What happens when AI agents need to navigate the web just like humans do? In this episode, we sit down with Paul Klein, co-founder and CEO of Browserbase, to explore how browsers are becoming the critical infrastructure layer for AI-powered automation. Paul shares his journey from working at companies like Twilio and Mux to founding Browserbase, a platform that provides headless browser infrastructure for developers building AI agents that can interact with any website on the internet.

Key Takeaways:

• Start with a burning problem: Paul emphasizes that startups should be a "means of last resort" — you should only start a company when you have a problem you absolutely must solve
• The browser as AI primitive: As AI agents become more prevalent, browsers serve as a critical infrastructure layer for software to interact with websites that weren't designed for programmatic access
• Developer experience is paramount: Drawing from his time at Twilio, Paul stresses the importance of creating "five-minute demos" and magical moments that help developers quickly understand the value proposition
• Open source as a growth strategy: Browserbase open-sourced their Stagehand framework with an MIT license to build developer trust, enable customization, and accelerate adoption
• Everyone becomes a developer: With AI coding tools, the line between technical and non-technical users is blurring, expanding the potential market for developer primitives
• Internal messaging matters: One of the most important lessons from Jeff Lawson was the critical role of internal communication and all-hands meetings in building great infrastructure companies
• Focus on the "boring" use cases: Rather than flashy applications like flight booking, Browserbase finds success in automating mundane, long-tail workflows that lack first-party integrations

Learn more about Browserbase: https://www.browserbase.com/

Read Paul’s memo that launched the idea for Browserbase: “An Internet Browser for AI”

Where to find Paul Klein IV:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkleiniv/

Twitter/X: @pk_iv

Where to find Glenn Solomon:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

Twitter/X: @glennsolomon

Where to find Dan Cahana: @dan_cahana

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancahana/

Twitter/X:

Where to find Notable Capital:

www.notablecap.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/notablecapital

Twitter/X: @notablecap

Contact: frt@notablecap.com

In this episode of Founder Real Talk, host Glenn Solomon speaks with Edgard Capdevielle, President & CEO and Andrea Carcano, Co-founder & CPO of Nozomi Networks. They dive into the journey of pioneering industrial cybersecurity, discuss their growth from a seed-stage startup to a global leader, and reflect on the innovative techniques that set them apart. From protecting critical infrastructures like the 2024 Paris Olympics to their "Jarvis"-like software framework, this episode unpacks lessons in building a world-class team, maintaining culture, and scaling globally. Edgard and Andrea share their future aspirations and the evolving landscape of cybersecurity.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Early Focus on Mission Over Profit: Nozomi’s origin wasn’t about building a company but solving real-world industrial cybersecurity problems.
• Strategic Growth in Harsh Markets: Starting in heavy industries like oil, gas, and utilities gave Nozomi credibility and allowed for easier expansion into other verticals.
• Innovative Software Development: Their disciplined approach to architecture and agile methodologies ensures product scalability and adaptability.
• The Rise of Ransomware: Nozomi's solutions address critical vulnerabilities as ransomware reshapes how attackers monetize cyber incidents.
• Vision for Longevity: With a strong focus on sales efficiency and global expansion, Nozomi positions itself for long-term growth and potential IPO readiness.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Nozomi Networks

03:01 Founding Story and Early Challenges

05:54 The Importance of Team Dynamics

09:03 Growth and Market Potential

11:59 Product Development and Innovation

14:58 Understanding Industrial Control Networks

17:48 Securing High-Profile Events

20:54 The Rise of Industrial Cybersecurity

23:47 Building a Global Company

26:55 Maintaining Company Culture

29:58 Future Aspirations and Closing Thoughts

RESOURCES

Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com

Learn more about Nozomi Networks: https://www.nozominetworks.com

CONNECT

Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon

Connect with Edgard Capdevielle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgardcapdevielle/

Follow Edgard Capdevielle on Twitter: https://x.com/capdevielle

Connect with Andrea Carcano on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreacarcano/

Follow Andrea Carcano on Twitter: https://x.com/andreacarcano

Produced by Saschi Productions

Music by Gus Culpo

In this episode of Founder Real Talk, Glenn Solomon welcomes back Rich Waldron, CEO of Tray.ai. Rich discusses how the company recently rebranded from their original name, Tray.io to mark their intensified focus on integration and automation with AI. They discuss the challenges organizations face in adopting AI and the need to be fast, flexible, and safe. Rich shares insights on customer feedback, memorable moments in the company's journey, and valuable lessons for founders and IT leaders.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. A Rebrand To Support On-Going Growth: After shifting the company from Tray.io to Tray.ai, the team has aligned on a significant pivot towards AI-driven integration.
2. AI Integration Success: For successful AI implementation, it’s crucial for companies to align on data, agility, and security.
3. Composable Tech Stacks: IT leaders should focus on building composable tech stacks to adapt to AI changes.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Tray.ai and Rich Waldron

