Pitch, Build, Scale - Startup Founder Stories in the Age of AI

What happens when a 26-year construction veteran decides to reinvent an entire industry?

In this episode of "Pitch, Build, Scale", host Chris Fanchi sits down with Steve Dell’Orto, Founder & CEO of Concntric, to explore how his company became the first AI-powered pre-construction platform, uniting data, workflows, and people into a single, intuitive system.

Steve shares what it means to “bear hug AI”, why simplicity is the hardest design challenge, and how the right UX can turn skeptics into advocates in one of the world’s most traditional industries.

From eliminating redundant workflows to building an agentic AI layer that helps teams do the work of ten people, this conversation reveals how Concntric is unlocking capacity and transforming how the built world gets built.

Chapters

00:00 Intro – Why Construction Needed a New Operating System

02:08 From Builder to Founder: Steve Dell’Orto’s Leap Into Tech

07:44 The Problem Hidden in Plain Sight

10:21 Building Concntric: From Stealth Mode to Scale

15:54 “Make Less Work, Not More” – The Simplicity Principle

17:42 How Concntric Is “Bear Hugging” AI

19:03 Agentic AI: The Future of Pre-Construction

25:14 Building Faster Through Human + AI Collaboration

26:40 The Moat: Domain Expertise as the True Differentiator

29:17 Hands-On Relationships in a High-Tech World

32:14 The Magic Wand Question – What’s Next for Concntric

34:26 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Steve

Resources

🔗 Concntric – https://www.concntric.com

🔗 Connect with Steve Dell’Orto on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedellorto

🔗 Big North Network – https://bignorthnetwork.com/managing-ai

📘 Learn More

Managing AI: Humans, Agents, and the Future of Work — out now from Chris Fanchi.

Learn more and order at https://bignorthnetwork.com/managing-ai

What if your customer data could think - and show you exactly where revenue is won or lost?

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Tim Gosnell, Founder of CommonThread AI, to explore how agentic AI is redefining how RevOps and SaaS companies understand customers.

Tim shares the journey from early Atari programming days to building a system that maps every touchpoint and outcome in real time, revealing where relationships thrive, where churn begins, and how AI can elevate human connection rather than replace it.

If you’ve ever struggled with messy CRMs, disconnected pipelines, or “data-driven” decisions that still miss the mark, this conversation will change how you think about growth.

🕒 Chapters

00:00 The Next Revolution: Why AI Is Bigger than E-Commerce

02:00 Tim’s Origin Story: From Atari to AI

06:20 Lessons from Early Startups and the Birth of CommonThread AI

08:45 Fixing CRM Chaos and Building Better Data Pipelines

11:40 Customer Journeys vs. Customer Outcome Maps

15:00 Deep Understanding over “Insights”

17:00 From Retention to Evangelism Why Positive Impact Matters

20:00 RevOps Use Cases and Why Messaging Matters

23:45 AI’s True Impact — A 100-Year Revolution

28:40 Workflow Transformation and AI Specialization

33:00 Agentic AI and the Next Wave of Automation

36:20 Fear, Faith, and the Human Side of AI

40:00 Leadership, BHAGs & Redefining Success

42:00 Where to Connect with Tim Gosnell

🔗 Resources

CommonThread AI → https://www.commonthread.ai

Connect with Tim on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/somepeoplecallmetim/

Grow your revenue with host Chris Fanchi's Big North Marketing → https://bignorthmarketing.com

Conversations like this feed the new book "Managing AI: Humans, Agents, and the Future of Work" by Chris Fanchi — releasing November 18. Visit https://bignorthmarketing.com/managing-ai to learn more and pre-order today!

#customerjourney #crm #revops

What if governments and companies could run simulations to test policy, forecast epidemics, or predict product adoption — before making a single decision?

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with John Cordier, CEO of Epistemix, to explore how digital twins and agent-based simulation are reshaping the way organizations understand human behavior and forecast change.

Epistemix’s platform builds synthetic populations — nation-scale digital twins that help health systems, pharma brands, and governments model complex societal scenarios from pandemics to consumer trends. Their work helped reopen the global events industry months ahead of schedule during COVID and is now redefining how data science teams simulate real-world systems at scale.

John shares how Epistemix is bridging public health, AI, and behavioral economics, using LLMs to generate models faster, reduce time-to-value from months to a week, and make simulation accessible for both data scientists and decision makers.

