EP 122: How Tech Startups Can Grow with AI

This is the Everyday AI show, the everyday podcast where we simplify AI and bring its power to your fingertips. Listen daily for practical advice to boost your career, business and everyday life. How can tech startups grow with AI? You know, we talk so much on this show about AI and growth and tech startups, but we're combining them all today. So I'm excited about that. Welcome. This is Everyday AI. This is your daily live stream, podcast and free daily newsletter helping all of us better understand and better use artificial intelligence. Thank you for joining us. My name is Jordan Wilson and if you are joining us live, thank you and welcome. Please, what questions do you have about using AI to grow? You know, whether you're a tech startup or not. If you just want to better understand it, let us know. And if you are listening on the podcast, thank you. So many people reaching out, you know, saying, hey, found, found the everyday AI show on the podcast. So I love, I love hearing from our audience. So check your show notes. We always include other links, ways to get in contact, all that good stuff. So before we talk about using AI to help tech startups grow, let's first go over the AI news as we do every single day. All right, so a couple big stories here. The Biden administration is considering AI chip restrictions on Chinese firms. So the Biden administration is contemplating imposing stringent of controls on the export of AI chips to Chinese companies. And this is a move aimed at safeguarding this crucial, critical US technology. So the US Is mulling ways to close that loophole that right now allows Chinese companies to access the United States chips through kind of overseas subsidy subsidiaries. And this step could significantly impact the global supply chain on chips. And you know, we talk about chips all the time here on the show because it's important and a lot of people don't, don't realize how much these generative, you know, these GPU chips are actually powering our economy. All right, so do you want $15,000 from Microsoft Bing? Well, if you can find bugs in their AI platforms, you might just get that. So yeah, Microsoft is incentive incentivizing users to test its AI powered Bing search engine by offering these rewards of up to $15,000 for uncovering significant bugs. So this new bug bounty program, it is aiming to increase Bing security and performance. And this is just reflecting kind of the growing importance of the user experience and the competitive, you know, generative search engine market. Right. So, you know, Google is, is going all in on their search generative experience. So Bing is kind of upping the ante here. Literally by offering users. And this, I, I believe it covers all AI powered Bing search services. So on Bing.com, microsoft Edge, the Microsoft Start application and the Skype mobile application as well. So if you can find some, find some bugs, you might have a nice little payday from Microsoft Bing. All right, last but not least, speaking of big search giants, Google is promising to take the legal heat for AI copyright issues by using some of its new AI platforms. So Google is stepping up to protect users of its generative AI technologies from those potential copyright infringements. So they are offering this to encourage the creative use of its different AI systems while safeguarding users from legal disputes. And this is a move that's actually following some others. We've seen Adobe offer some similar legal protection because this is actually something that is, is really heightened right now because, you know, Adobe just had some big announcements in AI. Canva had some big announcements in AI. So this, this Google announcement, it is covering seven different plat across their duet AI inside of workspace. And this includes, you know, text generated with its AI and Google Docs, Gmail images and Google Slides and Google Meet. So it's covering a lot of different platforms. So we have these, these big companies offering this, this kind of legal protection if you're using their AI services and you run into copyright infringement. You know what, if anyone out here listening, whether, whether you're live or on the podcast, if you've heard of this actually happening, reach out, I'd love to do an episode about that because I'm especially curious how this will eventually pan out and, and will, you know, presumably these companies are going to foot the bill, but what's going to happen? What's going to happen? All right, so we are having a tech issue right now. I'm sorry about that. Give us. There we go. All right, we're back. So, so you didn't tune in today to listen to all of the AI news. You tuned in to talk about AI and how tech startups specifically can grow with AI. So we have a guest on for that, so please help me. Welcome to the Everyday AI Show, Cindy Foso, who is the CEO of Information Systems Builder. Cindy, thank you for joining us.

Hello. Thank you so much for having me.

Yeah, absolutely. Hey, and join. Hey. Cindy joins the elite club of people who join the show live from the West Coast. So, so super appreciate you spending your very early morning with us.

No problem.

All right, so tell us, tell us just quickly a little bit about what Information Systems Builders is and what you all do.

