EPISODE · Mar 24, 2026 · 59 MIN
The AI Vendor Culling Is Coming - Here's How You Survive It | Russ Fradin, Larridin
from AI to Go Podcast I Real Talk on Enterprise AI · host AI To Go
In this conversation, host Johannes Deubener sits down with serial founder Russ Fradin, CEO of Larridin (backed by Andreessen Horowitz). He shares what 30 years of building enterprise companies teaches you about AI adoption, vendor survival, and long-term customer relationships.We cover the real #1 driver of enterprise churn, why 85% of leaders fear falling behind in the next 18 months, what shadow AI really signals about enterprise adoption, and why teams that build with AI dramatically outperform teams that only summarize.We go deep on what it actually takes to win in the enterprise - not just to get in the door, but to be one of the AI vendors still standing when the inevitable AI vendor consolidation hits.Chapters00:41 - Russ Fradin intro02:28 - The repeat founder trap06:01 - The $5M ARR pivot09:25 - 30 years of enterprise lessons: what AI founders need to know right now09:30 - The #1 driver of enterprise churn13:07 - Radical honesty as your competitive moat15:45 - First-time founder playbook16:02 - Why free pilots fail - and how to create the right friction from day one19:09 - How to close the gap from pilot to production22:53 - The 2026 Enterprise AI Report26:28 - The coming AI vendor culling 29:30 - What the AI leaders do differently31:54 - Why IT teams get 10x more from AI32:11 - The global knowledge workforce retraining experiment35:27 - Shadow AI: 45% of AI adoption happens outside procurement38:54 - When tool sprawl becomes organizational waste41:05 - The power user gap44:03 - Why HR needs to own AI enablement - not just IT48:10 - What Larridin actually does: measuring AI productivity across the enterprise54:27 - "Software eating labor": is AI substituting or augmenting work?54:42 - Why AI will create more jobs59:06 - Where to find Russ59:29 - Outro--------------------------------------------------------------Connect with Johannes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannesdeubener/Follow Russ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfradin/Check out Larridin: https://larridin.com/Read the 2026 Enterprise AI Report: https://larridin.com/state-of-enterprise-ai--------------------------------------------------------------More about AI To Go: I Real Talk on Enterprise AI✨ Watch more Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiL3_cC9nmXALQiaqlYs2Kw✨ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-to-go-podcast/id1866997458✨ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5X9XgIv1qtCYtExziNMyXK✨ Receive all Updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai-to-go-podcast/
What this episode covers
In this conversation, host Johannes Deubener sits down with serial founder Russ Fradin, CEO of Larridin (backed by Andreessen Horowitz). He shares what 30 years of building enterprise companies teaches you about AI adoption, vendor survival, and long-term customer relationships.We cover the real #1 driver of enterprise churn, why 85% of leaders fear falling behind in the next 18 months, what shadow AI really signals about enterprise adoption, and why teams that build with AI dramatically outperform teams that only summarize.We go deep on what it actually takes to win in the enterprise - not just to get in the door, but to be one of the AI vendors still standing when the inevitable AI vendor consolidation hits.Chapters00:41 - Russ Fradin intro02:28 - The repeat founder trap06:01 - The $5M ARR pivot09:25 - 30 years of enterprise lessons: what AI founders need to know right now09:30 - The #1 driver of enterprise churn13:07 - Radical honesty as your competitive moat15:45 - First-time founder playbook16:02 - Why free pilots fail - and how to create the right friction from day one19:09 - How to close the gap from pilot to production22:53 - The 2026 Enterprise AI Report26:28 - The coming AI vendor culling 29:30 - What the AI leaders do differently31:54 - Why IT teams get 10x more from AI32:11 - The global knowledge workforce retraining experiment35:27 - Shadow AI: 45% of AI adoption happens outside procurement38:54 - When tool sprawl becomes organizational waste41:05 - The power user gap44:03 - Why HR needs to own AI enablement - not just IT48:10 - What Larridin actually does: measuring AI productivity across the enterprise54:27 - "Software eating labor": is AI substituting or augmenting work?54:42 - Why AI will create more jobs59:06 - Where to find Russ59:29 - Outro--------------------------------------------------------------Connect with Johannes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannesdeubener/Follow Russ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rfradin/Check out Larridin: https://larridin.com/Read the 2026 Enterprise AI Report: https://larridin.com/state-of-enterprise-ai--------------------------------------------------------------More about AI To Go: I Real Talk on Enterprise AI✨ Watch more Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiL3_cC9nmXALQiaqlYs2Kw✨ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-to-go-podcast/id1866997458✨ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5X9XgIv1qtCYtExziNMyXK✨ Receive all Updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai-to-go-podcast/
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The AI Vendor Culling Is Coming - Here's How You Survive It | Russ Fradin, Larridin
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