only sector where the reliability is acceptable and economically viable. The discussion dissects the unit economics of robot combat, the “context window” required for mainstream sport adoption, and why American “lawyer culture” is fundamentally losing the hardware war to Chinese “engineering culture” explored in Dan Wang's Breakneck This is a forensic look at building “Real Steel” without government grants or safe software margins.The Agenda:00:00 - Beta Testing Robot Roadshows05:06 - Defining the Real Steel Concept07:14 - "Context Window" of Violence vs. eSports16:59 - State of Bipedal Balance & Chinese Hardware26:02 - Robot Soldier vs Real Steel Decision33:01 - B2B SaaS Brain Drain37:01 - Unit Economics: Reliability Arbitrage45:04 - Tech Stack of Tele-Operation52:07 - Dan Wang's Breakneck Thesis: Engineer China vs Lawyer US57:37 - Bringing Detroit to TexasGuest LinksREK: Website, X, Instagram, LinkedInFollow Cix: X, LinkedIn -------------------Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedInEcosystem Metacognition Substack

The Dealer Tech Stack Purge: Separating Vendors from Partners in 2026 by Lotpop

My Short-Term Rental Tech Stack: Why Simple Wins Every TimeWelcome back to Vacation Home Help, where we make hosting simple.Episode OverviewLook, I get it. Every week there's a new "game-changing" AI tool or automation platform promising to revolutionize your short-term rental business. But here's the truth: most of it is just noise.In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on my actual tech stack. The tools I use every single day. The ones that actually save me time and money. And more importantly, I'll tell you about all the shiny objects I've said no to.What You'll LearnThe Philosophy Behind My StackWhy more tech doesn't equal more moneyThe real cost of "free" trials and complicated systemsHow I think about ROI on every tool I useThe Tools That Actually MatterDynamic pricing tools: the one automation I actually trustWhy I sync calendars with simple iCal instead of fancy softwareThe minimalist approach that saves me thousands per yearWhat I Don't Use (And Why)Property management systems that do everything (and nothing well)AI tools that promise the moon but deliver confusionOvercomplicated channel managers that break more than they fixThe automation traps that cost you bookingsHow to Build Your Own StackWhen to automate and when to stay hands-onKey TakeawayYour tech stack should make your life easier, not give you another full-time job. Focus on the fundamentals first. Automate what drains you. But never lose sight of what actually matters: creating amazing experiences for your guests.Because at the end of the day, no AI can replace genuine hospitality.Resources & LinksConnect with John:Facebook: facebook.com/thejohnandrewInstagram: @thejohnandrewEmail: john@vacationhomehelp.comJoin the Community:Facebook Group: The Airbnb Host GroupFree Resource: Get a free pricing analysis for your property: vacationhomehelp.com/revenue-managementNew episodes of Vacation Home Help drop every week. Subscribe so you never miss an episode where we make hosting simple.

How do you become a C++ Standards Committee member?Why is C++ prevalent in audio?Should you still use it for audio software?Honestly, Timur Doumler is someone I have looked up to ever since I saw his “C++ in the audio industry” talk at CppCon 2015.He has a rich development history with C++ and/or audio:developer at Native Instrumentsdeveloper of the JUCE C++ framework (podcast sponsor ❤️)C++ linter developer and developer advocate at JetBrains (who make the CLion IDE)founder of Cradle, an audio plugin startupC++ Standards Committee memberCppCast podcast hostnotorious Audio Developer Conference and CppCon speakerI have probably missed a ton of stuff here, but that should already give you a flavor of what Timur is up to

A note from Danielle: My loves, for the month of November, we are featuring the best of my business episodes from 2025. Today's run has some extra divine timing because, as you're listening to this, if you're listening to it on our drop week, we are in Mercury Retrograde. Mercury Retrograde is all about review, rewinding, cleaning things up with intention before they pile up, and you've got to set something on fire. Today's conversation is about the things that, as a team, we decided to let go of this year—in terms of policies, behaviours, things we did to get the bottom line up, and ways of doing things that felt outmoded and not expansive anymore. This will hopefully be inspiration for your creativity, for your prosperity, and for your kitchen cupboards. I'm so glad you're here. Always with love, Danielle. *This episode originally aired as Episode 186 on May 30, 2025.  What happens when you pause, sunset, phase out, bless + release everything that's draining your life force? More joy. More prosperity. More clarity.  This episode is a full download of Danielle's Stop Doing List—two years of deep renovation inside her business and life—and how those decisions brought in more success and alignment than ever.  From saying goodbye to platforms, programs and partnerships that didn't vibe… To completely overhauling the editorial process to bring in more creativity and collaboration… To scrubbing a 220,000 person email list down to 65,000 loving, active subscribers… To shifting from hustle-mode launches to always-open invitations… And so much more. This is the companion episode to "I Stopped Obsessing Over Rapid Financial Growth. Here's Why…"  It's not about doing more. It's about doing what matters—and having the courage to stop what doesn't. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Inner Circle Business Accelerator—only 5 spots left (get in before Sunday!) GetHeartCentered.com—Download the FREE Astro + Events calendar and sync your plans with the planets Follow + Subscribe to With Love, Danielle on Substack for weekly essays + more Join the CENTERED Collective

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the showIt's Thanksgiving week — the season of gratitude, chaos, & calendars that somehow manage to fill themselves.If you've ever said, “I can't use an online scheduler… my schedule's always changing!” or “I don't want to be boxed in!” — this one's for you.I'm busting the biggest myths about online scheduling & showing you how a scheduling link doesn't take away your freedom — it protects it.Spoiler alert: an online scheduler can help you set clear boundaries, avoid double-booking, & give clients an easier way to connect — all while saving you hours each week.If you've been hesitant to share your calendar, you'll leave this episode ready to set one up — and finally feel like your schedule is working for you, not against you.*** If you're a 17hats user, I've got a quick way to help you stress less. Take my free, 2-minute “How Many Hats?” Quiz to see how you're using 17hats today — and get a few simple tips to make it even more powerful. ✨ It's like a mini clarity check for your business — short, simple, and surprisingly therapeutic.

BobWP is back sharing his podcast gear and software tips for all podcasters, offering insights on mics, interfaces, and AI tools to streamline production.

In this special Thanksgiving episode of CPM Customer Success, we break down one of OneStream's newest announcements: their newly expanded strategic alliance with Microsoft. From AI-driven variance analysis inside Copilot, to real-time insights delivered in Teams, to intelligent forecasting in Excel — this partnership has the power to redefine how finance teams work, collaborate, and make decisions. We walk through: How SensibleAI™ Agents are transforming Microsoft 365 into a finance intelligence hub Why unified CPM platforms outperform disconnected legacy tools How global organizations like Tronox simplified planning, forecasting, and reporting The key steps finance teams should take now to prepare for AI-enabled workflows Perfect for listeners preparing their 2026 finance strategy… or just getting ready for a well-deserved holiday break!

Episode 120: As firms enter strategic planning season, Kyle Van Pelt brings together the strongest technology insights from four standout leaders. Nelly Mubashi explains the operational realities of supporting multiple advisor-selected platforms. Carrie Delgott highlights why consolidation into a unified stack unlocks collaboration and efficiency. Phillip Hamman shares how long-term planning and thoughtful automation free advisors to deliver “unreasonable hospitality.” And Michael Batnick offers a candid look at integration frustration inside a hyper-growth firm. Whether you're expanding advisor choice or tightening your stack, this episode clarifies what it takes to build a scalable, integrated tech ecosystem that truly serves your team. In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (00:54) - Nelly Mubashi on supporting advisors across multiple platforms like Tamarac and Orion (05:01) - Carrie Delgott on why aligning the firm around one tech stack drives efficiency and collaboration  (07:14) - Phillip Hamman on using technology to free up advisors and deliver “unreasonable hospitality” (12:04) - Michael Batnick on the challenges of selecting tools that integrate well in a fast-growing firm Links  Nelly Mubashi on LinkedIn Northwest Asset Management Carrie Delgott on LinkedIn Wescott Financial Advisory Group Phillip Hamman on LinkedIn Linscomb Wealth Michael Batnick on LinkedIn Ritholtz Wealth Management Connect with our hosts Milemarker.co Kyle on LinkedIn Jud on LinkedIn Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Produce game-changing content with Turncast Turncast helps your company grow by producing top-quality content and fostering transformative conversations. We specialize in content generation, podcasting, digital strategy, and audience growth for fintech and financial services companies. Learn more at Turncast.com.

This episode is releasing on the week of Thanksgiving, which is also a big time for holiday deals and making purchases for your business. This is a short and sweet chat to share my Top 4 Essentials as far as software for running my business. This powerful combo is the nuts and bolts of my marketing, sales, communication and delivery - the tech stack of dreams.  If you're thinking of upleveling your tooling or getting started with some client experience systems to scale your work, listen in to learn more about what each tool does, why I chose it, how they connect to one another, and what to consider most if you're shopping for smarter systems this season.   // LINKS MENTIONED // Episode: 25: Navigating Black Friday for family photographers Episode 31 : Your Black Friday Investment Plan Episode 46: Why I switched to Honeybook and how it's going: (on spotify) (on apple podcasts)  Honeybook referral link: https://share.honeybook.com/leah9738526 Pictime referral link: https://leahoconnell.pic-time.com/referral Flodesk referral link: https://flodesk.com/c/PHOTOFUEL Showit referral link: https://showit.com/r/jt922s The Photo Fuel Retreat & Mastermind: https://www.leahoconnell.com/retreat

