Doug Rybacki

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀! We're conducting a benchmarking study to define success metrics specifically for vertical software companies. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Existing SaaS benchmarks just don't cut it for your unique industry needs. This research will provide the data-driven insights to measure and optimize your vertical software business. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽? A few minutes of your time can make a big difference.

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THIS... is why we started Summit Venture Studio... These are 27 software development projects Spencer Walker and I worked on while inside the University of Utah. The Y-axis is Millions of dollars (valuation). The X-axis are value inflection points. The two companies that had the highest value at exit/raise in this chart were actually valued much higher but it skewed the graph so I am just showing how much they raised. The GREEN all exited or raised money, the BLUE were all licensed to established companies so a real value was never set after that and the RED were shut down. An interesting point to think about is that these projects were "assigned to us" and were not "chosen" as good business opportunities. Now we are screening the deals we work on for commercial viability. I am super excited for the future. Who wants to come and play with us and start a company with us? We have 8 in the pipeline and I just finished a meeting where we agreed to launch our next company hopefully in the next few weeks.

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Huge News...today, Contractor Commerce launched AI within the platform. That's right. We've been working behind the scenes for months to harness the power of AI to help contractors get EVEN MORE value from their online stores. Today we rolled out the first of several major AI enhancements with 5 awesome customers who wanted to pioneer this new layer of technology alongside us. Ecommerce for contractors is already working - turning website visitors into $$. But we're never satisfied. We wake up every day, listen to our customers, and invest in our platform to help contractors make more money and build thriving companies. We won't stop until every contractor has an online store....now powered by AI. If you want to learn more or supercharge your company website with AI-powered ecommerce, message me. https://lnkd.in/g2YzpAuc #AI #HVAC #ecommerce #contractors

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I really enjoyed listening to this interview. Mojo's design takes into account many competing interests, and this conversation dives deeply into how the language was conceived and how it has evolved. For example, Python has become the standard language for AI and data science, but part of its success comes from a huge amount of supporting code written in C++. This two-language problem results in inefficiencies and barriers to progress. By building a language that shares the same syntax as Python but includes features that allow for direct high-performance computing, you can shorten the time between exploring an idea and bringing it into production. This is just one of the ideas covered in the interview, alongside comparisons to other languages like Rust and Zig, the relative benefits of static vs dynamic typing (and how you can get the positives of both through careful language design), the complexities and tradeoffs of memory management approaches, and why it's time to start migrating towards a language built in 2024 that finally moves us past the design needs of the 1980s.

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If you're running a data or AI-focused startup, connect with Stephan Goupille and his team! When three of the industry's brightest data minds join forces to back your venture, you get more than just funding – you gain invaluable operator expertise. They understand the challenges and opportunities you face because they've been there themselves.

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At Speakeasy we love working with devex leaders like Michael Heap to continuously raise the bar for what is "best in class" 🔥 We've been super lucky to work with him on what makes a great developer experience for iac and terraform. Come hear him and Thomas Rooney talk through how you can leverage OpenAPI and your API supply chain to build a provider and unlock the Terraform ecosystem. Link to the livestream in the comments 👇 #terraform #codegeneration #openapi

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Had a great conversation with Brett Stapper about the origins of Tonic.ai and some of the idiosyncrasies of building a business that crosses categories. The most important things we did: -Move quickly, but iteratively. It’s hard to learn if you’re slow or if you change north stars too often. -Focus on the customer over definitions, i.e., synthetic data vs masked data. Keep in mind what they actually need, not just the words they use to describe it. -Be honest and direct with customers about what’s possible even when there’s a lot of hype. #startups #data #genai Full episode: https://lnkd.in/gTf7k-qv

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🚀Jason Staats is back with a new demo of Uncat, the app that can save accountants hundreds of hours! In this video, Jason shares how Uncat can: 1. Eliminate the headache of uncategorized transactions 2. Automate receipt collection and matching 3. Streamline client communication 4. Save you valuable time and money If you're tired of manual data entry and endless back-and-forth with clients, this is a must-watch! Watch the full demo here: https://lnkd.in/eRXyKnPQ And if you're ready to give Uncat a try, sign up for a free trial today! #Uncat #AccountingAutomation #Bookkeeping #Productivity #QuickBooks

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New on the Review: Conventional wisdom teaches managers to avoid “anti-patterns,” general practices that are deemed unproductive, like micromanaging. But Will Larson, a veteran engineering leader and CTO at Carta, argues that not every anti-pattern is bad, and makes a case for the three that eng execs should explore: 🔍 1) Shying away from micromanaging. “New engineering managers are often advised to ‘step away from the code.’ But an extremely high-functioning exec understands the domain they are operating in at some level of detail,” he says. “As you get too far out of the details, you just become a bureaucrat. Too many well-meaning engineering managers end up as bureaucrats.” 📏 2) Pushing back on flawed metrics. “Often when people start measuring, there's always a concern that their measurement is flawed. And that's true for all functions,” he says. “But I’m a believer in measuring something imperfect, but useful, versus holding out for the perfect metric while measuring nothing in the interim.” ☔ 3) Serving as the umbrella for your team. “In the past, I used to think I was energizing my team by sparing them the details. But now it feels like lying to them,” he says. On a tactical level, Larson adjusted this habit by buffering less information. “That means even if it’s disappointing for folks, I’d rather them process news bit by bit, rather than deal with a huge ocean of mess all in one moment.” Link to the full article in the comments.

