Podcasts about top down

Once again we're here to celebrate Gamer Christmas. Sean spent the weekend at Summer Game Fest's Play Days event playing upcoming games. Claire is playing Mina the Hollower. News is jam packed as we run through the SGF, Xbox, and Nintendo livestreams. We also discuss some rocky Xbox and Ubisoft waters. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Innovation has become one of the most talked-about topics in broking, but what does it actually look like in practice? Is it AI, automation, and new technology, or can innovation also be found in the way brokers market, communicate, and serve their clients In this week's Business Accelerator, Julian Barnes and Jason Back unpack what separates the industry's most innovative brokers from the rest, exploring how curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to challenge conventional thinking can create a lasting competitive advantage. Ahead of the Broker Innovation Summit in Sydney on 24 June and Melbourne on 3 July, as well as the Broker Innovation Awards in Sydney on 24 June, this episode examines the ideas, behaviours, and strategies helping brokers stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. From identifying opportunities to implementing meaningful change, this episode is packed with practical insights for brokers looking to build smarter, more adaptable businesses.

We're in the midst of Keigh3 and the boys are playing games. Paul and Sean finally check out Mina the Hollower. Sean also continues with 007 First Light and starts Coffee Talk Tokyo. A lot of news is the massive PlayStation State of Play stream but we also discuss a new Xbox Ally X model and Valve reaffirming that the Steam Machine/Frame will launch this summer. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

A tree survives storms because of its roots, not because it fights every gust of wind.Think about it. If you understand you are the observer of your life, you will then realize you aren't just reacting to reality.You're are participating in reality.You can question it.You can refuse it.You can change your relationship to it.It's obvious we are waking up to overlords and institution that wants control, in which they project “power over and power under” realities that create the opposite:That you are small.That you are late.That you are powerless.That you are merely a consumer of outcomes.They try to pull attention away from creation and into reaction.Your business grows through creation.Anxiety grows through reaction.The power struggle (and how to opt out)If you can get people to outsource their perception, then you can guide their choices.So the first battlefield is attention.If you can keep attention fragmented, then self-observation becomes difficult.If you can keep people overstimulated, then inner clarity feels impossible.If you can keep them exhausted, then reflection looks like “luxury.”And when reflection becomes rare, then the observer in neutrality goes missing.The invisible rule: “Top Down vs Bottom Up.” If you can convince someone that only approved narratives are valid, then their own direct experiences are doubted and suspect.Intuition becomes “irrational.”Pattern recognition becomes “paranoia.”Spiritual insight becomes “cringe.”Even emotional truth becomes “overreacting.”So one stops trusting what they see.And when you no longer trusts your perception, you become governable.Divide-and-conflict: turn observation into freedomIf the old global elite force us to compare identities instead of examining systems, then the system stays invisible.So attention is pushed into constant social struggle:Who's right.Who's safe.Who's winning.Who's to blame.And if the crowd is busy fighting horizontally, then power can operate vertically without being noticed.The “OBJECTIVE” is a resultIf you slip out of being conscious as a (first) observer from the equation, then you can be managed like a object.If you are managed like objects, then you'll accept being spoken to like a object.And if that becomes normal, then the cornerstone remains “rejected”—not because it lacks power, but because its power threatens the architecture.The reversal (reclaiming the cornerstone)If you bring the observer back online, then the spell weakens.If you practice noticing—without immediately obeying what you notice—then you regain inner space.If you regain inner space, then you regain choice.And if you regain choice, then the cornerstone is no longer rejected.It becomes what it always was:The point of observation.The point of creation.The point from which the whole structure can be rebuilt.REAL LIFE EXAMPLES | Are you at risk? Again, if you recognize you are the observer, then you notice how your attention, beliefs, and choices shape life. 1) Attention capture: keep you too distracted to notice Real-world examples:* Infinite scroll + autoplay: designed to keep you consuming without a natural stopping point.* Push notifications: training you to respond on cue rather than choose intentionally.* Outrage algorithms: content that spikes anger/fear travels further, so platforms reward it.* 24/7 “breaking news”: a constant urgency loop that makes reflection feel irresponsible.If your nervous system is constantly activated, then your ability to step back and witness your own mind gets weaker.2) Information overload: drown the observer in noise Real-world examples:* Conflicting headlines on the same event, each claiming certainty.* Endless expert takes, threads, podcasts, hot takes—more input than one person can metabolize.* “Context collapse” on social media: complex issues forced into simplistic posts.If everything feels equally urgent, then you stop trusting your own judgment.Then you look for someone to tell you what to think.3) Narrative gating: only “approved reality” is treated as valid Real-world examples:* Workplace cultures where disagreement quietly harms your career.* Social environments where asking basic questions is treated as moral failure.* Public shaming dynamics: one wrong phrase becomes proof you're unsafe.* Media incentives that reward conformity to a storyline more than nuance.If you can punish curiosity, then you can prevent observation.If you can prevent observation, then you can maintain control.4) Status worship: replace inner authority with external permission Real-world examples:* People deferring to “experts” even for personal decisions that require self-knowledge (relationships, values, meaning).* “Citation culture” used as a weapon: not to improve truth, but to end conversation.* Institutional language that makes ordinary people feel unqualified to speak.Experts matter.But if expertise becomes a tool to silence lived experience, then people become dependent.5) Economic pressure: keep people too tired to thinkReal-world examples:* Multiple jobs, gig work, unpredictable schedules.* Debt-driven life decisions.* Burnout normalized as “ambition.”* Healthcare and childcare stress that drains long-term planning.If you're exhausted, then you'll accept whatever reduces friction today—even if it costs you tomorrow.That's not a personal failure.That's a predictable outcome of stress.6) Identity conflict: horizontal fighting keeps vertical power invisibleReal-world examples:* Culture wars that keep attention on symbols and tribes instead of incentives and policy.* Online discourse that rewards dunking over understanding.* Workplace politics where coworkers compete for scarcity instead of questioning the system.If people argue about who's “good,” then fewer people ask who benefits.7) Metrics and performance: turn humans into dashboards Real-world examples:* Social media likes/follows as a proxy for truth or value.* Productivity tools used to squeeze output rather than support wellbeing.* Corporate KPIs that encourage short-term wins and punish long-term thinking.* Schools and testing that reward compliance and memorization more than insight.If your identity becomes performance, then observation becomes threatening.Because observation might reveal you're not living your life—just managing a score. In the end….If observation returns, then choice returns.And when choice returns, the power struggle shifts.Because the observer is no longer missing.KassandraThe Light Between is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thelightbetween.substack.com/subscribe

Sean dives into 007 First Light while Paul checks out Luna Abyss and Subnautica 2. Claire joins us later on to talk Paw Patrol. During news we discuss the announcement of Unreal Engine 6, the next Call of Duty is announced, and the Steam Deck gets a massive price increase. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

We share some non-spoiler thoughts on the series finale of The Boys to start things off. Sean then talks about watching Mortal Kombat 2 and playing Forza Horizon 6. Paul continues to play Resident Evil (shocker). It's a bummer of a news week since Destiny 2 is coming to an end and the developers are getting laid off and PlayStation is increasing PS+ prices, but at least Nintendo is putting out some weird mobile micro-games. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

In hour 4, Spadoni and Shasky discuss how the Giants seem to have a ton of different problems that range from the top down.

It's our 800th episode and we're officially the Longest Running Podcast You've Never Heard Of! Paul is playing Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library and Mixtape. Sean dives into Wax Heads and Saros. For news we chat about the new StarFox remake, a few Xbox controller leaks, and eBay rejects GameStop. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Steve Yates reveals there is no such thing as a private meeting with the CCP, as every word is recorded and broadcast to thousands. Trump's top-down personal diplomacy lacks the usual preparatory paperwork. (7/16)OCTOBER 1930

