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From Stripe Product Lead to $5M AI Startup: Solving the Permission Death Loop Killing Enterprise AI Agents
In this episode, I sit down with Mounir, CEO and co-founder of Portia AI, an open-source SDK for building production-ready AI agents specifically designed for regulated industries. After raising over $5 million, Portia is tackling one of the biggest challenges in enterprise AI: the "permission death loop" that keeps 70% of agent implementations stuck in POC stage.
🎯 What We Cover:
• The Permission Problem: Why most enterprise AI agents never make it to production
• Human-in-the-Loop Solutions: How Portia's execution hooks solve the automation vs. control dilemma
• Real-World Use Cases: From automated onboarding to invoice collection agents
• Cost vs. Value: Breaking down the economics of AI agents vs. traditional SaaS pricing
• The Future of Work: Which jobs will change and which new roles will emerge
• European AI Scene: Talent competition and the growing AI ecosystem in the UK/Europe
💡 Key Takeaways:
• Why enterprises need deterministic controls in AI workflows
• How to handle authentication and permissions at scale
• The difference between POC agents and production-ready systems
• Why open-source is crucial for deeply embedded AI infrastructure
• Real examples of agents saving hours of manual work
🔗 Connect with Mounir:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mounir-mouawad-1785b72/
• Website: https://www.portialabs.ai
👨💻 About Mounir:
Former executive at Amazon, Google Pay, and Stripe, Mounir brought Black Friday to the UK and launched Google Pay in 30 markets. Now he's focused on making AI agents production-ready for regulated industries.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction & Background
03:10 What is Portia AI?
05:30 The Permission Death Loop Problem
09:34 Why 70% of Agent Projects Stay in POC
14:42 Go-to-Market Strategy & Open Source
20:41 What Can AI Agents Actually Do Today?
29:31 Real-World Agent Examples & Costs
42:54 AI Talent War in Europe
🎙️ Subscribe for more interviews with AI founders and entrepreneurs shaping the future of work!
Enterprise AI agents, AI agent implementation, Production AI deployment, Regulated industries AI, Human-in-the-loop AI, AI startup funding, Ex-Stripe executive, AI agent failures, Permission management AI, Open source AI SDK
Where to find me:
• David: Linkedin
• Email: [email protected]
Want to stay ahead of AI's impact on jobs and future opportunities? Join 18000+ tech leaders and founders who are shaping the future of AI here:
• Newsletter: Join Here
View all episodes
By David StepaniaIn this episode, I sit down with Mounir, CEO and co-founder of Portia AI, an open-source SDK for building production-ready AI agents specifically designed for regulated industries. After raising over $5 million, Portia is tackling one of the biggest challenges in enterprise AI: the "permission death loop" that keeps 70% of agent implementations stuck in POC stage.
🎯 What We Cover:
• The Permission Problem: Why most enterprise AI agents never make it to production
• Human-in-the-Loop Solutions: How Portia's execution hooks solve the automation vs. control dilemma
• Real-World Use Cases: From automated onboarding to invoice collection agents
• Cost vs. Value: Breaking down the economics of AI agents vs. traditional SaaS pricing
• The Future of Work: Which jobs will change and which new roles will emerge
• European AI Scene: Talent competition and the growing AI ecosystem in the UK/Europe
💡 Key Takeaways:
• Why enterprises need deterministic controls in AI workflows
• How to handle authentication and permissions at scale
• The difference between POC agents and production-ready systems
• Why open-source is crucial for deeply embedded AI infrastructure
• Real examples of agents saving hours of manual work
🔗 Connect with Mounir:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mounir-mouawad-1785b72/
• Website: https://www.portialabs.ai
👨💻 About Mounir:
Former executive at Amazon, Google Pay, and Stripe, Mounir brought Black Friday to the UK and launched Google Pay in 30 markets. Now he's focused on making AI agents production-ready for regulated industries.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction & Background
03:10 What is Portia AI?
05:30 The Permission Death Loop Problem
09:34 Why 70% of Agent Projects Stay in POC
14:42 Go-to-Market Strategy & Open Source
20:41 What Can AI Agents Actually Do Today?
29:31 Real-World Agent Examples & Costs
42:54 AI Talent War in Europe
🎙️ Subscribe for more interviews with AI founders and entrepreneurs shaping the future of work!
Enterprise AI agents, AI agent implementation, Production AI deployment, Regulated industries AI, Human-in-the-loop AI, AI startup funding, Ex-Stripe executive, AI agent failures, Permission management AI, Open source AI SDK
Where to find me:
• David: Linkedin
• Email: [email protected]
Want to stay ahead of AI's impact on jobs and future opportunities? Join 18000+ tech leaders and founders who are shaping the future of AI here:
• Newsletter: Join Here