Napkin Math

Yasir, CEO and solo founder of Chatbase, joins Saba and Charlie on the Napkin Math podcast to break down how he bootstrapped an AI customer support platform from a PDF chatbot side project to $10M ARR in just 3 years — starting before ChatGPT even launched. He shares the real story behind going viral, hitting $1M ARR in 4 months, the chaos of early growth, why he stayed bootstrapped, and how he thinks about building durable AI "harnesses" in a world where models improve every few months.

Timestamps:
01:38 - Origin story — building before ChatGPT existed
14:04 - 0 to $1M ARR in 4 months
22:13 - Product evolution — PDF chatbot to B2B AI agent
31:05 - Why brand makes every channel easier
35:44 - What makes a great AI harness vs a mediocre one
43:48 - Moats in the AI era
52:43 - Bootstrapped vs raising — Yasir's decision
56:15 - Path to AGI through harness improvements
59:12 - Advice for new founders: operate like an agency

A founder's stolen app, AI image gold rushes, and why London might just be the next Silicon Valley — all on the back of a napkin.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:41 - The stolen app story
08:54 - Lessons from the App Store
11:36 - Vibe shuffles & business opportunities
20:00 - Vibe coding education
24:36 - ChatGPT image model
28:31 - AI designer niches
37:36 - Cursor's $60B acquisition
40:57 - London Maxing movement

Saba and Charlie break down the $6.8 trillion wellness industry — period tracking, peptides, air quality, and sleep tech — then pivot to how the best founders (Dario Amodei, Brian Armstrong, Reed Hastings, Elon Musk) spotted emerging markets before anyone else. They close with a hot take on Anthropic's rumoured vibe coding platform and what it means for Lovable and Replit.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Wellness sector breakdown — the $6.8T opportunity
04:01 - Period tracking, peptides, air quality & sleep apps
25:30 - Building on Rising Tides — why bet on fast-growing markets
27:20 - Founders who got in early: Dario, Brian Armstrong, Reed Hastings, Elon
36:55 - AI agents, humanoid robots & the infrastructure plays
44:11 - Anthropic's vibe coding platform & impact on Lovable/Replit
49:00 - Anthropic's brand strategy

How Lego nearly went bankrupt by losing sight of its core product  and what it teaches us about culture, focus, and CEO decisions. Plus, a breakdown of Anthropic's jaw-dropping $30B run rate and what's fuelling it.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
02:04 - Lego deep dive - origin, near-bankruptcy & recovery lessons
19:15 - The "wrong CEO" trap & staying focused as you scale
34:49 - Anthropic culture - Dario's 40–50% time investment
37:22 - Anthropic's growth: $3B → $9B → $30B in one year
41:17 - Why the "focus on coding" strategy is winning
49:36 - OpenAI acquires TBPN - what's the real play?

Sabba and Charlie are back with a packed episode spanning alternative asset classes, the growing wave of security vulnerabilities in vibe-coded software, and a deep dive into what it really means for Anthropic to be "winning enterprise." They also break down the accidental Claude Code source map leak, debate whether angel investing is just an expensive hobby, and uncover a surprisingly massive opportunity hiding in the hay fever market.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:39 - Alternative Investing: Lego, collectibles & vintage tech vs. S&P 500
17:10 - Cybersecurity: npm supply chain attacks & vibe coding security risks
31:10 - The Claude Code source map leak
37:58 - Anthropic vs. OpenAI: What "winning enterprise" really means
40:19 - Ideas vs. Execution & the reality of angel investing
49:43 - The hay fever market & the Breezometer opportunity

This week Charlie and Saba dig into $1M app ideas hiding in boomer hobbies, why OpenAI killed Sora and what it says about focus, and how to hire the most talented people. Saba's joining remotely from Sicily 🇮🇹, commitment to the pod is real.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
01:02 - $1M Boomer App Ideas
18:48 - OpenAI Shuts Down Sora
24:39 - The Importance of Focus
34:25 - How to Hire Talented People
45:38 - Open Floor Meetup Recap
52:11 - Moats in an AI World

Sabba and Charlie cover how to build AI products in 2026 with Sabba's MAGIC Framework, why Threads might be the most underrated marketing channel, the big lie about competition, and how AI is giving content creators new ways to extend their work.

Timestamps:

00:52 - First hate mail, we're famous now
02:01 - Why Sabba tore up the entire Q2 roadmap
06:32 - The MAGIC Framework, building AI products in 2026
25:47 - Creativity Maxing, the Channel Surfer viral story
28:28 - Threads is bigger than X (and massively underrated)
32:52 - The Big Lie About Competition
40:28 - AI & Content Creators, giving your IP away to grow

Saba and Charlie introduce the BROTH framework for finding validated startup ideas, dive into the Open Claw (AI agents) hype, break down Bending Spoons' private equity playbook, and celebrate the London Maxing movement, plus debate whether Charlie invented vibe coding.

Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro
00:38 - The BROTH Framework, how to find pre-validated startup ideas
25:06 - Competitive positioning strategies (more for more, less for less, etc.)
32:15 - Story: founder who sold their company and is now looking for a job
34:59 - Open Claw meetup, is AI agents a new product category?
42:17 - Bending Spoons acquires Eventbrite, breakdown of their PE playbook
47:18 - Meetup's dark patterns (and live app investigation)
55:50 - Podcast milestone + like & subscribe
57:13 - London Maxing movement & the UK AI fund
59:14 - Did Charlie invent vibe coding?
65:45 - Should they buy lawyers.ai? Live negotiation
66:51 - Sign-off

Saba and Charlie do napkin math on the Cal AI acquisition by MyFitnessPal, share two must-do growth strategies for 2026 (API-first and Social SEO), and break down how Intercom bet the whole company on AI and won.

Timecodes:
00:00 – Intro

00:33 – Cal AI Acquisition Breakdown

19:20 – Growth Strategy #1: Go API-First

29:33 – Growth Strategy #2: Social SEO

36:46 – How Intercom Saved Itself with AI

44:27 – The Future of Outcome-Based Pricing

49:28 – Wrap up

From an $8M exit to building it all again, Tibo is one of the most unique SaaS builders we’ve met. In this episode, we unpack his regrets after selling, the exact playbook behind his $1M/month portfolio, how he stays viral on X, and what building in the AI era really looks like, all while balancing life as a dad. 

00:00 Intro & the $8M exit reality
02:07 $1M/month portfolio breakdown
06:15 Building in public & authenticity in the AI age
16:32 Running 5 companies at once 
23:03 Finding product market fit & growth tactics
29:39 How Tibo ships so fast (stack & vibe coding)
39:13 Hacking the X algorithm
45:41 The future of AI video
54:22 Does your company have an AI-native product?
60:30 What do you do with $1M/month?