The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Small Business Deep Dives with Entrepreneurs You Don’t Need a Big Idea. AI Can Clone These Giants for You w/ Sam ⏐ Ep. #202
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Jul 30, 2025 
In this lively discussion, entrepreneur Sam Thompson shares insights on how AI can help clone massive SaaS companies affordably. He breaks down strategies to reverse-engineer features from platforms like Salesforce and market them at lower prices. Sam reveals his innovative approach to selling backlinks in a Shopify-style marketplace and emphasizes the power of unique product form factors, like caffeinated gum. Plus, his quirky side hustle—hummingbird nectar—is thriving! Dive into a world where disruption meets creativity!
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AI Clones Undercut SaaS Giants
- Sam Thompson built an AI clone of AppFolio charging $23/month versus AppFolio's $2,300/month.
- This price disruption can also happen with other pricey SaaS giants like Salesforce and RentManager.
Scrape Clients to Undercut Competitors
- Use BuiltWith to scrape client lists from subdomains of SaaS competitors like AppFolio.
- Then cold email these customers offering your cheaper AI-built alternative to disrupt at a fraction of their cost.
SaaS Tools Turn Into Commodities
- CRMs, social media schedulers, and Calendly have become commodities because AI can replicate them.
- These tools were once proprietary but are now easily replicable, driving a market shift.