Today’s headline news for Canadian IT solution providers: Top Down Ventures closes C$38M Founders Fund I: Top Down Ventures has announced the final close of its Founders Fund I at $38 million Canadian, oversubscribed against its original target. According to the firm, this is the first institutional fund focused exclusively on early-stage software and AI for the MSP ecosystem, backed by more than 100 MSP operators including Pax8. The fund’s first exit – zofiQ to ConnectWise – returned 5.3x the invested capital in roughly six months. Canada now second globally for ransomware, Fortinet reports: New data from Fortinet‘s 2026 Global Threat Landscape Report and its companion 2026 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report show Canada has moved from third to second globally for ransomware attacks, with 374 organizations extorted and 17 billion total cyberattacks recorded in 2025. According to Fortinet, AI-accelerated threats are compressing time-to-exploit by two to four times, while 47 percent of Canadian IT leaders cite a cybersecurity skills shortage as a top cause of breaches. Barracuda: one in three emails now malicious or spam: Barracuda‘s 2026 Email Threats Report, based on analysis of 3.1 billion emails, finds that 48 percent of malicious email activity is phishing, 34 percent of organizations experience account takeover at least monthly, and 70 percent of malicious PDFs now hide phishing links inside QR codes. According to Barracuda, attackers are shifting toward stealthier, trust-based tactics designed to bypass traditional filters, creating growing demand for layered email protection and automated response. Calian completes Computex acquisition: Ottawa-based Calian Group has officially completed its acquisition of U.S. managed service provider Computex. The deal expands Calian’s American IT services footprint and adds to its cybersecurity capabilities. Crogl begins private rollout of AI SOC platform: Crogl has initiated a private rollout of its new AI-powered SOC platform, positioning it to help service providers automate threat response and reduce alert fatigue for lean security teams. Pax8 and NinjaOne announce MSP partnership: Pax8 and NinjaOne have announced a partnership starting as a referral motion, giving MSPs a path to RMM and unified IT operations tools while the companies work toward future marketplace integration. TD SYNNEX secures reserved NVIDIA GPU access for MSPs: TD SYNNEX has arranged reserved NVIDIA GPU capacity for channel partners through a deal with Nebius AI Cloud, giving MSPs a route to AI infrastructure services without buying hardware or competing with hyperscalers for supply. Read Full Transcript Welcome to The Buzz from ChannelBuzz.ca, I’m Robert Dutt, today is Tuesday, May 12, 2026, and here’s what’s happening in the channel today. Top Down Ventures has announced the final close of its Founders Fund I, pulling in 38 million Canadian dollars and oversubscribing its original target. According to the firm, this is the first institutional fund focused exclusively on early-stage software and artificial intelligence for the managed service provider ecosystem, which it values as a roughly 1 trillion dollar global IT services category. The fund is backed by a limited partner base of more than 100 MSP operators, including distribution giant Pax8. Top Down noted that closing the fund in the current economic environment was a challenge, but the oversubscription signals clear institutional interest in the MSP software space. The firm also pointed to its first exit as a proof point – zofiQ, an agentic AI platform for MSP service desks, was acquired by ConnectWise just six months after Top Down’s initial investment, returning 5.3 times the invested capital. Having dedicated institutional capital purpose-built for the ecosystem means the next generation of MSP tooling gets funded by people who actually understand the problem. For solution providers thinking about where the platform wars are heading over the next five years, this fund is part of that story. New data released yesterday by Fortinet paints a stark picture of Canada’s position in the global threat landscape. According to the company’s 2026 Global Threat Landscape Report and its companion 2026 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report, Canada has moved from third to second globally in ransomware attacks, with 374 Canadian organizations extorted last year. Total cyberattacks against Canadian targets surged to 17 billion in 2025, up from 13.7 billion the year before. Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs says the time-to-exploit for critical vulnerabilities is now running two to four times faster than it was, driven by threat actors deploying agentic AI to accelerate reconnaissance and execution. The skills picture compounds the problem: 47 percent of Canadian IT leaders cited a lack of cybersecurity talent as a top cause of breaches, and 49 percent say they struggle to hire staff with specific AI security experience. That combination – faster attacks, a shrinking talent pool – is exactly the kind of environment where a strong MSP security practice becomes a business necessity for SMB clients, not a nice-to-have. Derek Manky, chief security strategist and global vice president of threat intelligence at FortiGuard Labs, called it an “industrialized defense” challenge. New research from Barracuda released this morning adds another dimension to the threat picture. Based on an analysis of 3.1 billion emails, the company’s 2026 Email Threats Report finds that one in three emails is now malicious or unwanted spam. According to Barracuda, 48 percent of malicious email activity is phishing, 34 percent of organizations experience account takeover at least once per month, and 90 percent of high-volume phishing campaigns now use phishing-as-a-service kits. Perhaps most notable for the managed services conversation: 70 percent of malicious PDFs now hide phishing links inside QR codes, a tactic specifically designed to bypass traditional email filters. Barracuda positions the core finding as a shift in attacker strategy – away from noisy malware and toward stealthier, trust-based techniques that use compromised accounts and familiar file formats to slip past defenses. The report identifies growing demand for layered email and identity protection combined with automated response, which points directly to an opportunity for service providers helping customers with lean IT teams who are already stretched managing alert volume. In Brief – Calian Group has completed its acquisition of U.S. managed service provider Computex, expanding the Ottawa-based firm’s American footprint and cybersecurity capabilities. Crogl has begun a private rollout of its AI-powered SOC platform, positioning it to help service providers automate threat response and cut alert fatigue. Pax8 and NinjaOne have announced a partnership starting as a referral motion, giving MSPs a path to RMM and unified IT operations tools while the companies work toward future marketplace integration. TD SYNNEX has given MSPs reserved access to NVIDIA GPU capacity through a deal with Nebius AI Cloud, letting channel partners deliver AI infrastructure services without buying hardware or competing with hyperscalers for GPU supply. Full details and links in the show notes or the blog post. Later today on In The Channel, I sit down with Joel Abramson, managing partner at Top Down Ventures, to go deeper on the Founders Fund close – the LP flywheel strategy, the zofiQ exit, and what it means for the companies building the next generation of MSP software. And if you missed it yesterday, check out my conversation with Steven Kiss, partner and national ServiceNow practice leader at EY Canada, on what building Canada’s first ServiceNow elite partner teaches you about what is coming next in the agentic enterprise. That’s how we’re seeing the headlines today. I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca, thanks for listening. Have a great day.

