Podcasts about Toptal

“JJ” Jessica Reeder, a workplace innovation and culture transformation leader, shares insights from her deep experience designing communications systems, scaling multicultural teams and aligning culture with strategy. Bringing pivotal learnings from early fully-remote companies such as Toptal and GitLab, JJ explains how self-management, thorough documentation, and systematized collaboration underpin successful remote work. She describes the cultural shifts required for hybrid and distributed workforces and advocates for systems thinking and clear communication to empower modern work managers.     TAKEAWAYS   [01:24] JJ didn't know what studying linguistics would entail when she chose it but she loved it.   [02:47] Linguistics gives JJ a framework to understand the history of humanity and migration. [03:10] Living in another culture opens up her global perspective and gives her a different lens. [04:24] JJ's appreciation for engineers stems from their clarity and direct information transfer style. [05:49] JJ transitions early to working remotely focused on content and communication projects. [06:35] Noticing the growth of formal distributed work, JJ joins one of the first all remote companies.   [07:14] JJ starts building a distributed community across cultures for a global virtual developer network. [08:15] Nurturing connections among talented remote professionals requires deliberate strategies. [08:56] Remote talent feels more connected when engaged with a peer community. [09:54] JJ moves to GitLab to explore systematized connectivity and is launched into remote work consulting by the pandemic. [13:01] GitLab was designed for remote work with full documentation, tools, and systems. [14:11] Realizations they need to understand other companies' different perspectives. [16:44] Conviction in remote work but recognition that unprepared managers are challenged. [18:30] JJ highlights self-management as a cornerstone of GitLab's decentralized operating model. [19:07] Clear documentation and SOPs reduce managerial load while teaching remote processes. [20:35] Others' embrace of remote work affirms JJ's long-held belief in the global distributed workforce. [22:34] JJ studies industrial organizational psychology and joins Upwork for an applied learning experience.   [23:24] JJ helps Upwork transition from an office-based to remote-first workforce. [24:12] Engagement is often relationship based, differing between employee and freelance contributors. [25:00] Emotional connection isn't always needed; the mission can generate engagement. [26:43] JJ finds that many workers thrive as project contributors without deep social integration. [28:08] More varied distributed operational models are needed, especially for larger companies. [30:36] Distributed work effectiveness requires more than dedicated time for human connection.   [31:25] Clearly documenting and consistently applying standard operating procedures and behaviors is crucial. [32:05] Standardizing—behaviors, tools, expectations—was a major Upwork project JJ worked on. [32:47] Accessible knowledge and intentional transparency are essential and must be intentional. [34:58] The Forest Ranger book gives JJ great insights about distributed operations.   [36:19] The ‘manual' shows how philosophy, behavioral standards, transparency and documentation empower independent workers.   [37:24] To train distributed workers, companies must clarify expectations—behaviors, work, standards. [39:15] Hybrid work requires embracing a digital-first mindset even when working partially in-office. [40:54] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To become digital first, one, understand time—such as core hours, two, communicate digitally—with documented processes, and three, systematize collaboration—designating how and where work is done. [41:57] Communication processes must be modeled by leadership and enforced by managers. [42:26] Systematized collaboration tools create visibility, drive cohesion, and replace physical context.     RESOURCES   “JJ” Jessica Reeder on Linkedin JJ's website The Forest Ranger book       QUOTES   “This decentralization of management. Instead of someone managing your work, there's somebody who is directing your output or directing your outcome. So understanding how to empower people to self-manage their work.”   “Collaboration is really just about trading work back and forth and doing it in a very effective way.”   “To be effective at our work, we need to have a source of motivation. We need to have proof that our work is doing something that we believe in. We do need to have some sort of a mission that we're contributing to, but we don't need to necessarily be deeply emotionally engaged.”    “Having standard operating procedures and behavioral standards is clearly documented and consistently applied throughout the organization is crucial in remote work. It is absolutely a deal breaker if you don't have people understanding how they are supposed to work.”   “One of those things where you have to decide - how transparent of an organization do we want to be. If we don't buy in on transparency, then we're going to have challenges with distributed work.”   “Becoming a digital first organization doesn't block your ability to have a functioning hybrid organization. In fact, it enhances it. It really will make your hybrid organization more powerful. It will help people to get the most out of work, whether they're in the office or not.”   “All of the things that you need to have a highly functioning team can be empowered by really embracing the digital first mentality.”   “Collaboration needs to be systematized. It needs to happen on as few disparate tools as possible.”

Most PMs still think velocity = impact. They're wrong. If no one on your team owns adoption, retention, or revenue—then growth isn't anyone's job. Jayson Robinson joins Convergence.fm to unpack why most product teams are built to ship—but not to grow. From leading growth at Toptal and BairesDev to advising SaaS companies and launching enterprise products at M&S, Jayson has seen where traditional product orgs fall apart—and what high-agency PMs actually do differently. We cover how to spot deadweight roles, when founders need to let go, and what happens when you hire people who are better at agile ceremonies than business outcomes. Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge. Inside the episode... Why velocity without measurable outcomes is a red flag The critical differences between growth PMs and generalist PMs What high-agency PMs do that process-driven PMs can't replicate How to interview for ownership, not just experience The real reason “translator” PMs are getting phased out What happened when HP focused on output over market alignment How Duolingo's growth org became its engine of compounding retention Why founders who don't let go end up being the ceiling Lessons from Netflix, Shopify, and Linear on org design that scales   Mentioned in this episode The HP Way by David Packard — Buy the book Duolingo's Growth Strategy — Lenny Rachitsky breakdown Shopify Product Leadership — First Round article Linear's Product Development Approach — Read on Linear's blog High Agency Hiring — Michael Dearing on First Round Jayson's blog post on the future of PM roles: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaysonkrobinson_the-product-manager-role-is-speciating-activity-7315760215277121536-1LcF?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAGxt90BvpkwcznT5WbhfSl0aK9PPNhWLy4 Mind the product talk by ElevenLabs and build measure learn cycle  Jason's Linkedin profile  Unlock the full potential of your product team with Integral's player coaches, experts in lean, human-centered design. Visit integral.io/convergence for a free Product Success Lab workshop to gain clarity and confidence in tackling any product design or engineering challenge. Subscribe to the Convergence podcast wherever you get podcasts including video episodes to get updated on the other crucial conversations that we'll post on YouTube at youtube.com/@convergencefmpodcast Learn something? Give us a 5 star review and like the podcast on YouTube. It's how we grow.   Follow the Pod Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergence-podcast/ X: https://twitter.com/podconvergence Instagram: @podconvergence

Are you ready to embrace disruption and unlock your leadership potential? In this episode of Wickedly Smart Women, host Anjel B. Hartwell interviews Elizabeth Bieniek, named one of the 10 most influential female pioneers in tech by Toptal, shares her unconventional journey and blueprint for modern leaders in this episode. From a dutiful, obedient child to a disruptor later in life, Elizabeth's path took a scenic route through various industries before she found her niche in technology and innovation.    Discover how a "beautifully dangerous" sabbatical led her to question her purpose and ultimately leave corporate to start her own thing. Elizabeth discusses the importance of taking ownership, creating supportive environments, and viewing money as a tool for enabling a new life.    Whether you're a corporate leader or an aspiring entrepreneur, this episode will inspire you to reflect, reassess, and unlock your own potential for innovation and impact.   What You Will Learn: The importance of observation and learning to understand the realities of the business world. The value of taking ownership and feeling responsible for the outcomes of projects. Strategies for creating supportive environments where team members feel valued and invested. How to innovate constantly, both within teams and individually. The significance of learning from failures and sharing experiences to help others. The importance of finding joy in the journey and investing in oneself. Methods for unlocking potential in others by helping them realize their own capabilities. A new perspective of viewing money as a tool for enabling new life experiences. The need to embrace change and remain open to unexpected opportunities. The power of reflection and reassessment in shaping one's path and purpose, especially after significant life events like a sabbatical.   Connect with Elizabeth Bieniek: Elizabeth Bieniek: Website

Welcome to the optYOUmize Podcast where we help entrepreneurs build the business AND life of their dreams. Get tips, tactics, stories, and inspiration from interviews with business and personal development experts and lessons from my own successes and failures so you can make more, work less, and live better. You don't have to go it alone--we're here to support and motivate you, and encourage you to keep going until you reach your goals. Follow optYOUmize Podcast with Brett Ingram: LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Website Summary In this episode, Brett Ingram discusses the importance of hiring freelance talent for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. He explores various platforms where freelancers can be found, emphasizing the need for outsourcing to manage workload effectively. The conversation covers popular platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and TopTal, as well as specialized sites for creative professionals. Brett also highlights the significance of building a personal network to find dedicated talent. Chapters 00:00 The Entrepreneurial Journey Begins 02:56 The Importance of Freelance Talent 05:50 Finding the Right Freelance Platforms 12:05 Exploring Top Freelance Platforms 17:47 Specialized Platforms for Specific Needs 21:03 Building Your Own Network for Talent #freelancetalent #outsourcing #personaldevelopment #entrepreneurship #optyoumize #brettingram #entrepreneurpodcast #podmatch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SPaMCAST 835 features our conversation with  Elizabeth Bieniek. Elizabeth and I will discuss her new book, , and explore the basics of innovation and leadership. The insights into innovation and intrapreneurship will help all enterprises compete and deliver value to their stakeholders.  Elizabeth Bieniek is an author, speaker, and consultant focused on “good peopling” as the secret to exceptional execution. As a founder and Fortune 100 innovation and engineering leadership veteran, her expertise lies in challenging assumptions, embracing diverse perspectives, and leading through ambiguity to build empowered, resilient teams that last. Named one of Toptal's 10 most influential “Female Pioneers in Technology,” she has spoken on bridging the gap between human connection and innovation at EmTech NEXT, Chatham House, ITEXPO, AWE, and the Global AI Community. Her leadership and innovation philosophy have been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, Inc., International Business Times, and Women in Business. Elizabeth's Profile Website   Master Work Intake! Join one of two Upcoming Mastering Work Intake Workshops to help you learn to address IT's nastiest, dirtiest little secret…poor work intake. The next two workshops are taking a compressed approach to help kickstart 2025!  Seats are available on: November 9th 9 AM EST - Noon EST  December 6th 9 AM EST   Noon EST More information and registration at  If you don't control work intake IT CONTROLS YOU!  Buy a copy and begin to control the flow of work for your team and organization.  Order a copy of the book from JRoss Publishing -  or via Amazon -     Re-read Saturday News Chapter 9 of (buy a copy and read along) wrestles with the source of human virtue. The author, Massimo Pigliucci, is a professor of philosophy who holds Ph. Ds in philosophy, genetics, and evolutionary biology and has published extensively on nature versus nurture. In this chapter, he uses science as a lens to explore Stoic ideas focusing on role models as an area where nurture is effective.    Catch on all of the entries in the re-read of  (buy a copy and read along) Week 1: Week 2:    Week 3: Week 4: Week 5: Week 6: Week 7: Week 8: Week 9: Week 10: Next SPaMCAST  SPaMCAST 836 considers the outcome of poor work entry using the metaphor of road kill. Hum a few stanzas of Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road (), and let's determine how not to get hit by a truck! We will also hear from  who will bring his Evolutionary Agilist column to the podcast   