Success in professional services isn't about doing more—it's about doing less, but doing it exceptionally well. In this episode of The IC-DISC Show, I sit down with Raffi Yousefian, CEO of The Fork CPAs, to talk about how extreme specialization transformed his accounting firm from a general practice into the leading restaurant and bar controllership service in the country. Raffi shares the counterintuitive journey of deliberately shrinking his client base to accelerate growth, ultimately tripling revenue within 18 months of selling off 30% of his practice. We explore how Raffi evolved from serving three industries to exclusively focusing on restaurants and bars, and why weekly financial reporting creates competitive advantages that monthly statements simply can't provide. He breaks down the economics of restaurant operations, explaining why 2% savings in food costs can represent an entire profit margin when you're working with businesses that operate on 5-7% net profits. The conversation reveals how subscription pricing combined with deep industry expertise solves the profession's labor shortage by making firms more profitable and attractive to talent. What strikes me most is how Raffi's specialization philosophy mirrors successful models in other industries, from medical concierge services to dating apps. If you've ever wondered whether narrowing your focus could actually expand your opportunities, this conversation provides a compelling roadmap.   SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Raffi sold off 30% of his accounting practice to focus solely on restaurants and bars, then tripled the remaining 70% within just 18 months. Weekly financial reporting in restaurants isn't a luxury—it's survival, since a 2% swing in food costs can represent your entire profit margin. The Fork CPAs moved from "insecure niching" with three industries to hyper-specialization, proving that doing less actually accelerates growth when done with expertise. Restaurant operators typically process 300-400 invoices monthly for a $3-4 million location, making specialized systems and processes non-negotiable for profitability. Subscription pricing in accounting solves the labor shortage by making firms more profitable, allowing them to pay better and attract talent to the profession. Specialization creates resonance with ideal clients who say "you sound like my soulmate" rather than casting a wide net and hoping something sticks.   Contact Details LinkedIn - Raffi Yousefian (https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffiyousefian/) LINKSShow Notes Be a Guest About IC-DISC Alliance About The Fork CPAs Raffi YousefianAbout Raffi TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dave: Good morning, Raffi How are you today? Raffi:: Good morning, David. I'm doing well. And yourself? Dave: I am doing great. I appreciate you coming on the podcast. Just a formal introduction, you are Raffi Yousefian, and you're the CEO of the Fork CPAs. Is that correct? Raffi:: That's correct. And I appreciate you having me. I'm excited to have a conversation with a like-minded individual in the accounting industry. Dave: Yes. I've been looking forward to this for some time. So what part of the world are you calling into from today? Raffi:: I am in Brooklyn, New York City. Dave: Okay. Raffi:: Specifically Williamsburg Greenpoint, which is meant to be the hipster capital of the world in case you're interested. Dave: Yeah, I have heard that name. For that reason, I don't think I've ever been there. I haven't been to New York in about 15 years, and I think I rarely have ever been anywhere but Manhattan. So I'll have to be sure to check that out the next time I'm in town. Raffi:: We would love to have you. We're right across the East River. Dave: Okay, Raffi:: Great. Great nightlife scene, great food scene. A lot of sighting. New concepts are popping up every day, bars, restaurants, so it's a great place to be. Dave: That sounds awesome. Well, first of all, let's get to the name. What the heck does The Fork CPA's name mean? Usually the CPA firm is named after the founder or the partners. So what's the fork? What's the meaning of the fork? Was one of your partners named Fork or talk? Raffi:: No. So the fork, I have a 15 slide presentation on it. Maybe I can walk you through it one day. But the fork represents a tool that is highly agile with very sharp and fine edges, and it also relates to the restaurant industry and represents us and our values as a firm. So that's where the four comes from. That's the, in a nutshell description. And then the CPAs, you add that to clarify that we're doing accounting and tax, so that's where work branding comes from. Actually, we launched the brand in 2022, so it hasn't always been our name. Dave: Okay. Well, I really like it. So are you a New York native? Raffi:: I'm not. I'm actually from dc so lived in DC for about 10 years. That's where I started the firm, and I moved up to New York in 2021. Dave: And you went to college in Maryland? Raffi:: Yes, university of Maryland College Park. Dave: Okay. And then you graduated and you went the big four route with ENY? Raffi:: That's right. I worked at ENY for about three and a half years, and then moved to a smaller firm for about a year and a half, two years after that. And this was in 2016 when I launched the firm that I currently have right now. Dave: And you just started it from scratch? Raffi:: So initially the firm was called ROYCA LLC, and I just used my initials with CPA at the end just to get started. Okay. I started it from scratch. At the time I had the potential opportunity to acquire a restaurant bookkeeping business, and that is really what initiated me or catapulted me to taking that leap from moving from a W2 job to starting my own business. The acquisition actually never ended up panning out to be anything. It ended up being more of like a referral relationship. So it was good in that it incentivized me and motivated me to actually take the leap. But as we started from scratch, didn't end up buying any book of business or anything like that and just grew from there January 1st, 2016. Dave: And is that how the restaurant and bar capability started, was from that referral relationship with that bookkeeping firm then? Raffi:: Yes. Well, the referral relationship was a result of me taking over my brother-in-law's finances, and he had a restaurant and catering business. Dave: Oh, I Raffi:: See. And so his accountant was ending their relationship because he was moving on to be the CFO of a big fast growth restaurant group. And so I asked to meet with him. I said, can I meet with the former accountant? Maybe he has a book of business that he wants to sell or get rid of. That's not where the interest in restaurants started, but that definitely had an impact on moving towards that restaurant niche at some point. My first real client was a restaurant business. Dave: Okay. Raffi:: Yeah, Dave: That is great. You've got your CPA firm, it's growing. And then at a point you realized you had a concentration in the restaurant bar business. Now, conventional wisdom says when you have a concentration like that, whether it's client industry, you need to fix it by diversifying, but you decided to go in a different direction, right? Tell me the story. Raffi:: Yeah, so initially the purpose of the firm was to provide an alternative and frictionless experience to traditional public accounting. And this was 2016 when web-based apps were all very new, and even the cloud firms were very server-based. You log into this server and it wasn't very web-based, so even cloud modern firms were still very clunky, and the client experience was terrible. So the idea was, okay, replicate the public accounting model just in a more modern and frictionless way. And so we were still providing a lot of the traditional services you get in a small public accounting firm, 10 forties, monthly bookkeeping, annual bookkeeping, industry agnostic, and one of the first moves. So that was, people love that, right? It was new cutting edge, modern virtual CPA firm. And then I think by year two, we decided we had to narrow down what we were doing. Raffi:: Again, we were trying to be everything to everyone just in a more modern way. And so I think the first change we made was limit our service offering to monthly services only. So value-based billing, fixed fee. It was a mix of value-based billing and fixed fee at the time. So we basically told all of our annual clients, mostly 10 40 clients, sorry, if you want to work with us, you have to have a business, and we have to own the entire accounting process from monthly all the way through your business tax preparation. So that was the first change we made. We didn't specialize just yet. Dave: And what year was this? 2017. Raffi:: I think this was around 2017 or 20 17, 20 18 then. So that worked really well. That allowed us to scale and grow much faster. Now everybody's on a monthly fixed retainer. You're not doing all this work during tax season, those three months trying to do 12 months of books. So there's no bottlenecks during tax season. For the most part, 10 forties are still very much a bottleneck. And in 20 19, 20 20, we decided to narrow down even further and say, okay, we're going to service three industries. And I like to say this is the insecure way of niching down. And so we narrowed it down to, I believe it was restaurants and bars for sure. Nonprofits and professional Dave: Services. Raffi:: And so that helped again, even better. Now we can scale and grow even faster with more efficiency. And then 2022, we were at a point where the restaurant and bar industry vertical was growing much double, triple what our other verticals were growing. And I believe it was just a natural result of our passion was behind that vertical, the professional services and nonprofits, great clients, low volume, easy to work with, very professional. But yeah, just stagnated the growth that stagnated. I wasn't as much interested in those verticals as I was in restaurants. And so we decided to launch the for brand in 2022 and in 2023. So in 2023, the restaurant practice was about 60 to 70% of our revenue. And so we spun off the 30%, which was nonprofits and professional services, and merged it slash sold it to another firm. And since 2023, March of 2023, we've been solely fork CPAs, Eileen niched down into restaurants and bars under the fork CPAs brand. Dave: Okay. I love the story. And then I believe, did Brandon Poe help you sell that practice? Raffi:: Yes, exactly. I think this was probably the first spinoff maybe that they did spinning off a niche and selling it to another firm, and then continuing as a, so it was new to them. And we actually did a podcast about this with Brandon. And yeah, I think it was, like you said, it sounds counter intuitive to specialize versus diversify, but to provide some context, that 70% between March of 2023 and end of 2024, I think it grew like 250, 300% our revenue. So we were basically triple the size that we were when we did the spinoff. Dave: So I have to put some numbers on this. So let's pretend the firm did a thousand dollars a year of revenue. So $700 of it was restaurants and bars. You sold off the $300 practice and then using that multiple, the firm today now is doing 200 or $300. Raffi:: Well, not today, within a year and a half, within a year and a Dave: Half, Raffi:: Within a year and a half, it was at like 2000. So you were at 1000? We were like 2100. So that 700 became 2100. Dave: Wow. Raffi:: And I think a big part of it had to do with, I actually retained my staff that was part of the nonprofit and professional services vertical. So that was about four people. And so that also helped because you need staff to grow into. Dave: And Raffi:: It did hurt our valuation because a lot of the times when firms are acquiring, they want to acquire the staff, one of the biggest problems when, Dave: Yeah, they're just buying the clients basically. Raffi:: So we took a hit on the valuation, but if we hadn't retained our staff, they wouldn't have been as easy and efficient to scale and grow within that year and a half. Dave: So why is it, so it appears based on what you're saying, that there was a underserved market in New York restaurants and bars. That's the only conclusion I can really come to have that kind of a growth implies that the market was not being well served. Is that assumption accurate or was there something else in play? Raffi:: So we definitely have competitors, but I would say underserved in a sense that the level of service and quality is just not there. It's a highly commoditized service offering restaurant bookkeeping. And so our value proposition is not just restaurant bookkeeping, it's restaurant controllership. Raffi:: So for the same price as a bookkeeping service, maybe a little bit more of a premium, 20%, 15, 20%, you can get a more comprehensive service offering under a subscription model to a controller. And the controller owns your entire accounting process. And in addition to that, we also have a tax department that will take care of the tax compliance at year end and quarterly. So I don't think we have any actual competitors that do exactly what we do. However, we have at least 40 to 50 competitors nationally. So it is underserved in that sense, but it's not something super unique or cutting edge that we're doing. It's just a different approach, a different way of doing it. Dave: And your client's all in the New York area? Raffi:: No, it's all, it's nationally. Mostly East coast. Yeah, mostly dc, Maryland, Virginia, New York City, metropolitan areas, urban areas, but it's pretty much all over the country. We can serve clients nationally. Dave: Now, when you pick up a new client, what percentage of the time is it a brand new restaurant and what percentage of the time are you taking over from another provider? Is it mostly taking over from another provider? Raffi:: I would say it's about 70% taking over. It depends. For example, we might have a restaurant group that has 10 locations and now let's say 10 franchises, and they're forming a new group and they're starting from scratch with a new concept. So there's some of that. I see most of them are fast growth. So they have the goal of, Hey, we just opened our first location and we want to be at five locations in three years. That's where a solution like ours really provides maximum value because we can help you get from zero to five in as fast as you want because you're not sitting there concerned about hiring accountants and building an accounting department. And so we take care of the back office for you through that growth stage. Dave: And what percentage of your clients are franchisees? Raffi:: It's not a large percentage. It's mostly independent operators, probably five to 10%. We have competitors that focus solely on talk about hyper specialization. They do restaurant bookkeeping for McDonald's franchises, but it gets pretty specific. And that's not necessarily our target market. Our target market is more independent operators, smaller franchise groups, 15 to 20 units, but we're not like a volume commodity shop. Dave: So I can relate to your business in so many ways, and it's why when I heard you on Brandon's podcast, I just was dying to talk to you. So as I think I told you, so all we do is icy disc work, and we're the only firm I know of that does nothing but icy disc work. We manage more than anyone else. So all we do, we live, eat and breathe it. But within that space, our largest sector by far is the scrap metal business. And what's interesting, and I hear this all the time from our clients, is that I'm the only advisor they've ever had who understands the scrap metal business, that when they have a banker that they're interviewing new banks or a new CPA, it's always the same thing. They come out and they're like, wow, I thought this was going to be Sanford and Son's junkyard. This is a whole different business. And they get so frustrating. And I've frustrated, and some of 'em have asked me to find CPAs, find them a new CPA, and one of the first things they want is somebody with scrap metal experience because it's so frustrating for them having to, every year there's a new staff person and every year they have to explain all over again how the whole business works. I'm guessing it's similar in the restaurant business. Is that right? And kind of dive into how your expertise manifests itself when you're talking with an Raffi:: Potential Dave: Client? Raffi:: Yeah, absolutely. Having an accountant in the entire spectrum of accounting services, whether that's your tax preparer, your controller, your bookkeeper, your CFO, having that industry specialization is completely invaluable. And I think the, in any industry, restaurants aside, the consumer is starting to realize that and the level of insight you can provide as a specialist and the value you can add is way beyond what a generalist can do. And sometimes people will hire generalists because of a referral or a trust that they have with this person. And I think that's really the only time where there's any justification in hiring a generalist, to be honest with you. But even that, it's okay, well, sure, this might be your dad's accountant or your family friend accountant that everybody trusts, but is that really providing any value? If you can't trust your service provider, then what's the point? Raffi:: So yeah, the level of value you can provide, and just to give you some examples, if you have three locations as a restaurant and you want to add another location, you should be able to go to your accountant and say, here is what the landlord is asking for rent. Here's what I'm expecting to do in sales. Is this a good investment? And the accountant, if they're specialized, they should be able to tell you very quickly just by reviewing your projections, your performa and saying, yes, this is an investment that we're not investment advisors, but if your projections actually pan out to be what they say, then yes, we want your occupancy cost to be 8% of sales, and you're showing that in your projection. So yeah, if this spot that you've identified can actually generate that type of sales and your prime costs are going to be this much, your bottom line is potentially going to be this, then your ROI will be X. And therefore, yeah, it's a good investment. Now, a generalist might be able to do that by doing some research, Raffi:: But that example can be applied to so many different things. When we sit down and analyze p and ls as a controller, we need to be able to look at trends and identify, wait, why do we lose money this month? Very quickly, right on a call, oh, it's because your labor was 35% and it's usually 32%. And in restaurants, it's typically 32, 33 is the ideal number. Just being able to throw out numbers off the top of your head and being well-trained in a specific vertical, it just provides so much value. And we talk about in the accounting industry about how we have to become advisors. This is like AI is going to take over all the compliance overseas hiring and all the bookkeeping is going to be automated. And so now we have to become more advisors and just data entry people and compliance providers. And the only way you can really do that, in my opinion, if you want to be a true advisor, is to niche down and specialize. Otherwise, how much value can you really add as a generalist? Dave: Sure. Well, and I was just thinking, I would imagine having come up through the accounting side, I couldn't imagine a worst controller or bookkeeper job than being the bookkeeper or controller for a restaurant. I can just picture it. There's some a closet basically that's your office, and especially if it's in the facility itself and it's not noisy and there's just all this stuff going on, and if it's a bar, all the actions in the evening, and I just couldn't imagine a worst working environment or work environment than that. So it makes even more sense to just have that outsource. And I'm also guessing my clients, probably 20% of the owners of my clients actually have an accounting background just for whatever reason, that was how they ended up there. But I'm guessing that's perhaps even lower in the restaurant business. I just imagine the average restaurateur bar owner is not a former ENY tax person. Raffi:: Right. So it's funny you bring up the bookkeeping role in a restaurant closet that they put the bookkeeper in traditionally speaking with all the stacks of invoices. So just to provide some context, a restaurant that does three to $4 million in revenue will have anywhere from three to 400 invoices minimum per month. Dave: Are you serious? Raffi:: Yeah. They need to get inputted into the accounting system to get true accrual basis accounting. Dave: Wow. I thought you just bought everything from Cisco and payroll and called it a Raffi:: Day. Well, the franchisees, yeah, the franchisees are all different. They work with a Cisco or usb, and then they have less invoices, but still very high volume. So the role of the bookkeeper 10, 15 years ago was show up to the restaurant, get all these invoices and put them into QuickBooks. And if you're not a specialist, even if you're following the traditional model from 15 years ago, there's no way to make money doing this type of work, especially when restaurants are super low margin. They don't have big budgets for accounting. And so the only way to really make it work is to specialize to have a fixed system process, tech stack around restaurant bookkeeping that allows you to process this high volume and still leave some room to make money as an accountant. So I'll just throw that out there. And then your other question was related to what kind of persona do you get, what kind of demographics do you get on the restaurant industry side, and it's mostly blue collar, a lot of creatives. So I think once you get to the groups, the restaurant groups that have five to 10 people, a lot of 'em start hiring more office workers. More people can sit at a computer and do numbers, which helps a lot on the admin side. But if you're working with a single unit operator or two to three unit operator, you're dealing with somebody that's always on the run. They're always busy, they're in the kitchen, they're wearing multiple hats. Raffi:: Most of the time they're creatives, they're chefs that created a concept, and that's their strength. Their strength isn't numbers, so it makes it even harder to get information out of them and to keep them organized. And that's really what an accountant bookkeeper does. It just helps somebody stay organized and provides them and helps digest their financials. And a big part of it's just helping them stay organized. So you can first count the numbers, put them into the system, come up with a good workflow. But yeah, it makes it very challenging to work with those types of clients. Dave: Sure, I can understand that. Now, my understanding is the restaurant and bar business has one of the highest failure rates of any type of business. Is that true? And what is the failure rate? What percentage then fail in 1, 3, 5 years? I'm sure you have some numbers around that. Or Raffi:: Actually, believe it or not, there actually is no number and the number is What's your Dave: Guess? What's your guess? Raffi:: They say the myth has always been nine to 10 restaurants fail, something like that. And I've researched this multiple times, and it's really just a myth. There's no hard evidence about that. I don't think it's wrong or it could be very much accurate because it's very high. But any industry, the reason for the failure rate is because of the supply and demand. Everyone wants to open a restaurant, the barrier to entry are low. It's easy to raise money to open a restaurant. Everyone wants to invest in a restaurant. It's just a sexy business. And when you have such a high supply of any type of business, it could be restaurants, it could be filmmakers, it could be musicians, like how competitive the music and film industry is, you end up having an overage of service providers or suppliers or restaurants in this case. And therefore it makes it extremely difficult to generate a profit. Raffi:: And it is a difficult business to run for sure as well. But I think that's the biggest challenge is once you start making a little bit of money, 10, 15%, boom, another competitor comes in and opens a similar concept down the block or a competing concept, and now there's limited amount of residents or consumers in that neighborhood. So now they go into that restaurant, and especially in cities like DC right now, DC's very competitive. There's just so much money being pumped into restaurants and such a limited amount of guests and consumers. So it's the same, let's say 10,000 people that are going to the same restaurants, let's call 'em upscale, casual restaurants. And every week there's a new restaurant opening. And then you could have the best concept in the world, but it only lasts six months because as soon as you're not the hottest thing in town, another one rolls right