Investment approach where rapid software deployment enables proof-of-concept launches within days, allowing founders to validate market demand before committing to full development phases and reducing capital risk.
3 episodes
Jim Hasty, founder of Cogle Group, discusses his company's evolution from technology consulting to AI-powered software products. He shares lessons from building Plan Checkers, an AI tool that reduces municipal permit review time from weeks to minutes, and outlines a crawl-walk-run framework for enterprise AI adoption focused on automating emotionally draining tasks rather than chasing adoption metrics.
Jennifer Bonnett, a longtime tech entrepreneur and former ecosystem builder at ATDC and Invest Atlanta, discusses her transition back into technology through AI experimentation. She shares lessons from building a search engine in 1997, her current work vibe coding consumer apps with Claude, and her philosophy that CEOs must personally sell for at least the first year before delegating. The conversation explores how AI is lowering barriers to entrepreneurship while emphasizing that founders still need strong networks, customer discovery skills, and the discipline to market early.
Todd and Bryan Dennstedt review their 2025 AI predictions, finding they accurately forecasted the AI trough of disillusionment, agentic AI emergence, and VC conservatism. They predict 2026 will be defined by organizational absorption of AI capabilities rather than new breakthroughs, with agentic workflows becoming default, SaaS pricing models compressing, and trust verification emerging as a critical business category. They emphasize that rapid AI-powered software development is fundamentally changing startup economics and making previously marginal business ideas viable.
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