The Reboot Chronicles with Dean DeBiase

Most American consumers have credit card debt in some form, with the total across those consumers at an alarming $1.03T. A new subset of the debt market that has been growing over the years is the buy now pay later model, that is projected to grow to $167B market by 2032. Though it may seem familiar to those that remember retail layaway programs, the model offers another way for consumers and merchants to transact, without the common credit card interest rates charged across monthly statement balances.

One of the biggest of these rapidly growing platform companies is Affirm, Inc. Similar to Afterpay and Klarna, Affirm has over 50 million consumers on its platform that have generated $60 Billion in merchandise value through nearly 300,000 partners from the largest retailers and travel companies to the smallest online stores on the Internet.

We invited Libor Michalek, Affirms President and board member to this episode of The Reboot Chronicles to give us a behind the scenes look at this sector, with insights into what helped Affirm take-off, and what’s coming next.

When you hear about a public company going through six CEOs, you may think “they are doomed!” Not so when you bring in an outsider who was the President of Uber, and focused in on rebooting the culture first—rather than deploying the typical rinse and repeat “transformation” consulting playbook.

Not many leaders can say they’ve been at the same company for 30 years and been an active Rebooter of the organization along the way—taking it from a small town supplier to a global market leader. Dan Florness can.

As President and CEO of Fastenal, a Fortune 500 leader in sectors from industrial supplies, logistics and consulting services to manufacturing, construction, and state and local government sectors, Dan and his teams have grown the company to 3,400 locations in 25 countries with 23,000 "can do - entrepreneurial" employees who delivered over $7B in revenue last year.

Dan shares his simple insights and stories on how to Reboot a small nuts and bolts supplier into a Fortune 500 leader, on this episode of The Reboot Chronicles Show.

Donating to charities is something that most

One company bringing generosity into the 21st

To talk more about how he is making giving

Cancer is not an easy topic to discuss. It is a devastating disease that takes over 10 million lives a year—600 thousand of those in the U.S. alone. To anyone who has gone through it or has loved ones who have fought cancer, it helps to know that you are not alone in that fight. Hundreds of organizations around the globe are focused on researching cancer from different angle—in the hopes of helping people through all stages of the process.

The U.S. banking industry began in 1780, when the Bank of Pennsylvania was started to fund the American Revolutionary War. Banking is not what it used to be, when just a few decades ago you probably had a personal relationship with a banker who knew your business—and could even provide advice fundamental to running your business. Some say banking hasn't changed much, and the main thing business banks provide is (hopefully) security, which is important—but today companies need more.

There are no shortages of companies trying to reboot this sector into the 21st Century. Part of the neobanking sector of fintech,  companies like Nubank, SoFi, Chime, Revoult, and  Highbeam provide  integrated banking, capital and cash planning platforms, to help small businesses (SMB’s) operate with more agility and insights so they can make smarter decisions.

To discuss how he is rebooting old school banking, we invited Highbeam’s CEO, Samir Shergill, to The Reboot Chronicles Show. An ex-Microsoft engineer turned banking CEO, Samir is creating a bank that manages your money and assists your business endeavors.

How do you find companies driving market-making moves with AI? Look for strong focused leaders that are on an impact mission—but aren't afraid to pivot.

 Sure, there are some wins on the board since the AI sector got a turbo boost with the introduction of ChatGPT at the end of 2022. This innovation continues to drive endless hype, competition, and investment into the AI sector, specifically for Large Language Models (LLMs) and GAI. But beyond the novelty cocktail party chatter, that will come and go like most hyped cycles, I’ve been looking for phase two AI organizations that can transform companies, industries, countries and even societies. One way to spot those, or find the beef, is to follow the smart money.

At the forefront of this wave, helping others develop and integrate generative AI for their needs, is Kore.ai. With over 200 partners and working with 400 Fortune 2000 companies across the globe, Kore.ai helps all of them decide what AI strategy would best benefit their needs. Kore has even made building AI easy through their no-code system, where even I can build, train, and test your AI in a drag-and-drop builder called XO.

One of the fastest growing companies in the sector, Kore has chatbots and co-pilots deployed by 100s of partners and thousands of large corporations, who are automating conversations  and streamlining customer and employee experiences. They just closed a $150M investment from FTV Capital and NVIDIA (NVDA). It’s not the largest round we’ve seen, and Kore may not be a familiar name for some of you. But the round is significant for the sector and provides leaders lessons/insights about how to get to this level and what’s next.

To talk us through the reboot of the generative AI industry, we invited Kore’s Founder and CEO, Raj Koneru, to The Reboot Chronicles. A serial CEO and strong/focused leader, who has been at the helm of Kore for the last decade, Raj unpacks how generative AI can revolutionize customer and employee experiences—and more.

In an era dominated by venture capital-fueled growth, the story of Zoho stands out as a model of the future. Led by visionary CEO Sridhar Vembu, Zoho has carved out a niche in the enterprise software sector, with a platform suite that provides almost everything SMB’s need to run their business. But what sets Zoho apart isn't just its expansive product portfolio; it's the company's journey of scaling to be on track toward a multi-billion-dollar brand without reliance on external funding. This milestone deserves a deeper look into the strategies that have positioned Zoho in a market crowded with messy, complex platforms.

At the recent Zoho Analyst Day in McAllen, TX, Reboot Media’s Chairman Dean DeBiase had a one-on-one with Vembu, who leads a team of 15,000 employees who delivered $1B in revenue last year, serving 700K customers and 100 million users in 150 countries. Their remarkable journey provides a teachable moment for leaders, from revealing the mechanics of smart scaling to executive relationships that promote a modest and innovative growth culture.

Video streaming is valued at $500 Billion and will explode into a $2.0 Trillion market by 2030. With billions of hours streamed per month, 99% of American households subscribe to a streaming service, like Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Disney, Fubo, Hulu, Max, Paramount, Peacock, Roku, Sling, and YouTube. Americans spend approximately 13 hours per day consuming digital media, ugh, with 3 of those hours spent streaming video.

When you think of propane what comes to mind? Is it a famous cartoon character who sells propane? Or even the propane appliances or grill on your patio or deck? Or is it perhaps the unique propane trucks you may have seen driving around—leaving you to wondering what the heck are those and where are they going?