in and takes your customer base. So it's very competitive, very low margin, and that's why it makes the financial analysis so much more important. Dave: Yeah, I would think so. Is it safe to assume that the failure rate of your clientele is likely lower than the industry average? If you had to guess? Raffi:: Probably. Yeah. Yeah, our failure rate is pretty low. And I think which might also be overlooked, that insight into your finance is a huge competitive advantage for operators, for restaurant operators. Dave: Yeah, I would imagine. Raffi:: Because even 2%, they're mostly high volume, high revenue businesses, they're top line businesses. So an average full service restaurant probably does three to $4 million in revenue. And so even a 2% savings on your food costs, that can be your entire profit margin right there. So the average restaurant does between three, it used to be like five to 10%, now it's three to 7%. But needless to say, it's pretty low, the profit margin. So if I can provide weekly reports that give managers insight into their labor and food costs, that in itself helps them reduce food and labor costs two to 4%. And it's key to do this weekly, not monthly, right? Because monthly it's already too late. You don't know what you did four weeks ago to be able to tweak and adjust the levers in your business. So yeah, I think it's a competitive advantage. Hey, if I can save you two to 5% just by monitoring the financials, forget all the time savings that I'm going to give you automatically you've added a lot of value and you've maybe even saved that restaurant from going out of business. Dave: So I'm curious, just what are the typical expense breakdowns like in a restaurant, how much, what are the food cost percentage range typically in labor and brand, whether, Raffi:: So it depends on the type of concept, whether it's a pizza shop, whether it's a quick service restaurant versus full service versus steak versus seafood. But generally 60 to 65% is your prime cost. So that's your cost of goods sold and your labor. Raffi:: And so anytime we see, for example, for quick service, it's about 60%. So anytime we see, hey, this quick service restaurant is doing 63%, it's a red flag, and we bring that up to the operator, you need to adjust. And sometimes they can't adjust something they can't control. The sales are low because scaling of labor, when you have sales fixed labor and the rest is pretty much, it's about eight to 10% occupancy costs, rent, real estate, taxes, insurance, and then the rest is overhead, operating expenses, supplies, GNA, office supplies, things like that. And then that leaves about five to 10% profit at the end if it's run well. Dave: Wow, it sounds like a Raffi:: Terrible business. It sounds like a difficult business to run profit. Very difficult. Yeah. I get a lot of people that come to me and say, Hey, I'm thinking about investing in a restaurant, or I want to open a restaurant. I'm like, run, don't do it. Dave: Yeah. There's a joke. I forget how it goes and what industry it is. How do you become a millionaire in the oil and gas business? You start as a billionaire. It's kind of the same in the restaurant. How do I end up with a million dollars restaurant? You start with $10 million. Raffi:: Exactly. Dave: So talk to me, do you have everybody on the same accounting system? For example, all of your Raffi:: Clients? We more or less, we have two tech stacks that we support. So QuickBooks plus Margin Edge, that's one Tech Stack. And then the other Tech stack is a accounting software called Restaurant 365. Dave: Okay. Designed just for the restaurant business. And they're both, and so I know QuickBooks pretty well is the other one. Raffi:: Yes, everything is web-based. The Margin Edge is just a plugin. It's an app for QuickBooks to essentially convert it to providing restaurant. It's the bridge between the restaurant and the books. Whereas Restaurant 365 already integrates all of that, the plugins into one platform, which is really nice. Dave: Have you seen that one is a better fit for most of your clients, or do you have a preference for one over the other? Raffi:: It depends on the concept for sure. Okay. For example, we have Dave's Hot Chicken. I'm not sure if you've heard of it. The franchise, one of the fastest growing franchises in America. They have a, I'm not sure if it's an agreement, like a franchise agreement or some type of agreement with the restaurant 365, but basically as a franchisee, you get Restaurant 365 templates as part of your, Dave: Not Raffi:: Templates, but it's almost pre-configured so that it makes it very easy to use Restaurant 365. So in those cases we're like, it's going to be much easier to implement this off the shelf solution versus having QuickBooks and Margin Edge and setting it up for the franchise and all that. So it really just depends on the concept. Dave: Okay. Raffi:: Yeah. Dave: What are some of the things clients tell you, or what's the feedback you get after six to 12 months? I have to imagine that your clients are really happy with your service. What are some of the things that you hear from folks? So this is your chance to really brag about your team and your business model. What are some of the things you hear? Raffi:: Typically, it's not so much. The feedback we hear is so-and-so is so great. You have an invaluable resource for our team and our growth. We have a lot of testimonials that we get from clients. They provide so much peace of mind. Now I can focus on what I do best without having to worry about are my bills getting paid? Am I profitable? What are the numbers that I need to look out for? But really we see the results most of the time because you see a restaurant operator that has one location or two locations, and they have maybe an internal person that is a partner in the business that is overseeing the financials. And we do a discovery call with them. We find out they're spending their whole week just getting receipts from employees and uploading invoices to the accounting software. And then we're like, you spend your most of your time on this. And we tell 'em our value proposition, and it's hard for them to believe. And then within seven or eight months, they're out there scouting new locations, improving their margins, really working on the business rather than spending their time doing admin work. And that's extremely rewarding to see. Raffi:: And not all of them do this. Some will not take advantage of what we provide. Some of them, just like the time savings when we see, okay, this person was stuck at two, three locations, and now they have the time to really focus on growth and building systems and processes and focusing on their vision, and we're just essentially handling their entire back office. They're reporting and providing all the analytical information they need to make these decisions about their growth. That's really nice to see both from their perspective and our perspective. It's a nice partnership to have. Dave: And I can imagine that weekly reporting is critical. I can just imagine there's a lot of restaurants that it's a part-time person. It's their accounting firm that does it. It's one of the partners. And basically they get their financials two or three weeks after the month ends. So they're looking at six and seven week old data. And I could imagine that if you have a problem and you're losing money and you don't realize it until after you've lost money for seven weeks, I can see where that could be a problem. Raffi:: Yeah, exactly. And you're looking at your p and l 15 days after the month ends and you're saying, wait, how do we get 27% labor? Who was doing the scheduling that week? Who was doing the inventory count? What did he change? What did they not change? And when you're doing it weekly, you know exactly what affected or impacted the numbers in your reports. Whereas if it's, and this can apply to other industries as well, not just restaurants, but in restaurants and bars, it's specifically very, especially very important. Dave: Yeah. What do you enjoy the most about your current role in this business that you've built? Raffi:: I really enjoy the growth aspect of it, the vision setting, the vision, setting the goals. We follow the EOS framework Raffi:: And I love that kind of stuff. Working on the business, setting the goals, as I said, and holding your team accountable to achieving those goals. And it's crazy how quickly you see results when you really commit to it. And I'm still trying to figure out whether I'm a visionary or integrator and I don't know. But I like both. I like ops and I also like sales and marketing and being the CEO, so I'm still trying to pinpoint that. But we have a director of operations and she runs the operations for the most part. But I love setting the vision for operations. Hey, it would be awesome if in a year we can reach a stage where every client is following the same AP process, for example, or something like that. And yeah, I really enjoy that kind of stuff. Dave: So let's say we're talking three years from now, and in fact, I may just make a note to have you back in three years. I've never asked a guest this question, and it's probably because I just was in Strategic Coach session last week. If we were sitting down three years from now and looking back over those three years, what would you have liked to have happened both personally and professionally to have been pleased with your progress? Or even just professionally, what would you like to accomplish over the next few years? How do you see the business going? Raffi:: We have ambitions to grow very quickly, and our mission, I know sounds generic, is to achieve proud employees and happy clients. Raffi:: And so I'm obsessed with great businesses, which pretty much provide that proud employees that love where they work, they want to do a good job, and the customers and clients are all promoters of the business. That's the ideal goal. So we want to grow while maintaining that. We don't want to become one of these, again, commodity shops where we're just bringing on clients for the sake of bringing on clients and adding numbers to the top line revenue. I think of acquisition as a big part of that. I probably see that in the cards in the next two to three years in terms of us acquiring another firm. And it really narrows down your goal when you're trying to focus on restaurants and bars. So just trying to replicate what we do, providing that controllership level service, maybe acquiring the bookkeeping, restaurant bookkeeping service, and deploying our model so that people paying the same price for bookkeeping can essentially get a much higher level of service. And then thus complimenting our mission, our purpose, which is proud employees, happy, happy clients. Dave: I love that. Proud employees, happy clients. That was always Herb Kelleher's philosophy. The founder of Southwest Airlines is he viewed employees as his customers that if he made his employees happy, then they would do a good job with their end customers. Raffi:: Yeah. Yeah. The Southwest stories pretty amazing. But I think we debated our leadership team debated about the happy employees versus proud employees for a bit. Raffi:: And I think we very specifically and adamantly decided that we want proud employees because it's not, as soon as you pay happy, nobody's ever a hundred percent happy. We want the clients to be happy and satisfied, but we want our employees to, there's going to be tough times and they're not always going to be happy, and times are going to be tough, but as long as you're doing what you're proud of and it feels rewarding, at the end of the day, it's a job. So we're not expecting everyone to show up to work and be super happy about what they do, but at least we want them to be proud. And I think that comes with passion. If you don't have passion for what you do, you're most likely not going to be proud, and you're probably not the best fit for our company. So it attracts a certain type of employee, but it also pushes out a certain feeling amongst your team. Dave: I like it. Well, as we're wrapping things up, I can't believe how the time has flown by. If we could go back to 2011 when you were graduating from the University of Maryland, if you could go back in time and give yourself advice, your 22, 20 3-year-old self advice back then, what advice might you have given yourself based on the experience you've had over the last 14 years? Raffi:: I like to say I would have niched down earlier, but it's hard to say that's what I would've done if I had done it differently. I'm just not sure because you learn so much by not niching down early on, and Raffi:: You have to generate revenue when you first start out your firm. So in theory, that's what I would've probably have done niche down earlier. Maybe I would niche down three years earlier, four years earlier, not maybe from the beginning. But in terms of other advice, yeah, I would've probably taken accounting more seriously earlier on because I had so many little businesses at that time when I was in college, I was just still trying to figure things out, and I knew accounting was potentially one of them, but I had a, well before that in college, I had an eBay business where I was selling, going to stores, finding things for cheap and selling them online. And then I had a welding business, and then I had a DJ business. And so I was still trying to figure out, I was very on the fence about do I pursue accounting versus something else, and I would've probably told myself to take it, focus on the accounting much earlier. Dave: That is so interesting. I asked that question to a lot of guests, and they almost all have the same answer. But when I asked you the question as I was asking it, I was thinking, oh, that's a dumb question. Most of my guests, they waited 20 years before they started their own business, and their price themselves would've been, be afraid, take the leap early, but you really couldn't have taken it much earlier. You were an employee for five years. You needed to learn the industry, and obviously you had those entrepreneurial tendencies early on, but that is interesting. You wish you had taken the accounting more seriously since that you didn't know then that this is what your future was going to be. Raffi:: Right. I knew it was going to be in entrepreneurship, growing a business, starting a business, but in hindsight, again, if I hadn't done all the DJing and the parties and the events, I wouldn't have been exposed to how marketing really works and how PR really works. So I don't know. It's hard to say. Dave: Yeah, that makes sense. Well, is there anything I didn't ask you that you wish I had asked you? Raffi:: Yeah, I think when we've talked in the past, we talked about the pricing model when it comes to niche services, I think that's also very relevant. You want to share, Dave: Do you want to share how that works or is that something that Raffi:: Yeah, I think Dave: Standard pricing on or whatever your, I didn't want to get too much into pricing. I didn't want you to feel obligated to share anything you didn't want to share. Raffi:: Yeah. I think another aspect of niching down that is valuable and necessary as it comes to our industry and accounting is the pricing model. So there's various forms of pricing and professional services. You have hourly billing, the traditional hourly billing, you have the value-based pricing, you have fixed fee, and then you have subscription. And the trend, I believe, is moving towards subscription. It was value-based. Hourly is the old model that hopefully most people aren't following anymore. But the subscription model for the industry I think is going to be the best because we have problems in the industry right now. They talk about the shortage of labor and all that and the need to adapt advisory services. But I think it's not just, you can't look at labor in a vacuum. You have to look at why do we have a shortage of labor problem? It's because we have a value proposition problem and we have a pricing problem, Raffi:: In my opinion at least. And I think subscription pricing is going to change that. And subscription pricing is beneficial to our industry because it prices the relationship and not just the scope of work and value-based pricing the customer. How do they see the value that we're providing? And you price based off of that. But I think once you move into subscription, it completely revolutionizes and changes the value of public accounting and the accounting service in general. And if we want to solve the labor shortage problem, we need to make the industry more profitable and pay people better so that they're incentivized to pursue an accounting degree and get a CPA. And subscription pricing, I believe, really does that in order to provide subscription pricing you to don't need to. But it really helps by niching down, because the whole concept of subscription pricing is you pay this fixed price and we do everything for you. No hourly billing. There's no scope of work. We do everything for you that is in our wheelhouse that we can do under our roof. And when you provide that type of peace of mind and frictionless experience for clients, all of a sudden, I think the potential for profit and paying your better skyrockets. Dave: So yeah, Ron Baker would be so proud of your transition. Raffi:: Yeah, I think it's a little too early. I think he wrote his Times Up book like three, four, or maybe, yeah, three, four years ago, something like that. Something like that. So it might be a little too soon to tell whether it's going to work in practice. It's worked for us, but it's very difficult to implement subscription pricing if you don't niche down Dave: Well, and I think the monthly work also helps, like a CPA firm who all they're doing is just the annual tax return. How do you justify a subscription billing? Right? Certainly a month in subscription billing, there's more of a disconnect, but with what you're doing, the tax return is, I don't want to say an afterthought, it's just a inevitable outcome of what you've done throughout the year. Raffi:: I think the most similar example that's been tried and tested is the medical concierge. So one time medical, one medical, the subscription based medical office that Amazon acquired, I dunno, what was it three, four years ago? So I think it's very similar because you have an annual checkup, so think of that as your tax return. So you pay Amazon, it's a very low price. I don't know what it is, but I dunno, maybe a few hundred dollars a year for your subscription to one-time medical or one medical. And a lot of the medical concierge services work like this, they range anywhere from $50 a month to $300 a month depending on the Raffi:: Level of service that you're getting. And that gives you unlimited access to a primary care physician. So if I want to go see them every week, it's included in my a hundred dollars a month subscription, and I can get that once a year tax return done or that once a year physical done, but that doesn't really change anything. It doesn't change my subscription. That could be the only thing that I do with them, but just I'm paying for that peace of mind. I know if something happens or if I'm planning for something, I can just call that primary care physician or that accountant and run it by them for no extra charge. And so I think it works well. Maybe it's a little too soon to tell for the accounting industry, but I think it's generally worked with the primary care medical world. Dave: No, I think the accounting profession is perfect for it. So are most of your clients now on a subscription basis? Raffi:: Yeah, it's pretty much all subscription. We have what are called add-ons, Dave: So Raffi:: Our general subscription is controllership services. But anything that they need, for example, IRS audit, gap audit, notice defense, maybe they're pursuing a valuation or a deal, and that's something that we can handle. It's in our wheelhouse. That's all included in the subscription. But when you don't niche down, it's hard to Dave: Exactly. Raffi:: It's hard to limit what you offer. So that's why I think when you say we're very clear that we don't do budgets, so that's not in our wheelhouse. We don't really have anybody on the team that can do budgeting for restaurants. We can get on a call and talk through it with you based off of what we know, but we won't prepare a projection and budget. We're not a CFO service. We're a controllership service. So it's hard to be clear about where you draw the line with your, what's in your wheelhouse, because technically, yeah, I could learn how to budget. I'm an account. It's not that difficult. But again, you can't promise everything. Then you want to try to promise as much as possible so that your subscription has value, but there also has to be safeguards in place. Dave: Well, that is a great way to wrap things up. I'm glad that you'd mentioned the pricing. I really appreciate that. Well, I really appreciate your time. Like I said, when I reached out to you, I love your specialization approach. I just think that's the problem with specialization is you have to say no to everything else. And that's so emotionally difficult for people, especially if you have a scarcity mindset then, Raffi:: Right? Accountants basically. Dave: Yes. Yes. So I think that's great. It's no surprise to me, and I really would, if you're up for it, I'd love to check in with you in three years and see how things have gone. Raffi:: Yeah, I'm definitely up for it. And I also love, you're hyper specialized. That's the IC-disc. I think you mentioned to me how many there are in the country, and it's very limited. Yeah, a few thousand. So that's even more specialized, but it's great. The more specialized, in my opinion, the better. Right? Dave: I tell you this quick story. I've learned niche specialists, that niche and specializing firsthand. When I was internet dating in 2000, the infancy of internet dating, and I think I was 35 years old. And what I noticed that most guys did, they had an approach of casting a wide net. And it was, I'm looking for a woman between the ages of 18 and 88, any religion, any hobbies, anybody type. And I think their attitude is, I'm going to cast a wide net. I'm going to get all these fish in the net, and then I can just cherry pick the ones I want. So I'm like, I'm going to try something different. And so let's say I was 34. My criteria was they had to be a year older to two years younger. They had to be tall, athletic Christian, dog loving women with a commitment to excellence. And my friends are like, you're not going to get any response. Dave: And I'm like, yeah, you're probably right. And they were right. They were almost right. I got almost no response. But what happened when I did get a response from a woman, it's the same reaction you get. There was resonance because the woman would say, oh my God, you sound like my soulmate. I'm 33, I'm five nine. I used to play college volleyball. I have a golden retriever. And so what would happen is, I think when they were talking to the guys with the white net philosophy, they'd have dinner and the guy would say, wow, you're amazing. You're exactly what I'm looking for. And they're like, no, you're not. Your profile is 18 to 88. It wasn't really, but that's really where I learned it. And I think it's the resonance that you get with specialization, and it worked dating and it worked in my business. Sure. You hear the same kind of resonance thing from your new clients, and you're like, wow, I didn't know such a service existed. Raffi:: Exactly. Yes. Yeah. It's like a perfect match for both sides, right? Dave: But it takes a certain amount of courage and a certain amount of abundance mindset to be able to pull the trigger. The other thing is it's hard to refer people who don't specialize. If you meet an attorney and you're like, what do you specialize in? You go, well, mostly wills. We do the occasional divorce, occasional criminal defense. If you get a speaker sick, you give me a call and you're like, I can't help you. But if they specialize in speeding tickets in one county in Texas, and that's all they do, I talk to somebody, a party, and they say, oh, I got a speeding ticket. I'm like, oh, it's Raffi:: The first person that comes to mind. Yeah, exactly. Dave: Yeah, Raffi:: It makes a big difference. Dave: Yeah, it's great. Well, hey, Raffa, I really appreciate your time. This has been a lot of fun and keep up your work and let's come back in three years. Raffi:: Thank you, David. I appreciate you having me. Dave: There we have it. Another great episode. Thanks for listening in. If you want to continue the conversation, go to ic disc show.com. That's IC dash D-I-S-C-S-H-O w.com. And we have additional information on the podcast archived episodes, as well as a button to be a guest. So if you'd like to be a guest, go select that and fill out the information, and we'd love to have you on the show. So it we'll be back next time with another episode of the IC Disc Show. Special Guest: Raffi Yousefian.