Joel Abramson, managing partner at Top Down Ventures Today’s In The Channel episode lands on the same morning that Vancouver-based Top Down Ventures announces the close of Founders Fund I at C$38 million – oversubscribed against an original target of US$25 million, and positioned as the first institutional venture fund focused exclusively on early-stage software and AI for the managed service provider ecosystem. Managing partner Joel Abramson joined the show to walk through the fund’s thesis and what it means for the channel. Abramson co-founded and led Fully Managed through more than a dozen acquisitions before its $137 million acquisition by Telus Business Solutions in 2021. He joins general partners Chris Day (founder of IT Glue and ScalePad) and Mark Scott (founder of N-able) at Top Down – three operators who between them have spent about 75 years building and scaling companies inside the MSP ecosystem. The fund’s first exit – zofiQ to ConnectWise, which closed in January 2026 – returned 5.3 times the invested capital in roughly six months. Abramson describes it as a case study in what Top Down looks for: founders solving singular problems with exceptional depth, validated by real MSP operators rather than generalist investors. The macro thesis is equally compelling. The global IT services market is projected to grow from $600 billion to over $1 trillion by 2030. And in 2026, SMB IT spend is on track to outpace enterprise IT spend for the first time ever – a shift Abramson contrasts with what he calls the “SaaSpocalypse” in enterprise, where headcount reductions are translating directly into fewer SaaS licenses. The fund’s LP base of more than 100 MSP operators – including Pax8 – acts as a flywheel for validating investments, sourcing design partners, and connecting portfolio companies with the customers best positioned to stress-test what they’re building. Find Top Down Ventures, including their newsletter and annual research report, at topdown.com. Read Full Transcript Robert Dutt: Hello and welcome to In The Channel from ChannelBuzz.ca, bringing news and information to the Canadian IT channel community for the last sixteen years. I’m Robert Dutt, editor of ChannelBuzz.ca and your host for the show. If you caught The Buzz this morning – and you really should have – you already know the headline. Vancouver-based Top Down Ventures has closed Founders Fund I at $38 million Canadian, oversubscribed, as the first institutional venture fund focused exclusively on early-stage software and AI for the managed service provider ecosystem. The story behind it, though, is rich. Top Down was founded with three partners with deep roots in the Canadian channel community: Chris Day of IT Glue and ScalePad, Mark Scott who founded N-able, and today’s guest, Joel Abramson, who ran Fully Managed through more than a dozen acquisitions before its $137 million sale to Telus Business Solutions in 2021. The fund already has its first exit in the books. zofiQ, an agentic AI platform for MSP service desks that ConnectWise acquired just six months after Top Down’s investment, at 5.3 times the invested capital. Joel joined me this morning to talk about why MSP software needs its own dedicated venture fund, what the first exit tells us about where agentic AI is headed, and one market shift that has the team genuinely excited about the decade ahead. Let’s get right into it. My chat with Joel Abramson. Joel, thanks for taking the time. I appreciate it. Joel Abramson: Great to be here, Rob. Robert Dutt: I wanted to start with the origin story here. I think it’s an interesting one in that you had a big role in building and running Fully Managed through a dozen or so acquisitions, then sold – instead of going off and retiring on a boat somewhere or that sort of thing, you ended up in venture investing in specifically MSP software. Can you walk me through how that happened? How did Top Down come together? Was this something that you sought out or something that Chris Day pulled you into? How did that happen? Joel Abramson: Yeah, well, let’s be clear – I do love being on boats. To tell the origin story, you get to go through a 25-year journey of the MSP ecosystem itself, because there are three general partners: Mark Scott, Chris Day, and myself, Joel Abramson. Our journey dates back to the early 2000s when Mark Scott started N-able, and he was one of the pioneers that really helped value-added resellers and break-fix IT service providers become MSPs. I meet people every time I’m out on the road who have a story about working with N-able – transitioning their revenue model from break-fix to recurring. N-able is a phenomenal company today and I think Mark’s legacy lives on there. Mark started that company and then exited just before the SolarWinds acquisition. Then he went on to start a service provider called CareWorks – an MSP focused on senior care facilities. A really interesting vertical, as well as broad SMB. But I’ll pause his story and focus on Chris, because Chris is founder and chairman and really sets the vision for Top Down. Chris had an MSP as well back in the early 2000s. Eventually that was Fully Managed, and that’s where I joined him. I had a small – much less successful – MSP called Packetsafe Networks, and I rolled my little MSP into Chris’s marquee MSP, Fully Managed, and together we set on this journey. We wanted to bring that company to ten cities with $10 million in revenue in each city and then sell it to a Canadian telco – and it’s not revisionist history, it was actually the goal. But then a couple of years into our shared journey at Fully Managed, Chris got pulled into building software. It was because I’d built a bunch of software for Fully Managed to run on, and he made the mistake – or the fortuitous opportunity – of showing it to his peer group. His peer group was like, “I want to use that.” So he said, “Okay, well, I’ll build it for you.” He started building a documentation platform from the ground up and called it IT Glue, and that was a phenomenal ride for him – taking it from a couple of peer group mates trying it out to selling to Kaseya in 2018 and building a very large company in a relatively short amount of time. Not without a tremendous amount of hard work and grind. He was on the road with pop-up banners signing up logo by logo by logo in the early days, but eventually the movement just took shape and every MSP realized that they needed a documentation platform, and IT Glue took off. So IT Glue exits to Kaseya in 2018. Chris has to make that decision: do I want to golf and travel for the rest of my life, or what brings me joy? And so he actually started Top Down as a way to re-engage back with the MSP community. He had an early portfolio of three companies: Warranty Master, a company he had started with his brother; Backup Radar; and Quoter. Together those three early companies started to grow at their own individual pace. Keep in mind, we’re still running Fully Managed over here – I’m running it for him. Then we ended up putting Fully Managed together with Mark Scott’s MSP, and that’s how the three of us came together. Then yes, we did a number of acquisitions. We grew Fully Managed to be $100 million in revenue. It wasn’t the straight line Chris and I had talked about – ten cities in ten years – but it was maybe seven cities. The bridge version: Telus came in and said they wanted to acquire Canada’s largest MSP, which was Fully Managed at the time. They had done a bunch of research and nine months later we consummated that transaction, at the end of 2021. I’d been working with Chris for a number of years on the early-stage portfolio, because we’d get a couple of calls every month with people saying, “Hey, I’m starting this project, Chris, are you interested in taking a look?” So we started to build this reputation as investors in early-stage MSP software companies. We tried some other stuff – everything from consumer packaged goods (we still have a couple of investments) to starting a country music label, which we’ll save for another time. But we always knew our home, I think, was in the MSP space. After the Fully Managed exit, we decided we wanted to really compound our impact. We had this idea of a venture fund – and maybe I’ll pause there, because I can continue the journey, but we’ll wait and see if you have any questions up to that point. Robert Dutt: Understandable. It’s a wild journey, and it really is back to the heart of the early days of the MSP movement – as you say, from break-fix and VAR models. I guess tell me a little bit about where you’re at now. The fund is positioned as the first institutional VC targeting early-stage software and AI for this ecosystem. Why do you think this space needs a dedicated fund? What does a generalist venture fund miss or get wrong when they’re looking at the space? Joel Abramson: We’ve been doing early-stage investing for a few years – five years. At the same time, Warranty Master became ScalePad, and ScalePad started to gain really, really great momentum. ScalePad brought in a growth equity partner, Integrity Growth Partners, who are just phenomenal folks. They capitalized the business and that grew ScalePad from $10 million to $50 million. They were great partners, great board members, and we watched these guys – we were like, wow, we’ve been through this journey a couple of times. They add a lot of value, and we’re really excited about that relationship. We were doing our thing with the early-stage companies, and so we looked across the ecosystem. We said, there is a ton of capital that’s ready to invest in companies in the MSP ecosystem when they get to a certain scale – that was kind of the scale that ScalePad had gotten to. Then we looked down and said, well, what about the guys that are just starting out? There’s not a ton of support. There’s a ConnectWise pitch contest that grants $60,000 or $70,000 to early-stage companies. And there are early-stage investors – we’ve seen companies like Pax8 and Huntress go through many rounds of financing and they started somewhere. But we saw that the strongest source of capital in the MSP ecosystem was actually coming from angel investors. It was Joe Paniterri and Kevin Blake and Channel Angels, and they had done a number of deals, bringing together really early-stage capital and putting $100,000 into a business fueled from a number of different folks. That’s really, really cool. But where’s all the venture? You look across horizontal software and there are funds of venture that just pour in. In the big markets – the Valley and New York – and then in secondary markets, there are funds focused on those areas. But we saw early-stage MSP software companies as vastly overlooked. So we said, what if we could bring together capital from the MSP ecosystem? Because we’ve made plenty of millionaires just by acquiring them with Fully Managed. You look at how that scales out across the ecosystem: you’ve got Evergreen and Integris and Thrive and all these folks buying up MSPs. The stats are over 200 search funds, family offices, and MSP aggregators buying MSPs right now. That’s generating a lot of wealth for a lot of people. Then you have MSPs that are super profitable and people are making good cash flow. Then you have all the software companies that have exited with similar stories to Chris’s. There’s actually quite a bit of capital that could be put to work back into the ecosystem if we just found a way to harness it and focus it on innovation. We said, instead of doing a couple of deals a year, what if we could make 8 to 10 investments a year by bringing capital together? And then what if we could build a system around that to take everything we’ve learned working with early-stage companies – applying those practices, bringing folks together for design partners, early customers, advice, and partnerships in the MSP ecosystem? So we set out to raise a $25 million venture fund, and we said we were going to focus on educating the MSP ecosystem on what investing in a venture fund looks like, because it’s really just going to fuel innovation for MSPs themselves. Our goal was to have half the fund raised from the MSP community and half from outside – similar to what it was at Fully Managed: let’s tell the world about what a great opportunity exists in MSP. We were super successful in the first bucket. We got really well received by the MSP community. We have over 100 LPs in the fund and we exceeded our target of $25 million. In the second bucket, we still have a lot of work to do. We’re one year into our Outliers podcast, we’ve produced one white paper, and we’ve had hundreds and hundreds of conversations in the institutional community, educating funds of funds and family offices on the opportunity for early-stage MSP software investing. We only got a couple of participants in this fund – which is all right, because it shows the strength of the MSP ecosystem. We still oversubscribed our target. But we’re excited to continue that journey of educating institutional investors for our second fund and beyond. Robert Dutt: You mentioned you’re in at the early stage. Where in the lifecycle do you typically start looking, and what does a target portfolio company look like at the point you’re getting involved? Joel Abramson: I’ve only been doing this for a few years, so I’m still learning some of the language, Rob. But we talk about early stage being right at inception – which is called pre-seed, the first money into a company. Maybe they have an idea of what they want to build, a prototype, a business plan, some people, but they haven’t actually started that path to launch – all the way up to around that first million or million and a half of revenue, where they’d be called a late-seed investment or an early Series A. So maybe it’s the second money in, or in a Series A it could be the third. But really we’re focused on the early stage where we can leverage the strength of our LP base – a lot of strong MSPs – as well as the strength of the community that Top Down works to enable and bring together. That can be for design partners, early customers, folks to help with advice, and then partnerships in the MSP ecosystem. Maybe a company is working with ScalePad to solve a problem and ScalePad can help by bringing that product to its customer base. It’s really about building the things that matter most to MSPs. And that’s why I think we love this ecosystem so much – it’s a partnership of vendors and service providers. If we look forward to how AI is going to impact things, you have small and medium businesses at the frontline – all the enablement use cases there, all the cybersecurity use cases. Then you have the service provider layer, which is MSPs helping them with all those things. Then you have a middle layer of supply chain software like the companies we invest in. And on top of that, you have the hyperscalers, the cloud companies, the frontier companies. That four-tiered system really matters, because without the innovation from Microsoft and Anthropic, the macro doesn’t move forward. But very rarely is it going to go straight from there into frontline workers’ hands. The two layers in between – the layer we invest in, and the MSPs themselves – are really what’s helping bring the value from the top to the end market. We think it’s an incredibly resilient ecosystem. We think there’s nobody better positioned to help with AI transformation than MSPs. And that layer between the frontier companies and the hyperscalers and the MSPs is really important – that’s where innovation happens on their behalf, and that’s the kind of companies we’re investing in. Robert Dutt: One example of that would be zofiQ, which I think was your first exit – and some pretty startling numbers there: a six-month turnaround, selling to ConnectWise, bringing back more than 5x what you put in. What did you see in that company that made you say “we’re in,” and what did the ConnectWise acquisition tell you about the market for PSA and agentic AI and where that’s all headed? Joel Abramson: It starts with Lee and his team. We get the fortunate opportunity to look at a lot of things that are being built and we’re still learning, trying to keep pace. As the last couple of years have played out, we’ve been students of what people are building and how they’re looking at solving problems, armed with the knowledge of the last 25 years of the ecosystem. When we met Lee, we were really impressed with him as a founder. He had a strong track record of purpose-building solutions. When Chris and I sat down with him, it was obvious he was solving singular problems with a tremendous amount of depth, versus some of the other folks we’d seen building solutions who were really going an inch deep and a mile wide. Knowing how mission-critical these solutions are to MSPs – that for every time they mess up a service ticket, they put that customer relationship at risk – we knew that Lee’s approach was just bang on. He was obsessed with solving singular use cases. It showed in the team he put together, the technology he built, and what customers were saying about the product. It’s very atypical to make an investment and then six months later have it acquired. When it was all going down and we were talking to the ConnectWise folks, it was bittersweet. We’re so happy to see ConnectWise gain this incredible capability, but we were sad to know we weren’t going to have Lee in the Top Down portfolio anymore. Ultimately, thrilled – because what it means for ConnectWise is that they can get this really powerful technology into a lot of people’s hands. That has a tremendous impact for the ecosystem, the end market, the MSPs partnered with ConnectWise. They can get this great innovative technology out into the market much faster than Lee could on his own, just going out and telling the story and waiting for the momentum to build. Thrilled for ConnectWise, thrilled for Lee and the team to jump into an organization like ConnectWise. And proud that we were able to play a tiny part on that journey. Robert Dutt: zofiQ was automating the service desk with AI agents. From what you saw inside that experience with them, and looking across the portfolio now, I’m curious – especially given your background running an MSP – when you’re talking to MSPs about what some of these companies are doing, how ready are they to adopt and operationalize this kind of agentic tooling? Both in terms of willingness and interest, which I’m sure is high, and actual aptitude and ability to make the operational changes that come with it? Joel Abramson: It totally depends on the MSP’s maturity. I’ve been through the life cycle of MSP maturity many times – two steps forward, one step back, a bunch of times. Every MSP is on a similar treadmill of growing and maturing, then having to embrace new technology, then getting hit by outside factors: whether it’s COVID, the move to remote work, the push back to the office, or the change in technology. It’s not a static industry, but it is an industrial-strength ecosystem because it’s so mission-critical for the customers MSPs serve. Everybody is at their own part of the journey. Companies like zofiQ come around and they focus on building the right technology, then working with the ideal MSPs that are at a place where they can embrace it. I go back to an inspirational investor, Dave Lahn, who always talks about the different buckets of work: the hero work, all the work that supports the hero work, and then all the work that should be done but isn’t. I think about MSPs with that third bucket. As a 20-year MSP operator, there were all these things I knew I wanted to do but could never get around to because we were always fighting fires, then trying to do proactive work, then project work – it compounds and you never had enough hands for the work that should be done that isn’t. I think that’s one of the huge opportunities with AI – actually getting that work done, staying on top of it, and providing more stable, secure environments for MSP customers. If AI is the great enabler for MSPs themselves, then how exciting is it to be in a position where I can’t think of a service provider that supports small and medium businesses that’s better positioned to bring AI enablement down to that market than an MSP. I doubt it’s the accountant, I doubt it’s the janitor or the maintenance people. I think it’s the MSP, because you’re already talking technology. As MSPs continue to evolve from the server room to boardroom conversations, AI is an incredible hook to get into that conversation. That’s why the work ScalePad does around customer success and supporting the strategy conversations is so critical. But the next wave of companies we see are really around helping MSPs actually deliver AI use cases successfully to their customers. That transformation will take place for a long, long time. Robert Dutt: Your base of limited partners includes more than 100 MSP operators, including Pax8. That’s unusual for a VC fund. Was that a deliberate choice? And how does having operators as limited partners actually change how you source and evaluate deals? Joel Abramson: It just makes us so strong. We have the brainpower of over 100 people there for us to tap and leverage. At our Horizons event in November – where we bring all of our LPs together – I’ve never seen a more aligned group of individuals, focused on supporting the supply chain of an ecosystem, come together and have meaningful conversations without any real individual agenda. We think about it as a flywheel. We have a group of limited partners with all of our capital in this fund together. Of course we all want to make money – but I think what drives that outcome is supporting innovation and figuring out exactly where the best place to put capital is today that can have the largest impact tomorrow. zofiQ is a perfect example. Here’s a strong founder with a huge problem, solving it at the deepest level, that MSPs are going to be able to take forward and dramatically impact their businesses and their customer experience. That, to me, is the genesis of venture investing: aligning all those things and putting the right pieces together. We think about the strength of the mindshare of our LPs, figuring out ways to connect them with our portfolio companies, ways to validate our thesis and investments by harnessing that energy, and then making the right investments and providing the right support throughout a portfolio company’s lifecycle, thanks to that really, really strong LP base. Robert Dutt: So if I’m an MSP owner listening to this – not an investor per se, just someone running a managed services shop – why should I be paying attention to what you guys are doing and what you’re funding? What’s the typical practical downstream impact on my business? Joel Abramson: You could look at our portfolio with a degree of confidence that these companies are getting great support to build great products, that they’re talking to top MSP operators around the world to help shape what gets built. The average MSP is the benefactor of that, because it means they’re getting great product built that they can use in their MSP or deploy to their customers. We’re doing this to earn and keep the reputation that a Top Down-backed company means tier-one innovation, great people behind it, that it’s been validated and tested – and that MSPs themselves can be the benefactor of that by leveraging this technology. Robert Dutt: You closed this fund at about $38 million, oversubscribed, in what you called a slog of an environment – and I get that. What does that tell you about where institutional capital is actually flowing in 2026? And what does a successful Fund I set up for Fund II? Joel Abramson: A lot of institutional capital is flowing towards the frontier companies and the supply chain of AI. We think that’s great, because just like the Microsofts and Googles that have powered the ecosystem for the last ten years, we think heavily capitalized AI companies are fantastic for the downstream companies – the software companies we’re investing in, the AI companies we’re investing in, the MSPs themselves, and the SMB layer. Capital flows down as well. As vertical-focused funds like ours demonstrate a strong track record, more institutional capital will flow into vehicles like ours. Certainly a lot of capital is tied up at the top right now, but we see that as a great thing because we’re not super concerned about the capital cycles of the next three months. We’re much more concerned about the capital cycles of the next two decades. As we’ve mobilized a non-insignificant pool of capital to support early-stage MSP software companies, we strive to earn the right to have a second fund with a more diverse group of participants, and subsequent funds beyond that – as long as we continue to find the right companies to partner with and add value along the way. Robert Dutt: And that seems like – just with the names you’ve mentioned and the names I can think of off the top of my head – a target-rich environment. There are lots of companies building specifically for the MSP market for obvious reasons. But I’m curious: without necessarily naming names or tipping your hand, what problem or product category are you most excited about in the MSP software pipeline right now? Where’s the white space that’s still underbuilt? Joel Abramson: In our research paper, we talk about two big macro things happening in the market right now. One: we think this market – let’s broaden it to IT services, not just MSP – is going from a $600 billion addressable market to a $1.3 trillion addressable market, certainly $1 trillion by 2030. That’s a huge market. On the MSP side specifically, we have four or five scaled companies at or above a billion in revenue. Ninja is on its way up there. N-able, of course, is a big company. But you’re talking about a much larger addressable market – there’s still empty canvas where new companies can scale up to fill the middle and eventually be alongside some of those platforms. We expect those platforms to continue to grow and thrive, and we hope to build or invest in companies that can partner with them to take advantage of their distribution and ultimately make small and medium businesses better through MSPs. All that said, what are some of those categories? I don’t think it’s new MSPs starting up and buying PSA – that market is fairly saturated. Nor do I think it’s more EDR or XDR – those are pretty saturated markets too. There’s still market share that will trade, don’t get me wrong, and innovation will build on top of it. But doubling the market requires new products, new revenue streams, and obviously AI is a critical part of that. Whether it’s the evolution of agentic service work to do all the work that should be done but isn’t, or raising productivity levels so the service is that much better, or helping the average SMB with a sophisticated IT strategy that evolves into an AI strategy – we see the category of AI services enablement for MSPs as a huge, huge opportunity. In the enterprise, we’re living through what I call the SaaSpocalypse – the idea that big SaaS companies are going to see fewer licenses because people are going to downsize headcount and thus take an impact on their top line. But we see the SMB market as more resilient, because my accountant with 60 people and one person in marketing – they’re not going to downsize that one-person marketing department. That person is actually just going to get that much better thanks to all the tools they’re using. SMB IT spend is expected to outpace enterprise IT spend for the first time ever in 2026. We believe that’s because of the resiliency of the SMB market – the idea that when a big tech company lays off 5,000 people, those people don’t all sail off into the sunset. A lot of them move into the SMB economy and start small businesses. Maybe the IT folks start an MSP. So we see the SMB part of the economy continuing to thrive, and it’s showing itself this year – thanks to this crazy stat that SMB IT spend will outpace enterprise IT spend for the first time ever. For all those reasons, we’re very excited about the opportunities it creates in the companies that we’re invested in. Robert Dutt: That is a crazy stat, and it’s worth underlining – because of where you and your peers and so much of this community is focused, right in that SMB space. And closer to home, as a Canadian podcast, we’re very much a nation of SMBs. So it really is super impactful here. Joel Abramson: Yeah, I would agree. Robert Dutt: For people who want to follow what you guys are doing – whether they’re founders, MSPs, or just interested in what’s coming in terms of new AI-first MSP software – where do they find you? How can they find out more? Joel Abramson: TopDown.com. We publish a newsletter and try to share all the learnings we’re gaining each quarter. We publish a white paper annually. We have a conference in November called Horizons – if you’re interested in investing in the MSP ecosystem, our goal is to bring everybody together as peers. We do a lot of dinners and events around the big MSP events. Our goal is always to bring everyone together as peers, not in a supplier relationship where you’re being sold to – just everybody trying to solve this thing together. The community aspect of the MSP ecosystem is so strong, and that’s how you engage. I’m pretty easy to find and always interested in a conversation with anybody from inside the ecosystem or outside, as we try to build this thing one brick at a time toward 1.3 trillion of addressable market. Robert Dutt: Brilliant. Go get that. Go build that. I appreciate you taking the time, Joel. Joel Abramson: Thank you so much for having me. Robert Dutt: There you have it – Joel Abramson from Top Down Ventures. I’d like to thank Joel for his time this morning. Thank you as always for listening to In The Channel. A few things stuck with me from this conversation. First, the framework Joel described: frontier AI companies at the top, then the supply chain software layer that Top Down invests in, then MSPs, then SMBs at the front line. It’s a clean way to think about how AI value actually gets delivered to small and medium businesses. And the point that MSPs are the most natural vehicle for that delivery is hard to argue with – from where I sit, and probably from where you sit too. Second, that stat about SMB IT spend outpacing enterprise IT for the first time ever this year. If we’re in what Joel calls the SaaSpocalypse for the enterprise, we’re in a resilience story for SMB. For an audience of MSPs, that’s your market, and that’s your moment. And the zofiQ story. A six-month hold, 5.3 times the invested capital to ConnectWise. What Joel said about what made it work – going deep into a singular problem rather than an inch deep and a mile wide – is as much a product philosophy lesson as it is a venture capital story. If you want to follow what Top Down is doing, find them at TopDown.com, where they publish a regular newsletter and annual white paper on the state of MSP capital. Their Horizons conference runs every November if you’re engaged in this ecosystem as a founder, an operator, or an investor. If you’re enjoying the show, please give the podcast a follow or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or most of the major podcast directories. Ratings and reviews are always encouraged. Until next time, I’m Robert Dutt for ChannelBuzz.ca, and I’ll see you in the channel.