Yeah, so an Information systems builder. We help tech startups with their branding and marketing. Right. We're marketing solutions companies. And, you know, tech startups have a really hard time just branding themselves, especially with marketing. They are competing with a lot of big tech companies like Apple, Google, and they're also competing with tech startups that are being created every day. So they're tech geniuses, but when it comes to marketing and describing their product and especially the message, it has to be, you need to know who's your target audience? Who are you messaging to? They have a really hard time. Help them with that.

Yeah. And, and I mean, what's. What's been your experience so far working with these tech startups? So you say, yeah, they're the kind of geniuses in, in their area, but they might need help in, in other areas. So, you know, what's, what's been your experience so far working with these tech startups? Because I know even from my own experience, you know, you have them all across the board. You know, sometimes it's. It's people who. It's kind of their second career and, you know, they already have, you know, a couple decades of experience and they're diving into something new. And sometimes it's, you know, the younger generation who are very green. So just talk a little bit about your experience so far working with these startups.

My experience has been great. I think in the beginning, you know, tech startups, they don't think they need the marketing. They think, well, I have a great product. That means the customers will come. That means the users come, because I have a great product. But that's not how it works. Right. You have to have that message, that great messaging behind you, you to have that marketing behind you for people to understand what is your product, for people to understand how amazing your product is. And people don't know how amazing your product is if you just tell them, especially if they don't know you. Right. If Mark Zuckerberg came out with a new product right now, people trust him, right. And we would know, okay, it's a great product. But when you're Cindy and nobody knows you, um, you really have to get out there and make sure that your product makes sense. Who are you messaging it to? And it sounds easy, but it's not. Because you need to make sure that the person and a lot of people think when you're doing marketing is, everybody's my customer. It's like, no, you need to find out who exactly are you're targeting. That's very important.

Yeah, absolutely. And, hey, if you are joining us live. Thank you. May Britt's joining saying, curious to hear how other tech startups are using AI. So yeah, I'll even throw that out to you, Cindy. So, you know, in your experience, you know, so far, how are tech startups even using AI? You know, maybe not even specifically, you know, with Information Systems Builder, but how are you seeing them using, Are they succeeding at it? Are they not? What's been your experience?

I think with, with me and I, I know with Information Systems Builder, a lot of, you know, companies that are AI based are coming to us to help them with their branding and marketing and using our platform. I think they're using it. Amazing. AI is just something that is just so big right now and you know, it is, you know, it's, and if I dive in with Information Systems Builder, it's very cost efficient, right? It's a great cost efficient for, it's a great, you know, low cost efficient for growth and success. And I really think that, you know, they're just using AI to make it more easier for everyone. And you know, with ChatGPT here and you know, and I think, I think people have, are getting to understand AI more, right? The more they listen to podcasts, they listen to, they learn more about it. So I think they're doing an amazing job with AI at the moment.

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, absolutely. I think it's, you know, especially the, the tech startups are the one kind of fueling AI's growth. I would say definitely, you know, speaking, speaking of that, you know, you said, hey, as companies are, are learning and you know, they're figuring out firsthand using, you know, systems like Chat gbt, something we talk about here on the show all the time. I think there's always been this debate, you know, hey, like is AI going to, you know, take my job? Is it just going to help me? You know, what's, what's your take on that? Because, you know, people have, it seems like there's almost a line, a line in the sand. But you know, what's, what's your kind of take on that specifically in the tech scene?

I don't think AI is going to replace, you know, I don't think it's here to replace us. And I think that's why people are very skeptical of AI. It's like, okay, is it here to replace my engineering job? Is it here to replace a marketing job? What's going on? And I think, you know, marketing is a tool where it's more, it would make everybody it will be, it would be more easier on everybody's job. Right. And, you know, now it just depends on the future. Right. Is it going to replace a whole human being? I don't think so. I think it would just be a tool that will help everybody's life get easier. But how does that look like? Right? Does the, you know, do they pay you lesser because they know you have AI, or do they pay you more because they expect more now because they know that you are using AI? And we could go beyond that and say education. Right. I'm sure professors are knowing that a lot of their students are using ChatGPT right now. What do you do? And I was reading some articles and some professors are expecting their students to use ChatGPT right now. And now they're making the homeworks hard, harder. So they just know that, okay, you guys are going to use AI. So, you know, I think for me it's, I can't wait to see the future of where the AI could go. I think AI could be so big that it's, it's going to be so big of our imagination. But I think a lot of people are very scared of is it going to replace them? And I don't think so.

