TJ's Blog - Software, Startups & Simplicity

Sinch Q1 2026: Laurinda Pang Moves On

Sinch had yet another profitable quarter. But the bigger news was CEO Laurinda Pang announcing that she intends to step down once a successor is…

Twilio Q1 2026: Voice Pulls the Trust Layer Higher

Revenue was over $1.4B, up 20% YoY reported and 16% organically. Voice grew 20%, messaging grew 25%, and software add-ons like Branded Calling and Conversational…

The FCC Wants to Cut Off the Robocall Number Supply

The FCC is coming for the inventory. It wants number providers to report how numbers are used, not just how many are in use. It…

The FCC Puts a $2,500 Per Call Price Tag on Sloppy KYC

The FCC wants to fine voice providers $2,500 per call for not knowing their customer or that customer’s traffic. In its most specific KYC proposal…

Buybacks, Confidence, and the Limits of R&D Spend

Braze, Bandwidth, and now Klaviyo joined Twilio, Sinch, and LINK with a share buyback program. In a sector that has taken a shellacking, buybacks signal…

Braze Q4 2025: AI Goes GA and Martech Spending Holds Up

Braze’s Q4, like Klaviyo’s results, begs the question: If SaaS is dead, then why are both of them pushing 30% YoY growth? Braze is saying…

The End of RBM (the moniker) and the Rise of Identity

Finally caught something that has me down for the count this weekend, so no new post. Instead, here are the three most-read pieces from Q4…

Bandwidth Q4 2025: Enterprise Voice Ramps, AI Gets Real

Bandwidth’s Q4 is a Rorschach test. If you stare at reported revenue, you’ll see a business that shrank about 1% YoY and missed the easy…

One Expert, One Topic — Peter Hyun Talks Service and Government Fluency

Peter Hyun grew up in Los Angeles as the son of Korean immigrants who arrived in the US in the mid-1970s on a one-way flight,…

Sinch Q4 2025: The Americas Lead, RCS Grows

Sinch’s Q4 read like an F1 driver giving a calm strategy update mid-race at Monza. The Americas strategy is working, buybacks are delivering, and the…

Twilio Q4 2025: Voice AI and Identity Take the Stage, Messaging Pays the Bills

Twilio’s Q4 was the championship trophy for a year defined by transformation. If Q2 was Federer in flow and Q3 showed Djokovic-like discipline, Q4 was…

Why Cross-Selling Is So Hard

Cross-sell is the single biggest revenue multiplier after retention, but it rarely behaves like a flywheel at scale. I’ve long been a skeptic of cross-selling…