"Having 200 People on Payroll Is PETRIFYING" • Why AI Is Shrinking Tech Companies • Pete Ridlington

Pete Ridlington raised millions of pounds to build a software business, only to lay off 15 people when he scaled too fast. Arthur was one of those people. Now, his tech company is in its healthiest position ever with a fraction of the team.In this episode of Business Engine, Arthur sits down with Pete Ridlington, the founder and CEO of Ningi with 20 years of experience building tech companies. Pete shares the exact reasons he had to cut his headcount, the future of SaaS and AI and how small teams can use automated AI agents to match the output of 50 employees. He also explains why most founders should choose bootstrapping over venture capital. If you've ever felt the friction of trying to scale your headcount too quickly, this one is for you. CHAPTERS(00:00:00) Intro: Welcome Pete Ridlington(00:03:35) The reality of a startup burn rate(00:04:47) Getting addicted to big checks from corporate clients(00:07:34) "If you're not getting it wrong, then you're probably not pushing hard enough"(00:09:57) The structural benefits of a hyper-lean team(00:11:55) How to identify an investable business(00:17:00) Why AI means you should never take venture capital(00:21:23) Shifting metrics to revenue per employee(00:27:24) Breaking the connection between time and money(00:32:34) Why business textbooks lie and how to enjoy the chaos(00:48:00) Overcoming the AI context gap tax in your workflows(00:52:27) "People are saying SaaS is dead"GUESTPete Ridlington, CEO and Founder of Ningihttps://ningi.co.uk/https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-ridlington-fpfs-58568a52/LISTENYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdjyVyy1eSl_wQNNDLj9hnQSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1OyuXYMEgbKcGsNHiGDEpWApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-business-engine/id1896631852FOLLOW BUSINESS ENGINELinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebusinessengine/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.business.engine/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.business.engineHOSTED BY ARTHUR JONESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/arthur.maskew/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthurmaskew/PRODUCED BY MASKEW MEDIAhttps://www.maskew.media