PODCAST · technology
Prompted: Builder Stories
by Agent.ai
Builder Stories is an official podcast of Agent.ai, where we spotlight the creators behind the agents. Each episode shares the journey of a different builderm, many of whom aren't traditional developers, showing how people from all backgrounds are using AI to solve problems, launch tools, and build their way into the future. If you're curious about what’s possible with AI agents, this is the place to get inspired.
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Build AI Agents in 30 Minutes (Cursor, Codex, or Claude Code) - PROMPTED Ep 44
In this episode, we break down how to build a working AI agent in about 30 minutes using modern AI coding tools like Cursor, Codex, or Claude Code.Matthew Stein walks through a real, end-to-end example of building an agent from scratch. No fluff. No theory. Just a practical workflow you can follow and adapt to your own ideas.Resources & Links👉 Agent AI Build Kit (GitHub): https://github.com/Chefmattrock/agent-ai-build-with-cursor👉 Agent.ai Community (get help, share what you build): https://community.agent.ai/You will see how to go from a rough idea to a functional agent using a simple but powerful process:Define the problem and userGenerate a PRD (Product Requirements Doc)Use AI coding tools to build the agent logicDebug and refine outputsShip a working version fastThis is not just about Cursor. The same approach works across today’s AI coding tools and models. If you have ever wanted to build your own agents but did not know where to start, this episode gives you a repeatable system.This is best suited for intermediate users, but beginners can follow along by pairing this with your favorite LLM to guide setup and implementation.If you are in GTM, product, marketing, or operations, this is one of the fastest ways to start turning AI into real workflows.What You’ll LearnHow to build an AI agent from scratch in ~30 minutesWhy everything starts with a simple PRDHow to use AI coding tools to generate agent workflowsHow to debug and iterate when things breakHow to turn ideas into usable agents quicklyA repeatable framework you can apply to your own use casesBuilding AI agents is no longer slow or complex.If you can clearly define the problem, AI can help you build the solution faster than ever.Start simple. Ship fast. Improve from there.
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She Entered an AI Hackathon With No Technical Background… and Won - Ep 43
In this episode of PROMPTED, Kyle James sits down with go-to-market strategist Kat Hill Contag to talk about the experience that completely changed how she thinks about AI and building products.Kat is a GTM consultant who works with SaaS companies on product launches and market expansion. Like many operators, she was curious about AI but did not come from a technical background.Then she decided to try something new.Kat entered a women’s AI hackathon using the platform Lovable, gave herself two days to figure it out, and built a tool called AI Recess, a Duolingo-style platform designed to help teams learn practical AI workflows at work.What happened next surprised even her.In this conversation, Kyle and Kat explore:What it is really like to participate in an AI hackathonHow non-technical professionals can start building with AIWhy operators may become the next generation of product buildersThe mindset shift required to experiment with AI toolsWhy more women need to be part of the AI conversationIf you have ever wondered whether you could actually build something with AI, this episode might change how you think about it.Connect with KatLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/khillcontag/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@kathillcontagPersonal Website - https://kathillcontag.com/Try AI Recess - https://ai-recess.com/
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AI Won’t Fix Your Go-To-Market. It Will Amplify It. | Dale Zwizinski Ep 42
Most companies think their go-to-market is solid. It’s not.In this episode, Dale Zwizinski of Revenue Reimagined breaks down why AI will not fix a broken GTM foundation. It will expose it or amplify it.We dive deep into why startups and growth-stage companies skip stabilization, rush toward scale, and avoid pressure-testing their ICP, value proposition, and sales motion. Dale explains the four stages of the Go-to-Market Gap framework, why repeatability cannot happen without foundations, and how AI should be used to eliminate blank-page work, not replace strategic thinking.You’ll learn:Why founders overestimate their GTM maturityThe difference between stabilization, foundation, repeatability, and scaleHow AI can accelerate GTM work without creating chaosWhy most companies never revisit their ICP or value propHow to build a human + agent collaboration model for 2026If you care about building repeatable revenue in a rapidly shifting market, this conversation is essential.🔗 Connect with Dale on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalezwizinski/🔗 Visit Revenue Reimagined: https://www.revenue-reimagined.com/🔗 Run the GTM Gap Report for your company: https://www.revenue-reimagined.com/gtm-gap🎙 Subscribe for more conversations on AI, go-to-market strategy, and building modern revenue engines.