Mario Mucalo je IT-evac, developer i poduzetnik, vlasnik softverske agencije Intellegens, a iskustvo je gradio mahom u izradi rješenja za strane firme. Zanimljivost je da je dugo vremena radio za poznatu američku firmu Toptal koja je napravila platformu za regrutiranje freelancera, u području upravo procesa regrutiranja. Osim toga, CTO je startupa Peekator, svira u nekoliko bendova, i entuzijast je za košarku. S Mariom smo pričali o njegovim iskustvima, posebno oko toga kako izgraditi odnose sa klijentima ali i zaposlenicima, te stanju IT-a. Citat dana: Fortune befriends the boldEmily Dickinson Tri načina kako slušati podcast Kako slušati podcast u autu koji nema Mp3 player Top lista najslušanijih epizoda

to watch this episode, subscribe to my YouTube channel: optYOUmize podcast YoutubeSummaryHost Brett Ingram guides entrepreneurs through the process of finding and hiring freelance talent to support their business growth. Ingram shares his own journey and experiences with hiring freelancers, detailing both the challenges and successes. He offers an in-depth look at popular platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, TopTal, LinkedIn ProFinder, Behance, Dribbble, GitHub Jobs, PeoplePerHour, and Guru. The episode emphasizes the importance of thorough vetting processes to ensure quality hires and highlights the benefits of building a reliable team. Ingram also suggests leveraging existing networks and subscriber lists for sourcing talent. Tune in to learn how to effectively outsource tasks to focus on your core business activities.Chapters00:00 Introduction: The Quest for Freelance Talent00:28 The Importance of Outsourcing03:23 Challenges in Hiring Freelancers04:29 Popular Platforms for Freelance Talent06:24 Upwork: A Comprehensive Overview08:49 Fiverr: Affordable Gig-Based Services10:19 Freelancer and TopTal: Alternatives and Premium Options12:36 LinkedIn ProFinder: Professional Networking14:18 Creative Talent: Behance and Dribbble16:49 Software Developers: Upwork and GitHub18:57 Admin Support: People Per Hour and Guru20:16 Leveraging Your Own Network21:23 Conclusion: Building Your Dream Team#outsourcing #freelancer #entrepreneurshippodcast #entrepreneurship #solopreneur #successmindset #believeinyourself #businesslessons #entrepreneur #worklifebalance #successhabits #digitalbusiness #personaldevelopment #successhacks #businesslessons #lifelessons #success #entrepreneurslife #entrepreneurialmindset #entrepreneurtips #entrepreneurmind #entrepreneurmotivation #optyoumize #brettingram #digitalmarketing #onlinemarketing #digitalmarketer #entrepreneurpodcast

Zach Boyette is the co-founder of Galactic Fed, a growth marketing agency specializing in paid media, SEO, and organic social strategies. With a background at Google and TopTal, Zach brings a wealth of experience in scaling businesses and driving digital growth. His agency takes a scientific approach to marketing, inspired by his co-founder's work at CERN.(00:00) - How AI and Entity-Based Search are Transforming SEO → Zach Boyette (01:29) - Introduction to the Episode (03:14) - Meet Zach Boyette: From Pizza Shop to Procter & Gamble (08:18) - Exciting Services: Paid Media and SEO (09:16) - Impact of AI on Search and SEO (11:02) - SEO Strategies for eCommerce Brands (18:37) - Role of SEO Agencies in the New Era (20:47) - The Rise of Social Search Platforms (34:34) - Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) (44:59) - Google's API Leak and SEO Insights (47:34) - Conclusion and Final Thoughts Guest's Links: Website: Galactic Fed_____________________________LinkedIn: Zach BoyetteLinkedIn: Irina PapucConnect with 2X eCommerce:Website: 2X eCommerce WebsiteInstagram: 2X eCommerce InstagramTwitter: 2X eCommerce TwitterYouTube: 2X eCommerce YouTubeCreators & Guests Kunle Campbell - Host Zach Boyette - Guest

HR leadership is the silent composer of a successful music industry. In this episode, Warner Music Group's Masha Osherova discusses leading a company filled with creative ambition and shaping the future of music with HR.One of the “big three” recording companies in the music industry, Warner Music Group operates in over 50 countries and represents major artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dua Lipa, and Ed Sheeran. In 2021, Warner Music Group won the Diversity in the Workplace accolade at the Women in Music Awards.As Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Masha Osherova has been instrumental in crafting a culture that matches Warner Music Group's creative aspirations. Since joining the company in 2006, Osherova has overseen all aspects of Warner Music Group's people functions worldwide.On the podcast, Osherova joins Toptal's Michelle Labbe to discuss curating a creative ecosystem that supports artists from breakthrough to stardom.Some Questions Asked:How does Warner Music Group support flexible work arrangements while continuing to foster an in-person creative culture among its employees?What innovative approaches has Warner Music Group taken to identify and attract top talent in a competitive industry?What music-related perks does Warner Music Group offer to its staff?In This Episode, You Will Learn:How a STEM education can provide the skills needed for success in HR.What challenges arise when trying to align the needs of creative professionals with the business objectives of HR.How to address employee mental health through proactive leadership.Links:Masha Osherova - LinkedInWarner Music Group - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HR leadership is evolving in the digital world. Upstart Chief People Officer, Becca Gelenberg, joins the podcast to discuss pioneering talent strategies that embrace AI, flexibility, and remote work. Upstart launched its AI-based lending platform in 2012 with the ambitious goal to improve access to credit for all. Its advanced technology helped the company win the 2022 National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions Services Innovation Award and earn a market capitalization of over $2 billion as a public company. With leadership experience from global tech companies including Google and HP, Gelenberg guides Upstart's innovative approach to work and recruitment while ensuring her HR strategies align with the company's business goals.Speaking with Toptal's Michelle Labbe, Gelenberg discusses her commitment to employee empowerment and how Upstart retains a competitive advantage as the AI marketplace grows increasingly competitive.Some Questions Asked:How do Upstart's HR management and business strategies differ from tech giants like Google and HP?Which AI tools does Upstart use for people operations and how does it impact the employee experience?How does Upstart's “digital-first” company culture differ from other hybrid models?In This Episode, You Will Learn:How a liberal arts background can help with HR management and analysis of employee performance.What to consider in a strategic HR plan for scaling a company.Why the shift to remote work may influence traditional workplace hierarchies and leadership perceptions.Links:Becca Gelenberg - LinkedInUpstart - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInStaffing.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan Balcauski is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, a firm specializing in value creation and helping clients boost productivity and growth and improve customer loyalty. He provides strategic pricing and packaging consultations to high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs. Dan is also a Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management program leader and is part of Toptal's Top 3% Worldwide Product Management Professionals.   Dan joins me today to describe Product Tranquility, its services, and how they help businesses develop pricing strategies that lead to growth. He explains what most companies get wrong about pricing and his definition of pricing from the viewpoint of value. He discusses value cascade and the best ways to understand your customers. Dan also shares why pricing isn't necessarily a primary driver of business growth.   “Intelligent price management starts with intelligent value management.” - Dan Balcauski   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     Product Tranquility and how they got started ●     What people get wrong about pricing ●     Dan's definition of value in pricing ●     Value cascade and the best way to understand your customers   Resources Mentioned:   ●     Book: The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably (https://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Tactics-Pricing-Growing-Profitably/dp/113873750X) by Thomas Nagle and Georg Müller   Connect with Dan Balcauski:   ●     Product Tranquility (https://www.producttranquility.com/) ●     Dan Balcauski on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/balcauski/)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you.   For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .  