Yeah, you know, you, you, you brought up an interesting point because I think even in, you know, the SaaS space, so, you know, these, these companies are trying to, you know, integrate AI into everything they do. You know, especially if you're a startup, you just try to slap that, you know, AI label so you can go out and raise more money. You know, what's, what's been your experience in that so far? Are you seeing that, that tech startups are correctly leveraging AI or are they just, you know, like I said, just like saying, hey, where can we kind of say that we're AI powered so we can go out and, you know, potentially raise more money?

Well, I think those are the bad. Right. I think when you are using AI just because you want to raise more money and just because, you know, investors right now in San Francisco, when you have AI in there and you're, you know, in your startup, it's like we're giving you all of the money. Right? So I really think that, you know, AI is a, it's a, it's a great tool, but I think companies should not use AI because it's, it's, it's what it's in right now. They should use AI if it makes sense for the company. You know, that's, that's the, that's the key, making sure that, you know, they're, it's, it's AI powered. But is it really right? Is it, is it really. How is it helping customers and is it even. Because I'm sure AI is not for every industry. Right. You know, so you need to just, they just need to make sure. So in my, in my experience, there's a lot of SaaS companies that were SaaS, because right now the, I mean, the tech industry is, you know, having a recession right now. It's, it's very, very hard to raise money. Users. It's very hard for users. So right now a lot of them are taking a step back and, you know, trying to see how can I incorporate AI. Right. And so my position is making sure that your company just, it just makes sense with your company.

Yeah, it's. That is, that is a good point because I think, you know, very early on, if we were having this conversation maybe, maybe two years ago, it's completely different, you know, because I don't think companies, you know, SaaS, SaaS, companies and tech startups were struggling as much because you had, you know, all of the venture capital firms and, and private equity just looking especially early on, you know, as the, the chat GPT craze is, is. Is going. Everyone's looking for anything, you know, anything AI related. Anything GPT related. And you know, Cindy, you, you bring up a good point now where that's not necessarily how things are going right now in California. Kind of the, you know, the, the hub for all things SAS and the hub for all things, even AI here in the US So you tech founders, then, you know, what's, what's your advice to them specifically about implementing AI? Because, you know, on one side it's okay, do they need it to raise money, but then on the other side, is, is it actually helping you achieve your goal or are you taking on a burden that you may not want to? So, kind of like, what's, what's your advice for other tech founders, for other SaaS founders maybe who are kind of on that, should we use AI or not? Kind of question.

