Wade Foster

Wade Foster, the Founder and CEO of Zapier, shares his expertise in AI and automation, revealing how he built four AI agents in just 55 minutes to save over 20 hours weekly. He showcases innovative tools like the Inbox Zero Agent and an employee fraud detector. The discussion includes strategies to get teams onboard with AI and enhance workflow efficiency through smart integration. Wade also touches on the Model Context Protocol and the value of AI in optimizing business insights, making the case for smarter operations and informed decision-making.

Wade Foster, the co-founder and CEO of Zapier, dives into the fascinating world of AI application in hiring and culture. He reveals how meeting transcripts can uncover the 'unspoken culture' of a company and be converted into powerful hiring tools. Wade showcases the use of Zapier agents to provide objective feedback on interviews and discusses the importance of leading AI adoption as a CEO. He also shares his surprising method for using Grok to scout unique talent outside conventional channels, highlighting AI's potential to tackle previously uneconomical tasks.

Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, shares insights from his journey of transforming his 14-year-old company amid the AI revolution. He reveals how declaring a 'code red' catalyzed cultural change and encouraged experimentation. Wade discusses the challenge of tech adoption versus cultural shifts and the benefits of parallel efforts in innovation. He highlights the impact of AI on productivity and well-being, and the future of agent-to-agent communication, emphasizing the importance of leadership in guiding teams through this evolving landscape.

Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, dives deep into the reality of AI workflows versus agents. He provides a practical demo of his AI tool that triages over 100 emails down to 10 key messages. Wade argues that many requests for 'agents' are better served by automation modules and shares insights on building specialized agents. His thoughts on the current AI landscape emphasize the importance of human oversight, while debunking myths about Zapier's relevance, showing that it remains essential for effective automation in businesses.

Wade Foster, Co-founder of Zapier, discusses how to leverage workflow data and remote hiring for an AI era. Ali Ansari, founder of MicroOne, highlights the importance of proprietary data for training models and how to streamline the hiring process. Mikey Schulman from Suno shares insights on using AI in music creation, fostering industry partnerships, and discovering new talent. All three emphasize a proactive job-seeking mentality: show you can do the work instead of waiting to be hired!

Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, explores the evolution of their platform from no-code pioneer to an AI-driven powerhouse. He discusses how Zapier is integrating AI for business efficiency and the challenges of implementing automation. Wade shares insights on the effective use of large language models and the importance of clear AI prompting. He also highlights advancements in AI technology and how they enhance workflow automation. Tune in for valuable perspectives on AI's transformative role in modern businesses.

How did a company that nobody'd ever heard of find hundreds of beta users, and even convince them to pay for access? Wade Foster tells the story behind user acquisition at Zapier.

Wade Foster, the co-founder and CEO of Zapier, transformed the company into a profitable giant without traditional VC backing. He reveals how a $1M post-YC investment paved the way for agility during AI's rise, particularly after the launch of GPT-4 which altered their strategy. Wade discusses the concept of agentic workflows and the importance of an AI-literate culture, emphasizing practical ways to stimulate internal AI adoption. He offers insights on navigating competition and maintaining long-term thinking in product development.

Wade Foster, Co-founder & CEO at Zapier, discusses the unorthodox decisions behind Zapier's success, their powerful distribution engine, and the impact of Veterans United. He shares insights on product market fit, fundraising, and people management. The podcast explores unconventional strategies, adapting to change, and the importance of intellectual honesty.

Wade Foster is the co-founder and CEO of Zapier, an automation business most recently valued at $5 billion.In the episode, Wade discusses why Zapier only raised around $1M and unpacks Zapier’s strategies for growing profitably. Wade shares lessons from building one of the first remote-only companies in tech, including key tips for hiring, onboarding, building a great management team, and much more.Wade is definitely a first principles thinker around all things business. One of the most raw and engaging episodes to date.(0:00) Intro(0:50) What does Zapier do?(4:06) $1.3 million to $5 billion(12:27) Lessons learned from starting Zapier(17:23) Zapier's ecosystem and partners(23:24) What made Zapier outperform competitors?(28:31) Three friends from Missouri(32:35) Was it obvious who the successes were going to be?(40:36) Foundation of the board(45:18) The Ultimate Guide to Remote Work(50:45) Building trust among a remote employee base(53:47) Importance of onboarding experience(1:00:57) The future of remote work(1:06:06) Advice for new founders(1:08:50) Wade's interview style(1:15:30) Setting goals as a company(1:18:30) Are CEO coaches just snake oil?(1:23:44) SEO Landing Pages(1:27:47) What has you excited about artificial intelligence?(1:33:29) Relationship with Sam Altman(1:39:45) What would you tell 23-year-old Wade? Mixed and edited: Justin HrabovskyProduced: Rashad AssirExecutive Producer: Josh MachizMusic: Griff Lawson 🎙 Listen to the showApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/three-cartoon-avatars/id1606770839Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zb0hJZkhWbg 🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow on Socials📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow About the ShowLogan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes. Executive Producer: Rashad AssirProducer: Leah ClapperMixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA 🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1 Follow on Socials 📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow📱 X - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow About the ShowLogan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode of The Logan Bartlett Show, we sit down with the people behind today’s most important startups and extract the tactics, lessons, and frameworks they’ve learned the hard way. Conversations span hiring to GTM, product, growth, fundraising and everything in between - collectively forming the ultimate playbook to make you a better CEO, investor or board member.Tap follow and enable notifications to stay ahead of the game.