Dan Balcauski is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, a firm specializing in value creation and helping clients boost productivity and growth and improve customer loyalty. He provides strategic pricing and packaging consultations to high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs. Dan is also a Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management program leader and is part of Toptal's Top 3% Worldwide Product Management Professionals.   Dan joins me today to describe Product Tranquility, its services, and how they help businesses develop pricing strategies that lead to growth. He explains what most companies get wrong about pricing and his definition of pricing from the viewpoint of value. He discusses value cascade and the best ways to understand your customers. Dan also shares why pricing isn't necessarily a primary driver of business growth.   “Intelligent price management starts with intelligent value management.” - Dan Balcauski   This week on Innovation Talks:   ●     Product Tranquility and how they got started ●     What people get wrong about pricing ●     Dan's definition of value in pricing ●     Value cascade and the best way to understand your customers   Resources Mentioned:   ●     Book: The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably (https://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Tactics-Pricing-Growing-Profitably/dp/113873750X) by Thomas Nagle and Georg Müller   Connect with Dan Balcauski:   ●     Product Tranquility (https://www.producttranquility.com/) ●     Dan Balcauski on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/balcauski/)   This Podcast is brought to you by Sopheon   Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Innovation Talks. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.   Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovation-talks/id1555857396) | TuneIn (https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/Innovation-Talks-p1412337/) | GooglePlay (https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pbm5vdmF0aW9udGFsa3MubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M%3D) | Stitcher (https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=614195) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1dX5b8tWI29YbgeMwZF5Uh) | iHeart (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-innovation-talks-82985745/)   Be sure to connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SopheonCorp/) , Twitter (https://twitter.com/sopheon) , and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/sopheon/) , and share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners like you.   For additional information about new product development or corporate innovation, sign up for Sopheon's newsletter, where we share news and industry best practices monthly! The fastest way to do this is to go to sopheon.com (https://www.sopheon.com/) and click here (https://info.sopheon.com/subscribe) .  

Founded in 1963, Comcast has grown into a leading global media and technology company with hundreds of millions of customers and viewers across its range of products and services. With its blend of innovative technology and captivating entertainment, Comcast provides a collaborative, forward-thinking work environment, which achieved ninth place on Fortune's “100 Best Companies to Work For” list in 2023.As Executive Vice President of Human Resources for the company's connectivity and platforms division—including Comcast Xfinity, one of the largest Internet providers in the US—Bill Strahan has been at the forefront of delivering an ambitious employee benefits package and ensuring Comcast continues to innovate. Drawing on his three decades of HR expertise, Strahan speaks to Toptal's Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe about the universal truths of his profession and how to lead the way with integrity.Some Questions Asked:How does Comcast contribute to fostering an innovative corporate culture?Why are Comcast jobs well suited for millennials and younger talent?How will AI innovation impact the HR function?In This Episode, You Will Learn:Why the most critical element of HR is “allowing people to reinvent themselves.”How Comcast's Project UP aims to achieve digital equity across the US.How Comcast chooses the employee benefits to include in its range of work perks, including tuition reimbursement, theme park tickets, pet insurance, and employee assistance programs.Links:Bill Strahan - LinkedInComcast - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInStaffing.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jake Madoff is a full-stack growth marketing leader, specializing in growth marketing strategy, paid social, paid search, SEO, and CRO. He's led growth at three multi-million dollar startups—Bespoke Post, Sealed, and Everytable and founded three startups of his own.Through his 8-year freelance career, he has worked with over 100 brands like HUM Nutrition, Home Chef, Renaissance Capital, Kindo AI, Strategic Coach, Threadbeast, Jean Dousset, Partake Foods, TradeMark Engine, and many more, ranging from small ($5K-$10K monthly spend) to large-sized media budgets ($2M+ monthly spend). He helped these brands to optimize and scale their existing paid media campaigns, improve funnel conversion rates, evolve their creative strategy, and diversify their paid media marketing mix across different paid channels.In This Conversation We Discuss: [00:47] Intro[01:46] From affiliate revenue to lead growth[03:24] Embracing an omnichannel approach[04:38] Perfection delays progress in marketing[06:52]  crafting high-value lookalikes[08:29] Optimizing pixel insights &  conversion API[09:09] Creating compelling cinemagraphs[09:48] Understanding channel personalities[11:07] Maximizing Shopify's ad targeting capabilities[12:38] Taking enterprise-Level expertise to freelancing[14:10] Converting results across different sectors[14:48] Sharing expertise: offering tips and strategies[15:22] Exploring the roles of a growth marketer[17:00] The holistic approach of growth marketing[18:38] Maximizing ROI with limited ad budgets[20:53] Tailoring testing approach to ad spend[21:39] Balancing growth and acquisition costs[23:34] Determining the right time to add channels[25:21] Using organic & paid efforts on different channels[27:03] Reach out to Jake MadoffResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeIncrease your revenue with growth marketing jakemadoff.io/Follow Jake Madoff linkedin.com/in/jake-madoff-8a191070/If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

to watch this episode, subscribe to my YouTube channel: optYOUmize podcast YoutubeSummaryIn this conversation, Brett Ingram discusses the importance of finding freelance talent for business success. He highlights the benefits of outsourcing to freelancers and the flexibility it offers. Brett also shares his personal experiences and mistakes made when hiring freelancers. He then provides a comprehensive list of popular platforms for finding freelance talent, including Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, TopTal, LinkedIn ProFinder, Behance, Dribbble, GitHub Jobs, People Per Hour, Guru.com, and leveraging one's own network. He emphasizes the need for proper screening and hiring processes to ensure the right fit for the team.TakeawaysOutsourcing to freelance talent provides flexibility and cost savings for businesses.Proper screening and hiring processes are essential to find the right freelancers.Popular platforms for finding freelance talent include Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, TopTal, LinkedIn ProFinder, Behance, Dribbble, GitHub Jobs, People Per Hour, and Guru.com.Leveraging one's own network and subscriber list can also be a valuable resource for finding freelance talent.Assembling the right team is crucial for business success.Chapters00:00 Introduction: The Need for Freelance Talent01:03 Benefits of Outsourcing to Freelancers04:14 Popular Platforms for Finding Freelance Talent06:12 Upwork: A Vast Pool of Freelancers08:33 Fiverr: Affordable Services for Small Tasks10:28 Freelancer.com: An Alternative to Upwork10:57 TopTal: Targeting Top 3% of Freelance Talent12:49 LinkedIn ProFinder: High-Quality Professionals14:15 Behance: Showcasing Creative Professionals15:39 Dribbble: Hiring Web and Graphic Designers18:58 People Per Hour: Admin and Support Roles19:56 Guru.com: Higher-End Talent and Services20:23 Leveraging Your Own List and Network21:16 Importance of Proper Screening and Hiring Process22:14 Conclusion: Assembling the Right Team#outsourcing #freelance #outsource #businesslessons #entrepreneur #worklifebalance #successhabits #digitalbusiness #personaldevelopment #successhacks #businesslessons #lifelessons #success #entrepreneurslife #entrepreneurialmindset #entrepreneurtips #entrepreneurmind #entrepreneurmotivation #optyoumize #brettingram #digitalmarketing #onlinemarketing #digitalmarketer #entrepreneurpodcast optyoumize.com optyoumize

Dobrodošli na Zalet — podkast o dizajnu digitalnih proizvoda!Imamo novog gosta! U ovoj epizodi smo ugostili Aleksandra Đurića. Alek je dizajner i menadžer, trenutno direktor dizajna proizvoda u kompaniji Toptal. Sa njim smo pričali o dizajniranju timova, daljinskom poslu, kako je raditi u poznatom jednom poznatom brendu i prijateljstvu.❤️‍

In this episode, Michelle, the Chief People Officer at Toptal, discusses various topics related to talent acquisition, remote work, and company culture. She shares insights on the evolving trends in leadership and the talent economy. Michelle also explains Toptal's screening process for finding top talent and the importance of maintaining a diverse workforce. Additionally, she discusses the company's unique approach to communication, which involves using Slack instead of email. Overall, the conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities in the modern workplace. The conversation explores various aspects of remote work culture, including communication tools like Slack, the importance of mental health support in the workplace, creating engaging Slack channels, career growth and management, and work-life balance and personal priorities.   Takeaways   Remote work has become more prevalent, and companies are adapting their hiring practices to accommodate a global talent pool. Screening processes that include assessments and interviews are essential for identifying top talent. The use of AI tools like ChatGPT can be helpful, but it's important to ensure that candidates are not over-relying on them and misrepresenting their skills. Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are crucial for creating a strong company culture and attracting top talent. Effective communication and collaboration can be achieved through platforms like Slack, which can improve efficiency and reduce reliance on email. Slack is an effective tool for remote communication and collaboration, providing transparency and accountability. Supporting employees' mental health is crucial, and organizations should provide resources, educate managers, and create a culture of openness and support. Creating engaging Slack channels can foster connection and community within a remote workforce. Career growth and management should be approached with flexibility, allowing individuals to explore different roles and providing opportunities for growth. Work-life balance and personal priorities vary for each individual, and organizations should support employees in finding the right balance.   Chapters [03:52] Embracing the remote work revolution. [08:30] Advancing diversity in talent acquisition. [17:24] Cultivating an inclusive corporate culture. [22:08] Navigating HR's evolving role in the digital age. [29:35] Balancing work and life in a remote setting. [37:08] Future trends in talent management and HR. USEFUL LINKS   Reach Michelle at: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelabbe/  Toptal LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/toptal/ Website: http://www.toptal.com/ Podcast: http://www.staffing.com/topic/the-talent-economy-podcast/    GET MORE FROM THE CULTURE LEADERS PODCAST Website: https://www.jessicakriegel.com/ http://culturepartners.com Jessica's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicakriegel  Culture Partners LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/culturepartners/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jess_kriegel/    Enjoyed the episode? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave us a review.