In this episode, Brandon Pierpont hosts a dynamic panel from the PCA Residential Contractor Conference, where industry leaders share their go-to tools for streamlining communication, scheduling, quoting, and more. Learn how to simplify your systems and build an efficient, scalable tech stack roadmap.

A typical RIA “tech stack” is comprised of 3 core pieces of software:CRMFinancial PlanningPortfolio ManagementBut what exactly does the generic sounding “portfolio management” tool do?Considering it is typically by far the most expensive piece of a tech stack, it's important to understand the role it would play in your practice.In this episode (#136) of the Transition To RIA question and answer series I explain:What a portfolio management tool is.How these tools came to be.How they align with other parts of a tech stack.And in some scenarios, whether you even need one to begin with!Come take a listen!P.S. Prefer video? You can find this entire series in video format on Youtube. Search for the TRANSITION TO RIA channel.Show notes: https://TransitionToRIA.com/what-does-the-portfolio-management-tool-in-an-ria-tech-stack-do/About Host: Brad Wales is the founder of Transition To RIA, where he helps financial advisors between $50M and $1B understand everything there is to know about WHY and HOW to transition their practice to the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) model. Brad has 20+ years of industry experience, including direct RIA related roles in Compliance, Finance and Business Development. He has an MBA and has held the 4, 7, 24, 63 & 65 licenses. The Transition To RIA website (TransitionToRIA.com) has a large catalog of free videos, articles, whitepapers, as well as other resources to help advisors understand the RIA model and how it would apply to their unique circumstances.