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AI as a Judgment-Free Strategy Room — For Work’s Hardest Decisions - Ep 41
What if AI wasn’t just a productivity tool… but a judgment-free strategy room?In this episode, I sit down with longtime friend and B2B SaaS executive Jeanne Hopkins to explore how she actually uses AI. Not for prompts. Not for hacks. But as a thinking partner.Jeanne has spent decades leading marketing, sales, and revenue teams as a multi-time VP of Marketing and Chief Revenue Officer. In our conversation, she shares how she uses AI to pressure test decisions, challenge assumptions, and run weekly retros on her own performance.We also go deeper.Jeanne opens up about navigating grief, complex family dynamics, and how AI helped her de-emotionalize and think clearly through some of the hardest decisions of her personal life.This is not a tools episode. It’s a mindset episode.If you want to understand what executive-level AI fluency actually looks like, this conversation is for you.
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AI Turned a Product Designer Into a One-Person Startup | Building HerDiabetes - Ep 40
AI is changing how we work. For some, that means fear. For others, it means reinvention.In this episode, Kyle James sits down with Riley Gerszewski, a longtime product design leader who used AI tools to go from designing products to actually building and shipping a full iOS app himself.Not a prototype. Not a concept. A real healthcare app approved by Apple.Riley shares what it felt like to be part of a reduction in force, how AI accelerated his learning curve, and how he transitioned from specialist to generalist in real time. We talk about identity shifts, go-to-market uncertainty, ethical guardrails, and what it means to build responsibly in the healthcare space.The app he built, HerDiabetes, is designed specifically for women living with diabetes, a group of over 13 million in the United States alone, and addresses an underserved intersection of glucose data and hormonal cycle tracking.This conversation is not about hype. It’s about figuring it out as you go.If you’re a product leader, GTM professional, designer, or anyone trying to understand what AI means for your career, this episode is for you.Learn More🔗 HerDiabetes Website: https://www.herdiabetes.com/ 🔗 Connect with Riley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rileygerszewski/ If this episode resonated with you, consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone navigating their own AI reinvention.We’re all working through this shift together.
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ABM Didn’t Fail. We Just Couldn’t Execute It Until AI. Nick Bennett - Ep 38
Account based marketing was never broken. Execution was.In this episode, Nick Bennett joins PROMPTED to unpack why focused ABM is finally working in 2026 and why AI is the real unlock. After years as an in house B2B marketer and now advising teams directly, Nick has seen firsthand what changed and what stayed the same.The LinkedIn post that drove this discussion - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nickbennett1_after-working-with-35-b2b-brands-in-3-years-activity-7408892892209008641-mhbl/ We dig into why most teams failed at ABM, how AI helps validate ICPs instead of guessing, how buying groups and signals are identified earlier, and how personalization finally scales without turning into noise. Nick also shares real examples of AI powered workflows booking meetings today, where humans must stay in the loop, and where automation creates false confidence.If you have tried ABM before and walked away skeptical, or you are curious how AI actually fits into modern go to market execution, this episode is for you.👇 Topics coveredWhy ABM failed beforeWhat “focused ABM” really meansHow AI validates fit and disqualifies fasterAI powered personalization at scaleWhat should never be automatedWhere ABM and AI go next in 2026Connect with Nick Bennett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickbennett1/ Subscribe for more conversations on AI, GTM strategy, and real world execution.
