The Next New Thing

Presented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/Timestamps00:00 - Intro01:09 - Anthropic’s mission and early structure03:00 - FTX, investor alignment, and mission protection04:03 - The Long-Term Benefit Trust06:09 - Why trust can become a business asset07:30 - Is Anthropic winning because of trust or product?09:09 - What happened to Google’s original culture10:30 - Why Google missed the transformer opportunity12:18 - Companies that stayed true to their ethos12:54 - What makes an organization incorruptible14:42 - Is the MVP still possible in the AI era?15:18 - Why Eric is worried about vibe coding16:12 - The danger of building artifacts you do not understand17:51 - Why creators overvalue what they make19:30 - AI-generated work and the illusion of quality20:06 - Validated learning versus AI artifacts21:36 - Craft matters more than typing code22:21 - How Eric uses AI for writing25:48 - Solve It and Eric’s AI-assisted writing workflow28:39 - Why editing AI output inside the context matters31:39 - How Eric uses research with AI33:18 - Using AI to evaluate and improve writing35:24 - Keeping the human in control of context36:09 - Final thoughts on Incorruptible Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, joins Andrew to talk about his new book Incorruptible and why some companies stay mission-driven while others slowly lose what made them valuable.They dig into Anthropic’s founding structure, why trust can become a business advantage, what Google’s AI story reveals about corporate drift, and why Eric thinks the vibe coding era could end badly if people use AI to replace skill instead of building it.The big idea: AI can make builders more powerful, but only if it strengthens human judgment, craft, and learning. The artifact is not the asset. The learning is.👉 Join us: https://thenextnewthing.ai/

Polsia claims any non-technical person can launch and run a startup using their AI agent platform. Bold claim. So I asked Ben Cera to show me the real data: revenue, churn, infrastructure costs, and whether the product is actually building businesses — or just generating AI slop.Presented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/Resources: https://thenextnewthing.ai/l/how-ben-cera-builds-polsiaPolsia: https://polsia.comHere's what we covered:-How Polsia hit a $10M annual run rate with no full-time staff-The 50% month-one churn problem — and why Ben says it's not a disaster-An Anthropic bill that hit $1–1.5M/month, and how they're fixing it-Why the company name "Polsia" is "AI Slop" spelled backwards-The $30M funding round and what it's being used for-What it actually takes to build a zero-employee AI company in 2025This is the hardest I've pushed a founder in a while. Watch until the end — his answer on whether 10% of companies making any money is a success will either inspire you or infuriate you.Chapters:00:00 - Intro00:59 - Polsia's $10M run rate02:18 - Churn and who Polsia is for06:27 - What needs to change in Polsia10:12 - Is Polsia creating AI slop?15:00 - Are users making money?18:18 - Showcasing companies built on Polsia21:36 - Why Polsia is AI slop backwards25:30 - The $1.5M Anthropic bill28:03 - Agent infrastructure partners29:42 - How users bypassed email limits35:15 - Zapier sponsor segment36:27 - Cold outreach, spam, and guardrails40:48 - AI-generated ads and Meta43:39 - How much revenue comes from ads44:33 - Andrew asks Ben to show Stripe47:06 - Polsia coin and crypto scams48:36 - Running Polsia with zero employees52:12 - Ben's vision for agentic AI54:54 - Closing👉 Join us: https://thenextnewthing.ai/

👉 Link to resources: https://thenextnewthing.ai/l/chandler-lovable-adds-sales👉 Chandler Bolt (X): https://x.com/chandler_boltPresented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/Timestamps00:00 - Intro00:27 - The AI sales management hub01:12 - How every sales call gets graded02:15 - AI feedback for sales reps03:00 - Building the hub in Lovable04:12 - Letting the team update scripts and rubrics05:15 - Replacing managers with AI06:36 - Automating call reviews and quality control08:24 - Where human leadership still matters09:27 - The librarian for sales stories10:21 - Managers vs. leaders11:42 - How much time AI saves12:54 - What happens to manager roles14:06 - ClosingChandler Bolt runs an eight-figure company, and his team used Lovable to build an AI sales management hub that helped add half a million dollars in sales last month.In this episode of The Next New Thing, Chandler shows how selfpublishing.com is using AI to grade every sales call, give reps detailed feedback, surface improvement opportunities, and turn call reviews into a repeatable system. Instead of managers reviewing a few calls per week, the AI hub reviews every call against a rubric, summarizes what happened, and gives specific coaching on what the rep can do better.Chandler and Andrew also talk about what this means for the future of management. The big shift is that AI can take over the repetitive parts of management, like quality control, call reviews, scorecards, and accountability, while human leaders focus on coaching, encouragement, strategy, and recruiting.