Welcome back after long break! This time, We're taking a little trip down memory lane, looking back at the wild ride that was 2023. Did it live up to our early-year expectations? But that's not all the tea we're spilling today. We're also peering into our design crystal ball, dishing on the trends that are going to shake up 2024. From AI wonders like Chat GPT to the crazy stuff that went down in the design world last year - we're covering it all! And hold onto your seats because we're diving deep into how AI is about to rock the design boat in 2024 and what you can do to ride that wave. Trust us; you don't want to miss this chat. So, grab your headphones and join us on this episode of Designers' Tea Break! ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

Margaux Miller is the Global Director of Community at Toptal, a podcast host, emcee, and remote professional. She is focused on engaging Toptal's fully remote worldwide network of freelance talent. Margaux has much experience building networks and leading community engagement—including her passionate involvement supporting women in tech. Margaux shares insights about the importance of community to create connection and belonging—across fully remote and hybrid teams and organizations. She explains how to build strong community engagement without competition and meet core human relationship needs.     KEY TAKEAWAYS   [02:20] Margaux decides she wants to be a background actor and gets into voice acting very early.   [03:58] Margaux side hustles as the voice of a cartoon for two years while at university.   [05:17] Recording all your lines alone can be challenging!   [06:28] Margaux starts in experiential marketing, quickly leading large teams.   [07:39] Community is a group of people with mutual concern for one another's welfare.   [09:13] Margaux describes the broad set of skills required for effective community building.   [10:49] Margaux finds her passion building a community for women in technology, combining multiple communities.   [14:04] Trust is a critical for a community to thrive together with clear identity and rewarded participation which all need continuous practice.   [16:43] Distributed communities get stronger during the pandemic as behaviors change.   [18:36] How to maintain a community at a completely remote company.   [20:13] Toptal's values are discussed in interviews to assure a good mutual cultural match.   [22:03] A community needs a clear boundary or it's a mob!   [23:26] How Margaux keeps a global community engaged to retain Toptal's talent network.   [25:32] Connecting people with similar skill sets but in non-competitive ways yields beneficial results.   [27:56] Pulse surveys are one key tool for managing a 140+-multinational diverse community.   [31:24] Margaux advises how create a level playing field to bridge the potential divides of hybrid models.   [33:10] How equitable rule and tools establish new norms to engage fully remote and hybrid workers.   [34:45] Why protocols matter and need to be followed.   [36:34] The biggest benefit of regular in-person gatherings is to reinforce existing relationships.   [39:38] The importance of local connection and communities, which Toptal fosters actively for employees.   [43:08] Where does culture end and community begin?   [44:13] IMMEDIATE ACTION TIP: To build and strengthen community and belonging, create occasions and environments that are open and accessible for everyone to get involved: design events and spaces where people are encouraged to have fun and build connections. Generate activity with multi-level stakeholders on board, joining in to show it's safe to share, and reward participation.   [48:11] As a remote professional, Margaux feels the world is her oyster!     RESOURCES   Margaux Miller on LinkedIn Margaux on X @MargauxAMiller Margaux on Instagram Margaux on YouTube      QUOTES (edited)   “For it to be truly a community, there has to be a mutual concern for one another's welfare. Or you could frame it another way to say, a community is a group of people who care about each other and feel they belong together.”   “It goes identity, trust, and participation. When you get people to trust you they're going to come and do the thing: come to the mixer or the event or whatever, be part of the online chat. And then you need to reward them for that behavior.”   “I think that people would be surprised by how much humans want to connect with one another in non-competitive ways. People do truly want human connection, even introverts.”   “People stay with companies so often because of their managers or because of the team that they're on, not necessarily the company, but it's often that group that they're within, that micro-community.”   “Everyone has to be equal at the official event. If you cannot have a level playing field, don't do it. I've seen bosses of small companies take people out for a big dinner and just give everyone a gift card if they can't come. It's not equivalent, you've created a hierarchy now of how people can connect with you as the boss.”  

If you've been around the serverless community for any length of time, you've undoubtedly heard of Serverless Guru. But do you know what they do? Listen to Sam Lock and Allen discuss the day-in and day-out of being a serverless developer, cover the emerging importance of automating boilerplate code, and of course, dive into generative AI. About Sam Sam is a serverless developer for Serverless Guru and an AWS Educator on the Toptal freelance platform. He's passionate about keeping serverless simple and educating others on anything and everything AWS. When he's not surfing Stack Overflow and Google, Sam is busy surfing at his nearest point break, usually south-east England. Links Twitter - https://twitter.com/Serverless_Sam LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/serverless-sam/ Serverless Guru - https://serverlessguru.com Cloud GTO - https://cloudgto.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readysetcloud/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/readysetcloud/support

Gena Smith, Chief Human Resources Officer of LVMH North America, joined Michelle Labbe, Chief People Officer of Toptal, on the latest episode of The Talent Economy podcast.LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is a renowned luxury goods conglomerate headquartered in Paris. The company's diverse portfolio of brands includes household names such as Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy, Dom Pérignon, and TAG Heuer. LVMH operates as an ecosystem where each brand maintains its unique DNA and heritage while benefiting from synergies within the group.Smith plays a key role in fostering LVMH's signature culture of creative excellence among the company's 40,000 North American employees. Prior to joining LVMH in 2011, she spent more than a decade working closely with leading retail and luxury brands through notable industry consultancies. Based in New York City, Smith also serves on the board of the Fashion Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit association that supports young talent as they seek to realize their career ambitions in the fashion industry.Some Questions Asked:How is LVMH leaning into internal mobility?How do you make employees feel safe enough to take creative risks and contribute their ideas?How do you ensure that LVMH's heritage brands remain relevant and inspire people today, while still honoring their history?In This Episode You Will Learn:The core values of LVMH and how they are honored.How LVMH manages talent and creativity by engaging the next generation of craftsmen in the luxury industry via programs like Métiers d'Excellence, DARE, internal mobility and much more.How LVMH maintains its dedication toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I).Links:Gena Smith - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 ideas para crear negocios onlineLa app para escuchar podcasts y ganar Bitcoins es Fountain: https://borjagiron.com/fountainAntes de empezar el episodio de hoy te traigo una herramienta de SEO gratuita que te ayudará a subir posiciones en Google.Podrás detectar fallos de tu web, revisar enlaces entrantes y salientes, realizar un análisis de palabras clave, analizar a la competencia y configurar alertas.Sólo tienes que entrar en https://borjagiron.com/ahrefs y empezar a usar la que posiblemente sea la mejor herramienta de SEO gratuita del mercado. Recuerda, borjagiron.com/ahrefs Te dejo el enlace en la descripción.Mejor hosting: HostingerPara crear tu web, blog o tienda online al mejor precioCómo comprar Hosting y Dominio con Hostinger al mejor preciohttps://triunfacontublog.com/mejor-hosting-wordpress/Consigue descuento: https://borjagiron.com/hostingerMuy buenas y bienvenido al podcast “Marketing Digital”, soy Borja Girón y cada martes aprenderás todo lo necesario para conseguir más clientes, visitas e ingresos en tu negocio online. Si eres emprendedor es el momento de hacer crecer tu negocio. Recibe cada día gratis en tu email mis secretos para emprender con éxito a través de historias, aprendizajes, herramientas y trucos directos para poner en práctica.Tendrás en menos de 3 minutos una formación diaria que marcará un antes y un después en tu negocio.Apúntate gratis desde: https://borjagiron.comY ahora sí…¿Estás preparado? ¿Estás preparada? ¡Comenzamos!1: Ofrece tus servicios: (diseñador copy, traductor, editor…) Alta en plataformas como Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, Guru, Toptal, PeoplePerHour.com, Truelancer, SolidGigs, DribbblePuedes usar IA en todas. ChatGPT, Bing, OpusClip…https://borjagiron.com/mejores-herramientas-inteligencia-artificial/¿Más ideas de negocio?https://www.theopenprojects.io/https://www.indiehackers.com/https://www.producthunt.com/Códigos ya hechos: https://codecanyon.net/https://www.starterstory.com/- Éxito The Fork asociado con Google Maps para añadir botón de reservas de mesa en restaurantes con un par de clicksEspecialízate con una herramienta para un público.Con IA para dentistas.Con Shopify para psicólogos.1: Copywriter2: Editor de vídeo o audio. Creador de vídeos con IA. Curso CapCut.3: Community Manager4: Asistente Virtual (Gestión emails, Canva)5: Crear webs, blogs, tiendas online de nicho con Google Adsense y afiliados: https://borjagiron.com/google-adsense/ 6: Diseñador web especializado en Memberships para dentistas. Acelera web.7: Fotógrafo de productos. Vender fotos en Shutterstock. Creas la web para boda.8: Editor de podcasts. Crea podcasts y gana dinero con patrocinios. Busca entrevistados y que te paguen. Crea música para podcasts.9: Programador de apps. App tipo Tinder que paguen los dos solo al empezar a chatear después del Match y no por alcance. Con anuncios. Que se pague para ver quién te rechaza y así saber que sí te muestran y mejorar tu perfil. 10: Consultor. Yo Soy consultor Marketing Digital.11: Crea diseños en Canva y los vendes. Plantillas Excel. Plantilla para Google Presentaciones, para Instagram…12: Traductor de textos. Con IA.13: Editor de libros. Lo subes a Amazon, corriges, creas portada… 14: Escritor. 15: Creador de contenido / Influencer. YouTuber. Podcaster. Blogger. Newsletter de pago con Substack. Suscripción en Instagram o X. Onlyfans. Cursos. Afiliados. 17: Crea comunidad de pago en Telegram, Discord o WhatsApp 18: Profesor online. Inglés, yoga, informática para personas mayores. Vende cursos. Da clases online y vender cursos. Hotmart. https://borjagiron.com/plataformas-educativas/19: Crear tienda online. Afiliados. Dropshipping. Productos propios. Wallapop y Vinted. https://sell.amazon.es/comienzaEtsy20: Vendedor. Setter. Closer de ventas.Puntos a tener en cuenta:Todo lo puedes apoyar con una Newsletter.Ventajas y desventajas.Haz tu DAFO.Que te paguen.Landing page.Crea contenido.Programas de afiliación con pago recurrente de por vida en un próximo episodioComunidad Emprendedores Triunfers: https://borjagiron.com/comunidadRecuerda suscribirte al podcast para no perderte el resto de noticias, novedades, trucos y tendencias del Marketing. Si quieres seguir escuchando estos episodios compártelo, dale a me gusta, deja 5 estrellas o comenta el episodio.También puedes acceder a mis cursos de Marketing Digital desde https://triunfacontublog.com Recibe mis secretos para emprender con éxito cada día en tu email: https://borjagiron.com/newsletterSoy Borja Girón, has escuchado el podcast Marketing Digital, nos escuchamos en el próximo episodio.

