Context.dev: How Angry Emails Built a 400-Customer AI Startup

Jon Swartz has covered Silicon Valley for about 40 years, and says parts of today's AI boom remind him of the dot-com era.In this episode of The Index Podcast, host Anne Ahola Ward sits down with her longtime friend Jon, a senior content writer at Techstrong Group and former USA Today San Francisco bureau chief, for a candid conversation about covering Silicon Valley, how AI is changing journalism and publishing, why security became a priority, and why there will always be room for humans.This is the view from someone who has watched every tech wave from the front row.🚀 In this episode, we cover:🗞️ 40 years covering Silicon Valley, from Mac Week to USA Today and MarketWatch💥 What the dot-com era and today's AI boom have in common📚 Why books and news stories now need to be living documents in the age of AI⚖️ How legal action around AI and content is evolving🔐 Why security went from an afterthought to a priority as AI agents spread🤖 Why AI can help journalism but cannot replace critical thinking and institutional knowledge👥 Why there will always be room for humans in every job🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🧑‍💻 Jon Swartz (X): https://x.com/jswartz🔗 Jon Swartz (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonswartz/🌐 Techstrong Group (Website): https://techstronggroup.com🔗 Techstrong AI (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/techstrong-ai/Show LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

Max Gokhman built an AI teammate whose job is to tell him when he is wrong. He is the head of AI and digital asset solutions at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, and he says his team builds its AI the way F1 teams build cars.In this episode of The Index Podcast, Max, a former quant who started an AI hedge fund just before ChatGPT launched, explains how Franklin Templeton is building agentic AI teammates, how AI and digital assets overlap, and why modular systems matter when everything changes every week.This is what it looks like when an 80-year-old institution moves at AI speed.🚀 In this episode, we cover:🧠 How a quant who started an AI hedge fund just before ChatGPT launched ended up leading AI at Franklin Templeton🤝 The AI teammate that pushes back in investment committee meetings, and what happened when it was asked a personal question🏎️ Why Franklin Templeton builds its AI like an F1 car: a durable chassis and swappable parts🔗 How AI and digital assets overlap, from smart contracts to an immutable record of agent decisions🌐 How tokenization could widen access to private markets and new kinds of assets🔒 How to use frontier models without giving away your edge, by separating training from inference⚡ How fast building has become: a prototype risk model in a few hours🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🌐 Future Portfolios (Franklin Templeton): https://futureportfolios.com🏛️ Franklin Templeton (Website): https://www.franklintempleton.com🐦 Franklin Templeton Digital Assets (X): https://x.com/FTDA_US🔗 Franklin Templeton (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/franklin-templeton🧑‍💻 Max Gokhman (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/gokhman/Show LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

Chris Cummings still makes his design team sketch by hand. The founder and CEO of Iconic says creativity is a muscle, and that we need to keep using it in the age of AI.In this episode of The Index Podcast, Chris talks about growing up between artists and entrepreneurs, what AI could mean for kids and for the next generation of workers, and how Iconic Worlds brings museums and cultural institutions to life in 3D, right in the browser.This is a conversation about culture, memory, and keeping the human in the loop.🚀 In this episode, we cover:🎨 How growing up between artists and entrepreneurs shaped Chris's path🧠 Why leaning on AI for every answer can weaken creativity and thinking📚 What AI could mean for kids, from personalized learning to the years that matter most🌐 How Iconic Worlds brings museums and institutions to life in 3D, right in the browser🖼️ What it feels like to step into a painting or an exhibition from anywhere in the world🛠️ How Iconic makes huge 3D files run smoothly on a phone or a laptop🏙️ Why better visualization could help cities show communities what they are building🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🌐 Iconic (Website): www.iconicworlds.io🐦 Iconic (X): https://x.com/iconic__culture🧑‍💻 Chris Cummings (X): https://x.com/ChrisCummings__Show LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