If you’ve ever wondered what “SimCity for the real world” looks like, this is it.

🕒 Chapters

00:00 Intro — From AI Agents to Faster Simulations

01:42 John Cordier’s Origin Story and Epistemix’s Founding

06:34 What Is a Digital Twin and How It Works

10:00 Why Pharma and Insurers Are Adopting Simulation

12:36 How Epistemix Helped Reopen the Global Events Industry

15:39 Using Data to Drive Better Decision Making

18:09 Integrating LLMs and AI to Reduce Time-to-Value

21:19 AI, Policy Modeling, and Empathetic Decision Making

25:59 The Future of Simulation in Health and Consumer Markets

28:55 What Success Looks Like in the Next 12 Months

31:41 Making Agent-Based Simulation as Accessible as ChatGPT

33:36 Where to Connect with John Cordier and Epistemix

🔗 Resources

🌐 Epistemix — https://www.epistemix.com

💼 Big North Marketing — https://www.bignorthmarketing.com

💬 Work With Chris & Big North Marketing

Are you a SaaS founder or software agency owner looking to turn your expertise into a revenue-generating content engine? At Big North Marketing, we help tech leaders build audiences and close clients through podcasts, content, and AI-driven outreach.

👉 Book a free growth session at BigNorthMarketing.com

What happens when decades of courtroom tradition meet the power of AI?

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Tom Irby, Co-Founder of Skribe.ai, to explore how his company is transforming how testimony is captured, managed, and authenticated in the legal system.

After selling his first court reporting business to industry giant Veritext, Tom saw firsthand how outdated and inefficient the process was — and decided to rebuild it from the ground up. Skribe.ai replaces stenographs and videographers with an AI-powered testimony intelligence platform that’s faster, more accurate, and fully admissible in court.

Tom shares how they’re navigating regulation, building trust in a risk-averse market, and redefining what “official record” means in the digital era. Plus, he offers a refreshingly grounded take on AI adoption, innovation cycles, and the power of human adaptability.

🔑 Key Topics & Chapters

00:00 – The disruption of court reporting and testimony capture

02:00 – From PC industry to legal tech: Tom’s founder journey

05:45 – How Skribe.ai was born from pandemic-era change

09:45 – Turning depositions into a live, AI-powered platform

12:40 – Why generic transcription tools don’t work for legal testimony

14:20 – Ensuring court admissibility in every state

18:00 – Navigating old rules and modernizing legal frameworks

23:15 – From paper to video: The new gold standard in testimony

25:00 – Expansion beyond civil litigation and into law enforcement

30:20 – “You won’t lose your job to AI – you’ll lose it to someone who uses AI”

35:15 – The “magic wand” lesson: education, adoption, and early adopters

Resources

🌐 Skribe.ai — https://www.skribe.ai

🚀 Learn more about Big North Marketing — https://www.bignorthmarketing.com

Are you a SaaS founder or dev agency owner ready to grow your pipeline, scale your content, and attract higher-ticket clients through authority-driven media?

👉 Visit BigNorthMarketing.com to book your free growth consultation today.

#LegalTech #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Startup #FounderStory

Some interviews are all business - and some interviews take you by surprise.

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Jim Weldon, CEO of Prospect Desk, for an unfiltered conversation that spans the entire spectrum - from being ahead of the curve on AI and machine learning to navigating leadership in an increasingly divided world.

Jim shares how his team is building one of the most advanced independent data networks on the planet, what he’s learned scaling a $10K startup into a $60M business, and why the next era of work will be defined by AI agents, not SaaS apps.

This episode dives deep into the intersection of technology, humanity, and responsibility — and what it means to build something that lasts when the world around you is changing by the minute.