Welcome to the Jeep Life Podcast! This week on the Jeep Life Podcast, we throw logic, weather forecasts, and common sense completely out the window as we count down the Top 10 Reasons to Put the Top Down on Your Jeep! From unexpected rainstorms and wind-blown hairstyles to the unmatched joy of waving at fellow Jeep owners, we're taking a hilarious look at the lifestyle decisions that make Jeep people… well… Jeep people. Whether you're a year-round topless driver or someone still debating if 52 degrees is “warm enough,” this episode is packed with laughs, relatable stories, and the kind of chaos that only comes with open-air driving. Grab your sunglasses, secure your loose items, and join us for one of the funniest episodes yet!Tag us in your IG feed or FB. Give us a review and share us out…we'll even try to read it on air. Please tell your friends about us… heck, you can even tell your enemies. Here's a big Jeep wave to you!!!DISCOUNT CODESExclusive Armorlite discount “jeeplifepodcast10” for a complete Armorlite system at goarmorlite.com15% Off at oraclelights.com using code “JEEPINTERRY”Exclusive Powertank discount “jeeplifepod15” for a complete system at checkout powertank.comPypes is offering free shipping on their systems to our listeners “jeeplife” at pypesexhaust.com“JEEPLIFE15” 15% discount at tyrioffroad.comOUR LINKShttps://linktr.ee/JeepLifePodcastinfo@jeeplifepodcast.comhttps://ALPINEAOAAPA.eventbrite.comhttps://www.patreon.com/user?u=49836045PowerTubeTV https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0vajd8Avx1Kqn2rVUsSTCQwww.eventbrite.com/e/jeep-spring-trail-ride-2026-tickets-1979329533918https://www.blinkerfluidproductions.com