I think, I think it's very important to get educated, right? And to listen to podcasts like everyday AI, right, and making sure that you get educated about AI and go to conferences and, you know, bring different, you know, bring AI experts, because like I said previously, you just don't want to say, I'm just gonna put AI in my company. And it's good for the public, it's good for the media. It's. It's it's good to raise money. So I think just being educated right every day is learning what is AI? Is it here to take up, take on the world? Do I like AI? Do I believe in this? So I think not just going with the trend, but making sure that you, yourself, you understand AI and that your whole team understands AI. So it's, I think it's more than just putting the AI label. It's more of you understanding what it is and you believing in AI. I mean, some people don't believe in AI. They think it's here to destroy the world. So, you know, making sure that you just understand. And if I just have to give a general advice to all founders, I would say, you know, networking is very important and you never know too much. Also, you're always learning as a founder. You're always learning, you'll make mistakes and you know, it's, it's very important to know that you're always learning and all of the mistakes are good because it will make you grow.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you've definitely have to make mistakes. And you know, Tanya, thank you for the comment here. Tanya saying thank you for bringing up the point that AI increases our personal value to the company through expanding our knowledge. Absolutely. You know, Cindy, you know, real quick, I'm also curious, you know, outside of, you know, kind of this, this California, I think tech bubble because I think the, the attitudes and are maybe a little bit different and, and you know, sometimes the rest of the country, we're always saying, okay, what's, what's going on in Silicon Valley, what's going on in California with, with tech startups? But you know, maybe if someone's listening, if, if a tech founder is listening outside of, of California, you know, maybe what advice can you give them on best ways to just easily implement AI to help their company grow? Are you still running in circles trying to figure out how to actually grow your business with AI? Maybe your company has been tinkering with large language models for a year or more, but can't really get traction to find ROI on Genai. Hey, this is Jordan Wilson, host of this very podcast. Companies like Adobe, Microsoft and Nvidia have partnered with us because they trust our expertise in educating the masses around generative AI to get ahead. And some of the most innovative companies in the country hire us to help with their AI strategy and to train hundreds of their employees on how to use Gen AI. So whether you're looking for ChatGPT training for thousands or just need help building your front end AI Strategy. You can partner with us too, just like some of the biggest companies in the world do. Go to your everyday AI.com partner to get in contact with our team, or you can just click on the partner section of our website. We'll help you stop running in those AI circles and help get your team ahead and build a straight path to ROI on Jenny, I.

It's going to be so cliche what I'm going to say, but I'll say, come to. Come to San Francisco, come to come here. But I would say, I would say just making sure to learn. I mean, I think it sounds like I'm just repeating myself, but I think it's a very key thing of just learning what AI is and having experts to help you with that and making sure that you network. And I'm actually speaking at an AI conference soon and just making sure that you go to these conferences. I know, I don't know if they do virtual AI conferences, but the one that I'm speaking to, it is virtual. So just going to, you know, podcasts and conferences. Thank God there's now virtually. You could have conferences virtually, which is super cool because before you had to come to San Francisco for the conferences or, you know, because in, I mean, in San Francisco there is, you know, AI conferences every week. You know, there's always AI, AI, AI. So making sure that those online, you know, AI conferences you're going to and you're just getting educated and you ask questions and, you know, know that I know for me, for my company, we've implemented AI and you have to train AI. You know, it's not out to the public yet because with just like training the AI, so making sure that, you know, AI is not just, you know, putting the name out there. It's also behind the scenes, a lot of work.

Absolutely. Yeah. A lot of work is. Is. Is an understatement, right? Because, yeah, like a lot of companies think, okay, you know, I'm just going to click, click the AI button and, and things are going to grow. And it's not necessarily that way. You know, you brought up a good point, Cindy, that, you know, a lot of times you have to train, right? Like, even, even if you're using something as simple as chat gbt, it's something that we teach in our, you know, in prompt Polish PPP course all the time, is even when you're in chat GPT, you don't just copy and paste something. Like you have to train it, you have to steer it to really get the results that you want. I think that's a super important point. So. So, Cindy, we've talked about a little bit of everything. Like, hey, you know, will AI take our jobs or not? You know what AI means right now in the tech scene, how, how startup founders can use it to grow. But maybe, you know, for, for someone listening, what's kind of your. That one piece of advice, that one takeaway that you hope others, you know, maybe a SaaS founder, you know, you caught their ear right now. What is that one piece of advice that you have for them that might just help them use AI to grow?

Before we move on, I kind of want to know what you think of it. Do you think AI, I love to listen to and also people, you know, people on the show. What do you guys think? Do you guys think. Because I love to hear what people think. Do you guys think. Do you guys think that AI is, you know, here to take over, to take the jobs? Or do you think it's just. What is your take?