Marketers struggle to build effective AI automation stacks that actually drive results. Charlie Grinnell, Co-CEO of RightMetric, explains how external data transforms AI accuracy and marketing strategy. The conversation covers building custom agents for networking automation, developing video analysis tools that map viewer engagement frame-by-frame, and creating visual hooks that compete with brands like MrBeast and Red Bull.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marketers struggle to build effective AI automation stacks that actually drive results. Charlie Grinnell, Co-CEO of RightMetric, explains how external data transforms AI accuracy and marketing strategy. The conversation covers building custom agents for networking automation, developing video analysis tools that map viewer engagement frame-by-frame, and creating visual hooks that compete with brands like MrBeast and Red Bull.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This season, the aptly named Trade Secrets Tech Summit is all about technology. But this week, co-hosts Emma Weissmann and Jamie Biesiada delve into how Brownel in Birmingham, Ala., completely modernized its tech stack with Chief Operating Officer Rene Alldredge. Learn about identifying the gaps that technology can fill, the “pit of despair” many agencies face and coming out on the other side of a major tech overhaul. This episode was sponsored by Windstar Cruises. Further resources Visit Brownell on the web Email Rene Alldredge Trade Secrets Tech Summit episodes with Sabre, TripSuite and TravelWits Get in touch! Email us: tradesecrets@travelweekly.com Theme song: Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4387-sock-hop License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marketing analytics stacks struggle with outdated, siloed data that delays critical business decisions. Noha Rizk, CMO of Incorta, explains how live data integration transforms enterprise analytics capabilities. She demonstrates how questioning "why" behind data patterns unlocks actionable insights and discusses eliminating complex ETL processes through real-time analysis across all business systems. The conversation covers practical frameworks for moving from raw data collection to immediate business intelligence that drives customer behavior understanding.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marketing analytics stacks struggle with outdated, siloed data that delays critical business decisions. Noha Rizk, CMO of Incorta, explains how live data integration transforms enterprise analytics capabilities. She demonstrates how questioning "why" behind data patterns unlocks actionable insights and discusses eliminating complex ETL processes through real-time analysis across all business systems. The conversation covers practical frameworks for moving from raw data collection to immediate business intelligence that drives customer behavior understanding.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Explore the technology ecosystem behind John Deere's award-winning factories, such as Davenport Works, which was named ASSEMBLY Magazine's 2025 Plant of the Year. Jason Wallin, Senior Principal Architect, TechStack at John Deere, shares how an engaged workforce supported by the right digital tools drives the quality John Deere customers expect. We dive into the company's use of AI, digital twins, private 5G networks, and their proprietary John Deere Assembly Assist Tool (JDAAT). Tune in to learn how these systems work together to deliver ROI, increase agility, and pave the way for the next generation of adaptive, tech-forward factories.Sponsored By:

