Grit Airtable’s AI Reboot with CEO Howie Liu
31 snips
Sep 8, 2025 
Howie Liu, Co-Founder & CEO of Airtable—an AI-native platform trusted by over 500,000 organizations—discusses the challenge of reinventing a no-code giant in the face of AI advancements. He reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, from his early days and Salesforce acquisition to the emotional complexities of scaling. Liu shares insights on the importance of agility, the impact of conversational AI, and the idea of 'refounding' Airtable. He emphasizes how AI can empower everyone to build software and the significance of continuous innovation in the tech landscape.
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Radically Refounding Airtable
- Howie describes needing to "radically refound" Airtable to win in the AI era instead of just slapping AI on the product.
- He warns many incumbents are merely adding AI on top rather than rebuilding their operating model.
Two Years To Build, Prototype First
- Howie contrasts Airtable's two-year build to YC's 10-week demo cycle and shares their front-end-first prototyping approach.
- They faked backend persistence at first to validate the UX before investing two years in the full product.
Early Exit Gave Freedom Not Completion
- Howie's first exit from his early startup bought him financial breathing room and freedom to plan his next moves.
- The payout was life-changing but taught him that early wins are small compared to later scale ambitions.