01:26 The Rebranding Journey: From Tray.io to Tray.ai

05:02 Challenges of Integrating AI in Organizations

07:48 Tray.ai's Unique Value Proposition

10:15 Positioning as an AI-Ready iPaaS Platform

12:10 Product Evolution: Introducing Merlin and AI Palette

15:55 Speed and Agility in AI Implementation

17:53 Security Considerations in AI Projects

20:10 Customer Feedback and Adoption of AI Solutions

23:27 Memorable Moments in Tray.ai's Journey

27:39 Lessons Learned as a Founder

30:23 Advice for IT Leaders on AI Readiness

33:41 Rapid Fire Round: Fun Insights and Future Vision

RESOURCES

Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com

Learn more about Tray.ai: https://tray.ai/

CONNECT

Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon

Connect with Rich Waldron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwaldron/

Follow Rich Waldron on Twitter: https://x.com/richwaldron

Produced by Saschi Productions

Music by Gus Culpo

In this episode of Founder Real Talk, host Glenn Solomon, Managing Partner at Notable Capital, sits down with LocalStack’s co-founders, Gerta Sheganaku and Waldemar Hummer, to discuss how LocalStack is revolutionizing the developer experience. LocalStack enables developers to emulate cloud environments on their local machines, drastically reducing testing times and costs while accelerating product development.

Listen as Gerta and Waldemar share the journey behind LocalStack, from its humble beginnings as an open-source project to its growth into a full-fledged business with over 900 paying customers, including Fortune 100 companies. They dive into the unique challenges of cloud-based development, how LocalStack provides a faster alternative, and why speed in the development cycle—what they call “product velocity”—is crucial for innovation in tech.

Glenn also explores why Notable Capital led LocalStack’s Series A funding and what makes LocalStack stand out in the crowded cloud development space.

Key Topics Discussed:

• How LocalStack’s local cloud emulation tool saves time and cost for developers
• LocalStack’s journey from an open-source project to an enterprise-grade product
• Gerta and Waldemar’s backgrounds and what led them to build LocalStack
• The future of cloud development and how LocalStack plans to expand and innovate

RESOURCES

Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com

Learn more about LocalStack: www.localstack.cloud

CONNECT

Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

Follow Glenn Solomon on X: https://x.com/glennsolomon

Connect with Gerta Sheganaku on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerta-sheganaku/

Follow Gerta Sheganaku on X: https://x.com/Sheg_Ge

Connect with Waldemar Hummer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whummer/

Follow Waldemar Hummer on X: https://x.com/w_hummer

Produced by Notable Capital

Music by Gus Culpo

In this episode of Founder Real Talk, Glenn Solomon and Hans Tung welcome the Founder and CEO of Jam, Dani Grant. Jam is helping 150k builders fix bugs faster, trusted by 32 of the Fortune 100. The conversation explores Dani's journey from being a product manager at Cloudflare to founding Jam, the challenges of being a first-time CEO, and the role of AI in shaping the future of software development. They also discuss how to approach developers as a customer and the launch of Dev Starter Pack, a multi-company initiative aimed at supporting aspiring founders by making it easier to get started.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. Fostering Efficient Collaboration: Jam accelerates communication between product and engineering teams, drawing inspiration from Dani Grant's experience at Cloudflare, while AI integration is a focus for future tools.
2. Empathy and Community in Leadership: Dani emphasizes empathy in product development, highlights the importance of community in developer-focused companies, and leads by empowering her team while balancing control and trust.
3. How Users Inform the Product Roadmap: How patience and user feedback are critical to reaching product-market-fit and how users can inspire your next great product idea.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Jam and Its Impact

02:25 Dani Grant's Journey and the Birth of Jam

05:47 The Dev Starter Pack: A Collaborative Initiative

08:41 AI's Role in Shaping Software Development

10:18 Building a Developer Community

15:54 Challenges of Being a First-Time CEO

19:56 Finding Product-Market Fit

21:36 Leadership Style and Team Dynamics

33:45 Commercialization Plans and Future Directions

RESOURCES

Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com

Learn more about Jam: https://jam.dev/

CONNECT

Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon

Connect with Hans Tung on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-tung/

Follow Hans Tung on Twitter: https://x.com/hanstung

Connect with Dani Grant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danigrant/

Follow Dani Grant on Twitter: https://x.com/thedanigrant

Produced by Saschi Productions

Music by Gus Culpo

In a world where enterprises are moving faster than ever to adopt generative AI solutions, Patronus AI offers solutions to scalably and reliably catch mistakes and evaluate the performance of large language models (LLMs).