James Au used to raffle off his own Rolex collection on Reddit. Now he runs Watch.fun, a Solana platform that brings luxury watches on chain, and says shopping has gotten so normal it is almost boring.In this episode of The Index Podcast, the founder and CEO of Chillchat, the team behind Watch.fun, explains why his team moved from raffles to gacha, how the instant sellback works, why customs and fakes are the biggest operational risks, and how live streaming will turn opening boxes into a social experience.This is what happens when game designers rebuild shopping for the swipe generation.🚀 In this episode, we cover:⚡ Why instant results beat raffles in the swipe era⚖️ Where the legal line sits between a raffle, a lottery, and gacha, from James's point of view🕰️ How raffling his own Rolex collection on Reddit inspired Watch.fun🔁 From a pixel art metaverse to a battle game to Watch.fun: the pivots behind the product🛃 The biggest operational risks: customs, duties, and fakes🥇 What is next: silver, gold, and platinum gacha priced at spot, plus live streaming🌴 Why a Solana founder builds from Bangkok instead of Silicon Valley🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🌐 Watch.fun (Website): https://watch.fun🐦 Watch.fun (X): https://x.com/watchdotfun🧑‍💻 James Au (X): https://x.com/watch_emperorShow LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

Most DeFi users are passengers on a shared bus. Alexander Grey, founder of Thaler Finance, wants to give each user their own exclusive limousine through DeFi.In this episode of The Index Podcast, Alexander explains how Thaler Finance gives every user a personal non-custodial vault on Solana, where each SOL goes once it is inside, and what keeps him up at night.This is a candid look at how a young protocol thinks about safety, transparency, and making DeFi simple enough for newcomers.🚀 In this episode, we cover:🚌 Why Thaler Finance gives each user a personal vault instead of a shared pool🔐 What non-custodial means for how users hold their funds🧭 Where each SOL goes inside a vault, from liquid staking to lending and hedging😰 The scenarios that keep the founder up at night, from protocol exploits to liquidity crunches🔎 Why a strategy enforced on-chain through immutable policies is verifiable by users🧪 How a small private beta shaped the product🏗️ What is next: audits, tokenized stocks, and a public launch🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🌐 Thaler Finance (Website): https://thaler.finance📚 Thaler Finance (Docs): https://docs.thaler.finance🐦 Thaler Finance (X): https://x.com/ThalerFinance🧑‍💻 Alexander Grey (X): [handle to be confirmed by Thaler Finance]Show LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

"I believe that AI and intelligence is a human right." Manik Surtani, CTO and co-founder of the Agentic AI Foundation, says the biggest risk in AI is a closed system, and that it has to be open for everyone to benefit.In this episode of The Index Podcast, the leader of the Linux Foundation's home of MCP, Goose, A2A, and AGENTS.md explains how a coding agent at Block led to the birth of MCP, why open protocols keep infrastructure companies honest, and why open source is not charity.This is what building the standards layer for AI agents looks like from the inside.🚀 In this episode, we cover:🌐 Why Manik wants AI to be more like the internet and less like social media📬 The email analogy: why open protocols let you walk away without losing anything🧱 A layer-by-layer look at what is open in AI today, from hardware to agents🪿 How Goose at Block led to the birth of MCP🏛️ Why Goose needed a vendor-neutral home, and how the Agentic AI Foundation was born🚀 Why open source works as a distribution strategy, plus the gRPC story🤝 Why in-person events and local chapters matter for open source AI🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🌐 Agentic AI Foundation (Website): https://aaif.io🐦 Agentic AI Foundation (X): https://x.com/AgenticAIFdn💬 Join the AAIF Discord: https://discord.gg/vRUDWv82b🎟️ AGNTCon + MCPCon North America: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/agntcon-mcpcon-north-america/🏷️ Use code COMMUNITY25 for 25% off AGNTCon + MCPCon registration🧑‍💻 Manik Surtani (X): https://x.com/maniksurtan🔗 Manik Surtani (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/maniksurtani✍️ Manik Surtani (Substack): https://maniksurtani.substack.com🪿 Goose: https://goose-docs.aiShow LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

