Ep. 54 - From Sales Bottleneck to Growth Lever: How Coast Is Using AI to Fix Product Demos

In this episode, hosts Grant Evans and Justin Hanna are joined by Spencer Levitt, Co-Founder, and Kara Parkey, Head of Strategic Accounts at Coast, to tackle one of fintech’s most overlooked problems — why selling complex products is still so broken.From slow, inconsistent demos to disconnected handoffs between sales, product, and implementation teams, the conversation unpacks how product demos have quietly become a major bottleneck to growth. Spencer and Kara share why incremental fixes haven’t worked, and why the problem is especially acute in fintech, where APIs, compliance, and edge cases make storytelling harder.They dive into how AI-powered, self-serve demos are changing the buying journey — enabling faster proof-of-value, more consistent experiences, and shorter sales cycles. The episode also explores the realities of building an AI platform that sits close to revenue, and what it takes to earn trust with technical buyers.Looking ahead, the discussion turns to how demos could evolve from a friction point into a true growth lever for modern SaaS and fintech businesses.Plus, Spencer and Kara take on The Payments Shed’s legendary Shelf of Shame — calling out what they’d banish forever from sales and product demos.***The Payments Shed Podcast is headline sponsored by ISX Financial.ISX Financial, delivers a unified ecosystem with multi-currency accounts, online payments,  real-time UK and EU transfers and global mass payouts. Within that platform, PaidBy® provides Pay by Bank with real-time settlement notifications, automated reconciliation and integrated refund management. One partner, one integration — helping your business transact with confidence. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.isx.financial⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠***The Payments Shed Podcast is sponsored by Cyclops.Cyclops is a crypto and stablecoin infrastructure platform for payments companies, enabling PSPs, acquirers and processors to offer crypto acceptance, stablecoin settlement and payouts without building their own blockchain stack. It provides a unified solution for pay ins, payouts and fiat to digital asset conversion, with simple API or low code integration. Built specifically for the payments ecosystem, Cyclops focuses on making stablecoins practical, scalable and commercially viable.Learn more at - https://www.cyclops.io/***The Payments Shed Podcast is supported by PCN.PCN is a boutique recruitment agency rooted in Amsterdam, driven by a singular mission: connecting top talent with industry leaders. PCN specialises in five core pillars — Fintech, Cybersecurity, SaaS, E-Commerce, and Salesforce — backed by a global network across borders.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://teampcn.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠***Disclaimer. Any views or opinions referenced in this podcast episode are our own, or those of our respective guests, and they do not represent any views, opinions, or statements from our respective employers, or those of our guests. Additionally, any views expressed here are not intended as investment, legal, tax, or financial advice.