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Moltbook, MoltBot, OpenClaw Explained: What GTM Pros Actually Need to Know | John Marcus III - Ep 38
Moltbook. MoltBot. OpenClaw.A “Reddit for AI agents.” Bots talking to bots. A massive security breach. Headlines hinting at AGI and the singularity.If you have been seeing this everywhere and wondering what actually happened and whether you need to care, this episode is for you.In this conversation, Kyle James sits down with returning guest John Marcus III, someone he trusts to cut through hype and explain what is real, what is mostly nonsense, and what actually matters for go-to-market professionals.We break down:What Moltbook and OpenClaw really are, in plain languageWhy this moment felt new even though the underlying tech is notThe real security and governance risks behind the headlinesWhy AI orchestration matters more than chasing toolsWhat GTM professionals should do now, later, or safely ignoreThis is not a demo and not hype. It is a guided walkthrough designed to help you shut the curiosity door, get back to work, and be better prepared for what is coming next.Links & ResourcesOpenClaw (GitHub): https://github.com/openclawFractional Ventures: https://fractional.venturesConnect with John Marcus III on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwmarcus/
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GTM Orchestration Explained: The Bowtie Funnel and the Control Tower Model w/ Jomar Ebalida - Ep 37
AI agents are everywhere right now. But most go-to-market teams are experimenting without a clear sense of control, governance, or coordination.In this episode of Builder Stories, Kyle James sits down with Jomar Ebalida to unpack why go-to-market does not have an AI problem. It has an orchestration problem.Jomar introduces a powerful mental model built around the Bowtie Funnel, a looping view of the customer journey that connects marketing, sales, customer success, and expansion into one system. On top of that system, he explains the need for a control tower, a centralized way to see, manage, and guide AI agents across every stage of go-to-market, with humans always in the loop.We explore:Why buying AI tools first and figuring it out later is a backward approachHow the Bowtie Funnel becomes the map for orchestrating agents across the full customer journeyThe control tower mental model and why pilots only fly the plane 11 percent of the timeThe difference between basic workflow automation and reasoning-based agentsWhat “human-in-the-loop” really means and how reliability compounds over timeWhy the GTM Orchestrator role is emerging as the next evolution beyond RevOpsThis conversation is for anyone experimenting with AI in marketing, sales, or customer success who feels like things are moving fast, but not always in the right direction. If you want a clearer way to think about AI, governance, and scale without losing trust or quality, this episode gives you a new map.Learn More and Connect with JomarConnect with Jomar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jomarebalida/Learn more about Bowtie Funnel: https://bowtiefunnel.com/
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I Thought AI Ended My Career at 50. I Was Wrong. Tom Elliott - Ep 36
What happens when the skills you spent decades building suddenly feel obsolete?In this episode of Builder Stories, Tom Elliott shares the moment AI forced him to confront a terrifying truth. At 50 years old, after spending over a decade building a successful software consulting business, he watched an AI demo that made him physically ill. The machine could do most of what he had built his career on, faster and better.What followed was not retreat, but reinvention.Tom walks through the fear, the identity shock, and the decision to either master AI or walk away from knowledge work entirely. He explains how a single month of intense curiosity and hands-on learning flipped his mindset from panic to possibility, and how he went from marketing leader to building agents, voice AI, and production workflows without a traditional engineering background.This is not a story about hype or shortcuts. It is a story about relevance, agency, and what it really takes to reinvent yourself in the age of AI.If you have ever wondered whether you are falling behind, or whether it is too late to adapt, this conversation will feel uncomfortably familiar and deeply hopeful.Learn more and connect with Tom Elliott:Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomelliottnh/Learn more about Nutum: https://nutum.ai/
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Mike Lemire on AI, Customer Success, and the Problem with “AI Strategy” - Ep 35
In this episode of PROMPTED, Kyle James sits down with Mike Lemire, a longtime customer success leader and advisor, to unpack what is really happening with AI inside CS teams.AI was supposed to make customer success more proactive, more strategic, and more human. Instead, many teams are chasing “AI strategies” without clarity on outcomes, customer experience, or value.Mike shares what he is seeing across CS organizations, including:Why AI strategy has become theater instead of problem-solvingHow investor pressure quietly shapes AI adoption in CSSupport teams as the earliest AI testbed and the risks of optimizing for deflectionThe danger of over-indexing on sentiment and the “customer watermelon” problemA hackathon story where vibe coding replaced a six-figure SaaS purchaseWhy better product experiences could ultimately reduce the need for CS itselfThis is a grounded, honest conversation for customer success, CX, and GTM leaders who want to use AI thoughtfully rather than chase the latest tool.🎧 Listen for practical lessons, cautionary insights, and a clearer way forward for AI in customer success.Learn more and Connect with Mike:Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellemire/Learn more about Harmonic Leadership: https://harmonicleadership.com/