We're back on a different day this week so we could all be here and catch up. Sean has been playing Mouse P.I. for Hire. Claire runs through some recent stream games such as Dead as Disco. News is wild this week since GameStop has announced they want to buy eBay, Xbox is removing Copilot from mobile and console, and the Steam controller sells out fast. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Markus Unger ist Inhaber von vit:bikes – dem Münchner Fahrradgeschäfts-Verbund mit über 30 Shops und 180.000 YouTube-Abonnenten. Wir sprechen darüber, wie er den Sprung vom Aushilfe-Job zu einer AI-nativen Organisation geschafft hat – und warum der Mittelstand schneller AI-nativ werden kann als jeder Konzern. Eine Folge über Speichengregale, Säge schärfen, Cost per Lead, das vit:bikes-Cockpit und die These, dass der CEO Data und AI selbst treiben muss. Key Takeaways: → Warum 50 Prozent der Fahrradhändler in 3 Jahren nicht mehr existieren werden → Wie ein Speichengregal der Wendepunkt für 30 Shops wurde → Warum vit:bikes mit YouTube 10-12 Millionen Nutzer pro Jahr erreicht → Wieso eine selbstgebaute App 100.000-Euro-Angebote von Software-Firmen ersetzt → Warum der CEO Data und AI selbst treiben muss – und nicht die IT Über den Gast: Markus Unger ist Inhaber und Geschäftsführer von vit:bikes – einem der größten Fahrradgeschäfts-Verbünde im deutschsprachigen Raum mit über 30 Shops und 180.000 YouTube-Abonnenten. Bis 2030 will er auf 200 Shops skalieren – befeuert durch eine selbstentwickelte Software, das vit:bikes-Cockpit.

It's party time here at the end of April. Paul finishes up Pragmata and is really bad at Counter Strike. Sean is playing Kiln and Aphelion. In news we talk about the Steam Controller price and release date, a weird PlayStation DRM story, and Xbox Mode rolling out to Windows PCs. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

In this episode, Josh interviews Yoni Kozminski, co-founder of South Col, Escala and Multiply Mii, about building scalable businesses to increase valuation multiples at exit. Yoni shares strategies for developing strong operating systems, clear organizational structures, and empowering leadership teams. They discuss the org chart of a $20 million e-commerce business, incremental team building, and the importance of structured meetings like EOS Level 10. Yoni also highlights the role of project management tools such as ClickUp for SOPs and workflow management, offering actionable insights for entrepreneurs aiming to scale and maximize business value.Chapters:The Value of Operating Systems and Organizational Structure (00:00:00)Yoni explains why strong systems and structure increase business value and exit multiples.Building Leverage and Empowering Leadership (00:00:36)Discussion on creating leverage by empowering teams and implementing clear systems for business growth.Incremental Team Building and Org Chart Planning (00:02:23)Advice on hiring incrementally based on KPIs and performance, with an example org chart for a growing business.Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Hiring Approaches (00:04:24)Comparison of hiring strategies and the importance of hiring subject matter experts to build out teams.Org Chart Walkthrough: Roles and Reporting Lines (00:05:28)Detailed breakdown of a $20M e-commerce business org chart, including management structure and reporting lines.Creative and Siloed Team Structures (00:06:36)How to structure creative teams for efficiency, and the pros and cons of siloed versus shared resources.Management Cadence and Preventing Silos (00:07:46)Importance of management reporting cadence and strategies to avoid siloed functions within teams.Level 10 Meetings and EOS Traction (00:08:47)Introduction to the Level 10 meeting from EOS, its value for alignment, and how it supports scaling.Operations, Launch, Brand Management, and Supply Chain (00:10:59)Breakdown of operations function, including launch, brand management, supply chain, and their respective team structures.Shopify/DTC vs. Amazon Team Distinctions (00:13:17)Explanation of separate teams for Shopify/DTC and Amazon, and the use of external resources for specialized tasks.HR and Admin Functions in Scaling (00:14:26)The growing importance of HR and admin roles as the business scales.Technology for Scalability: Project Management Tools (00:15:18)Emphasis on the critical role of project management tools like ClickUp for SOPs, training, and workflow management.Less is More: Focusing on Essential Tech (00:16:46)Advice to focus on essential technology that moves the needle, rather than adopting every available tool.Links and Mentions:Tools and Websites"YouTube": "00:03:32""EOS Traction": "00:08:47""ClickUp": "00:15:41"Concepts"Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)": "00:01:08""The 80/20 Principle (Pareto Principle)": "00:02:09""Level 10 Meeting": "00:09:08"Transcript:Josh 00:00:00  Today I am super excited to introduce you all to Yoni Kozminski. Yoni is the co-founder of South Col, Escala and Multiply Mii. Yoni, you talked about seeing an opportunity to, increase the multiple when it comes time for exit because of the processes and team that you've built into a business. So why is it so important to focus on the operating system and organizational structure of a business in order to increase? And how does that increase the multiple that you will get? Yeah. Great question.Yoni 00:00:36  Josh. So the way I would approach this, the way that I look at it, taking a step back before we get into the nitty gritty details here, is that what any potential acquirer is looking for or what all of us really are looking for in life, when when you really strip it back is more time, more money and more freedom. And if you can build leverage where you are not a critical part in the delivery and execution of what is happening inside of your business, and then that is a high value form of leverage.Yoni 00:01:08  And so when you sort of bring that back into what SOPs, standard operating procedures, and I would say like more importantly, systems are inside of the business. If you can effectively achieve that in in a meaningful way, then ultimately, you know, I would say like, I'm not the poster child, but but I'm a I'm a product of what I preach in that I'm able to, you know, be involved in three businesses that are each growing at different rates with very different business models attached to them. And that's because we have really empowered the leadership team. We have real clear systems. And so coming back to it for an e-commerce business, the only way for you to grow is to get out of your own way. And so the reality is building systems, building processes, and empowering people to make the decisions. Most of the decisions. You know the predator principle. 80-20. And getting you out of your own way becomes fundamental in your ability to grow your business.Josh 00:02:09  Here's what some different businesses in their organizational or their yeah, their or charts kind of look like for the audience just to spark some ideas.Josh 00:02:18  And as they start to plan out, hey, how do I build up my team and and really scale?Yoni 00:02:23  Yeah, absolutely. Well, actually, before we even dive into that and I'll share as much as I can, you know, there's only a certain number of slides, decks that I have where we've wiped out, like any client references and, and things like that. So I'll share gladly what I can. But you brought up a really important point, Josh, and I think this is where people get things are often really wrong, and I'm guilty of it myself. probably more times than I would care to admit. But you don't want to hire everyone at once, and you want to build incrementally based on the performance and the KPIs. And, you know, you really you keep that up perfectly, because what we're looking at right now on the screen is an org chart back in 2020 of a business that was looking to grow over the course of 2021 into a whole number of proposed roles here.Yoni 00:03:16  So on the screen you can see existing roles, outsource roles, proposed roles and shared existing resources. So geez, I mean, I'd have to like sit here and list out every single person. I would just say, check out the YouTube and you can actually see.Josh 00:03:32  Let's yeah, let's go through just yeah, high level. I mean, even just talking through the org chart, I think that the listeners would find this very, very valuable because again, that was the number one question at Camp Comm is what is your team look like? What is your team look like? so let's let's dive in and spend the time here. Yoni.Yoni 00:03:51  Okay. I'm happy to do that. What I'll also say, and, you know, putting my multiply me hiring hat on, I turn so many people away from working with us as a business. And, you know, while that's not great for our business revenue and profitability growth, I think it's a smart move because if you haven't done this before, if you don't have the right experience, exposure, mentors the right people around you that you can turn to, you're likely going to get it wrong.Yoni 00:04:24  So if you're building out a function or a team for the first time and you don't hire, you know, I like to hire a top down, whereby I'm loo...