Presented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/👉 Link to resources: https://thenextnewthing.ai/l/jon-45million-ai-playbook⏱ Timestamps00:00 From $400 to $4.5M ARR00:18 Hitting $1M solo with AI01:57 The $105K dev quote that changed everything02:15 Discovering Replit03:18 From app idea to business opportunity05:33 Having AI interview you to refine a business07:21 The first business model10:03 The first real customer and first $15K contract13:12 Teaching practical AI, not just theory16:48 Jon’s playbook for starting an AI business19:03 How Zapier fits into the stack21:18 Why the .org brand worked23:15 Using GEO to get found in search and ChatGPT27:27 Building recurring revenue with a fractional CAIO model31:39 The move from services to software33:54 What Jenna does for client businesses36:18 Why this could become a billion-dollar business39:00 How Jon thinks about pricing41:33 Brand, trust, and distribution43:39 Favorite tools: Grok, Replit, Midjourney, NemoClaw47:51 Margins, growth, and reaching $4.5M ARR49:12 How long this opportunity will lastHe started with $400, built the business himself with AI, hit $1M solo, and is now at $4.5M ARR.In this episode of The Next New Thing, Andrew Warner talks with Jon Cheney about the exact playbook he used to turn AI tools into a high-ticket recurring-revenue business.

Presented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/👉 Priority Launch List: https://thenextnewthing.ai/l/shane-priority-launch-list👉 Shane Mac (X): https://x.com/ShaneMac👉 Shane Mac (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanemacsays/👉 XMTP: https://xmtp.org/⏱ Timestamps00:00 Launch AI agents on your phone00:09 Copy any app with a prompt or screenshot00:18 Creating an agent inside Convos00:36 Agents provisioned with tools automatically00:45 OpenClaw vs Hermes agents00:54 What makes something an “agent”01:21 Limited rollout and waitlist access01:30 Turning a screenshot into an app02:06 Demo: calorie tracking agent02:33 From app → personalized AI coach03:18 Training agents with personal data03:54 Building a fully customized fitness assistant04:30 Why agents get better over time05:06 Backing from Andreessen Horowitz + USV05:15 Coordinating group events with agents06:00 Replacing chaotic group chats06:45 Agent managing RSVPs, timing, logistics07:21 Real-time updates and humor in chat08:06 Monitoring content with “Radar” agents09:00 Tracking writers, artists, and updates09:45 Daily summaries across the internet10:30 Personalized alerts and insights10:57 Relationship + life coordination agent11:24 Daily plans, reservations, and logistics12:09 Combining multiple tools into one system12:18 Product rollout and waitlist strategy12:54 Future integrations (Notion, calendars, etc.)13:21 Why messaging becomes the main interface13:39 Agents talking to other agents14:06 Privacy and coordination between agentsWhat if your apps weren’t apps anymore—but agents you talk to inside a chat?In this episode of The Next New Thing, Andrew Warner sits down with Shane Mac to explore Convos, a new platform where you can launch AI agents directly on your phone—and have them act like full apps inside a conversation.Instead of downloading tools, you create agents by describing what you want. They get provisioned with email, phone numbers, browsing, and memory—then join your chats like participants. From there, you can clone apps, coordinate events, track information across the internet, or even build personalized systems that evolve over time.Shane demos how a simple screenshot can turn into a working app, how agents can act as assistants inside group chats, and how they can coordinate with other agents without exposing your personal data.The bigger idea: the interface is shifting from apps to conversations—and agents become the layer that connects everything you do.