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AI as a Thought Partner: 7 Mental Models You’re Probably Not Using - EP34
Most people use AI like a faster Google or a writing assistant.That is not where the real leverage is.In this episode of Prompted, Kyle sits down again with Matthew Stein to break down seven practical ways to use AI as a true thought partner, not just a tool. From idea generation and structural support to persona simulation and strategic thinking, this conversation shows how modern professionals are using AI to think better, move faster, and avoid blind spots.If you already use AI but feel like you are only scratching the surface, this episode is for you.👉 Demo agent shown in the episode: https://agent.ai/agent/screen-test
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From Product Builder to Agent Builder: Jason Burke on Designing AI That Works - Ep 33
What does it really mean to build AI agents in the real world, not just as demos, but as tools that save time, surface insight, and change how people work?In this episode of PROMPTED: Builder Stories, Kyle sits down with Jason Burke, founder of AllStage and an experienced product builder and investor, to unpack how he thinks about AI agents and how he actually builds them. Jason shares how his background in engineering, product management, and early-stage investing shaped his approach to designing agent driven workflows that support founders, investors, and everyday life.This conversation goes beyond theory. Jason walks through live examples of the agents he has built, including an AllStage business workflow agent that helps analyze investment opportunities, as well as personal productivity agents he created to solve real problems in his own life. Along the way, he breaks down what makes a workflow “agent ready,” where agents add the most value today, and why trust, risk, and human judgment still matter.You will hear practical guidance on how to start building agents, why experimenting with personal use cases is often the best entry point, and how AI is lowering the barrier for anyone to become a builder. If you are curious about using AI agents to work smarter, think more clearly, or build something meaningful, this episode offers a grounded and inspiring look at what is possible right now.Learn more and connect with Jason:Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmburke/All Stage on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/all-stage-invest All Stage Website: https://allstage.coAll Stage in All Stage: https://allstage.co/us Deal analysis agent: https://agent.ai/agent/allstageCompany updates summarizer Agent: https://agent.ai/agent/allstage-company-updates-summaryBetter prices/shopping assistant agent: https://agent.ai/agent/better-prices Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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Jared Robin on Building Human-Native AI - Ep 32
What if the future of AI is not about learning more tools, building more workflows, or becoming more technical at all?In this episode of PROMPTED we sits down with Jared Robin, Co-Founder of RevGenius, a global community of more than 60,000 go-to-market professionals, to explore where AI adoption is actually headed and why 2026 needs to be the year AI becomes human native.Jared brings a rare vantage point, shaped by daily conversations with sales, marketing, RevOps, and customer success leaders who are navigating AI mandates, tool overload, and rising complexity. Together, they unpack why forcing GTM teams to become AI builders is the wrong long-term bet, why so many AI pilots fail, and how the next wave of AI tools must remove friction instead of adding it.This conversation goes beyond tactics to focus on first principles. You will hear why creativity is becoming a competitive advantage, how human-native AI changes workflows for revenue leaders, and what strategic thinkers should focus on now as AI becomes easier to build but harder to stay ahead with.This episode is especially relevant for GTM professionals who want clarity without hype, practical insight without heavy technical depth, and a clearer mental model for evaluating AI and agentic tools in the years ahead.Topics covered include:Why 2025 forced humans to become AI native and why that model breaksWhat human-native AI actually means in day-to-day GTM workThe hidden cost and complexity of current AI toolingWhy data foundations still matter more than new toolsHow creativity, category design, and strategy shape the future of AI adoptionLearn more and connect with Jared Robin:Jared’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredrobin/ His personal website: https://jaredrobin.com/The RevGenius Website: https://www.revgenius.com/The Post that kicked off this conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaredrobin_2025-humans-need-to-be-ai-native-2026-activity-7402395343184699392-0KQR/ Subscribe for more conversations with builders, operators, and thinkers shaping the future of AI and go-to-market work.Learn more about Agent.ai and explore practical AI agents at agent.ai.
