Startups For the Rest of Us

Episode 771 | What Changes As You Grow, AI Agents, Patents, and More Listener Questions (with Craig Hewitt)


Listen Later

Can SaaS companies survive the rise of AI Agents?

In episode 771, Rob Walling is joined by Craig Hewitt to answer listener questions. They discuss the changes that happen while transitioning from a small startup to a multi-million dollar SaaS, competing against larger competitors, and maintaining startup culture as teams grow. They also share thoughts on AI agents in the SaaS space and the relevance of patents for bootstrapped businesses.

Episode Sponsor:

This podcast is brought to you by Mercury. I've been banking with Mercury for years and whenever I set up a new account, I'm reminded why traditional banking feels stuck in the past. 

When our previous bank faced solvency issues, we needed to spin up new accounts quickly that could handle millions in funds across multiple businesses. Mercury had us up and running almost immediately.

I manage half a dozen different Mercury accounts across a wide range of companies – from my personal, single-member LLC to MicroConf, our 7-figure global events and education platform, to TinySeed, our venture fund and accelerator. Mercury easily handles them all.

The interface is elegantly simple for daily banking, paying invoices, and sending and receiving international wires, yet powerful enough to handle the multi-step approval processes we needed to put in place when funding founders with large transfers. 

Anytime founders ask me who they should set up their accounts with, I send them to mercury.com.

Mercury is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group, Column N.A., and Evolve Bank & Trust; Members FDIC.

Topics we cover: 
  • (2:41) – Marketing and sales strategies while scaling
  • (9:31) – Keeping the startup culture through growth
  • (14:50) – Can SaaS survive autonomous agents?
  • (21:03) – AI wrapper tools
  • (25:15) – Patent strategy for startups
  • (29:30) – Competing against VC-backed companies
  • Links from the Show: 
    • MicroConf Remote: Early-Stage SaaS Sales
    • Invest in TinySeed
    • Craig Hewitt (@TheCraigHewitt) | X
    • Craig Hewitt (@craighewitt.com) | Bluesky
    • Rouge Startups
    • Castos
    • Omar Zenhom
    • Omar Zenhom’s MicroConf Talk
    • AI Agents vs SaaS - Who Wins the Future of Software?
    • Episode 542 | 10x in Two Years, Past $3M ARR with SquadCast
    • If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you! 

      Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      Startups For the Rest of UsBy Rob Walling

      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9

      4.9

      683 ratings


      More shows like Startups For the Rest of Us

      View all
      a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

      a16z Podcast

      1,003 Listeners

      The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship by Omer Khan

      The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship

      179 Listeners

      The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

      The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

      513 Listeners

      Built to Sell Radio by John Warrillow

      Built to Sell Radio

      205 Listeners

      The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

      The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

      175 Listeners

      Founders by David Senra

      Founders

      1,803 Listeners

      Noah Kagan Presents by Noah Kagan

      Noah Kagan Presents

      902 Listeners

      Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

      Masters of Scale

      3,963 Listeners

      Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

      Y Combinator Startup Podcast

      209 Listeners

      REWORK by 37signals

      REWORK

      207 Listeners

      My First Million by Hubspot Media

      My First Million

      2,597 Listeners

      The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

      The Startup Ideas Podcast

      181 Listeners

      Marketing Against The Grain by Hubspot Media

      Marketing Against The Grain

      352 Listeners

      Moneywise by Hampton

      Moneywise

      647 Listeners