Is AI making startups easier—or just changing the rules of the game?

In a world where execution is cheap and accessible, building a successful startup is more competitive than ever. In this episode, Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein unpack the reality of every business having access to the same AI-driven tools, what makes a startup successful in this landscape, and how to quickly adapt in the breakneck pace of business evolution.

In this episode, you will:
- Understand why execution is no longer your moat—and what replaces it
- Learn how to sharpen your strategic vision and apply “wisdom at speed”
- Discover why leadership, sales, and hiring matter more than ever
- Explore what it takes to master the human-AI interface—and gain an edge
- Design processes that eliminate bottlenecks and boost iteration speed
- Build a defensible moat using data, niche AI models, and brand
- Realize how team quality becomes your true multiplier in the AI age

00:00 On Today's Show
03:31 Strategic Acumen and Vision
06:16 Problem Selection and Definition
09:00 Unique Solution Design
11:23 The Role of Decisiveness
16:11 Human-Centric Skills
18:40 Sales and Relationship Building
21:25 Raising Capital
22:27 Deep Customer Empathy
24:39 Mastery of the Human-AI Interface
27:52 Process Design and Efficiency
30:55 The Speed Imperative in Startups
33:19 Data Strategy and AI
40:58 Building a Defensible Moat
49:53 The Importance of Team and Culture
51:13 Closing Thoughts

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Key links
The Startup Podcast is sponsored by Vanta. Vanta helps businesses get and stay compliant by automating up to 90% of the work for the most in demand compliance frameworks. With over 200 integrations, you can easily monitor and secure the tools your business relies on. For a limited-time offer of US$1,000 off, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.vanta.com/tsp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A
The Startup Podcast website: https://tsp.show

Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Content Strategist: Carolina Franco https://www.linkedin.com/in/francocarolina/
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

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