The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship 458: Read AI: The 8-Figure Playbook for Product-Led Growth - with David Shim
Oct 23, 2025
David Shim, the innovative Founder and CEO of Read.ai, shares insights from his remarkable journey, including successfully selling his previous startup for $200M. He discusses the initial struggles with Read.ai's retention rates and his pivotal shift to focus on day-one ROI. Discover how he built a viral product-led growth strategy that generates eight figures in ARR without traditional marketing. With fascinating anecdotes about validating ideas with industry leaders and automating meeting intelligence, David emphasizes the importance of solving real problems for sustainable growth.
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Episode notes
Unified System Of Record
- Read AI combines meetings, email, and project tools into a single system of record for intelligence.
- The product predicts and delivers actionable content rather than waiting for user queries.
Glasses, ESPN, And The Spark
- David noticed a meeting attendee reflected in glasses browsing ESPN and realized people are often distracted on calls.
- That observation sparked the idea to measure engagement and distraction in meetings.
Validate With Research And Direct Calls
- Validate ideas by researching existing models and asking experts directly.
- Call relevant founders or builders to confirm technical feasibility and market interest.