This is good. We've been a hundred plus episodes and I don't know if anyone's actually asked me a question. So this is good. I'll say, I'll say this, Cindy, and then I'll, and then I'll toss it back to you as, as we wrap the show up. I think right now even. Okay, let's, let's look at it in two different ways. One, I don't know about the tech scene. I don't. Right. I'm not a tech expert. You know, my company has worked with plenty of startups, but I wouldn't consider myself a tech expert. So I'm not sure in the tech space. But I think in general, I think in general, AI is probably going to be a little, A little more impactful on jobs than a lot of us think. You know, my, my personal take is that there's. There's been a lot of this very maybe overly optimistic viewpoints on, you know, a. Not just generative AI, but on AI in general. You know, I think we've kind of been running with these taglines, you know, that make us feel good about AI, you know, kind of, kind of. The one you hear a lot is, you know, hey, AI won't take your job. Someone using AI will. And we kind of use that, I think, as a security blanket, as if that generative AI is, is not very innovative or it's not, you know, as impactful as it actually can be. So my, my personal take that I actually don't talk about a lot here on the show is that it will be much more impactful, you know, for, for all industries. And so I'm, I'm even, you know, specifically always watching, you know, what's happening in California, what's happening in, in Silicon Valley, and, and even, you know, kind of like what, like what we talked about here, Cindy, are, are these companies now struggling to raise money? Because I think also, you know, I always tell people, follow the money, right? And, and there's certain, I mean, there's certain hard truths when it comes to AI and when it comes to money as well. Because if there's one thing Wall street hates, if there's one thing investors don't necessarily like, it's employees. You know, so when, when companies, you know, the big companies invest, you know, tens of billions of dollars into AI and they maybe lay off a lot of companies, their stock price goes up. So I think it's something we don't talk about a lot because it kind of makes us feel uncomfortable and because there's a lot of, there's a lot of uncertainties, you know, in, in what that means. But I do think that there is obviously a lot of potential for good. There's a lot, there are obviously going to be a lot of, of new industries and new jobs created because of AI. But I do think, you know, we, we kind of hold on to those security blanket statements of, you know, hey, AI won't take my job, Someone using AI will, which I think is not necessarily, not necessarily true because, you know, that person using AI, in theory can, can replace a whole, you know, department, you know, a small team, right? If, if someone's using AI and they're really great at it, in theory, you know, you could be looking at, you know, three, four, five jobs potentially that it could replace. But you hope, you know, companies are, are still have a growth mindset and not necessarily addition by subtraction. So that's, that's my take. I know that was a little bit of a rant. So we got our rant in for the week that everyone is always, is always rooting for the rants. But yeah, Cindy, like, I'd love, you know, kind of your closing thoughts on it. And specifically, you know, what you feel, you know, you know, what do you see in the next couple years, specifically with this in the tech startup scene?

Yeah, I think for a couple of, let's say in five years, I really think AI will take over. Every company is going to have AI in their company. I don't think right now a lot of companies are playing it safe they're putting AI a little bit in their company so that if, if AI becomes this giant, even more bigger, they could just say, oh, I've been AI So I think it's definitely going to be something that every company has and every company is implementing, and I think it's going to take over now. I'm very curious to know, is it going to replace the jobs? I don't think so. I really think that it's going to be a tool that a lot of companies are going to use, but then they're going to keep the, the, the, the, the. The. Their employees, but it's going to be much harder. People are going to be working, you know, 10 times harder than they used to. Right. But AI is definitely here to stay.

Oh, it's definitely, definitely here to stay. That's, that's a great point. So, hey, we, we covered Cindy. We covered a little bit of everything. This was fun. This was a very interesting conversation. Like I said the first time. Again, guest has asked me for my take on something, so we got to end our week on a rant. Cindy, thank you so much for joining the Everyday AI show. We really appreciate it.

Thank you so much for having me.

All right. And hey, everyone, as a reminder, please go to your everydayai.com we covered. We covered a lot in today's show, so if you didn't catch it all, don't worry. You can go sign up for the free daily newsletter. We do this. You know, sometimes people ask, hey, Jordan, when can I listen to the show? Every single day, Monday through Friday. We go live at 7:30am Central Standard Time. Cindy, thank you for joining us and everyone else. And we'll see you next week with more Everyday AI. Thanks, y'.

All. Thank you.

And that's a wrap for today's edition of Everyday AI. Thanks for joining us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a rating. It helps keep us going for a little more AI magic. Visit your everydayai.com and sign up to our daily newsletter so you don't get left behind. Go break some barriers and we'll see you next time.