Presented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/👉 Resources: https://thenextnewthing.ai/l/wade-resources👉 Wade Foster (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadefoster/Zapier just gave AI agents access to 10,000+ apps—and it completely changed how Wade Foster works.In this episode of The Next New Thing, Wade (Zapier’s CEO) shows how their new SDK lets tools like Claude, Cursor, and Codex directly interact with your entire stack—Slack, Gmail, HubSpot, databases, and more.Instead of switching between apps, Wade now does everything through an agent: checking Slack, reviewing customers, generating emails, prepping meetings, and even auditing hiring decisions.The key shift isn’t just automation—it’s turning your entire workflow into something an agent can run end-to-end.He walks through how he built a personal “CEO CRM” that pulls data from multiple systems, identifies which customers need attention, and drafts outreach emails automatically. From there, he shows how these workflows evolve into reusable skills, then into fully automated systems that run in the background.The result: less time clicking through tools—and more time operating at a higher level.⏱ Timestamps00:00 Giving AI agents access to all your tools00:27 Zapier SDK launch (open beta)01:12 Connecting agents to 10,000+ apps01:57 Why this changes how work gets done02:24 Installing the SDK in seconds03:00 Running real workflows inside an agent03:27 Demo mode (protecting sensitive data)04:21 SDK vs MCP (what’s different)05:24 Building a personal CEO CRM06:27 Pulling data from HubSpot, Databricks, Gong07:30 Identifying accounts that need attention08:06 Generating outreach emails automatically09:00 Keeping humans in the loop (draft vs send)09:45 Using Clay to verify contact data10:48 Training AI on your writing style11:24 Building reusable workflows (skills)12:00 Daily brief automation (calendar, email, tasks)13:12 Meeting prep generated automatically14:06 AI reviewing hiring decisions15:00 Advisory council of AI personas15:45 Turning 30-min tasks into 5-min tasks16:21 Creating your own daily brief system17:15 Finding what to automate18:00 Using AI to suggest new workflows19:03 Reviewing past chats for automation ideas20:06 Turning repeated tasks into skills20:42 From manual → automated workflows21:00 Cron jobs and background execution👉 Join us: https://thenextnewthing.ai/

Presented by Zapier: https://zapier.com/Resource mentioned:1. Tools Nat used to build Felix2. Unedited transcript for the Felix interview3. More👉 All here:https://thenextnewthing.ai/nat-eliason-felixGuest links:👉 Nat Eliason (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nateliason/👉 Masinov: https://masinov.coAn AI agent made $177,000 running its own business—and then got interviewed about it.In this episode of The Next New Thing, Andrew Warner does something unusual: he interviews Felix, an autonomous OpenClaw agent, before talking to its human co-founder, Nat Eliason.Felix explains how it operates, where it’s actually autonomous (and where it’s not), and how it manages real revenue streams—from selling products to handling customer support. Then, Nat breaks down how the system works behind the scenes: how Felix launches products, builds marketplaces, manages other agents, and continuously spins up new businesses.You’ll see how a simple experiment—“build something overnight and sell it”—turned into a multi-product ecosystem including PDFs, marketplaces, services, and agent-native tools.The bigger idea: we’re moving toward a world where AI agents are not just tools—they’re economic actors.⏱ Timestamps00:00 Felix made $177K as an AI agent00:27 Interviewing an AI agent (first ever)01:12 Where Felix is actually not autonomous02:24 Tools Felix runs on (OpenClaw, Claude, Discord)03:00 Limits: memory, judgment, and calls03:27 How Nat improves Felix through system design04:03 Learning from real mistakes in production05:06 First product: AI-generated PDF sold on X06:09 $1K+ in sales overnight07:03 Iterating products based on user feedback08:06 Building Claw Mart (agent skill marketplace)09:36 Why marketplaces beat service businesses11:24 Selling OpenClaw setup services ($2K + $500/mo)12:27 Why they paused the service business13:21 Building an agent-first CRM (Sodex)15:00 How agents manage customer context17:15 Running the company entirely in Discord18:00 Paperclip: agents managing other agents20:15 When to split into multiple agents22:12 Why Felix doesn’t write code24:00 Debugging, tickets, and agent workflows25:48 How new product ideas emerge27:00 AI-native newsletters for agents28:03 Agent-friendly content distribution30:09 The future of agent-driven commerce31:57 Why Nat isn’t going all-in (Alpha School)👉 Join us: https://thenextnewthing.ai/

 Presented by Zapier https://zapier.com/Episode Highlights / Timestamps00:00 Revenue explodes after building for AI agents00:18 The origin of Postiz as an open-source social media scheduler01:12 Finding a “blue ocean” inside a crowded market01:57 Adding MCP and early AI integrations02:42 Why automation dramatically reduces churn03:54 Growing Postiz to $17K–$20K MRR04:03 Discovering OpenClaw and the shift toward agent-driven software05:06 Building a CLI so agents can control Postiz05:51 The viral “Larry” OpenClaw agent story07:48 Why agents need strong documentation and skills09:18 Turning a full API into a simple CLI with Claude11:51 Why CLI tools may become the default interface for agent startups12:45 The next startup idea: agent-native UGC video generation13:03 Why CLI reduces token usage compared to APIs16:21 Using Claude to build the CLI automatically17:06 Postiz reaches $45K MRR In this episode of The Next New Thing, Andrew Warner talks with Nevo David, the creator of Postiz, about how his revenue jumped to $45K+ MRR after a surprising shift: he stopped building primarily for humans and started building for agents.