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10 AI Predictions for 2026 | Agent.ai - Ep 31
What does AI actually look like in 2026? In this special end-of-year Predictions episode of Prompted, Kyle James sits down with Matthew Stein to debate ten concrete predictions for where AI, agents, and go-to-market teams are headed next year. This is not a hype episode. There are no demos and no buzzwords. Instead, Kyle and Matthew pressure test real second-order effects like: Why AI onboarding will become standard practice How model quality degradation and buyer fatigue collide Why AI shows up directly in GTM job titles What happens when personal context becomes portable Why AI portfolios matter more than resumeas How marketing video creation fundamentally changes Why PageRank-style authority signals may return The rise of zero-party data Whether Anthropic beats OpenAI to an ads platform Why most companies still struggle to show AI ROI They also close with one wild bonus prediction that could reshape the entire AI landscape.This episode is designed to spark debate. Watch the full episode, then head to the comments and tell us: What did we get right? What did we miss? Which prediction do you disagree with most?
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Kyle James: Empowering Everyone to Become an Agentic AI Builder - Ep 30
This week we are flipping the script a bit and our host is playing the guest to have Kyle James share his Builder Story. Kyle's journey from product management to podcasting is a testament to the power of curiosity and the belief that anyone can become a builder. Discover how his insights can empower you to embrace AI and transform your approach to building.Kyle shares his unique perspective on the evolving landscape of AI, emphasizing the importance of starting small and iterating along the way. "Every person, every user can become a builder. They just need to understand that they can. This stuff's not hard," he asserts, encouraging listeners to demystify AI and take the leap into creation. Through engaging stories and practical advice, Kyle highlights the role of networking and community in navigating the AI era. His insights remind us that we're still in the early innings of AI, and there's a vast potential waiting to be explored. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, this episode offers valuable lessons to help you learn, think differently, and take the next step in building with agents.Learn more and connect with Kyle James:Connect with Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameskm03/ Read Kyle’s Substack: https://kylejameslearn.substack.com/ Kyle’s Guest Prep Agent: https://agent.ai/agent/prompted-guest-prep-researchKyle’s Post Episode Workflow Agent: https://agent.ai/agent/942s0tehcgr6ic07 Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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From Non-Coder to AI Innovator: Ashna Thakkar's Journey Helping Founders - Ep 29
Join us for an inspiring episode of Prompted: Builder Stories featuring Ashna Thakkar, a trailblazer in the world of AI agents. Ashna's journey from a non-coder to an AI innovator is a testament to the power of curiosity and determination. Discover how she empowers startups with no-code AI solutions, transforming challenges into opportunities.In this episode, Ashna shares her path from working in accelerators to becoming a key player building agentic tools, where she builds agents that support startups in branding, financial projections, and more. Her story is a reminder that you don't need to be a coder to innovate with AI. "Start small, start from somewhere and they would figure it out," she advises, highlighting the importance of delivering the first step to users. Ashna's agents are not just prompt hacks; they are research-backed tools that provide startups with clarity and direction. Tune in to learn how you can harness AI to enhance productivity and drive innovation in your startup journey.Learn more and connect with Ashna Thakkar:Connect with Ashna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashnathakkar/ Follow Ashna’s Profile on Agent.ai: https://agent.ai/human/thakkar_ashna BonBillo’s Website: https://www.bonbillo.com/ Build your Brand DNA Agent: https://agent.ai/profile/BrandDNA AEO Advisor Agent: https://agent.ai/profile/aeo-advisor Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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From Curiosity to Creation: Brady Cohen's Journey with AI Agents - Ep 28
