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

In this episode of Homebase, host David Stepania sits down with Ómar Thor Ómarsson, CEO and Co-founder of Optise, who just raised $2.2M to revolutionize B2B website analytics with AI.

What You'll Learn:

• Why most B2B websites focus too much on product features instead of customer value
• How to prioritize marketing efforts by cutting non-essential activities (Ómar went from 17 responsibilities to 7)
• The shift from traditional lead gen forms to free, high-value content that builds trust
• Why Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the new SEO for AI-powered search
• How to leverage customer research as the foundation for all marketing decisions

Guest Background: Ómar Thor spent 15+ years in B2B marketing, including 8 years as CMO at fintech company Meniga and consulting for 100+ B2B companies. His frustration with dysfunctional marketing teams and ineffective website analytics led him to build Optise, which uses AI to turn complex website data into actionable recommendations.

Key Takeaways:

• The #1 mistake 90% of B2B websites make with messaging
• How AI can deliver 10x more actionable insights than manual analysis
• Why "nothing in marketing is working" right now and what to do about it
• Iceland's surprising startup ecosystem and $2.2M funding journey

Perfect for founders, marketers, and anyone looking to optimize their B2B website for better conversions.

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• Optise: https://optise.com
• Exit Five Community: https://exitfive.com
• Clay: https://clay.com
• Cursor AI: https://cursor.com

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

Agency to €2.5M Platform: The Anti-Prompting Revolution That Caught 20VC's Attention

Thibaut de la Grand'rive, CEO of Delos, reveals how they evolved from an AI consulting agency into a €2.5M-funded orchestration platform backed by Harry Stebbings' 20VC—without building a single AI model.

Inside This Episode:
• Why 90% of enterprise employees can't prompt AI (and how Delos eliminates prompting entirely)
• The strategic agency-first approach that validated their product while getting paid for R&D
• How orchestrating Claude, GPT, and Mistral creates more value than building your own LLM
• Why Allianz and Shiseido chose Delos over 250+ vertical AI competitors
The "Post-RAG" technology that goes beyond traditional AI implementations
• How they're retaining elite French engineers (Polytechnique, ENS) against 9x salary competition

Perfect For:
• Startup founders exploring agency-to-product strategies
• AI entrepreneurs avoiding the "build your own model" trap
• Enterprise leaders struggling with AI adoption and prompting challenges
• CTOs seeking orchestration solutions over single-model dependencies
• European tech founders planning US market expansion

Key Insights:
• Why most enterprise AI fails at the UX layer, not the technology layer
• How Delos creates "cockpit" experiences where users "just click buttons"
• The funding strategy that attracted Team Aventures (Xavier Niel) and Plug and Play
• Why avoiding vertical AI plays (meeting notes, etc.) builds sustainable moats
• How French engineering culture creates competitive advantages in AI talent retention

Episode Timeline:
00:00 - Introduction to Thibaut and Delos platform overview
00:59 - Founding story: Starting 2 days after GPT-3.5 release
03:27 - David's distributed team problem and platform demo request
05:34 - Live demo: Newsletter creation and AI orchestration workflow
11:37 - Using custom prompts and agent templates in Delos
12:52 - Website localization and international expansion plans
13:28 - From agency to product: The strategic validation journey
16:18 - Investor relationships and fundraising philosophy
19:12 - Meeting Harry Stebbings and the 20VC investment story
20:22 - War for AI talent: Competing with OpenAI's Paris office
23:36 - Future fundraising plans and capital allocation strategy
27:51 - Competitive threats: Will OpenAI copy their approach?
31:15 - US expansion strategy and investor considerations
33:55 - Pricing strategy and roadmap for agentic AI features

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

OpenAI is paying engineers $490K. AI platforms are charging startups $5K/month. So where does that leave lean teams trying to ship agents that actually work?

In this episode, we go deep with Daniele Bernardi, CEO of Toolhouse, a developer-first platform helping teams deploy production-ready AI agents with just a few terminal commands.

We break down:

• The “Simpsons model” of building tech in Italy, not SF
• Why most AI infra is bloated beyond reason
• How Toolhouse ships weekly updates with 2 full-time devs
• What “seed trapping” is—and why it might save your startup

Timelines:

00:00 - Why there's no shortcut to value in AI
01:12 - Daniele's background & why Toolhouse was created
03:41 - Live CLI demo: building a Hacker News agent
07:37 - Visual interface vs developer-first CLI
12:44 - The problem with current AI deployment workflows
15:25 - The partner program & revenue share for agencies
21:37 - Toolhouse pricing philosophy & Toyota mindset
24:23 - Why VC expectations are changing in the AI era
29:47 - "Dirty secrets" of AI agent pricing and lock-in
35:29 - Breaking down bloated AI infra cost structures
43:22 - The "Simpsons model": build in Italy, deploy globally
46:40 - Why geopolitical alignment matters in AI infra
50:58 - Are jobs really going away? A founder's honest take
56:47 - Indie devs, bootstrapped agencies, and the rise of AI services
01:04:01 - How Toolhouse differs from Crewai, LangChain & others
01:10:28 - Dev-first, runtime-first, and full agent ownership with Toolhouse

If you’re building in the AI economy and questioning the hype, this conversation is your blueprint.

👉 Watch on YouTube: AI Pricing RACKET Exposed
🧠 Read the full case study: From Twitter to Toolhouse: How 2 Engineers Built a Profitable AI Infra Platform Without VC Bloat

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

In this episode, Lawrence Bugg, founder of Future State University, shares powerful insights into why traditional education is falling short in preparing students for a rapidly evolving, AI-driven economy. Lawrence discusses how his game-based platform, Future State University, is leading the way in creating pathways to jobs and careers that don’t even exist yet.

Inside This Episode:

• 🌟 Why 60% of jobs that will exist in 5 years don’t exist today – and how education must adapt.
• 🚀 Lawrence's journey: From no college degree to landing roles at Oracle and McKinsey.
• 🎮 Building a LinkedIn alternative for Gen Z within a 3D game environment.
• 🧠 Creating a "deeper than resume" career profile powered by AI.
• 📉 The shocking trend of tier-three colleges facing enrollment declines.

Perfect For:

• Education Innovators & EdTech Founders seeking to reshape the future of learning.
• Career Development Professionals and those guiding the workforce of tomorrow.
• High School Counselors & Educators looking for alternative paths for students.
• Students considering new, innovative career paths beyond traditional education.
• Hiring Managers & Recruiters aiming to identify top talent in a shifting landscape.

Key Success Stories:

• 💪 From gym trainer to Oracle executive – proving that success doesn't require a traditional degree.
• 📱 Selling one of the first iPad POS systems to Groupon – a game-changing entrepreneurial move.
• 💼 Bootstrapping FSU with an equity-based team, creating an impactful platform for the future.
• 💵 Securing a $50,000 annual contract with their very first customer.

🎧 Listen to the episode now and explore how Lawrence is revolutionizing education for the AI age!

🔗 Find the blog: Reinventing Education for the AI Era

🎥 Catch all the Episodes on YouTube: Subscribe Here

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