In this episode I sit down with Wade Foster, the founder and CEO of Zapier. We explore Zapier’s unique path, from building its first integrations on nights and weekends in Missouri to scaling with minimal funding through Y Combinator. Wade shares how “don’t hire till it hurts” became a guiding mantra, why Zapier embraced remote work early on, and how the rise of AI is unlocking new automation possibilities through Zapier Agents. Whether you’re curious about seedstrapping, enterprise workflows, or the frontier of AI benchmarks, this conversation delivers practical insights for building a lean, innovative company.00:00:00 - “Don’t Hire Till It Hurts” Mantra00:01:24 - The First Zap & Early Users00:03:42 - Joining YC & Minimal Funding00:05:09 - Profitability & Lean Hiring00:06:57 - SEO for Marketplace Growth00:08:10 - AI Agents & Unstructured Data00:10:28 - Enterprise Playbook & GTM00:13:14 - ARC Prize & Future of AGI00:17:29 - Remote Culture at Zapier00:20:29 - Seedstrapping Advice in AI00:25:09 - Reimagining Processes w/ AI00:28:54 - Final Insights & Future

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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