Bernard Aceituno went from PhD research at MIT to founding Stack AI, a no-code AI platform that's now generating 7-figures in ARR with over 100 enterprise customers and $16M raised.
In this episode, Bernard shares how he pivoted from academia to entrepreneurship, why his first product wasn't solving the right problem, and how a perfectly-timed MVP launch on Hacker News created overnight demand. He explains the painful lessons of chasing too many customer segments before finding focus with enterprise IT teams, and the "Monte Carlo" framework he uses to validate sales channels.
π Key Lessons
- π The Hacker News Launch: How a simple "Show HN" post for a scrappy MVP generated 20 enterprise meetings in just 48 hours.
- π― Finding Focus: Why chasing too many ICPs (SMBs, Startups, Enterprise) nearly derailed the company and why they fired their small customers.
- π‘ The MVP Pivot: What signals showed Bernard it was time to move from "Dataset Management" to "Workflow Automation."
- π§ͺ The Experiment Framework: How to use a "Monte Carlo" approach to test sales channels without wasting time on mediocre experiments.
- π Channel Mistakes: Why attempts at reseller channels failed early on and what Bernard learned about timing partnerships.
π Chapters
- Introduction & The "Risk" Mindset
- From MIT PhD to YC Founder
- What is Stack AI? (Enterprise AI Toolkit)
- The MVP Launch: 20 Meetings in 48 Hours
- Early Traction: Finding the First $100k ARR
- Discovering the ICP: Why SMBs were the Wrong Customer
- The Enterprise Pivot: Selling to IT & Compliance Teams
- Founder-Led Sales: Closing the First 12 Enterprise Deals
- Hiring Sales Teams: When is the Right Time?
- The "Mediocre Experiment" Trap
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Resources:
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