We've spent years helping clinics grow, evolve, and adapt… But lately, one message keeps coming up: “We need more information.” There's innovation everywhere, but no roadmap.That's why we're here. Welcome to Tech Stack — the podcast where we demystify technology for the medical aesthetics world and share what's actually working behind the scenes.Each episode, we'll tackle one part of the “tech stack” — from booking and communication systems to automation, analytics, and AI.We'll bring in voices from across the industry: surgeons, practice managers, developers, even patients — to talk about what's really changing and how to adapt.For more information about Olivia Boddeus, please follow this linkhttps://www.oliviaboddeus.com.au/More information about Hanya Oversby can be found onhttps://hanyaoversby.com.au/Doctor Diaries is a podcast series designed for healthcare professionals, featuring in-depth interviews with experienced clinicians across medical aesthetics, dermatology, surgery, and integrative medicine. Each episode provides insights into clinical approaches, practice development, and the realities of patient care in today'sregulatory landscape. This content is intended for qualified healthcare professionals only and may discuss prescription-only products, regulated procedures, and clinical experiences not suitable forgeneral public promotion. Always refer to relevant Professional guidelines and product information.

This episode hits a key issue in restaurants today. Tech adoption. Jay and Dominic sit with Jordan Boesch the CEO from 7shifts to break down the four stages of tech adoption from paper and gut feel to a connected tech stack that drives profit.You will hear• The four stages of tech adoption and where most restaurants sit today• Why experience and intuition are not enough anymore• How tech links to retention, labor control, and payroll accuracy• Real results from operators who upgraded their systemsYou will leave with a clear path to level up your systems, reduce waste, and give your team a better workplace.

This episode hits a key issue in restaurants today. Tech adoption. Jay and Dominic sit with Jordan Boesch the CEO from 7shifts to break down the four stages of tech adoption from paper and gut feel to a connected tech stack that drives profit.You will hear• The four stages of tech adoption and where most restaurants sit today• Why experience and intuition are not enough anymore• How tech links to retention, labor control, and payroll accuracy• Real results from operators who upgraded their systemsYou will leave with a clear path to level up your systems, reduce waste, and give your team a better workplace.

Text Kristen your thoughts or feedback about the showIt's National Checklist Day, which might as well be my personal holiday! In this episode, I'm sharing the tools that keep my solopreneur business organized, my brain calm (mostly), & my systems running smoothly.From my digital checklist in Asana, to client management made easy with 17hats, to two years of weekly newsletters powered by Flodesk, these are the essentials that help me simplify & scale. You'll also hear about my favorite podcast tools, a few can't-miss integrations, & why fewer tools that work together beat juggling twenty tabs any day.Resources & Links:Get 50% off your first year with 17hats and Flodesk using these links or code FAIRYTALE.Podcasters & Content Creators: check out Descript and BuzzsproutAdditional platforms mentioned: Google Workspace, Zapier and Canva Grab all my freebies at kristenlettini.com ICYMI Episode 132: Email Marketing Made Simple*** If you're a 17hats user, I've got a quick way to help you stress less. Take my free, 2-minute “How Many Hats?” Quiz to see how you're using 17hats today — and get a few simple tips to make it even more powerful. ✨ It's like a mini clarity check for your business — short, simple, and surprisingly therapeutic.

"Often it results in an almost Frankenstein technology stack where you may have different things for different reasons."This is the reality of construction tech adoption today.In today's episode of Bricks and Bytes, we had Josh Weyand from Trunk Tools and we got to learn about navigating the messy world of construction technology, why some solutions stay point solutions while others scale enterprise-wide, and the critical mistake vendors make when trying to sell to large contractors... and many more!Tune in to find out about:✅ Why building trust and credibility matters more than your product features when selling to contractors✅ The real reasons technologies don't scale (hint: it's not always about the product)✅ How to align your solution to business initiatives instead of hitting friction at every step✅ What makes construction-specific tools win over generic software solutionsWatch now to hear Josh's insights from his time as Director of Emerging Technologies at Suffolk and his current role helping builders solve real problems.Our Sponsor: Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.comBuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io

Should startups only hire senior developers? The conventional wisdom says yes, but what if hiring junior developers is actually a startup's secret weapon for building a strong, collaborative culture? In this episode, we talk to Purity Health's Chief Technology Officer, David Andrews, and Chief Product Officer (and NSS grad!) Fletcher Watson. David and Fletcher share why they've made it a priority to hire junior developers from the beginning. They discuss how they create a supportive culture, mentor new team members, and help them find their career paths. Plus, we get a real-world look at how their team uses generative AI tools like GitHub Copilot and the "strong guardrails" they've put in place—like mandatory code reviews and complete test coverage—to ensure quality. This is a must-listen for aspiring developers who want to know what supportive companies look for and how great teams are built or startups looking to hire junior developers. 00:33 Welcome & Introduction 01:06 Fletcher Watson's Journey: From Teaching in Korea to NSS 03:58 David Andrews' Story: A Serial Entrepreneur & Technologist 06:04 Roles at Purity Health: CTO vs. CPO 07:01 What is Purity Health? (Mission & Tech Stack) 11:53 The Startup Case for Hiring Junior Developers 14:42 Why Juniors Are Key for Building Culture 20:42 How to Mentor: Making Juniors Feel "Comfortable" 27:57 Helping Developers Find Their Path 38:25 Integrating Generative AI at a Startup 39:35 "Strong Guardrails" for Using AI 44:10 Using AI to Build and Review Tests 50:15 Build Guardrails to Avoid "AI Salvage" 53:47 Technology Guilty Pleasures 57:18 Final Thoughts LINKS: Purity Health: https://www.purity-health.com/ Nashville Software School: https://nashvillesoftwareschool.com GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot

This week on Its The Bottom Line that Matters, cohosts Jennifer Glass, Daniel McCraine, and Patricia Reszetylo reveal the real-life tech stack choices that power their businesses—and how you can make smarter moves too.Whether you're drowning in software options or worried your tools are running you (instead of the other way around), this episode gives you answers you won't find in generic “top 10 software” lists. Together, the hosts dissect:Why your tech tools are only pieces of your system—and how to avoid letting them run the showWhat actually works for productivity, communication, CRM, and planning—straight from their own businessesInsider advice for security, GDPR, and protecting your data as your stack gets biggerForget one-size-fits-all advice. Jennifer, Daniel, and Patricia get honest about what flops, what fits, and why stacking up your perfect tech-system is a path to more confidence, freedom, and business growth. Listen in for permission to build a business that works the way you do.If you're tired of the grind and ready to win back your time, subscribe now — and join us each week for smarter strategies.Speaker Bios: Jennifer Glass brings a wealth of business acumen to the show, with a strong focus on the practical side of technology for entrepreneurs. She manages her own tech stack using platforms like High Level and a suite of Microsoft products, while staying security-conscious after personally experiencing a cyber-attack. Jennifer's insights are always grounded in real-world challenges, from project management and communication apps to compliance with GDPR and FTC guidelines. She's passionate about helping other business owners select the tools that truly fit their needs, and even offers support as a Microsoft partner.Daniel McCraine is a seasoned entrepreneur and small business owner, always looking for practical technology solutions that simplify daily operations. On the podcast, Daniel shared his experience building a streamlined CRM company for small businesses, emphasizing the importance of using software that does what you need and nothing more. He's a fan of Google Workspace for collaboration, Trello for project management, and Groove for marketing and websites. Daniel is strategic in his tech decisions, often seeking expert recommendations for security, especially when it comes to choosing content delivery networks. His approach is all about utility, integration, and minimizing unnecessary complexity.Patricia Reszetylo is the creative force on the podcast, known for her hands-on experimentation with tech tools for planning and brainstorming. She's a power user of ChatGPT for everything from project layouts to writing and advice, often pairing it with Google Drive and Canva to organize and visualize her work. Patricia isn't afraid to try new platforms—whether it's switching her calendar from Calendly to Go High Level or testing project management tools like Monday.com, Asana, and ClickUp. She prefers systems that let her see everything at once and adapt as her workflow evolves, demonstrating a flexible, solution-oriented mindset for businesses navigating modern tech choices.Together, Daniel, Jennifer, and Patricia deliver practical advice and personal stories, helping listeners build a tech stack that supports business growth and success.Keywords: tech stack, small business technology, Its The Bottom Line that Matters, Jennifer Glass, Daniel McCraine, Patricia Reszetylo, group podcast, entrepreneurship, business podcast, business tips, productivity tools, CRM, GDPR, systems, software for business, 2025 trends, community podcast

In this episode of the Fitness + Technology Podcast, Bryan O'Rourke shares his keynote presentation delivered live at FitLife's Club Network Conference in Seattle. Bryan explores the key trends transforming the global fitness industry from rapid technological advancements to the evolving importance of human capital. He emphasizes why now is a pivotal moment for leaders to shape the future of fitness. To view Bryan's slide deck, go to: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/future-of-fitness-2025-fitlife-club-network-keynote-seattle-2025-bryan-orourke/283944575 One Powerful Quote: 16:54: “Clarity is a superpower.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed: 3:34: Bryan gives an introduction to the major trends shaping the fitness industry and their impact on its future direction. 17:38: Bryan shares the opportunities and challenges that will define the next five years in fitness and wellness. 18:48: Bryan discusses the capital and financial shifts in the marketplace. 27:02: Bryan speaks on bridging the digital and physical gap through humanized experiences. 37:06: Bryan talks about business models that are driving innovation in health and fitness services. 44:12: Bryan highlights what's real in understanding the technology and AI hype cycle. 56:46: Bryan explains why people and trust are the most valuable assets today. 1:06:50: Bryan summarizes how translating strategy into execution can lead to meaningful change. Bullet List of Resources: https://fitlifeclubs.com/ Guest Contact Information: https://www.bryankorourke.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/ http://www.fittechcouncil.org/ https://www.youtube.com/user/bko61163

In this episode, we dive into the often-overwhelming world of building a tech stack for your coaching business! We know the thought of sorting through all the technology options can make your eyes glaze over, but fear not! We break it down into manageable pieces, discussing everything from accounting software to payment processors, calendaring systems, and even email marketing tools. Adding tech to your process should save you time and money, not cause you headaches and cost you cash. Our goal is to help you streamline your processes so you can focus on what you do best – coaching! Are you ready to take your coaching business to the next level? Listen in as we share our personal experiences with different tools and provide recommendations that can help you build a solid tech foundation for a thriving coaching practice.

