$50K Focus Groups Are About to Be Replaced by AI

Jan 20, 2026

55:09

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Focus groups used to take 6–8 weeks and cost around $30–50k.

Motives is a YC Summer ’25 company that does it in a day, and is doing it the hard way: with real humans, not synthetic personas.

In this episode of Lobster Talks, we sit down with Sean (Motives, YC S25) to unpack how AI-native companies are replacing legacy services, why YC is doubling down on agents, and the real tradeoffs of building outside San Francisco.

You’ll learn:

Why Motives can run focus-group-grade research in 1–2 days vs 6–8 weeks
The truth about synthetic users vs real humans (and where each wins)
YC’s real “secret” (spoiler: it’s not a secret) and why it maps perfectly to agents
The underrated founder problem: sales vs customer success once you have traction
Why “unlimited research” pricing can create addiction-level usage
London vs SF: customer density, talent economics, and survivability as a founder

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Motives: Revolutionizing Consumer Research with AI

00:31 Welcome to Lobster Talks: Meet Sean from Motives

01:01 Deep Dive into Motives: How It Works and Its Advantages

01:49 The Evolution of Market Research: From Traditional to AI-Powered

03:52 Comparing Human and AI-Driven Consumer Research

09:58 The YC Experience: Building AI-Native Businesses

14:57 Challenges and Strategies for AI Startups

24:07 Sales and Customer Success in AI Agent Businesses

28:10 Reflecting on Client Payments and Capital

28:35 Testing the Unlimited Plan