Join JJ and David as they discuss the latest in no-code on this week's episode of This Week in NoCode! This week we break down the latest no-code news including Softr launching their new AI capabilities and Xano's $10M funding round. We also recap the 2022 No Code Summit in Paris with special guest Kelly Claus, an experienced Bubble developer and designer. Kelly gives us exclusive behind-the-scenes details on the event, the highlights, challenges, and key takeaways. Later in the episode, we discuss the recent acquisition of We Love No Code by Toptal and what it signals about the growing no-code job market and enterprise adoption. 00:00 Intro 01:00 News: Softr AI 05:30 Xano Fundraise 06:00 Sponsor Segment: NoCodeDevs 16:15 No Code Summit Recap with Kelly 40:00 Acquisition: WeLoveNoCode and TopTail 46:30 Community Segment and Final Thoughts Lots of valuable insights into the world of no-code in this action-packed episode! Join our free NoCode Newsletter for news and discounts! Hire JJ and David to ⁠Build your MVP with NoCode⁠. ⁠Learn Bubble.io from JJ⁠ Have Us ⁠Audit your Bubble.io Application⁠. Follow us: https://twitter.com/JJEnglert https://twitter.com/cerealbuilder #nocode #lowcode #ai #podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/this-week-in-nocode/message

Shoaib Mahmud runs a great learning program for local designers, called Platoon. Over the year it has transformed many designers into more mature & skillful. In this episode, we discussed on this amazing platform - how it was started, how it works, why it is different and how it will evolve over time. Join us and learn about Platoon. You can learn stay up-to-date with Platoon here: https://www.facebook.com/uxplatoon ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

Today we have a discussion with Shahed bhai, a dedicated UX Researcher who has experience working with Adidas and also served local startups like Pathao and Intelligent Machines. We learned about his amazing journey of becoming an UX Researcher, discussed how a person can grow skill in UX research, talked about how designers and product managers can build empathy for users through research and listened from Shahed bhai how researcher can do well in a remote work environment. ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

Laura Heisman, VMware's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer , and Michelle Labbe, Toptal's Chief People Officer, met at Collision 2023 in Toronto to discuss VMware's core principles and the latest developments in AI and the tech industry.VMware is a leading software company that specializes in virtualization and cloud computing solutions. With a keen eye on innovation, VMware has established itself as a trusted partner for organizations worldwide.As one of its leading lights, Laura Heisman has played a pivotal role in shaping VMware's marketing vision and driving impactful initiatives. Heisman is a highly accomplished technology executive with more than three decades of experience in marketing and communications. Her leadership philosophy revolves around communicating effectively, unlocking human potential through generative AI, and fostering community. Heisman's dynamism and commitment to innovation continue to shape VMware and drive its success in the tech landscape.Some Questions Asked: Should humans fear AI replacing jobs? How do Heisman's three core principles of communication, human potential, and community tie into VMware's overall strategy?How does VMware create and foster a sense of community?In this Episode You Will Learn: How AI is an accelerant of human potential.Why companies such as VMware should focus on building communities rather than just marketing to developers. How job roles will adapt as AI continues its rapid progression.Links: Laura Heisman - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jordan Fisher, founder and CEO of Standard AI, joined Michelle Labbe, Toptal's Chief People Officer, at Collision in Toronto on The Talent Economy podcast. Fisher discussed the company's groundbreaking “checkout-free” shopping solution and other achievements of Standard AI. With a diverse background spanning computational fluid dynamics, securities regulations, video games, machine learning, and retail, Fisher has dedicated his career to product research and development. Standard AI has reached many significant milestones under his leadership as the field of artificial intelligence becomes increasingly competitive. With Standard AI, customers no longer need to scan their items or pay at a kiosk. Instead, they simply scan their phones at the exit and a series of AI-powered cameras generate a receipt based on the items that customers picked up.Utilizing its next-generation technology, Standard AI aims to continue augmenting human interactions within physical spaces while providing tailored product experiences. Its approach has the potential to revolutionize retail and expand to other industries.Some Questions Asked: Why is it important for entrepreneurs and early-stage startups to attend tech conferences?How does Standard AI define its vision, and what are the company's next goals?What does the future of retail look like from Standard AI's perspective?In This Episode You Will Learn: How society has shifted from “humans adapting to technology” to “technology adapting to humans.”Why “data is dead.”How AI opens up possibilities for new experiences in brick-and-mortar stores. Links: Jordan Fisher - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

✅ Request A Customized Workshop For Your Team And Company:  http://assertiveway.com/workshops Ever Wondered How to Craft a Sense of Belonging in Your Team? Dive deep into the art and science of building strong communities with our special guest, Margaux Miller, the Director of Community at Toptal and a versatile host, emcee, and voice actor. Tune in to this episode to discover: ✔️The transformative power of community and why it's essential for happiness and engagement. ✔️Margaux's personal journey with impostor syndrome and how community can help. ✔️The true essence of community and belonging: working towards shared goals with mutual concern. ✔️The pitfalls that can jeopardize belonging and the strategies to foster a deeper sense of connection. ✔️The pivotal role of rules in community-building and how to enforce them without alienating members. ✔️The magic of storytelling in community building, with real-life examples. ✔️Pro tips for community members to maximize their engagement and contribution. Join us on the 'Speak Your Mind Unapologetically Podcast' for an enlightening conversation that promises to reshape your understanding of community and belonging.   ✅ Follow Margaux Miller:     * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margauxmiller     * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margauxamiller     * Podcast: https://startpodcast.ca/     * Toptal https://www.toptal.com/     * WomenTech Global https://www.womentech.net/women-tech-conference   ✅ Follow Ivna Curi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivna-curi-mba-67083b2/     ✅ Other Episodes You'll Like How to Build Strong Connections With People: 4 Strategies Revealed Empowering a Speaking Up Culture: The Role of Leaders Speaking Up Transformative Stories and Guardians (with Katherine Bradshaw) How to Speak with Joy instead of with Fear, for Self and Team (with Jin Zhang) 15 Ways To Show You Care About Your Team To Build Resilience For Hard Conversations 17 Free Ways To Bring Joy And Happiness To Others   ✅ Free Resources Podcast episode lists by theme: https://assertiveway.aweb.page/speakyourmindunapologeticallytopics Women in Tech Leaders Podcast Interviews: https://assertiveway.com/womenintechpodcastguests/ Podcast Summaries & More Email Newsletter: https://assertiveway.com/newsletter Our Linkedin Blog Articles:  https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6863880009879306240/   TEDx Talk How To Speak Up Safely When It's Psychologically Unsafe: https://assertiveway.aweb.page/safespeak 10 Day free Assertive And Liked Challenge: https://assertiveway.aweb.page/beassertiveandliked Assertiveness free training: https://assertiveway.aweb.page/getahead Other Free resources: https://assertiveway.com/free/ Podcast page: https://assertiveway.com/podcast-speak-your-mind-unapologetically/   ✅ Work With Us Workshops: http://assertiveway.com/workshops   Services: https://assertiveway.com/offerings Contact me: info@assertiveway.com or ivnacuri@assertiveway.com Contact me on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivna-curi-mba-67083b2 Website: https://assertiveway.com   ✅ Support The Podcast Rate the podcast on apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-your-mind-unapologetically-podcast/id1623647915 Ask me your question for the next episode: https://www.speakpipe.com/speakyourmindquestion   ✅ Podcast Topic Compilations 8 Real Life Examples On How To Deal With Difficult Coworkers (Compilation): https://speakyourmindnow.libsyn.com/8-examples-on-how-to-deal-with-difficult-coworkers Mastering Mentor & Sponsor Connections: Insider Advice from 5 Trailblazing Professionals (Compilation): https://speakyourmindnow.libsyn.com/mastering-mentor-sponsor-connections-insider-advice-from-5-trailblazing-professionals How To Find Courage To Speak Up (Compilation): https://speakyourmindnow.libsyn.com/how-to-find-courage-to-speak-up-4-examples 4 Examples On How To Get The Promotion You Want (Compilation): https://speakyourmindnow.libsyn.com/4-examples-on-how-to-get-the-promotion-you-want 4 Tips On How To Successfully Share Your Ideas At Work (Compilation): https://speakyourmindnow.libsyn.com/4-tips-on-how-to-successfully-share-your-ideas-at-work-compilation How To Cope With Stress At Work (Compilation): https://speakyourmindnow.libsyn.com/how-to-cope-with-stress-at-work-compilation   #CommunityBuilding #Belonging #Toptal #SpeakYourMind #PodcastLife

How we get involve in multiple endeavors at a time Both Shoaib bhai and me receive this question a lot - how do you work on so many things at a time? how do you manage time? If you also have the same question, in this episode you will learn our secret. Hopefully you will also get to figure out how you can channel your efforts on multiple things at a time. ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

Martin Koltz - he is originally from Northern Illinois, and went to the University of Illinois initially to study engineering but ended up in Aviation Human Factors. He went on to get a Masters in Human Factors from Cal State Long Beach. While he was there, he had some incredible opportunities in the Aviation industry, including some time spent at SpaceX. After he graduated, his family moved from LA to Colorado, where he stumbled into the consumer products space and started working with Charter Communications as their first dedicated UX researcher. Over the course of 5 years, he helped scale the research team from 1 to 15. Currently, Martin is working as Director of UX research at Toptal, where he started as their first research hire and has since grown into a team of 5.