Get my 24-hour Google Ranking system & claim your first free listing on Google today - http://HelpMeGetLeads.comJoin Quantum - https://www.iServeFirst.com/Listen to this Podcast on all available players - https://www.TrafficTubeSecrets.com/

It's another busy week of releases around here. Sean is really enjoying People of Note and Paul is playing Tomodachi Life. They're both going through Pragmata and Vampire Crawlers. For news we discuss the massive amount of money that GTA Online makes each day, Splatoon Raiders gets a release date and pricing, and a ton of random Xbox/Game Pass updates. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

(00:00-30:53) A theme that'll make your hands tremble with joy. Top down Monday. Not buying Lesnar's retirement. French drains. What happened to the Battlehawks? And that's your Doggies minute. Redbirds do some sweepin' in H-Town. The call of Masyn Winn's bases clearing double. Marmol talking about the vibe in the dugout and the offensive approach. Mets losing 11 straight. Add that to your CV. Lix strikes back. Tage Thompson. Doug Orlovsky with a white hot Ryan O'Reilly take.(31:01-1:02:36) Billy Gilman is a Monday, second segment tradition. The Dotem is sold out. Doug wants to weigh people at The Dotem. Group body shaming. Jackson's weekend move to the CWE. Walkin' around topless. Blues had their season-ending media session over the weekend. Robert Thomas talking about the trade rumors and the upcoming offseason. Doug Armstrong talking about his hopes for the future. Jim Montgomery on the slow start that cost the Blues a spot in the playoffs. Is Jackson a new man now that he's in the CWE? Sinbad all day. Billikens signed a big man this weekend. Sabby Carpenter & Madonna. Tim's on the PAFO podcast today. The return of Movie Boi.(1:02:46-1:16:37) A dopamine hit of nostalgia. Cards Astros 2005 popping up in the algorithm. Got Nolan Ryan a couple times. What's the name of the album? Shooting for a Friday album release. Caller Ellen on the phone lines and she's got no response for Sharon. Ellen loves Summer 98.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Send me a one-way text about this episode! I'll give you a shout out or answer your question on a future episode.This week, we're kicking off the “real” work of spring cleaning with a top-down approach—starting with what's overhead: ceilings, vents, fans, lights, and fixtures. You'll learn why cleaning from the top down saves time (and re-cleaning), how overhead dust impacts indoor air quality, and what simple tools make the job safer and easier. Plus, I'll walk you through a step-by-step method for dry cleaning first, then safely tackling grime and stains with just a little moisture—so you can freshen your home without creating new problems.SHOW NOTES:The entire transcript of this episode is on the blog along with links to suggested tools and helpful resources. Click below or go to theartofhomepodcast.com/blog and search "MM54".Support the showHOMEMAKING RESOURCESHomemaker's Journal, AoH Seasonal Magazine (Coming May 2026!)Private Facebook Group, Homemaker ForumJR Miller's Homemaking Study GuideSUPPORT & CONNECT Review | Love The Podcast Contact | Text/Voicemail-use the link at top of description | Website | Email  Follow | Follow The PodcastSupport | theartofhomepodcast.com/support**Buy | as an Amazon affiliate, AoH receives a small commission at no extra cost to you when you use our links to purchase items we recommend

Top-down planning often fails because it disconnects leaders from real operations and kills team ownership. Learn how inside-out planning creates stronger execution, faster decisions, and better leadership results.Host: Paul FalavolitoConnect with me on your favorite platform: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Substack, BlueSky, Threads, LinkTree, YouTubeView my website for free leadership resources and exclusive merchandise: www.paulfalavolito.comBooks by Paul FalavolitoThe 7 Minute Leadership® Handbook: bit.ly/48J8zFGThe Leadership Academy: https://bit.ly/4lnT1PfThe 7 Minute Leadership® Survival Guide: https://bit.ly/4ij0g8yThe Leader's Book of Secrets: http://bit.ly/4oeGzCI

--{ "How are the Mighty Conquered?"}-- The Cutting Through books - Brain-washing book on Soviet techniques - 1974 article "Hard Road to New World Order" - Cultural Changes Pushed from the Top Down, Promotion of Transhumanism - US Troops Quietly Surge into Middle-East - Introduction of Money, Standing Armies, Taxation, Big Building Projects - European Railway - Carbon/Climate Change Nonsense, Public to Pay and Pay - Communism, Soviet "Science", Idea of Forced Evolution - Bank of Natural Capital - New Gods of Psychiatrists and Psychologists - Creation of New "Mental illnesses" and Prescription of Drugs to Children - Hormonal Tampering and Physiological Changes, Soaring Testosterone Levels in Women - Intelligence Agencies Recruiting Operatives - Man Pepper-Sprayed to Death - Charles Galton Darwin, Depopulation, Males Effeminized, Females Made Aggressive - Psychological Warfare.

This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. If what we discuss in this episode makes you think about your own commercial situation, I can look at it with you directly with our Commercial X-Ray. Find out more at maffeodrinks.com A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  Maurice and I dive deep into the uncomfortable truths about brand building that most people dance around. We start with his killer insight: 95% of your target market isn't buying your category right now, so what do you do about that? Through war stories from Hendrick's (which took 10 years of faith before showing data-driven success) and Monkey Shoulder (almost killed until the team saw 30-year-younger drinkers going drinking it), we explore why timing beats tactics every time.The conversation gets real about money, not the sexy fundraising decks, but the unsexy plumbing like understanding your value chain where the gap between gross and net pricing is often bigger than your entire A&P budget. Maurice drops his "love and money" framework and we tackle the elephant in every room: how founders pitch exits while asking for investment, spread themselves across 20+ countries while selling 80% in three, and mistake motion for momentum. Plus, I share my Greek vs Roman cities analogy that perfectly captures why beautiful marketing without operational excellence is like building on sand. This is the episode where theory meets the trenches.Timestamps:00:00 The 95/5 Rule - Why Most of Your Market Isn't Buying03:45 Hendricks Story - 10 Years of Faith Before Data07:20 Monkey Shoulder - From Near Death to Revolutionary Success11:30 Top-Down vs Bottom-Up - The Alignment Problem15:15 Value Chain Deep Dive - Finding Hidden Money19:40 Gross vs Net - The Gap Bigger Than Your A&P Budget23:00 Love and Money Framework for Distribution27:30 The Exit Obsession Problem31:20 Proof of Concept vs Geographic Spread35:00 Playing to Your Strengths as an Independent38:45 Final Thoughts - Consistency Across Objectives This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. If what we discuss in this episode makes you think about your own commercial situation, I can look at it with you directly with our Commercial X-Ray. Find out more at maffeodrinks.comA Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available. Celebrate with us our 3rd anniversary with a special 30% off forever at maffeodrinks.com/anniversary  

This week it's apocalypse time! But first, Joe and Sarah talk about our lives. Joe has watched more of live-action one piece and is not impressed, while Sarah has started Love if Blind and doesn't think she'd do well on that show.In Utena, we begin a new arc. New montages, new sequences, new cars! Hurray! We get back to the duels and deal with Saionji and Miki this week. Then we end on a goofy egg themed episode. Happy late Easter everyone!

Sean is back to recap his time watching Monster Trucks and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Paul continues his way through Super Meat Boy 3D and every MegaMan. News is brief but we discuss the launch details of Rhythm Heaven Groove. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

5. Zimmerman contextualizes Apollo 8 within the chaos of 1968, including the Vietnam War and social unrest. He argues that while the mission demonstrated democratic achievement, NASA's top-down structure mirrored Soviet models. This centralized approach eventually led to the program's decline after the moon landing. (5)1917

Claire is back and has been playing a ton of games including Resident Evil 9, Raccoin, and Scritchy Scratchy. Paul tries out Pokemon Pokopia and goes back to Resident Evil 6 and Overwatch. Sean is playing Super Meat Boy 3D. We start news off with the recent PlayStation price increases, then we discuss the Xbox summer showcase and a crazy MindsEye development. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Sean recounts his time at GDC a couple weeks ago and talks about At Fate's End, Screenbound, and Mixtape. Paul tries out Minishoot Adventures and Marathon. News is turbulent as we discuss the massive Epic layoffs, PlayStation increasing their dynamic pricing, and the recent Xbox Partner Preview livestream. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

AI adoption doesn't equal AI ROI.In this week's episode of the Only Constant, Leah Bray discusses with Nellie Wartoft how a bottom-up, intake-driven approach can democratize adoption but also create tool proliferation, duplicated efforts, and fragmented processes without governance. They unpack what “healthy grassroots innovation” looks like, why transformation offices are key to governance, and how to unlock real enterprise-level ROI from AI.Connect with:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nellie@tigerhall.com

The big games are coming out! Paul checks out Slay the Spire 2 and John Carpenter's Toxic Commando. Sean is playing Marathon, Planet of Lana 2, and Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime. During news we discuss FBC Firebreak's end of life, the Switch 2 gets a boost mode, and Fortnite needs a bit more money from everyone to keep the lights on. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

The very tiny, from the top down or bottom up From computer parts to walking DNA, We take a look at a couple of ways nanotechnology is constructed. Join us on patreon.com/thelabwithbrad for extra special extra stuff! We covered some of what we talked about today in more detail in a previous episode. Here's a link. Ep 285: A lucky accident In fact, we did an entire series on computers computing and the history there of. Here's a link to the first episode in that series. Ep270: Stone age computers And here are a couple of videos on using DNA for nanotech. DNA NANOTECH Could Change EVERYTHING DNA Nanostructures: From Design to Biological Function

BGTG 252C - Mark Madness 2026 (2nd Round [of 32])   1st round votes are in, now each successive round moves quickly—just three days. 2nd round voting due March 18 at noon BGG-time in Texas (UTC-5).   How are you voting? For the games you enjoy the most or the ones you predicted to win (based on what you imagined OTHERS would vote for)? I've heard the latter is like how a political primary works.   Close calls & Blow-outs • Vikings squeaked by Wandering Towers via a single vote • Same for Nucleum over Anachrony   • Meanwhile, Top & Down only GOT one vote compared to El Grande, losing 2% to 98 • Similarly Cleopatra & SOA over SOS Titanic, or 7 Wonders Duel over Terror in Meeple City, Diamant/Incan Gold over Andromeda, or Memoir 44 over Warriors. (I told you there were some gimmes in the first round)   But what about Ticket To Ride over Elfenland? 96% to 4%??     Regarding Designer Teams contrasting with individual designers, there doesn't seem to be any pattern in the results yet. That is, designers' individual efforts are not favored over their collaborations…or the other way around. It's just whatever is the better game?   However, thinking about has led me to offer some half-baked theories and observations.   All (almost): the collaborations tend to be with people from the same country, speaking the same language. I'm sure this is naturally easier Kramer: I think the games with collaborators are more "gamer-y" Moon: I think his collaborations are more "lush" Cathala: Similar to Kramer "Italians": Don't know! But looking forward to Nucleum vs Barrage

