New Copilot Chief to Unify Consumer and Commercial AI
Microsoft has a new Copilot boss who is about to focus on unifying the consumer and commercial Copilots. The changes will see Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman dedicated to creating Microsoft’s own AI models instead. Full details 👇https://t.co/lZdvkvOwlb
CFOs Treat Vendor Data Risks as Balance Sheet Threats
CFOs now view vendor exposure and data protection alongside balance sheet risk. Requiring: proactive risk management, clear board communication, and disciplined investment to protect operations and trust. https://t.co/RWvAWTo1ee
Value Stocks at Historic Discount, Poised for Outperformance
Valuation spreads (how cheaply value stocks trade relative to growth stocks) measured as the Price/Book ratio of value stocks divided by growth stocks in the US. "On average, US value stocks have traded at a 78% discount (i.e., 22 cents on...
Refinancing Wall: An Ever-Present Market Reality
Is there ever NOT a "refinancing wall"? Feel like I've been seeing charts like that for 20 years...
Embrace “Good Enough” Speed, Focus, and Delegation
"What would an incompetent CEO do that would still outpace me?" I added this one question to my morning planning/journal sesh and it's had an impact. It spurs thoughts that I probably wouldn't have otherwise: - They'd say good enough, ship it, improve...
Sell When You're Thriving, Not When Growth Slows
Many founders wait until growth slows before thinking about selling or raising capital, but the irony is: buyers and investors are often most interested when a business is performing at its best. In this episode of Vista Point Advisors The...
Creation Alone Won’t Compound; Prioritize Distribution
Most marketers are addicted to creation. They write. They publish. They move on. Then wonder why nothing compounds. Distribution, folks. Embrace it.
Iger Excelled Everywhere but Succession, Costing His Legacy
“If the succession had gone right with Chapek, Iger would be just a hero at this point. It’s like, ‘You did everything right,’” says Wharton's Henning Piezunka. Iger “probably stayed around too long. He succeeded at everything except succession.” https://t.co/zmQnYUUxDV
VCs Must Balance Power and Responsibility in Defense
“I don’t want to be the person they call and say, can we hit the enter button on this command. But I also don’t have a God complex.” @davidu of @a16z on the Anthropic-DoD rift, why VC has a right to...
Bob Iger’s Transformative Disney Reign Ends, Legacy Mixed
As Disney CEO Bob Iger Steps Aside, a Look at His Tenure as a Dynamic, Transformative Leader — With an Asterisk or Two https://t.co/zmQnYUUxDV via @variety
Iran Keeps Shipping Oil, China Still Receives It
PHOTO(S) OF THE DAY: China is still getting (some of) its oil — and Iran its getting (some of) its money. Three weeks into the war, Iran continues loading oil supertankers from Kharg Island. (No damage visible at this resolution) Photo @CopernicusEU...
Marketing Skills 1.4 Launches Lead Magnet Suite & 500+
Marketing Skills v1.4.0 is out. What shipped: /lead-magnets — high-converting lead magnet strategy. Format selection, opt-in copy, delivery mechanics, and nurture sequences. Composio integration — one MCP server connects your agent to HubSpot, Salesforce, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Google Sheets, Slack, Notion, and...
Extraordinary Leaders Ask Five Critical Self‑questioning Strategies
RT @JoeContrera The challenges facing today’s leaders are greater than ever. Here are five questions that extraordinary leaders continuously ask themselves: https://t.co/zxZmyyfRrK #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #leadershipskills https://t.co/DPX6d6HzgG
Coca-Cola Leverages ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ for Product Placement
Coca-Cola plans to serve up Diet Coke and SmartWater in 'The Devil Wears Prada 2,' and use tie-ins with the movie to drive conversations about its drinks.... https://t.co/8apnCYoH31 via @variety
Spotting Winners: Hacker Mindset Meets Wall‑Running
Sometimes you meet a founder and instantly know they'll be successful. A pattern I look for: a hacker mindset + ability to run through walls. Thanks for including us (x3), @mohaknahta.
Turquoise Health Secures $40M Series C, Boosting Price Transparency
Congrats to @TurquoiseHC on their $40M Series C, led by @oakhcft — ~$100M raised in total. Turquoise is the healthcare price transparency platform trusted by 300+ of the largest health systems, insurers, life sci co's, and employers as...