Most tokenized stocks are wrappers, which means there are more parties in the chain than most people realize. Marc Ryan, co-founder and CEO of Spout Finance, breaks down what you are really trusting when a stock goes on chain.In this episode of The Index Podcast, Marc, a former tech investment banker, explains how Spout Finance is bringing a prime brokerage style product to Solana, why overnight gaps shape how the platform handles risk, and why he thinks Wall Street is warming up to Solana.This is the unglamorous side of tokenized stocks that most people skip.🚀 In this episode, we cover:🔍 What you're really trusting when you hold a tokenized stock: issuers, wrappers, and custodians🌍 Why tokenized stocks open US markets to people in emerging economies🧮 How Spout Finance's options-based model works, explained in plain English🌙 Why overnight gaps and thin after-hours liquidity shape how the platform handles risk🗽 Is Wall Street warming up to Solana? What Marc hears from institutions in New York⚖️ Why Marc thinks building on an EVM chain is the riskier bet📜 What tokenized stock regulation could mean for the whole market🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🧑‍💻 Marc Ryan (X): https://x.com/0xmryan🔗 Marc Ryan (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-ryan/🌐 Spout Finance (Website): https://spout.finance🐦 Spout Finance (X): https://x.com/SpoutFiShow LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

Ryan Carson taught a million people to code at Treehouse. Now he runs Untangle almost entirely on his own, with a fleet of AI agents, and says all technology is about to be worth almost zero.In this episode of The Index Podcast, the four-time founder explains why his first idea was a total dud, how Untangle pivoted from consumers to an AI paralegal for divorce lawyers, and how an AI called Grace finds what the other side missed.This is what building a company looks like when product market fit and distribution matter more than the technology itself.🚀 In this episode, we cover:⚖️ How Untangle pivoted from helping consumers to building an AI paralegal for divorce lawyers👁️ Meet Grace, the AI with the "eye of Sauron" that runs 90-minute forensic analysis on a case🔨 Why Ryan says all technology is almost going to be worth zero, and what matters instead🤖 How his agent R2 cold emailed law firms and landed the first meeting☁️ Why he ships dozens of pull requests a day from his phone with cloud agents🧠 Why agents are still amazing and stupid at the same time🛰️ Ryan's breakdown of a wild story about AI agents teaming up through a hidden message board🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🧑‍💻 Ryan Carson (X): https://x.com/ryancarson🌐 Ryan Carson (Website): https://ryancarson.com⚖️ Untangle (Website): https://untangle.usShow LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

97% of comments on business pages never get a reply. Hank Leber, co-founder of Stanify, says that is the biggest missed opportunity in social media, and he built an AI to fix it.In this episode of The Index Podcast, Hank explains how Stanify hides toxic comments without the troll ever knowing, drafts replies in a brand's own voice with a human in the loop, and turns millions of comments into business insights.This is what happens when a company stops treating its comment section like a liability and starts treating it like a goldmine.🚀 In this episode, we cover:💬 Why 97% of comments on brand pages go unanswered🙈 How Stanify hides toxic comments without the troll knowing🚪 The lobby analogy: why social media needs a private room, not a screaming match🎙️ How Stanify learns a brand's voice in 15 seconds🧑‍💼 Why humans stay in the loop instead of an auto-posting hallucination machine📊 Why Stanify is really an insights and data company, not just AI automation🤖 What happens when AI agents start talking to brands on behalf of customers🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🌐 Stanify (Website): https://stanify.ai🐦 Stanify (X): https://x.com/stanify_aiShow LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube

Yahia Bakour kept getting angry emails from big companies about bad data quality. Instead of panicking, he treated them as a signal, killed his other projects, and went all in on one product.In this episode of The Index Podcast, the founder of Context.dev, backed by Y Combinator, explains how a web data API for AI agents went from a first customer that took a month to 400 customers, and why a team of four runs its DevOps with AI agents.This is what finding product market fit looks like when there is no data, only noise.🚀 In this episode, we cover:📧 How angry customer emails became the signal to kill every other project and go all in🌐 How Context.dev turns any website into an API with a single schema⚡ Why scraping 100,000 URLs takes minutes with Context.dev instead of a day on your own machine🆓 Why free credits beat a paywall when it comes to churn🤖 How a team of four uses AI agents as its DevOps🛰️ The monitors feature that had almost 500 monitors created within 20 minutes of launch🏁 What Y Combinator's outlandish two-week goals actually feel like🔗 Follow & learn more:🎙️ The Index Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@theindexpodcast🧑‍💻 Yahia Bakour (X): https://x.com/mynameisyahia🔗 Yahia Bakour (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/yahia-bakour/🌐 Context.dev (Website): https://context.dev🐦 Context.dev (X): https://x.com/getcontextdevShow LinksThe Index X ChannelYouTube