Episode 9: Johnny Childress - Killing the Pilot and How Enterprise Deals Close

Episode 9: Johnny Childress - Killing the Pilot and How Enterprise Deals Close

Johnny Childress, a Series A revenue leader who has interviewed around 6,500 salespeople, joins Justin Tannenbaum to break down how enterprise deals actually close: multi-year options, paid agreements over free pilots, the term-for-convenience trap, the one hiring question, showing up in person, and a pragmatic take on AI.

Episode 8: Jonathan Sexton - AI Agents, Bitcoin, and What We Actually Own

What does an AI model pick when you ask it to hold money? On this episode of Agents of Change, Justin Tannenbaum hosts Jonathan Sexton — brand strategist, songwriter, husband, father, youth basketball coach, and Bitcoin-focused operator who writes for Unchained. The conversation anchors on a Bitcoin Policy Institute study that tested 36 frontier AI models — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, Minimax — across 9,072 monetary scenarios with neutral framing. Zero picked fiat as their top preference. Stablecoins led for payments. For long-term store of value, 79 percent picked Bitcoin. The study becomes the spine of a wider operator conversation on what AI agents will do when they start making payments on our behalf. Key takeaways: - Software's new bottleneck is imagination, not language. With agentic tooling, the "I don't know how to code" excuse is mostly retired. Hire for taste and clarity in 2026. - Measuring AI teams on token spend is the same incentive trap as paying engineers by lines of code. Companies that measure activity get activity. Measure outcomes instead. - The agentic AI payment stack is two layers, not one. Stablecoins for the payments layer (speed). Bitcoin for long-term store of value (uninflatable supply). - AI personhood will likely follow the corporate-personhood legal precedent. Corporations got full legal personhood with very little built-in responsibility for the people or environment around them. The same shape could happen with AI agents. - Curiosity precedes agency. Most hiring frameworks screen for the wrong variable. - Wall Street showed up at Bitcoin 2026 — managing directors and VPs, not marketing associates. The cultural narrative on Bitcoin still lags the trade-show floor by 12-18 months. About the guest: Jonathan Sexton started as a musician and songwriter, pivoted into technology and brand strategy, and now works on Bitcoin-focused projects including writing for Unchained. About the host: Justin Tannenbaum is the CEO of AppStream Studio, where his team builds production AI agents for companies that need AI in production, not on a slide deck. Subscribe to Agents of Change for operator-grade conversations on AI, modernization, and the work that actually ships.

Episode 7: Jeff Siddiqi - From Door-to-Door to CPG Powerhouse

In this in-depth interview, Jeff Siddiqi shares his journey from door-to-door sales to becoming a leading expert in consumer packaged goods (CPG). He discusses industry trends, the importance of Amazon for brand growth, and insights from Expo West, providing valuable strategies for brands aiming to scale and innovate.

Episode 6: Chip Reeves - Revolutionizing Logistics: How AI and Offshore BPO Are Changing the Game

In this episode, Chip Reeves, CEO of Enablers, shares his journey from freight brokerage to founding a company that leverages offshore BPO and AI to revolutionize logistics operations. Discover insights on automation, technology adoption, and the future of logistics industry innovation.

Episode 5: Piotr Szyperski - The Shift Every Developer Will Face in The Age of AI

In this episode, Piotr shares his journey into software development, discussing his early passion for computers and how he transitioned from a full-stack developer to leading a team at AppStream Studio. The conversation explores the impact of generative AI on software engineering, highlighting the shift in workflows from coding to planning and the importance of human oversight in AI-driven development. Piotr also reflects on the future of AI in software development and the potential challenges it poses for new engineers.