Product Tranquility is a consulting firm founded in Austin, TX, led by Dan Balcauski. As the principal consultant for Product Tranquility, Dan helps high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs define pricing and packaging for new products. He is a TopTal certified Top 3% Product Management Professional and helps teach the Kellogg Executive Education course on Product Strategy.   Experience Over the last 15 years, Dan has managed multiple products throughout the product life-cycle from new concept incubation, product launch, product maintenance, platform transitions, and end of life. Dan has worked in both consumer and B2B companies, across consumer internet, mobile, IT software, and test and measurement hardware and software in addition to company sizes ranging from startups to publicly traded multi-national enterprises.   Prior to founding Product Tranquility, Dan completed a solo round-the-world expedition to 21 countries, a lifelong dream that involved several life-changing volunteering experiences and a new collection of friends and good stories. Prior to that, he was Head of Product at LawnStarter, a two-sided marketplace bringing the best lawn care professionals to customers across the US. He joined LawnStarter after SolarWinds' $4B acquisition by Silver Lake and Thoma Bravo. At SolarWinds, he was a Principal Product Strategist where he helped form and execute product growth strategies across new and existing products, both on-premises and SaaS-based.   Dan has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from Iowa State University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Life is Good is the original positive lifestyle brand, dedicated to spreading the power of optimism through art and messaging. Co-founders and brothers Bert and John Jacobs originally set out to design T-shirts that inspired people to celebrate simple pleasures, and focus on what's right in the world and our lives instead of what's wrong. In 1994, after five years of disappointing sales and with just $78 to their names, Bert and John designed their first Life is Good tee and discovered how those three simple words could help people to focus on the good. For almost 30 years, Life is Good has been building a “culture of optimism” through its online shop and 4,500 retail stores. Life is Good's mission “to spread the power of optimism” isn't just a marketing angle—it influences every part of the brand, from company culture to philanthropy.Tom Hassell, president of Life is Good, joined Toptal's Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe on The Talent Economy podcast. For the past three years, Hassell has overseen the Life is Good e-commerce business as it has grown from $30 million in annual revenue in 2017 to over $86 million in 2020. Outside of his role at Life is Good, Hassell has served in leadership roles at a diverse group of companies, including Lord & Taylor, Perry Ellis, Ann Taylor, and Eastern Mountain Sports. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as the President of Life is Good, where spreading the power of optimism is both the company mission and his personal passion. In this episode, Hassell discusses his journey in the apparel industry, his work at Life is Good, the power of optimism, Life is Good's social work through the Life is Good Playmaker Project, and more.Some Questions Asked:How does Life is Good maintain its optimistic culture throughout all levels of the company? (8:26)Who develops Life is Good's creative designs? (17:57) Among the positive letters the company often receives from its customers, is there a particular story that moved you? (21:24) In This Episode, You Will Learn:How Life is Good believes in rational optimism. About Life is Good's social work, the Life is Good Playmaker Project. How founders Bert and John Jacobs continue to lead the company. Links:Tom Hassell - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Sylhet design community was built & grown; what others can learn Sylhet Design Community has shown strong presence in the design industry in last several years. Two of the most influential figures behind this community are - Surja Sen Das Raj (Product Design Lead at GoDaddy) and Shekh Al Raihan (Head of Design at Ofspace Digital Agency). We got to talk with them today and discussed how they build this community and grew it into today's position. We also discussed what are the factors play role behind an effective community and how a community can help designers grow in their career. ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

As the largest mutual life insurance company in the US, New York Life has been advising policyholders on investment decisions for more than 178 years.Toptal's Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe spoke with Kathleen Navarro, New York Life Insurance's Senior Vice President and Head of Human Resources Business Enablement on The Talent Economy Podcast.Kathleen Navarro leads New York Life Insurance's integrated diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and manages the HR business partners, strategy and analytics teams. During Navarro's tenure, the company has received broad recognition for its inclusion efforts, including being named one of the Best-of-the-Best Corporations by the National Business Inclusion Consortium in 2022.Navarro has held a range of roles in finance, strategy, and operations since joining New York Life Insurance in 1994. She has been recognized as a Top 10 Champion of Global Diversity by DiversityGlobal and was included on the Top 50 Chief Diversity Officers list issued by the National Diversity Council.Some Questions Asked:New York Life Insurance is a mutual company owned by policyholders without outside investors. How does this ownership model affect your talent strategy and company culture? 11:30Employees are increasingly looking for flexibility and balance in their jobs. With three days in the office and two at home, what sort of impact has your hybrid model had on hiring and employee happiness? 19:29New York Life Insurance was one of Seramount's (formerly Working Mother Media) “100 Best Companies” for 2022 and listed as one of its “Best Companies for Dads.” How has New York Life Insurance created such a supportive culture for working parents? 29:50In This Episode, You Will Learn:What has made Kathleen Navarro want to stay at New York Life Insurance for nearly 30 years. Why The Dave Thomas Foundation recently listed New York Life Insurance as a 2022 Adoption Advocate.How New York Life Insurance maintains consistency across a distributed and independent workforce.Links:Kathleen Navarro - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to bring more solid ideas on the table & explore interesting UI concepts Often time young designers find themselves stuck during the ideation or iteration phase - no new ideas is coming or all the variations look similar. How can we get out of this blockage? Me and Shoaib bhai discussed about this topic today. We share our own tricks to handle this sorta situation or how we try to keep ourselves away from this struggles. ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

If you don't know whether you should join an online platform to get freelance work, or clients, then this episode is for you! Today, we're talking about whether you should try to get clients through an online bidding platform, and we're also going to touch on the ways that you can get traditional clients, not on those platforms.  Here's the deal - only YOU know what's right for you. I'm here to give you some ideas, some things to consider, and maybe some new perspectives that you didn't have before about getting clients the traditional way, versus getting them from these platforms.  Last time, we talked about simplicity. And I am hoping you see how that dovetails into today's discussion because clarity is what is going to help you decide whether to get on a platform to sell your services. Seriously. And if you need help figuring out who you are, what you want, how to get to the place you're dying to go - I'm your girl. DM me, email me. I got you. At the end, as always, I leave you with a bit of homework to start taking action today. Y'all ready? Let's do this! Tag me, follow me, and DM me with your thoughts and questions: Instagram @sheilamwilkinson and Facebook @lawyercoachsheila Rate this podcast/episode on Apple Podcasts and even on Spotify! Or, rate and review on our site and make sure to leave a question for a future episode! Learn more about me here: https://sheilawilkinson.com Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Links & More: https://sheilawilkinson.com/links >>>  My mission is to help licensed and certified professionals figure out exactly what they want, realize it's 100% within reach, and create a simple, actionable plan that will get them there. I'd love to support you, too! Here are some ways you can start creating your rich, happy life today! FREE RESOURCES If you struggle to find the right words to tell a client no, or you need time to get back to them, or even if you're going on vacation and want to be left alone, then these simple strategies for better boundaries are going to be your new best friend! Learn more about how these swipe copy and paste email script templates can start improving your life! Start setting clear expectations with clients with this Contracts Guide! Build a healthier lifestyle and add more joy in your life in this Masterclass! LOW-COST RESOURCES Start fixing your top 3 most frustrating situations RIGHT NOW in this Managing Expectations Mini-Course! Start getting Boundaries *and* Balance TODAY!

With past speakers such as the CEOs of Dell and Wikipedia, and the COO of Reddit, the Web Summit annual conference, founded in 2009, has become a critical meeting place for the tech community. At the 2022 event in Lisbon, Portugal, Katie Bolger, Community Manager, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Web Summit, joined Toptal's Chief People Officer, Michelle Labbe. They discussed the conference, Web Summit's Women in Tech program, and equity in representation among attendees and speakers.Some Questions Asked:What is Web Summit's mission? How has your role in the event-planning field evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic? What are the most effective ways that leaders can advocate for more women to enter the tech workforce?In This Episode, You Will Learn:What led to Web Summit's involvement with Women in Tech.What accessibility features were available at this Web Summit.How Web Summit ensures that the conference adheres to organizers' priorities and culture.Links:Katie Bolger - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Branch is a deep-linking and mobile-attribution platform that helps companies build and measure user journeys. In 2014, Mada Seghete co-founded Branch on the fundamental principle that breaking down silos on the internet is critical to a brand's ability to build engaging and relevant end-user experiences. Branch initially focused on delivering a deep-linking solution to navigate the complex mobile ecosystem and get users to the right destination. Its platform now also powers mobile attribution for 50,000+ of the world's most advanced apps, helping companies like Airbnb, Pinterest, Slack, Ticketmaster, Tinder, Starbucks, and Yelp measure their users' journeys. While attending Web Summit in Lisbon, Seghete, Branch's current Managing Director and VP of Marketing, joined Toptal's Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe to discuss creating Branch, women in tech, the future of work, and her Web Summit experience. Some Questions Asked:How does Branch differentiate itself from its competitors?Why do you think so many people who left their jobs during the Great Resignation are deciding to return? How do you see the future of work evolving in the next few years? In This Episode, You Will Learn:What inspired the founding of Branch. What the culture is like at Branch and how the company upholds its mantra of “Build, Grow, Win.”Advice for women who want to launch their own tech startup.Links:Mada Seghete - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To grow as a designer certainly one has to improve their design skills. But there are certain other qualities (these are not related to design directly) that will help them excel as a better designer in the long run. Discipline & Proactiveness are two of those qualities. In today's episode we discussed on this topic and share some of our experiences and thoughts on them. ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