There are too many games coming out! Sean wraps up Cairn and High on Life 2 and starts into Minishoot Adventures and Pokemon Pokopia. Paul plays through Resident Evil Requiem and Scott Pilgrim EX. We have an official codename for the next Xbox. We also discuss PlayStation deciding to no longer make PC ports, the next Pokemon gen is announced, and Highguard is shutting down for good. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Why attack Iran? Why reaffirm America's dominance in Panama? Why capture Nicolás Maduro? Trump has scores to settle.  There's a general pattern in the preemptive actions President Trump's taken in both his terms in office.   A central theme to all his actions is that they're geostrategic and top-down, explains Victor Davis Hanson on today's episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”   “Pressuring the Panamanians to divorce themselves from China. Making sure the Venezuelan oil does not go to Russia or China by changing the government and capturing Maduro. Things like that suggest that the current Iranian operation has targeted China. … You're starting to see a pattern. These are wars of reckoning.” (00:00) Trump Way of War (02:12) Wars of Reckoning (03:37) Negotiations and Decapitation (04:57) No Nation Building (09:26) Results and Wrap Up

Send a textTaking your quilt business from a digital screen to a physical trade show booth can feel like a high-stakes challenge. In this episode, Tori and Andi pull back the curtain on the "messy middle" of booth prep and the vulnerability of being seen. You'll discover:The "Top-Down" Strategy: How to design for visibility so your brand is seen from across the room.Pro-Tips on a Budget: Why wooden crates and magnetic LEDs are a business owner's best friend.The Introvert's Secret Weapon: How sticker trading turns awkward networking into a fun connection.The Personalized Pitch: Why a "gift packet" lands better partnerships than a generic brochure.Perfect for any creative entrepreneur ready to step into the spotlight. Join us as we bridge the gap between digital magic and real-life connection.Mentioned in the Episode: Blog Post: Your h+h Roadmap  Craft to Career Episode with Darrin Stern  Our episode with Brandy, The Quilter on Fire  Register for h+h  Chapters[00:05] - Welcome & The "Why" Behind Booth Prep[01:46] - Navigating H&H Americas: B2B vs. B2C and Booth Basics[02:45] - The "Spotlight" Strategy: Why You Shouldn't Display Everything[03:20] - From Digital to Physical: Turning Marketing Concepts into "Thought Bubbles"[05:43] - The Booth as a Landing Page: Designing for the Customer Journey[07:39] - Andi's Trade Show Past & Using "Top-Down" Visibility[10:09] - The Magic of Wooden Crates: Height, Storage, and Aesthetic[11:26] - Beyond the Business Card: Postcards, Brochures, and QR Codes[15:19] - The Trifold Truth: Focusing Your Message to Avoid Confusion[18:20] - The Personalized Pitch: Turning Partnerships into "Gifts"[23:18] - Sticker Culture: The Introvert's Secret Weapon for Networking[28:06] - Strategic Lighting: Magnetic LEDs and Gallery Vibes[30:06] - Outro & Final ReflectionsWant More Quilting Business Content?

Huge news for Marvel fans and mobile gamers alike. Insomniac Games has officially "cut to the chase," announcing a Srelease date for Marvel's Wolverine. We also look at Blizzard's surprise reveal of Overwatch Rush. It's not a port, but a built-for-mobile 4v4 top-down hero shooter that looks to bring a MOBA-style perspective to the franchise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're talking about hard AF platformers this week since Sean and Paul are working through Love Eternal. Paul also checks out the Eternal Life of Goldman demo and Marathon's Server Slam. Claire love Romeo is a Dead Man. News starts off with a bang as Phil Spencer is leaving Xbox. We also discuss Eurogamer layoffs, the story behind Highguard's failure, and New Radical Games. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

The Adaptability crisis no one is naming Have you ever felt the pressure to keep up with the pace of change at work — but quietly wondered if you, or your team, actually have the capacity to do it? Right now, organizations everywhere are sounding the alarm on adaptability. The convergence of AI, workforce restructuring, economic pressure, and shrinking skill shelf-life has made it one of the most urgent mandates in modern leadership.  But here's what's not being talked about enough: most organizations are trying to build adaptability on top of burnout, anxiety, identity disruption, and capacity depletion. And that's exactly why the efforts keep stalling. In this episode, Blake names the hidden human barriers to organizational adaptability that no reskilling platform or wellness app can fix on its own. From the neuroscience of burnout to the identity disruption that AI is quietly triggering inside your workforce, this conversation reframes adaptability as a three-layer challenge: capacity, identity, and operational design. If you're leading a team through change right now — or navigating your own career evolution — this episode will expand how you understand what's truly required to adapt and thrive. Not just survive.    Episode Highlights The Adaptability Mandate Facing Organizations  [01:15] – Why adaptability has become a survival capability, not a leadership buzzword  [02:00] – The convergence of AI, economic pressure, and workforce restructuring  [03:00] – Why operational solutions alone cannot solve adaptability gaps   Burnout as a Barrier to Adaptability  [04:15] – How sustained stress reduces cognitive and creative capacity  [04:45] – The neurological impact of prolonged workplace pressure  [05:20] – Why adaptability declines when capacity is depleted   AI as Both Disruptor and Intensifier  [06:00] – The dual reality of job displacement and workload expansion  [06:45] – Research showing AI often increases output expectations  [07:30] – The pressure employees feel to outperform technology    The Identity Disruption Underneath Workforce Change  [08:45] – How professionals tie identity to expertise and role mastery  [09:15] – The psychological impact of automation and skill obsolescence  [09:50] – Why identity threat activates survival patterns    Leading Adaptability From the Top Down and Bottom Up  [11:25] – The leadership responsibility to steward change sustainably  [12:00] – How fear-based cultures erode innovation  [12:40] – The power individual leaders have to redefine value and capacity   Powerful Quotes "We're operating inside one of the most accelerated periods of change the modern workforce has ever experienced." –Blake Schofield "Most organizations are trying to build adaptability on top of burnout, anxiety, identity disruption, and capacity depletion. And when we don't understand those things, our adaptability efforts are going to stall." –Blake Schofield "Burnout will biologically reduce your ability to adapt. Problem solving declines. As does creativity and innovation. We tolerate less risk and we struggle to see new ways forward." –Blake Schofield "We can't ask teams to experiment, evolve and create and do their best while they feel unsafe about their future." –Blake Schofield   Resources Mentioned Drained at the end of the day & want more presence in your life? In just 5 minutes, learn your unique burnout type™ & how to restore your energy, fulfillment & peace at www.impactwithease.com/burnout-type   The Fastest Path to Clarity, Confidence & Your Next Level of Success:  executive coaching for leaders navigating layered challenges. Whether you're burned out, standing at a crossroads, or simply know you're meant for more—you don't have to figure it out alone.  Go to impactwithease.com/coaching to apply! Ready to Future-Proof Your Leadership?  Let's explore what's possible for your team.  Whether you're navigating rapid growth, culture change, or quiet disengagement…we can help with our high-touch, root-cause focused solutions that are designed to help grow resilient, aligned & empowered leaders who navigate uncertainty with confidence and create impact without burning out,  go to https://impactwithease.com/corporate-training-consulting/

Have you ever found yourself wondering, “Why am I so tired?”Not just after a long day, but in a way that rest doesn't seem to fix.In this episode, we explore fatigue and low energy through a different lens. Where the body is not broken, but communicating to you. I'm joined by Dr. Evan Hirsch, creator of the Energy MD Method, to talk about what shifting energy levels may be trying to tell us. We explore how fatigue is shaped not just by the physical body, but by the nervous system, stress patterns, beliefs, and the way we relate to ourselves, and why supporting all of these layers is often what allows energy to return.This conversation is an invitation to stop pushing, start listening, and understand what deeper support your body may be asking for.In this episode, we explore:The difference between temporary tiredness and deeper energy depletionWhy rest alone doesn't always restore energyHow stress, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation impact fatigueLong COVID, chronic fatigue patterns, and why exercise can sometimes backfireWhy lab testing can miss key contributors to low energyMindset and nervous system tools that support healing (gratitude, beliefs, visualization, somatic practices)Foundational lifestyle supports for rebuilding energy gently00:00 Fatigue as a Wake-Up Call (Podcast Intro)01:38 Acute vs. Chronic Fatigue: What's Normal?04:29 Evan Hirsch's Personal Story & Why He Focuses on Energy07:47 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Explained + The “Toxic Five” Root Causes09:25 Long COVID vs CFS: Spike Protein, Mitochondria & Exercise Crashes13:47 How Long COVID Is Diagnosed + Symptom Patterns16:46 Why Lab Tests Miss Toxins: Treating Causes Without Chasing Results22:06 Stress, Nervous System Retraining & The Toxic Burden Matrix25:24 Nervous System Dysfunction: The Missing Link in Chronic Fatigue26:08 Trauma, Beliefs & Survival Patterns That Keep the Body Stuck28:19 From Hustle to Burnout: How Stress Drains Energy Over Time30:05 Food Cravings, Self-Worth & Regulation: Why Depletion Drives Choices32:49 Feeling Safe in Your Body: Gratitude, Beliefs, Vision & Empowering Questions36:26 Top-Down vs Bottom-Up Tools: Polyvagal Practices & Somatic Regulation38:56 When to Get Help: Key Symptoms of Long COVID/Chronic Fatigue40:37 Lifestyle Foundations Checklist: Sleep, Water, Food & Goldilocks Movement45:21 Free Masterclass + Where to Follow (Final Thoughts)Evan H. Hirsch, MD, is a world-renowned chronic fatigue expert, best-selling author, and professional speaker. He is the creator of the EnergyMD Method, the science-backed, clinically proven 4-step process for resolving chronic fatigue and related symptoms from long COVID and Chronic Fatigue Syndome (ME/CFS) naturally. Free Masterclass: Discover the 4-Step System That Helped Me Beat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so You Can Wake Up Feeling Refreshed and Enjoy Every Moment With Your Kids and Grandkidshttps://www.energymdmethod.com/masterclass-registrationhttps://www.energymdmethod.com/www.instagram.com/evanhirschmd/ www.youtube.com/c/EvanHHirschMD www.tiktok.com/@energymdReclaiming Your Power With Food: MasteringMindfulness.Institute/FreeTrainingwww.instagram.com/gina.worful#tired #energy #chronicfatigue #longcovid

