This Founder Said No to 90% of the Market - and Won. How to Build Your Enterprise Niche

Most AI founders try to sell to everyone. Chris Carter said no to more than 90% of the software enterprise market - and built two successful enterprise companies from that single decision.Chris Carter (Chairman & CEO of Approyo, Founder of Mugatu AI) has started 11 companies, sold several, and managed a bankruptcy. In this episode, he breaks down how AI founders should pick their enterprise niche and ecosystem, how to be successful in Enterprise, and which Scotch to pick for your first closed Enterprise AI deal.Timestamps01:02 What Chris saw in SAP HANA in 2013 that everyone else missed02:58 Why he said no to 90% of the market04:59 Which platforms should you embed into before it's obvious?05:34 Mugatu AI: Why he's building an AI security layer for enterprises11:56 How to validate startup ideas using AI (Gemini as your thought partner)15:23 Several exits, one bankruptcy: The failure that shaped everything18:26 His 20% Rule: Never let one client exceed 20% of your revenue20:10 Train first, find the champion, sell top-down: The enterprise implementation framework22:25 How to find and cultivate an internal champion before your pilot starts23:43 The biggest gap AI founders have when building for enterprise25:42 How to instantly build credibility in an enterprise room (Chris's top 4 list)29:19 Behind closed doors: The most broken SAP implementation Chris ever inherited33:25 Why AI pilots die in procurement36:10 Managing the tension between your internal champion and the C-suite36:56 The middle management trap44:07 SAP in 5 years45:48 Scotch pick for your first enterprise deal closed--------------------------------------------------------------Connect with Johannes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannesdeubener/Read Johannes' Newsletter "Inside Enterprise AI": https://johannesdeubener.substack.com/Follow Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-carter-885159/Check out Approyo: https://approyo.com/Check Out Mugatu AI: https://mugatuai.com/--------------------------------------------------------------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 Podcast Updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai-to-go-podcast/