Toptal is a network of the world's top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams on demand. Founded in 2010 and now the world's largest fully remote company, Toptal has served more than 21,000 clients and has a global network of talent in 140+ countries.Kimberly Hall, Toptal's VP of Revenue Operations, sat down with Toptal's CEO Taso Du Val at Toptal's Women in Tech Lounge at Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon. Du Val shares insights into the future of work, Web3, the financial benefits of implementing a remote workforce, and more.Some Questions Asked:Why was this a key year for Toptal to take part in the Web Summit conference?What was the inspiration behind the creation of Toptal's Women in Tech Lounge? Will Toptal continue to lean into the Web3 space? In This Episode, You Will Learn:What companies should be thinking about as the workplace evolves.What the future of the talent economy looks like.The financial benefits of implementing a remote workforce.Links:Taso Du Val - LinkedInKimberly Hall - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ডিজাইনের পেছনের যুক্তিগুলো কিভাবে স্টেকহোল্ডারদের বুঝাবেন এবং রাজি করাবেন? ডিজাইনার হিসেবে আমরা প্রতিদিন নানা ডিসিশন নেই। কিন্তু স্টেকহোল্ডারদের মতামত অনেক সময়ই আমাদের সেই ডিসিশনগুলোর সাথে মিলে না। কিছু ক্ষেত্রে তাদের মতামতগুলো আমাদের ডিজাইন প্রিন্সিপাল বা বেস্ট প্র্যাকটিসগুলোর বিপরীত হয়। কিভাবে আমরা নিজেদের মতামত ও যুক্তিগুলো গ্রহণযোগ্যভাবে তুলে ধরতে পারি সেটি নিয়ে আমাদের আড্ডায় আজকের আলোচনা। সাথে যোগ দিয়েছিলেন Tutubi এর UX Lead আতিক ভাই How to convey rationales behind the design & get stakeholders' buy-ins As designer we takes various decisions daily. But sometimes stakeholders' opinions don't align with our decisions. Often we experienced that their recommendations are going against our design principles or best practices. How we can articulate our decisions and rationales behind them to the stakeholders in more acceptable way - we talked about that today. Our guest was Atiqur Rahaman, UX Lead at Tutubi. ---- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

UX ডিজাইন জব ইন্টারভিউগুলো তে App Critique খুবই কমন একটা টাস্ক। কিন্তু এটা করতে গিয়ে আমরা অনেকে খুব silly কিছু ভুল করি। এই অ্যাপ ক্রিটিক কি এবং কিভাবে এটিকে যথাযথভাবে করা যায় তা নিয়ে আড্ডা হয়েছে এবারের পর্বে। কি কি বিষয় খেয়াল রেখে ক্রিটিক করতে হবে বা কি কি বিষয় এড়িয়ে চলতে হবে এবং কিভাবে এর জন্য প্রস্তুতি নেয়া যায় সব নিয়েই আলোচনা করেছি আমরা। আড্ডায় মেনসন করা রিসোর্সগুলোঃ https://www.youtube.com/@tryexponent/search?query=app%20critique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_y5TSESDvA&t=1232s https://www.youtube.com/@Designalily/search?query=app%20critique --- This podcast is just a collection of casual discussions between Md Shamsuddin (Head of Design at Shifl) and Shoaib Mahmud (Product Designer at Toptal). We will be discussing about Product Design, Design Process, Design Career, Design Tool and overall any topic closely related to design or designers. If you have time to waste

Welcome to a special episode of Remote Ruby! Today's episode is the RubyConf Home Edition panel where we'll be talking about all things Hanami. Jason is joined by Brittany Martin, Engineering Manager at TextUs and co-host of The Ruby on Rails Podcast, and together and they'll take on the role of the moderators. They are also joined by a respected group of panelists. First, we have Luca Guidi, who's the Hanami author, on dry-rb core, and Backend Architect at Toptal. Then we have Tim Riley, who's Principal Engineer at Buildkite and a core team at Hanami, dry-rb, and rom-rb, and finally, Peter Solnica, who's a Senior Software Engineer at Valued.app and a core team member at Hanami, dry-rb, and rom-rb. Go ahead and download this episode now to learn more! [00:02:01] We start things off with Luca, creator of Hanami, telling us where we went to get from 1.0 to 2.0, and Tim and Peter give an intro to Hanami, dry-rb, and rom-rb. [00:05:18] How did this amazing team decide what direction they were going to take and how long they wanted it to take to go from Hanami 1.0 to Hanami 2.0?[00:07:40] Luca, Tim, and Peter talk about what their roles were on the team.[00:11:59] Peter details what part of Hanami 2.0 he's most proud of, what dry system is, and its impact on Hanami.[00:15:24] Tim and Luca share what their favorite parts/most proud features are of Hanami 2.0.   [00:19:16] How does Roda factor in the Hanami 2.0 story?[00:23:10] Now we get to hear Jason's initial impression of Hanami 2.0 so far, and two things he's most excited to learn about.[00:27:35] We hear Tim, Peter, and Luca's views on where they see Hanami's place in the ecosystem.[00:32:31] Tim tells us about an app he wrote with some friends called “Decaf Sucks.” [00:34:52] Since it's been a couple of controversial years for Ruby on Rails, Brittany wonders if any of the panelists see any opportunities to manage Hanami differently.[00:38:35] Find out what the Hanami community currently looks like, where do the community discussions happen, and how do people find out about Hanami.[00:40:13] We learn from the panelists if Hanami has any corporate sponsorship and how do we make sure that Hanami is sustainable.   [00:43:07] Peter, Tim, and Luca share some things they're excited about with Hanami, plans for 2.1, and what they're thinking about as far as a timeline for the release.Moderators:Brittany MartinJason CharnesPanelists:Luca GuidiTim RileyPeter SolnicaSponsor:HoneybadgerLinks:Jason Charnes TwitterBrittany Martin TwitterThe Ruby on Rails PodcastLuca Guidi TwitterLuca Guidi-Ruby SocialTim Riley-Ruby SocialTim Riley WebsitePeter Solnica TwitterPeter Solnica-Ruby SocialHanamidry-rbrom-rbRubyConf 2022: Home Edition

We are facing a prolonged period of high uncertainty with a world post-COVID, a war between Ukraine and Russia, a recession, “the great resignation”, and, more recently, massive layoffs in big tech companies. Navigating all of that is not easy. So, today, we have Michelle Labbe, the Chief People Officer at Toptal, a company that even before the pandemic was already one of the world's top remote work employers and provider of top remote talent. We are discussing the current state of affairs, how that has impacted Toptal and remote work in general, the best practices Toptal has in place to weather this storm, and what we can expect to see for remote work moving into 2023. In this episode: [06:47] The demand for remote talent since the start of the pandemic [09:29] Are contractors the future of remote work? How post-pandemic layoffs are affecting culture and changing remote teams [15:43] Ways to support your remote employees once they've been laid off [19:26] How the latest layoffs have started a trend among remote workers [24:32] Ideas and strategies to improve employee retention [28:47] The pros and cons of remote and hybrid work on the employee experience and retention [35:53] Michelle's wish for 2023 Connect with Michelle Labbe On Linkedin Website Toptal Resources Mentioned: Toptal's Suddenly Remote Playbook --- Creating great content takes time and effort, and this podcast couldn't exist in the long run without great partners. This season's sponsor is Qatalog, the world's first Intelligent Work Hub. Centralize your people, processes and knowledge in a single platform that molds to your needs, instantly. Build your own Qatalog in seconds at qatalog.com --- Visit modernleaders.co to discover how to optimize your new ways of work.