🔍 Chapters

00:00 From Filing Systems to $60M Startup

04:45 The Early Days of Machine Learning and Data Cooperatives

09:10 Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital in the Age of AI

11:00 Smart Agents and the End of the SDR Role

17:45 Building the Largest Independent Data Graph

25:40 The Future of Automation and Human Work

31:10 SaaS Moats Are Dead — Here’s What’s Next

39:10 Technology, Politics, and the Human Divide

46:00 What It Means to Lead with Integrity in a Time of Change

📚 Resources

Prospect Desk → https://www.prospectdesk.ai

Connect with Jim → [email protected]

Big North Marketing → https://bignorthmarketing.com

Grow your SaaS or dev agency with our Founder’s Growth Stack — personalized strategy, outreach, and podcast-led marketing systems designed to scale your revenue without scaling your workload. Learn more at BigNorthMarketing.com

#HumanWorkAfterAI #SaaS #AIFuture

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi talks with Christopher Gray, award-winning entrepreneur, Shark Tank alumnus, and CEO of Path — an AI-powered platform transforming how students prepare for college and professional exams.After helping millions earn scholarships with Scholly, Christopher is now tackling educational inequity from another angle: using AI to make test prep and essay coaching affordable and accessible to everyone.Christopher shares how AI is reshaping higher education, the future of work, and what “learning” really means in a world where machines can do almost everything faster. From the rise of “AI-native” students to the looming disruption of traditional universities, this is a must-listen for anyone curious about the intersection of technology, opportunity, and human potential.Key topics include:- How Path is democratizing test prep with AI- Why distribution is the new moat in the AI era- The coming wave of “AI-powered colleges”- Why degrees may soon matter less than AI certifications- What the next 5 years of AI regulation and disruption could bring⏱️ Chapters00:00 Christopher Gray’s Journey: From Scholly to Path04:15 The Role of Technology in Educational Access07:30 The AI Revolution in Test Prep10:55 Building an AI Agent for College Admissions15:10 Competing with Legacy Giants Like Kaplan18:20 How AI Will Disrupt Higher Education21:00 The Future of Learning and AI Certification27:00 Job Displacement, Mid-Career Risk, and Economic Shifts32:00 Regulation, Wealth Cycles, and the Five-Year AI Window38:00 Building Distribution as the Ultimate Moat📚 Resources🌐 Learn more about Path: https://yourpath.ai🚀 Work with Big North Marketing: https://BigNorthMarketing.comWant to grow your brand, audience, and revenue like the top tech leaders featured on this show?Big North Marketing helps SaaS founders and dev agencies turn podcasts into growth engines.👉 Start your growth plan at BigNorthMarketing.com

AI is rewriting the rules of software development. Joel Garcia believes that if your devs aren’t using AI, they may not be devs for much longer.

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Joel Garcia, CEO of Allcode, an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner helping startups and SMBs modernize, migrate, and scale in the cloud.

Joel shares how AI is transforming development speed, the future of cloud automation, and why success now depends as much on adaptability as it does on code. From refactoring technical debt to closing enterprise deals, Joel explains how to build a company that moves faster and smarter in the era of intelligent automation.

If you lead a dev team or SaaS company, this is a must-listen on how to stay competitive as AI reshapes the industry.

⏱ Chapters

00:00 Introduction — AI as a game-changer for developers

02:45 Joel’s early tech roots and startup journey

05:20 How Allcode helps startups migrate and modernize in the cloud

08:30 Partnerships, clients, and scaling through AWS

09:45 “If your devs aren’t using AI, they may not be devs for much longer”

11:15 Amazon Q Developer and the future of developer productivity

13:50 Adapting to new client expectations in the AI era

15:30 Modernizing legacy codebases and migrating from colo to cloud

18:40 Customizing AI to internal codebases and workflows

19:35 Turning forms into conversations: real-world AI applications

21:00 Using Bedrock, Crew AI, and SageMaker to automate at scale

22:30 Breaking into enterprise and landing government deals

23:30 The biggest bottleneck: closing deals in a technical sales cycle

24:03 Where to learn more about Allcode

🔗 Resources

🌐 Allcode: https://www.allcode.com

🌐 Big North Marketing: https://www.bignorthmarketing.com

💡 Ready to grow your tech company?

If you’re a founder or CEO looking to generate qualified leads and close bigger deals, visit Big North Marketing.

👉 Learn more at BigNorthMarketing.com

AI is rewriting the rules of enterprise risk management, but can we trust the systems shaping our decisions?

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Lily Yeoh, founder and CEO of C1Risk, a governance, risk, and compliance platform that helps enterprises automate cybersecurity programs using AI.

Lily shares her journey from early days in cybersecurity at Texas Instruments and RSA to leading C1Risk — and the lessons she’s learned about AI trust, data transparency, and responsible automation.