Sweden Mandates Permanent Hires After Two Years
Incredibly, Sweden passed a staffing law that went into effect--I'm not making this up--Oct 2022. It requires temp/staffing firms to offer permanent positions after 24 months, & there's legal speculation there it might apply to consulting firms too. 1/2 https://t.co/xwN37kW7ne
Rising Tanker Traffic Could Shrink Brent's War‑driven Risk Premium
Great piece by @MelissaLawford in @Telegraph on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and what's going on in global markets. Brent is up 42% from before the war, a big risk premium. As oil tanker traffic picks up, this...
Active Listening: Essential Skill for Modern Sales Success
What is active listening and why it’s no longer a buzzword but a critical skill today https://t.co/KvfSbwuz8I via @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesLeader #Leadership #Culture #Motivation #Marketing #Success #Mindset #Entrepreneur #Management #Productivity #Inspiration
Testing Offers Can Add $80K Monthly Revenue
You've never tested your offer. → Same "20% off" since day one. → A 20% AOV lift + 10% CVR lift moves a $100K/month account to $330K. → That's $80K+ a month. From the offer. NOT the ads. 5 offer types...
Quote Big Numbers Casually; Confidence Sells High‑value Deals
Quote a $600,000 proposal with a straight face. That's a superpower. The best salespeople talk about money like it's nothing. "$600,000. Pass the salt." The worst salespeople tremble when price comes up. The turning point: realizing your value is a tsunami compared to the tiny...
Earn Six Figures Solo: Brand, Proof, Overdeliver, Content
A few years ago... I made $270K in a year as a solo freelancer. No investors. No big city network. No team. Here’s the playbook I ran: 1) Own your name online. 2) Publish proof, not promises. 3) Deliver more than you’re paid for. 4)...
AI Deepfakes Threaten Hiring: Detecting Candidate Fraud
Interviewing a Ghost: When AI, Deepfakes, and Fake Identities Enter the Hiring Process AI is transforming hiring—but it’s also enabling a new wave of candidate fraud. In this episode of The Jim Stroud Podcast, Jim speaks with Maryam Mahdaviani, founder...
From Lab Expulsion to Microsoft Co‑founder, Allen’s Redemption
#ThisDayInTechHistory. March 17, 1971. Paul Allen was kicked out of the University of Washington's Computer Lab. About 4 years later he would co-found @Microsoft. Years later the University would name the lab after him. #Computer...
Backing Proven Repeat Founders and Unicorn Operators
In the last 12 months, we invested in 8 companies, 5 were repeat founders. Before starting these new companies, those 5 had already: - Raised $200M+, IPO’d one startup, and sold another for 9 figures - Raised $100M+, scaled to $50M+ ARR, and...
Fair Conflict Resolution: Inclusive, Flat, Kind, Non‑judgmental Listening
Fight Fair: Keep it small. Involve people with skin in the game, no one else. Flatten the group. Leaders and decision-makers participate with everyone. Say what you really think with kindness and openness. Withhold judgment. Never attack a person. Train people to listen.
AI Deal Surge Amid War Mirrors Endless Rate Cut
What's the deal w/ the surge of AI deals related announcements during the War? is this the equivalent of the rate cut that will never come ?
Demand Growth Offsets Rising Fuel Costs, Says CEO
"CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that growth in demand is offsetting the rising cost of fuel."
Traders Bet Fed Dovish; Stocks Rise, Dollar Falls
🚨 TRADERS JUST TIPPED THEIR HAND BEFORE FED The market is already telling us what to expect from the Fed - and smart traders are paying attention. Stocks are rallying and the dollar is pulling back ahead of Wednesday's Fed decision. That's...
Roku Shares Surge Amid $18 B Valuation Talk
$ROKU gapping up , getting some attention on this M&A piece mentioning $122 Roku could cost in the range of $18 billion or more
Private Credit Defaults Surge to 9.2%, Outpacing 2008
Private credit default rate just hit 9.2%. That's higher than 2008 bank loan peaks. $1.8 trillion in assets, $100B in secondary liquidity. 18:1 mismatch. When exits close, panic starts. https://t.co/PTz3djlLMl
Address Deal Risks Directly to Accelerate Wins
Here’s one area I worked on with my Enterprise Sales leader on to start 2025. We strategize in deal reviews the biggest risk and our action plan. And oftentimes the best strategy is simple. Call out the elephant in the room. We often know...
Trump’s Missteps Reveal Diplomacy’s Critical Role
Trumps learns the hard way the importance of diplomacy and soft power… GeopoliticalGuy | Substack https://bit.ly/4rAmIyw #Geopolitics #Iran #NATO #Hormuz #Trump
Solve One Problem, Reuse It—Skip Massive Systems
People think building systems is hard. The truth? It is. So stop building big ones. Fix one recurring problem. Write it down. Reuse it.