With past speakers such as the CEOs of Dell and Wikipedia, and the COO of Reddit, the Web Summit annual conference, founded in 2009, has become a critical meeting place for the tech community. At this year's event in Lisbon, Katie Bolger, Community Lead and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program Manager for Web Summit, joined Toptal's Chief People Officer Michelle Labbe to discuss the 2022 conference, Web Summit's Women in Tech program, and ensuring equity in representation among attendees and speakers.Some Questions Asked:What is Web Summit's mission?How has your role in the event-planning field evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic?What are the most effective ways that leaders can advocate for more women to enter the tech workforce?In This Episode, You Will Learn:What led to Web Summit's involvement with Women in Tech.What accessibility features were available at this Web Summit.How Web Summit ensures that the conference adheres to organizers' priorities and culture.Links:Katie Bolger - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, Pierre-Alexandre Heurtebize launched one of the first financial due diligence practices, HoriZen Capital, which is 100% dedicated to SaaS businesses, and launched the first online course on how to conduct financial due diligence. As an ESSEC MBA alumni and PwC Transaction Services alumni, Pierre has accumulated nearly 10 years of financial due diligence experience, which includes 3 years fully dedicated to reviewing SaaS and subscription models. Prior to launching HoriZen Capital, Pierre spent many years as a Private Equity Investment Associate and M&A Advisor. His background has afforded him a unique and professional understanding of the process of professional investors. He has also written articles on FDD, M&A, and financial analysis for top ranking websites such as TechCrunch, Toptal, and MicroAcquire. Through reading a lot of Disney's Mickey Mouse and Scrooge, by around the age of 12, Pierre knew he wanted to be a trader,but his idea of a trader at twelve-years-old wasn't totally correct. He imagined traders were “people who would look at the newspaper, understand what's happening from a geographical perspective and a geopolitical perspective in South America, figure out if there is a conflict in that country that impacts the production of oil and gas in another country, and then one thing leading to another… The price of a pen is going to skyrocket. So, let's just by pen stock.” While his Disney perception of what a trader was wasn't entirely correct, it was still a relatively sophisticated analysis for that age. As he grew up, he learned what traders actually were – not something he actually wanted to be – and he found great interest in understanding the work, and how to use that knowledge to make good business investments. A UNIQUE DEAL Pierre's first deal occurred about a decade ago, and involved investing in a wind turbine plant in France through a crowd-funding platform. The aim of the proposed wind turbine project was to bring wind-generated energy within the city streets – for instance Paris – by designing the turbines in the shape of trees, wherein each branch was the turbine. This concept of designing something man-made to blend in with natural surroundings is called “biomimicry”. Recently, especially in the alternative energy discussion, biomimicry has become very popular to help preserve and blend in with the natural environment. Investing in creating wind turbines designed to mimic nature isn't something investors hear about every day. Pierre was interested in the equity investment scene, so he began doing research online, where he stumbled across the crowd funding platform. Initially he began to think he could utilize this platform to become a venture capitalist on his own, especially after finding the wind turbine project. The wind turbine project not only fascinated him, but he found it to be the most efficient wind turbine execution available. FROM CROWD-FUNDED WIND TURBINES TO PRIVATE EQUITY This browsing of a crowdfunding platform soon evolved to Pierre entering into private equity. When he was interning at a company that focused on hip-hop and urban media. The company was in the process of being acquired – this was his first experience with private equity. By the time he entered his third internship, he had decided to take the leap fully into private equity. He began his venture into private equity through BNP Paribas Private Equity, which at that time, was branching off into Isatis Capital Team. Being a part of this journey proved to be good timing for Pierre, as this spin-off from BNP Paribas into Isatis allowed the team to essentially become independent. During his first year with Isatis, they worked on fifteen deals with five being completed. Isatis isa successful independent private equity firm today, and still growing. EXPECTATION MEETS REALITY During his schooling, Pierre says there are many resources at your disposal in order to learn the processes of business. This is true for almost all education, you have virtually limitless resources at your hands, without much struggle to find the information you need,however that information never fully prepares you for the real world. In the real-world, thenecessary resources and information aren't as easily accessible. You can ask, but often you are you're going to have to go out and find them on your own. A lot of this information you'll require is imperative to your due diligence when in the M&A space; one piece of incorrect or missing information in the due diligence stage, and you can easily flip your deal upside down. Another issue that comes up in the due diligence and information gathering phase is that you get a lot of information at once, most of which is disjointed or not exactly useful to your fact-finding mission. This is where ensuring your due diligence skills are sharp comes in handy. You have to be able to: Sort through the information efficiently Discern what information is useful, and what is not Understand the information given to you clearly Be able to utilize that information to be used practically in the deal-making process Without the ability to do all these things, you once again will have a hard time creating a successful deal. LESSONS LEARNED IN DISCERNMENT AND DISTINCTION As we've established, schooling doesn't fully prepare you for real-world navigation and application of due diligence. Pierre recognized this gap between formal education and being in the business world without the proverbial training wheels school offers you,but recognizing this gap didn't come without his own lessons and experiences. Of course, when it comes to dealmaking, every person who has a seat at the table is there for a purpose, you benefit from the individual and combined experience of each person at the table, and logically, the more experience you have – especially specialized experience – the easier it gets. To make your overall experience as easy as possible, you want to make sure you're bringing to the table your skillset at its sharpest – and this especially includes your ability to effectively do due diligence. Discernment and distinction in what we outlined above is priority. Without the ability to effectively discern and make distinctions between information given to you, your deal will likely struggle. A general guideline Pierre gives is: Discern what are the highest priorities, and ensure they are covered; then, if you have the time, work yourself down the list of non-high priority items. Deciding what is high priority includes: Make sure you understand revenue generation – Are you at risk of losing revenue going forward? Understand the markets – Are you sure the market is going to thrive, or is the market large enough? Identify any red flags – Identifying what can go wrong, and if and how it can be prevented. Beyond those, the biggest surprise for Pierre in the adjustment from being a student to an actual professional was in the valuation process. In school you learn about DCF (Discounted Cash-Flow), the mathematics behind it, how your discount factor must be reflective of the industry you're in, etc. Then you go into small cap private equity – large cap is a different conversation – and the precision of what you learned in school is much looser. The smaller the deal, the more apt it is to just be whatever the parties end up negotiating. You really will need to adapt to the person in front of you when working on smaller deals, and a lot of times that means a lot less technicality to the deal. SAAS AND SUBSCRIPTION-BASED BUSINESSES As Pierre's experience and talents were nurtured, he began to see that he was prepared to go out on his own and begin his own business. Pierre chooses to focus on SaaS businesses versus any other business because he finds them to be quite easy, stating once you develop the software, it's quite simple to operate. To refresh: A SaaS (Software as a Service) company, as defined by DigitalGuardian.com, is a company that “maintains servers, databases, and software that allow the application to be accessed over the internet — most likely by web browsers. Users can access the software from almost any device.” Pierre finds the easiness with focusing on SaaS and subscription-based businesses comes from: You don't have the same logistic issues You don't have inventory You really don't have any networking capital Your focus at that stage is driving revenue and keeping your customers WHERE'S THE FOCUS? When it comes to SaaS and subscription-based companies, customers are key. Your goal is to ensure you have a loyal customer base that will stick with you. When you start a SaaS business, your first initial customers are going to be the ones that will stick with you through your company's lifetime; they really want the product you're offering. As you bring in more customers, those customers are less likely to automatically be desiring to stick with you, so you need to figure out the best way to retain those customers for as long as possible. While bringing in new customers is great, you want to do all you can to retain those new customers. If you're losing customers just as quickly as you're gaining them, it can have a major impact to your gross revenue;much more than if you were to establish a loyal customer base that sticks with your company through its lifespan. It can also greatly impact your company valuation, especially during an M&A deal. THE ROLE OF PIERRE AND HORIZEN CAPITAL Pierre has an expansive background, and he certainly can help you with the valuation process, however, his role is to be an advisor. With that comes: Get the word out about your company Get as many people around the table as possible Work out the whole process to ensure you get the most value Help you present the numbers better – making sure you're presenting clean numbers to investors HoriZen Capital is providing financial due diligence (FDD) services for your SaaS targets, from $100k to $50m in ARR. HoriZen Capital's objective is to advise you on your SaaS company and offer you their network of capital and expertise in order to take your SaaS company to the next level of growth. Ultimately, you will find someone who is more than happy to buy your business. • • • FOR MORE ON PIERRE-ALEXANDRE HEURTEBIZE AND HORIZEN CAPITAL:https://horizencapital.com/saas-due-diligence-servicesThe HoriZen Capital Team is currently raising their Tech Investment Fund: Finding great SaaS product with poor SEO, Conversion Rate and Paid Ads Execution, providing money for growth and applying their growth marketing playbook. To learn more, check out: https://horizencapital.com/tech-fund/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. If you want to find out how deal-ready you are, take the Deal-Ready Assessment today!

Suzy is a leading global consumer insights platform that integrates quantitative and qualitative research with high-quality audience insights into a single connected research cloud. In this episode of The Talent Economy podcast, Anthony Onesto, Suzy's Chief People Officer, speaks with Toptal's Chief People Officer, Michelle Labbe.Some Questions Asked:How do you incorporate the book Radical Candor into Suzy's cultural philosophy? 6:42What is the importance in challenging directly and allowing for contrarian ideas? 10:21How does Suzy support employees who have a side hustle? 15:45 In This Episode, You Will Learn:How Onesto decided to implement Radical Candor into Suzy's culture.How Onesto came up with the idea for his comic series, “Ella the Engineer.”How Suzy is using data and analytics in the benefits space. Links:Anthony Onesto - LinkedInMichelle Labbe - LinkedInToptal - LinkedInThe Talent Economy podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zach Boyette is the CoFounder and Managing Partner of Galactic Fed, an award winning growth marketing agency with 160 employees. Before co-founding Galactic Fed in 2018, Zach worked as a Growth Manager & Head of Paid Media & Growth Labs at various companies like Google and Toptal. To learn more about Zach's company, Galactic Fed, visit their website: https://www.galacticfed.com/

Freelancing is on the rise. So, how can that benefit employers?In this episode of the Hire Calling Podcast, Pete and Ricky discuss when and how you should fill staffing gaps with freelancers. A great starting point to consider is, do you have the knowledge to guide a new employee and oversee their work, or is it an area you don't know much about and need an expert to complete the task?  If it's the latter, turning to the freelance market may be a great solution.If you are deciding between hiring a freelancer or a new full-time employee, tune into this episode to help you decide what is right for your business!If you're ready to take the plunge, we recommend Toptal, Upwork, and Fiverr for the best freelance talent!

If you're at Coinbase, JP Morgan, a power company, or the NSA, you can skip this episode. If you're not expecting attacks from nation states, might you be able to simplify your security operations by focusing on the highest likelihood threat vectors? This week I chatted with Ismael Peinado, CTO of TopTal and a former hacker who is passionate about simplifying SecOps. From 2FA to eliminating email, he has a number of practical suggestions for reducing your security risk profile quickly and cost effectively.PARTNERThanks to our partner CloudZero — Cloud Cost Intelligence Platform. Control cost and drive better decisions with CloudZero cloud cost intelligence. The CloudZero platform provides visibility into cloud spend without the typical pitfalls of legacy cloud cost management tools, like endless tagging or clunky Kubernetes support. Optimize unit economics, decentralize cost data to engineering, and create a shared language between finance and technical teams. CloudZero helps you organize cloud spending better than anyone else.Join companies like Drift, Rapid7, and SeatGeek by visiting cloudzero.com/ctoconnection to get started.