S2E30: Building a company is a team sport | Ariel Harmoko (Artifact AI)

Ariel Harmoko went from three-time national racing champion to Formula 3 driver to Cambridge's youngest ML researcher, all before turning 18. On this episode of Get Paid, he tells Manny how he built Artifact AI, an accounting automation platform that's taking on a $600B industry with a two-person team and a radically different approach to vertical AI.

Ariel breaks down exactly how he landed his first customers: cold-calling accounting firms he found on the Xero marketplace, armed with nothing but a Figma prototype. He explains why Artifact positions itself against offshore BPO providers rather than software competitors. And why that lets them charge $30K-$200K contracts instead of SaaS prices. The conversation gets tactical on pricing, go-to-market, and why accuracy matters more than speed when you're building AI that handles other people's money.

The episode closes with a sharp take on where the industry is headed. Ariel argues the billable hour is dying, the Big Four are vulnerable, and the next generation of accounting giants will be AI-first firms that never hired bookkeepers in the first place. His advice to founders: build your own evaluation infrastructure, don't outsource your accuracy, and don't be afraid to charge what a human employee would cost.

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