In this episode of Founder Real Talk, host Glenn Solomon and guest host Dan Cahana sit down with AI visionaries and Patronus AI co-founders Anand Kannappan and Rebecca Qian to explore their journey from CS students at the University of Chicago to AI leadership roles at Meta and the reasons they felt compelled to start Patronus after recognizing the need for robust evaluation tools following the release of ChatGPT in late 2022.

Anand and Rebecca illuminate the challenges enterprises face in adopting AI and the ways they’ve built Patronus to mitigate challenges like hallucinations and brand alignment. Against the backdrop of rapid AI adoption at large companies, the founders share their vision for creating the enterprise standard for unbiased, independent evaluations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. AI Visionaries: Anand and Rebecca's extensive experience in AI and machine learning, including their time at Meta and the University of Chicago, laid the foundation for Patronus.
2. Day -1 for AI: The founders see AI adoption as still being in the very early stages, describing it as "Day -1." Large companies are moving faster than ever to adopt AI technologies but face challenges in navigating the rapidly evolving landscape.
3. Solving Critical AI Issues: Patronus addresses the challenges of LLMs, such as hallucinations, unexpected behavior, and brand misalignments, making AI deployment safer and more reliable for enterprises.
4. API-First Approach: Patronus's API-first solution allows for seamless integration into various parts of the tech stack, offering flexibility and scalability for real-time and offline use cases.
5. Enterprise Adoption: The rapid adoption of AI by enterprises, driven by the need for reliability and safety, highlights the importance and urgency of Patronus's solutions.
6. Future of AI: Patronus describes “Scalable oversight" and how humans will learn to supervise increasingly intelligent AI systems

RESOURCES

• Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com

• Learn more about Patronus AI: https://www.patronus.ai/

CONNECT

• Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

• Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon

• Connect with Dan Cahana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancahana/

• Follow Dan Cahana on Twitter: https://x.com/dan_cahana

• Connect with Anand Kannappan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anandnkannappan/

• Follow Anand Kannappan on Twitter: https://x.com/anandnk24

• Connect with Rebecca Qian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaqian/

• Follow Rebecca Qian on Twitter: https://x.com/rebeccatqian

Produced by Saschi Productions

In this episode of Founder Real Talk, Glenn Solomon welcomes the team from Coder, including CEO Rob Whiteley and technical co-founders Ammar Bandukwala and Kyle Carberry. They discuss Coder’s journey from its inception, the company’s product pivots, and its growth trajectory. Listeners will gain insights into how Coder enables developers to write code directly in the cloud, enhancing productivity and security. They’ll also learn about the strategic decisions behind Coder's open-source approach, the challenges faced, and the recent successful $35 million funding round.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Shift to Cloud Development: Coder allows developers to write code natively in the cloud, improving productivity and security. This shift is akin to moving from old-school word processors to modern office suites.
2. Open Source Evolution: The company pivoted from a consumer-focused SaaS application to an open-source project, resulting in the popular Code Server and later the Coder platform, which supports team-based remote development.
3. Product Market Fit and Customer Adoption: Coder has achieved significant traction with large enterprises and tech companies by providing a product that enhances developer productivity while maintaining security.
4. Strategic Leadership Changes: Bringing in Rob Whiteley as CEO and Josh Epstein as CRO helped Coder focus on large enterprises, leveraging their expertise in go-to-market strategies.
5. Future Growth and Vision: Coder's recent $35 million funding round will support further development and expansion. The company aims to capitalize on opportunities in both the VDI market and the emerging generative AI tools sector.

Tune in to hear how Coder's innovative approach is reshaping software development and their plans for the future.

RESOURCES

Learn more about Notable Capital: www.notablecap.com

Learn more about Coder: www.coder.com

CONNECT

Connect with Glenn Solomon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsolomon/

Follow Glenn Solomon on Twitter: https://x.com/glennsolomon

Produced by Saschi Productions

Music by Gus Culpo

CHAPTERS

00:00Introduction to Coder and its Founders

02:54Evolution of Coder's Product and Business Model

05:07The Decision to Build Coder as an Open Source Company

08:14Building Code Server and Transitioning to Coder

10:23The Role of Open Source in Coder's Growth

13:16Justification for Coder in Different Customer Segments

15:20Bringing in a CEO and Building a Strong Culture

20:43Building the Go-to-Market Team and Strategy

22:28Future Opportunities in the Cloud Development Market

26:40Recent Fundraise and Milestones for Coder

29:20Critical Milestones and Innovations for Coder

31:30Rob's Biggest Learning as a First-Time CEO