We're back with another week of games. Sean is playing through Cairn, Drop Shot, and goes to the SF Nintendo Store to see what's up with My Mario. Paul continues with Diablo 2 and every Mega Man game. Claire tries out Knights of the Round and King of Dragons. News is bleak this week as the RAM shortage impacts PlayStation and Valve. We also discuss layoffs at Ubisoft and Bluepoints Games being shut down. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

For more information and support, join us at https://thecirsgroup.com In this week's episode, Barbara and Jacie discuss how anxiety and depression commonly show up in CIRS, and why these symptoms are often driven by biology and NOT personal weakness. Brain and body inflammation can disrupt neurotransmitters, increase inflammatory cytokines, affect mood regulation, and contribute to blood-brain barrier dysfunction and limbic system hypervigilance, leading to depression, anxiety, cognitive issues, and difficulty word-finding. They share personal experiences with OCD, suicidal ideation, and severe anxiety. They emphasize a “bottom-up” approach (reducing inflammation, treating CIRS/co-infections, addressing environment and exposures like mold) alongside “top-down” supports (therapy, limbic retraining, and community), noting therapy may be less effective without addressing root inflammation. They also highlight how mood improves with treatment, and suggest support options including The CIRS Group community and small group coaching through Untamed Iona (Dr. Lauren Sparks and Dr. Brenda Stewart). Check out our helpful links below the time stamps. For more information and support, join us at https://thecirsgroup.com TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Anxiety & Depression in CIRS: Intro + Disclaimer 01:48 What is CIRS? and why mental health symptoms aren't your fault 02:49 Top-Down vs Bottom-Up Healing (Therapy vs Treating Inflammation) 05:07 Let's talk biology: brain inflammation, neurotransmitters & mood 06:24 Our stories: suicidal ideation, hypervigilance & tick-borne triggers 10:23 Blood-Brain barrier + limbic system: why you feel stuck in "threat mode" 12:42 The Moldy Doc: snowball effect + hope through treatment 14:38 Support Options: therapy, support groups, limbic retraining + resources 16:48 Wrap-Up: Calming the alarm + Finding the right order of healing for YOU 18:54 Join us at TheCIRSGroup.com HELPFUL LINKS: For more information and support, join us at https://thecirsgroup.com Moldy Doc: https://moldymovie.com/ Untamed Iona's support groups: https://www.untamediona.com/therapy Order Jacie's book! The 30 Day Carnivore Bootcamp: https://a.co/d/7MgHrRs The CIRS Group: Support Community: https://thecirsgroup.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecirsgroup/ Find Jacie for carnivore, lifestyle and limbic resources: Jacie's book on the Carnivore diet!  https://a.co/d/8ZKCqz0 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladycarnivory YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LadyCarnivory Blog: https://www.ladycarnivory.com/ Find Barbara for business/finance tips and coaching: Website: https://www.actlikebarbara.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actlikebarbara/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@actlikebarbara Jacie is a Shoemaker certified Proficiency Partner, NASM certified nutrition coach, author, and carnivore recipe developer determined to share the life changing information of carnivore and CIRS to anyone who will listen. Barbara is a business and fitness coach, CIRS and ADHD advocate, writer, speaker, and a big fan of health and freedom. Together, they co-founded The CIRS Group, an online support community to help people that are struggling with their CIRS diagnosis and treatment.

It's almost Valentine's Day and everyone is eating steak! Claire continues with some Castlevania while Paul tries out a bunch of the GameBoy Mega Mans as well as Romeo is a Dead Man. Sean has started up High on Life 2 and Relooted. We start news off with a really great PlayStation State of Play recap followed by some depressing lay off news for Highguard and 2XKO. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Sean is back from Asia and is finally not sweating nonstop. He's been playing Highguard, Black Myth: Wukong, and Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles. Paul is playing through a bunch of the NES MegaMans. Claire continues with Melvor Idle. Sony is back with another wild patent, Valve is delaying the Steam Machine and, apparently, raising its price point, and Overwatch drops the "2." TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

Are you living in a state of constant "fight or flight"? For many, chronic pain, headaches, and burnout aren't just physical injuries—they are signs of a nervous system that has forgotten how to feel safe. In this episode of the Will Power Podcast, we sit down with Beth Winkler, a Physical Therapist with 30 years of experience and a private practice owner, who shares her personal journey from 12 years of chronic pain to total recovery through brain retraining.Beth breaks down the emerging science of neuroplasticity and nervous system regulation, explaining why we can't "think" our way out of trauma and why "microdosing safety" is the key to lasting health. Whether you are a leader looking to show up stronger for your clients or someone battling persistent symptoms, this conversation offers a roadmap to getting back in the driver's seat of your own healing.Key Takeaways:The "Stress Bucket" Theory: Understand how physical injuries, overdue bills, and past traumas all fill the same neurological bucket, eventually leading to symptoms like back pain or panic attacks.Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Healing: Why talking about trauma isn't enough; we must use the body as a "translator" to communicate safety to the brain's fear center.Neuroplasticity – The Science of Hope: If the brain can learn a pain pattern, it can unlearn it. Beth shares the fascinating "Reverse Bicycle" analogy to explain how neural pathways work.Microdosing Safety: Why 5 minutes of regulation 3–5 times a day is more effective than an hour-long session once a week.The Power of Processing: What "feeling your emotions" actually looks like in practice and how it dissipates physical symptoms in 60–90 seconds.Resources Mentioned:Book: The Way Out by Alan GordonBook: The Way to Integrity by Martha BeckResearch: Dr. John Sarno's work on Mind-Body ConnectionPodcast: Bialik Breakdown (Mayim Bialik)Podcast: The School of Greatness (Lewis Howes)Connect with Beth Winkler:Website: Magnolia Physical TherapyYouTube: Search "Beth Winkler" for educational tools and guided meditations.Send us a textVirtual Rockstars specialize in helping support or replace all non-clinical roles.Learn how a Virtual Rockstar can help scale your physical therapy practice.Subscribe here to our completely free Stress-Free PT Newsletter for your weekly dose of joy.

Claire is back and we take some time to talk about where she's been and how MAGfest was. Claire has been playing a bunch of idle games, especially Melvor Idle which is essentially an MMO in idle form. While that runs, she also has been playing SoulBlazer on the SNES. Paul plays fangame called Mega Man Rock 'N Roll and loves it. Not a lot of news, Ubisoft is "restructuring" and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake is officially cancelled as one of 7 sacrifices to the corpo-Gods. Also, we finally get some more info on Beast of Reincarnation (the new GameFreak game), Forza Horizon 6 and first looks at the new Fable. Also, Double Fine are doing some multiplayer pot thing called Kiln. All this and more on a very, very tired episode of the TOP DOWN PERSPECTIVE. --- TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

It's a new year and the releases haven't started yet so it's free time! Sean is playing through the first Hades and Little Nightmares. Paul continues, seemingly forever, with Tainted Grail. We catch up on news by discussing a possible Wolfenstein 3 in the works, Ubisoft closes a recently unionized studio, and the Switch 2 gets its first new joycon colors. TDP is listener funded. Like what you hear? Want to support the show and get ad-free episodes? Head over to https://www.patreon.com/topdownperspective

THE COLLAPSE OF 1989 AND THE MODERN AUTHORITARIAN PIVOT Colleague Professor Sean McMeekin. In the final segment, McMeekin challenges the narrative that the 1989 collapse was solely a popular uprising. Instead, he argues it was a "top-down disintegration" caused by the withdrawal of Soviet force via the "Sinatra Doctrine" (letting satellites go their own way). Regimes fell because security forces mutinied or stood down, not merely because of protests. Regarding modern Russia, McMeekin notes that while Putin has jettisoned Lenin, he retains a nostalgia for Stalin as a "builder" of state power. The conversation concludes with a warning: while traditional communism relied on extreme violence, modern authoritarian regimes, particularly China, may now use advanced surveillance technology to achieve total control without the same level of overt bloodshed. NUMBER 8

The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse and the Legacy of Violence in Modern Russia Professor Sean McMeekin The final segment discusses the collapse of communist regimes in 1989, contending that these regimes generally did not fall because of a rising from the bottom. Instead, the collapse was largely top-down, driven by the disappearance of Soviet coercion or inside palace coups, such as the one that overthrew the Ceaușescus in Romania or the mutiny that lined the armed forces up behind Yeltsin in Russia. In modern Russia, there is a hybrid system that includes statism, control of media, and nostalgia for the Soviet period and Stalin's legacy as a "builder" and "conqueror," but it has jettisoned Lenin and full communism. The core thesis reaffirmed is that extreme violence is the predicate for the communist vision.

This segment addresses Vladimir Lenin's adoption of Marx's ideas, particularly the aspect of Marxism requiring political violence. Lenin's major innovation, often called "vanguardism," involved a top-down party of professional revolutionaries leading the workers. Inspired by Marx's reaction to the Franco-Prussian War, Lenin developed "revolutionary defeatism," which held that imperial wars between capitalist powers would create opportunities for revolution in the losing nation. This civil war would beget a "state of perennial global civil war" between the new proletarian dictatorship and non-communist countries, which Lenin explicitly advocated for as an ideal scenario, standing in tension with Marx's "emiseration thesis."

In this episode of Nightly Scroll: Dems are playing dirty to win elections, Christianity is on the rise in America, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show goes woke again & more Watch HAYLEY CARONIA on ⁠⁠⁠https://rumble.com/hayley⁠ - ⁠⁠LIVE Weekdays at 6PM ET Sponsors:Bon Charge - https://boncharge.com - code: ScrollBlackout Coffee - https://blackoutcoffee.com/scroll Follow: @HayleyCaronia on X Silverloch @SilverlochMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices