Startup for Startup - Global ⚡ by monday.com

Note to listeners: The English version of this episode was generated using AI translation from the original Hebrew recording. Minor inaccuracies may occur. For years, the subscription model was the standard for most SaaS companies, relying on relatively low technology costs per user and high profitability. The massive entry of AI technologies into software products has changed this equation, with every LLM call generating a significant, variable cost. This reality forces the industry to redefine pricing and business models, adapting them to an era of consumption. In this week’s episode, Darya Wertheim speaks with Roy Mann, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of monday.com, about this fundamental shift and how product companies must rethink their pricing and business models. We explore how to build a business model that aligns the value the user receives with the price they pay, addressing the conflict of interest between company and customer when pricing a product as a percentage markup over AI provider costs—where optimization that lowers usage costs simultaneously cuts company revenue, creating a negative incentive for product efficiency. Roy and Darya discuss a spectrum of business models, ranging from a markup over provider costs to Forward Deployed Engineers (FDE) working directly with users, as well as the middle-ground options that provide stability for the customer while still capturing the value delivered by application software.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deals with enterprise organizations and public sector entities almost always come wrapped in a formal package: the Request for Proposal (RFP). While early-stage startups often view RFPs as a daunting, bureaucratic hurdle, for growing B2B companies, they represent one of the most stable and lucrative revenue engines available. In this episode, Shaked Hershkovitz, Director of Solution Engineering at monday.com, sits down with Darya Wertheim to share how the company built its RFP muscle from 2019 to today, highlighting the core best practices and lessons learned along the way. Shaked breaks down the strategic trade-offs inherent in RFP management, starting with the dilemma of whether to apply a high-volume approach or focus strictly on high-probability opportunities. He reflects on early missteps—specifically how prioritizing quantity over quality consumed heavy legal and technical bandwidth while yielding low win rates—and discusses navigating strict regulatory and security requirements. He also addresses the hard truth that missing even a single product capability can cost a six-figure deal, even when the client actively wants to partner with you. The episode provides actionable frameworks for managing tenders effectively, from identifying opportunities at the RFI stage and influencing requirements early to tailoring solutions and accelerating the path to live demos. Shaked details how embedding AI tools and autonomous agents into their workflow allows teams to scan complex tender documents in seconds, score win probabilities, and save hundreds of engineering hours. Finally, he outlines the specific formula that drove monday.com's RFP win rate up to 35%. Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in July 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in February 2026. At monday.com's 2025 kickoff event, we were sure we had hit on the next big product innovation to match the AI revolution. Looking back, Co-CEO Eran Zinman and CPTO Daniel Lereya realize that features like neat text summarization buttons or resume screeners were essentially just "AI Dust" sprinkled over the product, cool features that don't fundamentally change how users work. In this week's episode, Darya Wertheim sits down with them to discuss the gap between recognizing that the world is changing and translating that into what it means for a product built over many years. Eran and Daniel share the product evolutions currently happening at monday.com, from new AI products to shifts in core offerings—along with the insights, challenges, and mistakes that shaped the path forward.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeff Bezos' famous quote, "The stock is not the company, and the company is not the stock," has never been more relevant for the software sector. After years where SaaS companies were considered islands of stability and guaranteed growth, the AI revolution has injected market uncertainty that slashed valuations by tens of percent overnight for many companies. In this episode of "Version Update", Darya Wertheim hosts Eran Zinman, Co-CEO of monday.com, and Eliran Glazer, the company's CFO, to discuss the dissonance between actual business performance and negative investor sentiment. We dive into perspectives on the current crisis based on past market downturns—from the dot-com crash and the subprime crisis to the post-COVID correction and monday’s own stock drop from $400 to $70—and what we can learn from these cycles. We also cover why monday.com chose to initiate a share buyback program, how it affects value for both investors and employees, and how they navigate the public and private markets as they intersect during the AI revolution. Note: This episode has been translated from Hebrew to English using AI voice technology. The Original episode first aired in March 2026. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are we really facing the end of SaaS? Is it actually possible to rebuild monday.com in just two hours? And will we all be out of a job in a few years? In this episode of "Version Update"—the series where we unpack how AI is reshaping and rebuilding monday.com from the inside out—we dive into the most talked-about doom prophecies of recent months to separate fact from fiction and see what has been blown completely out of proportion. monday.com founders Roy Mann and Eran Zinman bring their boots-on-the-ground perspective to these industry anxieties. They address the rise of "vibe coding" and its true impact on established software companies, the fear that users will bypass traditional applications entirely in favor of raw LLM interfaces, and the impending takeover of AI agents in the workplace. The discussion cuts through the panic to find the actual core of truth behind the headlines. By examining these shifts realistically, Roy and Eran map out what these macro-changes mean for the future of software development, how existing platforms must adapt, and what the practical implications are for the tech ecosystem as a whole. Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in March 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when successful companies face a game-changing technology that rewrites the rules? This is the third episode in our series on how AI is reshaping and rebuilding monday from the inside out. In this episode, monday co-CEOs Roy Mann and Eran Zinman join Darya Wertheim to talk about the practical challenges of managing organizational change when the technological landscape shifts. Drawing on frameworks from the book "The Innovator's Dilemma," Eran and Roy break down why the strongest, best-managed companies are actually at the highest risk of being disrupted during the AI revolution. They dive into the friction of balancing the urgent demands of existing customers and current product commitments with the strategic necessity of betting on an unmapped future. The discussion unpacks why it is so difficult for software companies to let go of legacy paradigms, why market dynamics always win in the end, what makes AI fundamentally different from any technological wave we have seen before and, of course, exactly where all of this meets monday. Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in February 2026.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode of our series on how AI is reshaping monday.com, Darya Wertheim hosts Roy Mann and Eran Zinman, the company’s co-founders and co-CEOs. They discuss the most dramatic turning point in software since the invention of the personal computer. While software over the last 20 years primarily served as a tool to document work done elsewhere, today AI allows software to take center stage and execute the work itself—moving "from managing the work to doing the work." In this episode, we break down what it actually means to deeply embed AI into a company based on three key pillars: replacing human tasks, empowering employees with 10x capabilities, and democratizing tasks and expertise that were previously out of reach—enabling anyone to code, design, or create music without prior knowledge. We also discuss what AI is not, and why sprinkling "AI dust" on top of a product without changing its core value is simply not enough. Roy and Eran explain how customer expectations have fundamentally shifted, to the point where anything less than eliminating cognitive load and execution steps is no longer enough. A quick heads-up: Since we’re on the subject of AI, we used it to translate this episode. These are Darya, Eran and Roy's AI-generated voices, bringing the Hebrew conversation to life in English. The episode first aired in Hebrew on February 2026.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The impact of AI is unfolding in real-time, and no one has all the answers yet. At monday.com, the transition didn't happen overnight; It began with early excitement, moved through a period of learning and adjustment, and led to the realization that our previous frameworks required a fundamental shift. This episode marks the beginning of a series where we share the internal changes happening at monday.com right now, documenting the process while it is still "in the making" to provide a transparent look at a company in transition. Darya Wertheim sits down with Eran Zinman, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of monday.com, to discuss how he realized the company needed a fundamental shift in perspective. Eran shares the difficult reality of abandoning a successful strategy to climb a much steeper mountain. They dive into the specific dilemmas of leading a global organization through a period where the endgame isn't yet visible. Rather than a retrospective on success, this discussion focuses on managing through the unknown. We cover the initial impact of AI on the organization, and the leadership required to keep 3,000 employees engaged when their core environment is being reshaped.A quick heads-up: Since we’re on the subject of AI, we used it to translate this episode. These are Darya and Eran's AI-generated voices, bringing the Hebrew conversation to life in English. The episode first aired in Hebrew on February 2026.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every startup wants attention, but most struggle to create content that actually drives business growth (not just likes). So how do you make content work for your startup? Adva Shisgal sat down with Nuseir Yassin AKA Nas Daily — the creator behind 68M+ followers and two successful companies—to break it all down. You can also watch a video version of the episode on Youtube   In this episode, we cover:   How to create content that sells (without being salesy) The biggest mistakes startups make with content – and how to fix them How AI is changing the content game (and how to use it) Why losing followers can actually be a good thing Nas has worked with top brands, governments, and startups to help them stand out—and in this episode, he shares part of his strategy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The current geopolitical situation in Israel brings quite a few challenges for startups wishing to raise money. These challenges become even more significant when they involve foreign VCs who may need help understanding the situation, making the way startups communicate with them even more critical.    In mid-November, we held an event where Daria Wertheim interviewed Shuli Galili from the UpWest Fund, Jacques Benkoski from U.S. Venture Partners, and Aaron Jacobson from NEA about the way investors in the U.S. perceive the current situation, how they would like founders to communicate with them, And how they see raising money for Israeli startups today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.