Episode 145: In this episode of Critical Thinking - Bug Bounty Podcast Brandyn lets us in on some of his notetaking tips, including his Templates, Threat Modeling, and ways he uses notes to help with collaboration.Follow us on twitter at: https://x.com/ctbbpodcastGot any ideas and suggestions? Feel free to send us any feedback here: info@criticalthinkingpodcast.ioShoutout to YTCracker for the awesome intro music!====== Links ======Follow your hosts Rhynorater, Rez0, & gr3pme on Twitter:https://x.com/Rhynoraterhttps://x.com/rez0__https://x.com/gr3pme====== Ways to Support CTBBPodcast ======Hop on the CTBB Discord at https://ctbb.show/discord!We also do Discord subs at $25, $10, and $5 - premium subscribers get access to private masterclasses, exploits, tools, scripts, un-redacted bug reports, etc.You can also find some hacker swag at https://ctbb.show/merch!Today's Sponsor: ThreatLocker. Check out ThreatLocker Network Controlhttps://www.criticalthinkingpodcast.io/tl-nc====== This Week in Bug Bounty ======The minefield between syntaxeshttps://www.yeswehack.com/learn-bug-bounty/syntax-confusion-ambiguous-parsing-exploits====== Resources ======Brandyn's Notion Templatehttps://terrific-dart-70e.notion.site/Example-Target-CTBB-294f4ca0f42481cca0b0ca6ac0a7c81d====== Timestamps ======(00:00:00) Introduction(00:07:25) Templates, Target, and Tech Stack(00:13:33) Threat Modeling and Attack Vectors

In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page are joined by Dylan Pierce, founder of Verdict Software and a fraud expert, who helps determine if the hosts are "imposters." Dylan details his journey to creating the Shopify app Real ID, which uses deeper verification to combat false positives, deter "friendly fraud," and help merchants win chargebacks, emphasizing how Shopify Flow is essential for building custom fraud rules, such as ID verification for specific items in certain regions.The conversation also covers Dylan's technical preference for Node in a mono-repo architecture, the threat of AI-driven spoofing and the need for digital IDs, how Claude's "Plan Mode" has dramatically increased productivity, and the latest Shopify Changelog updates, including the new Admin Intents API.Find Dylan OnlineWebsite: https://dylanjpierce.com/Verdict: https://getverdict.com/Real ID Shopify App: https://apps.shopify.com/real-idTwitter(X): https://x.com/ctrlaltdylanLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanpierce/Timestamps00:00 Introduction00:45 Welcome and Introduction of Fraud Expert Dylan Pierce09:00 Dylan's Background in Fraud Detection at RVshare11:35 Tiny House?13:40 Tech Stack and Language Preferences15:20 Real ID vs. Shopify's Fraud Analysis19:30 False Positives and the Black Box of Shopify's Fraud System26:15 Digital IDs and the Future of AI Spoofing28:20 Managing Multiple Apps with a Mono-Repo and AWS33:00 Thoughts on Shopify's Next-Gen Dev Platform38:50 Using AI with Development51:00 How Shopify Fraud Analysis is Changing1:04:28 Dev Changelog1:10:10 Picks of the WeekResourcesMock Bridge (Dylan's own local testing strategy): https://x.com/ctrlaltdylan/status/1978458949176164427 RVshare: https://rvshare.com/Sneaker Bot Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/10/15/style/sneaker-bots.htmlHelium: https://heliumdev.com/Dev Changelog- Introducing the admin intents API - https://shopify.dev/changelog/introducing-the-admin-intents-api- [action required] Upcoming Markets pricing support for Draft Order checkouts - https://shopify.dev/changelog/upcoming-markets-pricing-support-for-draft-order-checkouts- Duplicate themes with the Admin GraphQL API - https://shopify.dev/changelog/duplicate-themes-with-the-admin-graphql-api- Polaris unified web components are now stable - https://shopify.dev/changelog/polaris-unified-web-components-are-now-stable- Shopify.dev MCP Now Supports More APIs - https://shopify.dev/changelog/shopifydev-mcp-now-supports-more-apis- Themes now use one industry tag for better search results - https://shopify.dev/changelog/themes-now-use-one-industry-tag-for-better-search-resultsPicks of the WeekKarl: Rocket Dreams by Christian Davenport: https://amzn.to/3KWoVorDylan: Dark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_(TV_series) Taylor: Garmin Bounce Watch: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/714945/ Sign Up for Liquid WeeklyDon't miss out on expert insights and tips—subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this: https://liquidweekly.com/

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Tune in as the team discusses:The importance of adopting tech to scale your land business without creating another job.Beginner must-haves: LG Pass, GeekPay, Google Workspace, Slack, Trello, and MailChimp.How Zamplo brings list-building, pricing, and mapping into one unified system.Tips for creating a virtual office setup for future delegation.Why learning the process yourself before outsourcing gives you leverage.Key tools for marketing, CRM tracking, and payment automation.Real talk about early struggles, outdated methods, and the game-changing role of automation. TIP OF THE WEEKRyan: Don't outsource what you don't understand.Before you hand off marketing or tech tasks to a VA, make sure you've done it yourself at least once. Mastering the basics gives you clarity, confidence, and control when it's time to delegate. WANT MORE?Enjoyed this episode? Dive into more episodes of AOPI to discover how to build real passive income through land investing.UNLOCK MORE FREE RESOURCES:Get instant access to my free training, a free copy of my Bestseller Dirt Rich Book, and exclusive bonuses to accelerate your land investing journey—it's all here: https://thelandgeek.ac-page.com/Podcast-Linktree."Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want when you want, and with whomever you want?"

Sameer Gulati, Founder of Ordway and a seasoned product leader behind some of the world's top ERP and billing systems, to talk about innovation, entrepreneurship, … Read more The post Innovating the Financial Tech Stack: A Conversation with Ordway Founder Sameer Gulati appeared first on Top Entrepreneurs Podcast | Enterprise Podcast Network.

In this episode of Econ 102, Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg cover the transformation of global manufacturing, the rise of the electric tech stack, the landscape of jobs and economic policy, and the state of today's online discourse.–SPONSORS: NetSuite More than 42,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://netsuite.com/102⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠–FOLLOW on X:https://x.com/eriktorenberghttps://x.com/Noahpinion–Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details, please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this custom episode in partnership with Capital One, you will hear how your company can build a tech stack that serves as the foundation for building innovative customer experiences at scale. You'll learn best practices to develop this advanced infrastructure, including converging to enterprise platforms, building standards and automation, and leveraging data at scale. We'll share how these technologies enable businesses like Capital One to move faster, enable scalable product innovation, and personalize customer experiences.

A couple of years ago, I tweeted that “the best tech stack is the one you already know.” To this day, this is one of my most resonating tweets. People keep bringing it back, and founders who've been around for a while seem to particularly agree with it. But AI changes things. Or does it?This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-best-tech-stack-in-the-age-of-ai/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/417-the-best-tech-stack-in-the-age-of-aiCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.comPodcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcastNewsletter: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletterMy book Zero to Sold: https://zerotosold.com/My book The Embedded Entrepreneur: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com/My course Find Your Following: https://findyourfollowing.comHere are a few tools I use. Using my affiliate links will support my work at no additional cost to you.- Notion (which I use to organize, write, coordinate, and archive my podcast + newsletter): https://affiliate.notion.so/465mv1536drx- Riverside.fm (that's what I recorded this episode with): https://riverside.fm/?via=arvid- TweetHunter (for speedy scheduling and writing Tweets): http://tweethunter.io/?via=arvid- HypeFury (for massive Twitter analytics and scheduling): https://hypefury.com/?via=arvid60- AudioPen (for taking voice notes and getting amazing summaries): https://audiopen.ai/?aff=PXErZ- Descript (for word-based video editing, subtitles, and clips): https://www.descript.com/?lmref=3cf39Q- ConvertKit (for email lists, newsletters, even finding sponsors): https://convertkit.com?lmref=bN9CZw

David Boice is the CEO and co-founder of Team Velocity, a leading marketing technology provider serving the automotive industry. Top 3 Value Bombs 1. A bloated, siloed tech stack creates inefficiencies, data silos, and inconsistent customer experiences that cost you sales. 2. Simplification through a unified platform cuts costs, boosts performance, and improves SEO. 3. Integration should be a non-negotiable. Open APIs and seamless connectivity future-proof your business. Check out David's website and learn about his fully integrated customer experience platform for the automotive industry - Team Velocity Sponsors HighLevel - The ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies. Learn more at HighLevelFire.com. Thrivetime Show - Attend the world's highest rated business growth workshop taught personally by Clay Clark and featuring Football Star and Entrepreneur, Tim Tebow and President Trump's Son Eric Trump at ThrivetimeShow.com/eofire.