Anna Reveals How to Fix Evergreen Funnel Failures
Most evergreen funnels fail before they get a real chance 😥 Show-up rate. Price point. Cold traffic trust. Anna cracked all three. This episode she breaks down exactly how. 👇 Comment POD51 to learn it.
Own a Distinctive Idea, Not Just a Target Audience
Being known for a specific idea beats just choosing a specific audience to target. You don’t need to narrow who you serve—you need to own what you stand for. Your ownable idea is your niche.
Slow Starts, Strong Balance Sheets Fuel Serial Acquirer Success
Serial Acquirers, Stockholm and The Story of 47 Acquisitions Per Year Why serial acquirers remain one of the most powerful business models in the world. The best of them have acquired as many as 275 companies and traded at valuations as high...
AI Teammates Build Unbeatable Sales Moats
Why an AI Teammate will Enable Your sales Team to Create a Moat for Your Business by @Timothy_Hughes https://t.co/G0DbnKsbw3 @DLAIgnite #SocialSelling #DigitalSelling #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeader #Marketing #Leadership #ArtificialIntelligence #MarketingStrategy #MarketingSuccess
Ettienne Brandt Named Astound CEO Amid Google Fiber Merger
Ettienne Brandt, a vet of both broadband and mobile, is the new CEO of Astound Broadband, which just struck a deal to combine with GFiber (@googlefiber). Brandt most recently led Frontier's commercial business unit. @Light_Reading https://t.co/QQkVv0H6y6
EU's Kallas Rejects Belgium's Push to Normalize Moscow Ties
BRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pushed back on Tuesday against a call by Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever to normalise relations with Moscow and regain access to cheap Russian energy.
AI Speeds Insight, but Can't Replace Human Judgment
A founder fed customer interviews into ChatGPT to extract jobs-to-be-done. Output wasn't wrong. Just goofy. It missed hesitation, energy, contradictions. The tension: AI is useful and easy to misuse. AI-assisted ✅ speeds up your work AI-led ❌ replaces judgment
Banks Hoard Liquidity yet Shun Discount Window in Crises
The growing calls for Discount Window reform are being driven, in part, by a paradox in the post-GFC liquidity framework: banks are encouraged to hoard liquidity in normal times but hesitate to use it during stress. Details in my latest...
Disney Appoints Ex‑Google Product Chief to Lead Streaming
🔥 The most interesting/exciting part of Disney's leadership reorg that is not getting talked about is that former Google/YouTube chief product officer Adam Smith has been elevated to co-head of Disney's DTC businesses. Placing a tech/product person, without legacy...
Never Stop Marketing, Even When Business Is Full
The single biggest mistake agency owners make for their pipeline: They stop marketing when they get busy. My favorite restaurant in the world is Royal Sushi Omakase in Philadelphia. (If you ask me, it’s the best restaurant in the world.) It has...
Real Leaders Confront Challenges, Don't Disappear
Tired of bosses who vanish when things get tough? True leadership means facing challenges head-on, not hiding from them. Stream now: 🔗 https://t.co/JgtHAvt0Jg 📽️ https://t.co/ZUgNnzEnoz 🔗 https://t.co/DmYp21NDA3 https://t.co/RQhrS6W64N
Nvidia Eyes $1T Sales, but Supply Constraints Loom
Nvidia CEO predicts i$1 trillion in sales through 2027. Wow, up .52% You would think the bulls would try harder. Maybe they are concerned about HOW that happens if $TSM is 'encumbered' or energy is 'scarce'. Encumbered Scarcity Trumps "Insane Demand" https://t.co/LVLaK2mfjg
LinkedIn VP Reveals Winning B2B Ad Strategies
LinkedIn is the number one channel for B2B marketers (for content, social, ads, you know we love it here) so I had LinkedIn VP Marketing Davang Shah on the podcast this week to go right to the source about what's...
Meta's Delays Cost Businesses $30‑40K in Overspend
Meta rarely, if ever, sends comms in a fast enough manner for bugs like last night. Today please demand them too. Some businesses are waking up to $30-40k in overspending from what I'm hearing. That's a significant amount of $...
Nvidia's $
Question: Why does Nvidia/Jensen's $1 trillion slide say "GTC DC" for both the '25 and the '26 column? https://t.co/TktmtloPXr
Scaling to the Moon This Year, Sharing Insights
Excited to scale this to the moon this year and share our learnings along the way📈