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Hey LinkedIn 👋, Kevin Newsum got me on the hot seat 🔥, and tomorrow I’m about to get grilled in an AMA session! This session is perfect for Sequence users, both old and new, and for anyone who's Sequence-curious 🤔 or has questions about building a startup 🚀, fintech 💳, or anything else you'd like to ask me. 📅 Registration link is in the comments. Looking forward to your questions!

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Ever stumbled upon a SaaS gem on Product Hunt that made you go "Wow!"? 💡 Which one and why? 🦉 Click here to join the discussion and share your thoughts about the product. Words can have a profound impact, and it is crucial to acknowledge their significance. 💪 Never neglect the power of words! #SaaS #ProductHunt #Discussion #Choice #Thoughts

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Hear Simpli5's CRO, Tyler Plant speak about the intersection of AI and skills that are uniquely human. Learn why it is more important than ever to focus on what used to be referred to as "soft skills". We appreciate The Matias Experiment spending time with Tyler and learning more about how Simpli5 is viewing the future of work. #futureofwork #workplaceculture #leadershipdevelopment

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What happen if you “Just added a Zero” to your revenues? Or better yet,added that “Zero” to your profits. Before you say “That’s impossible”, think about ways it could be done…and more important, what impact it would have on your business. #podcast #podcasts #hvac https://lnkd.in/e5Afj5-9

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This is a quick way (Bill came in below his 4 minute limit!) to learn more about what we're building with Prak.

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The average consumer has 3-4 credit cards, and each year $100 Billion worth of rewards go unused each year. With so many cards to manage, it's no wonder that many people find it challenging to keep track of their rewards. I'd love to hear from you: what do you find the most challenging aspect of managing your cards? Share your thoughts in the comments below! #creditcards #rewards #financialmanagement Gregg Jackowitz Nick McEvily Calon Alpar Tim Tang, CFE John Kosturos John Graham Calon Alpar Scott Benedetti Brian Jones Scott Ferrall Stuart Ferrell Stu Schwartz Justin Combs Jake Winckowski Michael Basil

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👀 Hidden jobs! 👀 (Sorry/NotSorry for the clickbait title) 😎 I recently learned that there are many VC (Venture Capital) firms out there that maintain their own job boards for open positions at the companies that they invest in. This is a great resource to find openings at startups (and some pretty well established companies, too) that may not be listed here on LinkedIn or other boards. I thought it would be useful to put together a list of the ones I have found so far. If you are looking for work, check out my list! (A work in progress, but please repost and share). https://lnkd.in/gnQsb3H8 Oh and did I mention that I am #opentowork and looking for a new role in Engineering Management? Check out my profile and HMU if you've got something interesting! 🙏 Thanks!

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Last Friday, the Axify team had its first offsite planning and envisioning day, enjoying the hospitality of our very first customer. I’m proud to be going to market with this incredible crew who have helped Axi achieve impressive early results: 100% call capture: No call goes unanswered. 90% closure rate: Successfully closing 90% of call requests. 30% conversion rate: Converting 30% of calls into bookings. Since launching into Hospitality, we’ve shipped 15 versions of Axi into production, continuously enhancing its capabilities. At this level of performance, our customers have seen an average ROI of 518% annually. We're excited to keep pushing the boundaries and expand Axi’s impact across more service sectors. Next: Our Salon Axi is impressively able to gather the complex needs of the consumer, explain detailed service inclusions, price the service, and place confirmed bookings into Reservation Management System! Demo available and results coming soon. #NextGenBooking #TechForwardServices #ServiceRevolution #InnovateToElevate #SmartServiceSolutions

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Polls can be a cheat code for earned media, and a great way to build authority. But there are levels to this. Here's how one of the best I've seen - Capital One - does it. (And what I'd do differently to increase earned coverage). Led by Shena Ashley, PhD, Capital One's Insights Center is a masterclass in leveraging polls to create unique insights that would do incredibly well via earned syndication. Here’s what they do great: ✅ Content that sticks: Crucial issues > fleeting trends. Focusing on topics like financial stability, mobility, and entrepreneurship, it's easier to rationalize investment on topics with a longer shelf life. Their insights + stories can drive coverage for months to come. ✅ Visual storytelling: Data doesn’t have to be dry, and Capital One presents original insights through clear and eye-pleasing visuals that are easy to understand. Publishers like charts, they love colorful charts, and they LOVE colorful charts that are easy to understand. Check, check, check. ✅ Strong methodologies and extensive polling numbers: Capital One frequently involves 7k+ participants in their studies - they are not half a**ing it. Well explained methodologies are table stakes to get your polls covered, and Capital One does a great job outlining their data collection process, sample size, and research methodologies.   ✅ Easy to steal: Each report has multiple easy to take stories/soundbites, and are also written as full pieces of content, which can be taken as whole. Finally --- if I could change one thing... Add a byline. Brand publishing NEEDS a byline - no news outlet wants to cover a story that can't be credited back to a human. All in all, polls can be incredibly valuable for driving earned syndication - check out Capital One's Insights Center in comments for killer examples.

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I just posted about Ploze to Product Hunt: https://lnkd.in/ebtktneU - I'd appreciate it if you'd take a look. (Unlock and integrate your digital life using Ploze: Load your data on-device from exports from a myriad of services, and view it all in an integrated searchable timeline. There is no cloud component to Ploze - it works on your computer.)

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