You’ll learn:

- How AI is transforming compliance, risk, and cybersecurity oversight across industries

- Why enterprises need standards for AI transparency and model integrity

- How C1Risk is building GRC assistants that leverage AI ethically to improve accuracy and productivity

- The future of AI governance and how companies can prepare for new risk models

🕒 Chapters

00:00 Intro & AI Trust in Data

02:00 Lily Yeoh’s Path into Cybersecurity

06:00 Evolution of Cyber Threats Over 25 Years

10:00 Why She Founded C1Risk

14:00 Building API-First Compliance Automation

20:00 Who Owns Risk in the Enterprise?

23:00 The AI Triad: Misinformation, Models & Cost

27:00 How C1Risk Uses AI Internally

31:00 Building AI-Driven GRC Assistants

33:00 Scaling Challenges & AI Talent Demand

35:00 Funding, Focus & Her “Magic Wand” Wish

Resources

• C1Risk — Enterprise GRC platform: https://C1Risk.com

• Big North Marketing — growth for dev shops & SaaS: https://BigNorthMarketing.com

Want pipeline you can measure and a podcast that drives sales conversations, not just downloads?

→ Book a Free Growth Plan consult at BigNorthMarketing.com or DM me “GROWTH” and I’ll send the 3-part Creator to Client checklist we use to turn episodes into revenue.

That viral moment your brand missed? It’s probably already costing you.

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Chelsie Hall, CEO of ViralMoment, whose company helps brands like Coca-Cola, Disney, and Warner Brothers decode social video before the rest of the world catches on.

We explore:

- How AI is reshaping social video monitoring and trend detection

- Why deepfakes pose the next big risk to brands and personal reputations

- The difference between going viral vs. understanding virality

- How even small brands can now access enterprise-level intelligence

If you want to understand the future of social media and how AI is changing what it means to protect and grow a brand, this episode is for you.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Generative AI and the deepfake challenge

01:36 Chelsie’s path from Carnegie Mellon to ViralMoment

03:26 Building AI that can actually read video

07:18 The Coca-Cola “Healthy Coke” turning point

09:31 How ViralMoment lands enterprise clients

12:39 Democratizing brand intelligence for smaller companies

13:58 The shift from social networks to algorithmic feeds

16:16 Detecting AI-generated and deepfake content

17:45 Personal brands as the new frontier of brand safety

18:52 Rethinking metrics for measuring social video

19:47 Platforms to watch and how to prioritize

20:14 Long-form video support and enterprise use cases

🔗 Resources

ViralMoment: https://www.viralmoment.com

Big North Marketing: https://www.bignorthmarketing.com

💡 Your company’s next growth engine might be sitting idle in your pipeline. At Big North Marketing, we help SaaS companies and dev agencies land bigger clients and scale faster using modern growth systems.

👉 Want to see how it could work for you? Connect with us at BigNorthMarketing.com.

How much more can one person do with AI? For Brett Hollman, the answer is: a lot more.

In this episode of Pitch, Build, Scale, host Chris Fanchi sits down with Brett Hollman, Co-Founder & CEO of Enji and former engineering leader at Amazon and Intuit. Brett shares how he and his wife turned years of marketing consulting experience into an AI-powered platform that helps solopreneurs and small business owners build marketing strategies that actually work.

We explore:

- Brett’s journey from leading massive AI teams at Amazon and Intuit to building Enji

- Why small businesses often fail at marketing (and how AI can fix it)

- How Enji blends human expertise with automation to create actionable strategies

- The future of AI for small business: enablement vs. replacement

- Scaling a startup from founder-led sales to product-led growth

Whether you’re a SaaS founder, software development leader, or solo entrepreneur, this episode offers a candid look at how AI is reshaping marketing and what it really takes to scale.

Chapters

00:00 Intro: Doing more with AI, not less

01:11 Brett’s early tech journey

05:20 From Amazon to AWS leadership

07:25 Building AI platforms at Intuit

10:23 Why Enji exists: solving marketing by accident

18:28 How Enji’s AI is different from a ChatGPT wrapper

29:36 The road to automated marketing

32:05 Startup bottlenecks: founder-led sales vs PLG

35:26 Where AI is headed for small business

38:06 Where to find Brett and Enji

Resources

🔗 Automate your marketing strategy with Enji: https://enji.co

🔗 Grow your revenue with Big North Marketing: https://bignorthmarketing.com

👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell for more conversations with tech leaders shaping the future of work.

#smallbusiness #ai #marketingautomation