Join us for an inspiring episode of Prompted: Builder Stories featuring Brady Cohen, a seasoned marketer and business development expert, as he shares his transformative journey with AI agents. Discover how Brady's curiosity and passion for technology led him to create innovative solutions that enhance user experiences and streamline tasks. From a Halloween party planner to a pet health advisor, Brady's projects showcase the power of hands-on learning and creativity in the world of AI.In this episode, Brady Cohen delves into the potential of AI agents to revolutionize everyday tasks and foster a community of innovators. He emphasizes the importance of experimentation and scalability, sharing insights like, "I learn and I think a lot of people do just by doing." Brady's story is a testament to the power of curiosity and creativity, encouraging builders to embrace new possibilities with AI. Whether you're looking to enhance productivity or explore no-code building, this episode offers valuable lessons and inspiration for your own AI journey. Listen in to learn how you can leverage AI to think differently and take the next step in building with agents.Sign up for a Builder Workshop Today: https://content.agent.ai/ai-skills-workshop Learn more and connect with Brady Cohen:Connect with Brady on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradycohen/ Try Brady’s Halloween Party Planner Agent: https://agent.ai/profile/bradys-halloween-party-planner Try Brady’s Sell Sheet generator: https://agent.ai/agent/sell-sheet-generatorTry Brady’s Pet Symptom Checker Agent: https://agent.ai/profile/pet-symptom-checker Brady’s Career Journey: https://bradycohen.com/The Suite Collective Website: https://thesuite-collective.com/ Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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How Suraj Kripalani and BonBillo are Using AI Agents to Accelerate Global Social Impact - Ep 27
Join us for an inspiring episode of Prompted: Builder Stories featuring Suraj Kripalani, a visionary entrepreneur who transitioned from a Blackrock portfolio manager to leading entrepreneurs through an AI-driven Startup Accelerator. Discover how Suraj's work with BonBillo is empowering mission-driven founders to leverage AI for social impact and innovation. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the transformative power of AI agents.Suraj Kripalani's journey is a testament to the potential of AI to democratize access to powerful tools for anyone. As he shares, "The one thing that became very clear very quickly is that these tools had gone from being fairly sort of in the early stages, I would say basic to now very powerful for a non-programmer." Through BonBillo, Suraj integrates AI into accelerator programs, focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. His approach emphasizes starting with high-quality foundations to unlock creativity, a principle that resonates with builders everywhere. Suraj's insights encourage experimentation and learning, offering valuable lessons for those looking to harness AI in their ventures and GTM efforts. Tune in to explore how AI agents can revolutionize your startup journey and contribute to a more sustainable world.Learn more and connect with Suraj Kripalani:Linkedin Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/surajkripalani/Agent.ai Builder Profile - https://agent.ai/human/SurajKripalani BonBillo Website - https://www.bonbillo.com/ Awards link - https://blog.agent.ai/meet-the-winners-2025-agent.ai-community-choice-awardsFinally, Suraj encouraged me to share that Bonbillo is accepting applications for their BonBillo Innovators Community that recently launched. Join a global community of mission-driven founders and team members using AI-powered frameworks, personalized mentorship, and investor insights to grow faster and make a lasting impact. Leverage 30+ startup AI agents to get strategic clarity, fund-raise effectively and streamline operations to drive growth.Subscribe for more Prompted: Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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Sarah Medilo: Building AI Agents and Balancing Family in the Philippines - Ep 26
Join us for an inspiring episode of Builder Stories featuring Sarah Medilo, a former CEO turned AI enthusiast. Sarah's journey from leading the top HubSpot partner in the Philippines to embracing AI technology is a testament to innovation and personal growth. Her story is not just about technology but about finding balance and purpose in life.In this episode, Sarah shares how she transitioned from a successful career to focus on family, particularly her mother battling Alzheimer's. Her return to the tech world was marked by a newfound curiosity about AI, leading her to create practical solutions like the "go bag prepper" agent for emergency preparedness. "I realized that hey, you can build agents too," she reflects, highlighting the accessibility of AI for everyone. Sarah's approach to building AI agents is rooted in her experience with workflows and process optimization, demonstrating how technology can enhance productivity and foster deeper human connections. Her story encourages builders to embrace technology without fear and explore the potential of AI to enrich our lives. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a curious newcomer, Sarah's journey offers valuable insights and inspiration.Learn more and connect with Sarah Medilo:Sarah’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmedilo/Sarah’s Website: https://sarahmedilo.com/ Try Sarah’s Go Bag Prepper Agent: https://agent.ai/agent/gobagprepper Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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Jorge Fuentes: From Law to AI Innovation and the Future of Citizen Builders - Ep 25