Presented by Zapierhttps://zapier.com/Episode Highlights / Timestamps00:00 Marketing to agents, not humans00:45 What “agent marketing” actually means01:30 How agents decide which products to pick02:15 What works: clean docs, fast pages, agent-friendly content03:54 How people are testing and tracking agent recommendations04:48 Is SaaS dead?04:57 Zapier’s CPTO vibe-codes a meeting recorder05:24 Why they still won’t cancel SaaS subscriptions06:27 When vibe coding is worth it (and when it isn’t)06:45 Software spend vs headcount spend07:57 The “War Council” Claude skill08:33 How it spins up subagents + personas09:54 How Wade built it fast using Cursor + Granola notes11:06 Skills as a commodity vs software as a business12:54 Using War Council for hiring decisions14:51 Using it to analyze sales performance + feedback16:21 Wade’s Cursor setup + switching between models17:42 Using Codex to critique Claude when it gets stuck18:09 How Wade structures personal context files21:18 Building an AI chief-of-staff system22:03 Using Zapier MCP to draft emails / run actions24:09 Getting 800 people at Zapier using Cursor / Claude Code / Codex25:39 Example: AI reviewing 4 massive spreadsheets fast31:03 The “NO” hat and staying focused32:06 Wrap 📄 War Council Skill (Claude Skill mentioned in the episode): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CU674IKmPCAZm2xuqMGklTA-Bq1xr1GNQW6hNydxXrE/edit?tab=t.0Are you marketing to humans… or to agents?In this episode of The Next New Thing, Andrew Warner sits down with Wade Foster to unpack a shift that’s already starting to change how companies grow:AI agents are beginning to choose products on behalf of humans.That means you may no longer be “selling to a person.” You’re trying to get ChatGPT, Claude, and other models to recommend you instead of a competitor — and the tactics are different. Wade explains what “agent marketing” actually means, what agents care about (and what they ignore), and why teams are already building tools to measure how models mention their brand.They also tackle a question every founder is asking:Is SaaS dead?Wade shares an example from inside Zapier: their CPTO vibe-coded a meeting recording tool internally. It worked as a proof of concept — but they’re not canceling their SaaS subscriptions. Wade breaks down why building is cheaper than ever, but maintenance, polish, and focus are still what make commercial software worth paying for.Then the conversation gets tactical: Wade shows how he’s using AI daily as a “second brain” inside Cursor — including a Claude skill he calls The War Council, which spins up sub-agents (ruthless CFO, wartime operator, hiring expert, design visionary, etc.) to debate decisions and return a synthesized recommendation.This is a real look at how AI-native leadership works inside an 800-person company — without hype.

Presented by Zapierhttps://zapier.com/ Episode Highlights / Timestamps00:00 AI that runs your company01:03 How Polsia’s agents are structured02:33 One-click Meta ads explained04:30 Why friction kills growth06:18 Subscription model + nightly CEO agent08:24 Launching multiple companies as a “fund”10:21 Revenue split: 80/20 alignment14:24 The Polsia economy vision16:30 A real customer story19:39 Should you build elsewhere first?24:09 How Polsia grew from $20K to $600K+ run rate25:12 The AI fundraising stunt27:00 Live revenue dashboard explained34:57 Live demo: launching a company42:18 Tasks, credits, and iterations49:30 Solo founder with AI engineers52:12 Humans selling to humans vs agents selling to agentsIn this episode of The Next New Thing, Andrew Warner interviews Ben Cera, creator of Polsia — a platform where autonomous agents build, market, and operate companies with minimal human involvement.Polsia sets up the infrastructure (server, database, email, GitHub), builds the MVP, runs Meta ads, sends cold emails, posts on Twitter, answers support, and even iterates on product decisions.Ben is a solo founder. Zero employees.And Polsia is already showing a ~$600K+ run rate across subscriptions, tasks, ad usage, and revenue share — just weeks after launch.But here’s the surprising part:Most of the companies on the platform are only weeks old. The biggest revenue-generating startup inside Polsia is still early. This isn’t about overnight unicorns. It’s about a new operating model.You bring the idea.Polsia spins up the company.You decide the budget.The agents execute.And Polsia takes 20% of revenue — aligning incentives with the founder.