In this week's throwback episode, my guest is Matt Green. Matt is the Chief Revenue Officer at Sales Assembly, which is the only Scale-as-a-Service Platform and trusted partner for leading B2B Tech companies on their journeys to Scale Better, Faster, and Smarter. Matt started his sales journey early in his career working as a valet attendant, and later went on to become the VP of Investments at JPMorgan as well as an investor and advisory board member of numerous organizations. In this week's episode, we discussed:Commission-Type Jobs Outside of Sales Sales Skills From Studying Criminal Justice Selling in Uncertain Economic Times Common Themes That CROs Are Talking About How to Avoid Tech Stack Fatigue Why Partner with Sales Assembly Importance of Peer to Peer Connection Much More! Please enjoy this week's episode with Matt Green.____________________________________________________________________________I am now in the early stages of writing my first book! In this book, I will be telling my story of getting into sales and the lessons I have learned so far, and intertwine stories, tips, and advice from the Top Sales Professionals In The World! As a first time author, I want to share these interviews with you all, and take you on this book writing journey with me! Like the show? Subscribe to the email: https://mailchi.mp/a71e58dacffb/welcome-to-the-20-podcast-communityI want your feedback!Reach out to 20percentpodcastquestions@gmail.com, or find me on LinkedIn.If you know anyone who would benefit from this show, share it along! If you know of anyone who would be great to interview, please drop me a line!Enjoy the show

In this episode of the Redefine Business Podcast, I'm breaking down my ultimate tech tool: Canva! From social media graphics and audiograms to workbooks, client mockups, presentations, Pinterest pins, and even merch designs—Canva has become my all-in-one creative studio. I share how I use Canva to systemize, brand, and scale my business, plus tips for creating templates, batch designing, and making your visuals work harder for you. Whether you're designing for yourself, your clients, or your business campaigns, this episode will show you just how powerful Canva can be beyond Instagram quotes. Check out Canva and see how it can level up your business! Resources: The Meeting Place Membership Rock The Reels 1:1 Coaching Free Client Welcome Guide Additional Trainings and Resources Connect with Brittni: Follow me on the Gram - @brittni.schroeder Join my Facebook Group  Visit my website Subscribe to my Youtube You can find the complete show notes here: https://brittnischroeder.com/podcast/canva-breaking-down-my-tech-stack  

Ever wonder how I keep all the moving parts of my business organized without juggling 14 different tools? The answer is Airtable—my central hub for everything from client management to podcast production to content planning. In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly how I use Airtable to streamline my systems, automate workflows, and keep my business running like a well-oiled machine. If you're ready to simplify and scale, this is the episode for you.   Resources: The Meeting Place Membership Rock The Reels 1:1 Coaching Free Client Welcome Guide Additional Trainings and Resources Connect with Brittni: Follow me on the Gram - @brittni.schroeder Join my Facebook Group  Visit my website Subscribe to my Youtube You can find the complete show notes here: https://brittnischroeder.com/podcast/airtable-breaking-down-my-tech-stack  

In this special episode, Gary Ashton and Debra Beagle, the leaders of the number one RE/MAX team in the world, share a masterclass on building a real estate empire, revealing their unconventional journeys and the secrets to their success. Learn how a team of over 200 agents and 40 staff generates a billion dollars in annual sales by focusing on a long-term, data-driven strategy and a unique approach to lead follow-up.   Follow this link for Gary and Debra's TechStack: https://content.nexthome.com/reiu/TAREGTechStack.pdf   Connect with Gary on - LinkedIn - Instagram - X - Facebook. Connect with Debra on - LinkedIn - Facebook.   Learn more about The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage: www.NashvilleRealEstate.com www.TNRealEstate.com www.NashvilleLuxuryHomes.com www.GaryAshton.com   Subscribe to Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered?sub_confirmation=1   To learn more about becoming a sponsor of the show send us an email: jessica@inman.com You asked for it. We delivered. Check out our new merch! https://merch.realestateinsidersunfiltered.com/   Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram - YouTube - Facebook - TikTok. Visit us online at realestateinsidersunfiltered.com.   Link to Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/realestateinsiderspod/ Link to YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to TikTok Page: https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateinsiderspod Link to website: https://realestateinsidersunfiltered.com This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative. https://twobrotherscreative.com/contact/  

Premji Invest is an investment firm that backs some of the biggest names in the CFO and enterprise tech stack, including Anaplan, Zuora, Coupa, and Looker. In this episode, CJ is joined by Sandesh Patnam, the firm's Managing Partner, to discuss their approach to investing and the future of CFO tech. Sandesh talks about the evergreen nature of Premji's investment model and explains how this permanent pool of capital enables the company to focus on deep partnerships and durable growth, rather than chasing fund cycles or portfolio diversification. He breaks down why he views total addressable market (TAM) as a floor rather than a ceiling, how investing across both public and private markets creates a strategic advantage, and how startups should approach capital construction and optionality in today's market. The conversation also touches on the evolution of the CFO toolkit, how AI is shifting the finance role, what persistent finance problems are still waiting for innovation, how org design is changing inside finance teams, and why he believes AI is a bigger shift than both the dot-com and mobile eras.—LINKS:Sandesh Patnam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandeshpatnamPremji Invest: https://in.premjiinvest.comCJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222Mostly metrics: RELATED EPISODES:BlackRock Managing Director on the Secrets of Durable Companies - —TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Preview and Intro(02:08) Sponsor – RightRev | Navan | Rillet(06:59) Evergreen Capital and Premji's Approach to Investing(09:25) Portfolio Construction(12:58) TAM Versus SAM Versus Product(15:28) Sponsor – Pulley | Brex | Aleph(19:51) Seats Versus Outcome-Based Pricing(23:30) Defining Durability(26:31) Public Versus Private Investing(28:44) Why One Team Manages Both Public and Private Investing(30:47) Capital Construction for CFOs With Evergreen Investors(32:13) How and When Evergreen Funds Seek Liquidity(35:32) Building Optionality in Capital Strategy Amid Market Changes(38:01) Secondary Markets in the Private World(41:39) The Evolution of the CFO Tech Stack(43:41) AI and Systems of Action(45:43) How CFOs Are Starting To Interact With AI Tech(49:09) A Finance Problem That's Open for Innovation(50:25) The Evolution of the CFO's Role Beyond Finance(51:33) The AI Era vs. Prior Tech Eras—SPONSORS:RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo.Navan is the all-in-one travel and expense solution that can give you access to exclusive, proprietary Nasdaq-validated data that reveals what's happening with corporate travel investments. See the Navan Business Travel Index at https://navan.com/bti.Rillet is the AI-native ERP modern finance teams are switching to because it's faster, simpler, and 100% built for how teams operate today. See how fast your team can move. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/metrics.Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics.Brex offers the world's smartest corporate card on a full-stack global platform that is everything CFOs need to manage their finances on an elite level. Plus, they offer modern banking and treasury as well as intuitive expenses and accounting automation, bill pay, and travel. Find out more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run#EvergreenCapital #PremjiInvest #CFOTechStack #InvestmentStrategy #PortfolioDurability This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mostlymetrics.com

Think your tech stack is working for you? Think again.  After analyzing 100 stacks from the CMO Huddles community, Ryan Koonce of Growth Bench exposes what's broken, what's bloated, and what to do instead. From misfiring attribution models to misused tools like Google Analytics and Salesforce, this episode offers a fast, practical reset for any CMO serious about smarter growth.  What You'll Learn:  Why Salesforce isn't always the answer  The fatal flaw in Google Analytics you can't ignore  The real reason attribution is still a mess  What “great” data access looks like for marketing teams  For the rest of the conversation, visit our YouTube channel (CMO Huddles Hub) or click here: [https://youtu.be/wRWHIrzsD68]. Get more insights like these by joining our free Starter program at cmohuddles.com.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

Noah Smith's Substack: www.noahpinion.blog Impulse Labs: www.impulselabs.comFast Company on Impulse Labs: Innovation by Design 2024: Impulse Labs' new induction cooktop is a step up from your gas stove - Fast CompanyREALIGNMENT NEWSLETTER: https://therealignment.substack.com/PURCHASE BOOKS AT OUR BOOKSHOP: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignmentEmail Us: realignmentpod@gmail.comSam D'Amico, Founder & CEO of Impulse Labs, and Noah Smith, author of the Noahpinion Substack, join The Realignment. Marshall, Noah, and Sam discuss how the "Electric Tech Stack," a combination of advances in batteries, motors, power electronics, and computing, will reshape everything from kitchen appliances to warfare. They argue that electricity will increasingly "eat" the world, that China has seized the lead in the race to electrification, and make the case for a serious industrial policy.

Summary In this episode, Julie Berninger interviews Jay De Souza, who shares his journey from a stressful corporate job to becoming a successful print-on-demand entrepreneur. Jay discusses the importance of understanding customer needs, the significance of niche marketing, and the emotional aspect of selling products. He emphasizes the use of technology and tools to enhance business efficiency and the necessity of maintaining a positive mindset for long-term success. The conversation also covers emerging trends in the apparel market and practical tips for aspiring entrepreneurs. Takeaways Jay is about to cross 125,000 shirts sold on Amazon. Stress can manifest physically and is a silent killer. Designing for the customer is crucial for success. Niche marketing is essential for effective selling. Utilizing technology tools can streamline the design process. Selling emotions is key to connecting with customers. Competition in the market validates demand for products. A year of commitment is necessary for business success. Implementing what you learn is as important as learning itself. Quality design is essential; ugly designs won't sell. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Milestones 01:58 Transitioning from Corporate to Print on Demand 07:34 Understanding Customer Needs 10:23 Niche Marketing Strategies 15:35 The Importance of Emotion in Design 24:34 Tech Stack and Tools for Success 31:05 Navigating the Algorithm: Understanding Customer Confusion 31:54 Targeting Big Niches: The Balance of Competition 33:13 Defining Your Ideal Customer: Niche Down for Success 35:07 The Importance of Keywords: Broad vs. Long Tail 36:50 Shopping Mindset: Understanding the Buyer's Perspective 39:00 Creative Chaos: Organizing Your Design Process 41:11 Emerging Trends: Summerween and Beyond 45:57 Nutrition Label Parodies: A Unique Design Opportunity 48:53 Researching Trends: Finding Your Target Demographic 52:59 Mindset Matters: Resilience in Business 57:44 Setting Realistic Expectations: The Long Game in Business   Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/V3yHdicbwXo   Resources Free POD Workshop: https://goldcityventures.com/gifting-gold-podcast Free Digital Product Workshop: https://goldcityventures.com/workshop-pdcst Gold City Ventures Website: https://goldcityventures.com/pdcst Follow Jay on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jayswayworks Check out Jay's Membership: https://go.goldcityventures.com/jays-way

Brian and Sue dig deep into:-Why “siloed platforms create siloed advice” - and how to break out of that trap.-What integrated ecosystems can do to enhance client experience, advisor efficiency, and scalability.-The hidden costs of redundancy and how to identify them in your current tech stack.-How AI and automation are transforming client service and retention.-Real examples from the field where integration uncovered missed opportunities.-Why advisors must rethink how they allocate time across clients - and how data helps.If you've ever wondered whether your current systems are helping or holding your business back, this episode will change how you think about operations, efficiency, and client service.Find the inspiration of today's episode here: https://www.barrons.com/advisor/articles/next-generation-financial-advisor-advice-83653476