Join us on Builder Stories as we dive into the inspiring journey of Jorge Fuentes, a trailblazer who transitioned from law to AI. Jorge's story is a testament to the power of curiosity and the endless possibilities that AI offers. Discover how he embraced AI to create innovative agents that are transforming the way businesses operate.In this episode, Jorge shares his unique path from being a lawyer and insurance agent to becoming a digital marketer and AI builder. He highlights the accessibility of AI, stating, "Learning AI, the barriers to entry to learning AI are super low. They've never been lower than anything else in the past." Jorge's practical approach to building AI agents emphasizes iteration and improvement, offering valuable insights for aspiring builders. He predicts a future where AI adoption will outpace traditional software, driven by its simplicity and accessibility. Whether you're an experienced builder or just starting out, Jorge's journey will inspire you to explore the possibilities of AI and take the next step in your own building journey.Learn more and connect with Jorge Fuentes:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jfuenteszapata/Jorge’s Agent.ai Profile: https://agent.ai/human/JAFuentesZapataJorge’s Website: https://fuenteszapata.co/Jorge’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jorgealbertofuenteszapata Sidekick Strategies: https://sidekickstrategies.com/ Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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How Carole Mahoney Is Using Agentic AI to Make Sales More Human - Ep 24
Join us on Builder Stories as we dive into the transformative journey of Carole Mahoney, a former sales skeptic turned passionate advocate. Discover how Carole's unique approach to sales, rooted in empathy and problem-solving, is revolutionizing the industry. Her insights into AI and its potential to enhance human connection make this episode a must-listen for builders and AI enthusiasts alike.Carole Mahoney's story is one of resilience and innovation. During the Great Recession, she transitioned from a marketing professional to a sales expert, driven by necessity and a desire to help others. Her realization that "sales skills are life skills" reshaped her career and personal life. Carole founded Unbound Growth to train salespeople with a customer-centric approach, emphasizing genuine connections over mere transactions. Her venture into AI led to the creation of an agent that assists salespeople in preparing for conversations by generating tailored questions and strategies. This tool exemplifies her belief that technology should enhance, not replace, human interaction. Carole's journey offers valuable lessons in adaptability, empathy, and continuous learning, inspiring builders to create meaningful impacts in their industries. As she envisions a future where AI empowers human connection, Carole's mission is to elevate the perception of sales as a respected and valued profession. "Nothing comes into the world, nothing happens into the world until someone makes a sale," she asserts, highlighting the fundamental role of sales in driving progress.Learn more and connect with Carole Mahoney:Carole on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolemahoney/ Unbound Growth Website - https://www.unboundgrowth.com/ Buyer First Book - https://www.carolemahoney.com/books Carole’s LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/unboundgrowth Subscribe for more Prompted: Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.
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Embracing the Unconventional: Sam Mallikarjunan’s Journey from AI Skeptic to Advocate - Ep 23
What happens when a lifelong innovator goes from AI skeptic to passionate advocate for democratizing technology?In this episode of Prompted: Builder Stories, Kyle James sits down with Sam Mallikarjunan, General Manager at Agent.ai and former Head of Growth at HubSpot Labs, to explore how AI is reshaping creativity, work, and human potential. Sam shares his personal journey — from building OneScreen.ai to leading the charge at Agent.ai — and explains why the future of AI depends on imagination, not just technology.👉 Watch the full conversation to learn how AI can empower anyone to build, automate, and innovate. Read the companion blog post and join the community discussion at blog.agent.aiLearn more and connect with Sam:Connect with Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallikarjunan/ Take Sam’s AI course on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/generative-ai-for-sales-and-services-professionals/ai-in-sales-and-services
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Vikram Ekambaram: From Redundancy to AI Innovator - Ep 22
Join us for an inspiring episode of Builder Stories featuring Vikram Ekambaram, a visionary in the world of AI agents. Vikram's journey from redundancy to innovation is a testament to resilience and the transformative power of Gen AIi. Discover how he empowers non-technical individuals to make a significant impact in AI.In this episode, Vikram shares his insights on leveraging Gen AI to bridge gaps in go-to-market strategies, even in AI-first companies. He emphasizes the importance of data in agent building, stating, "It's all about the data. If I have the data, I could probably build an agent on top of it to do whatever your process is." Vikram's consultancy, Vyceral Solutions, focuses on solving real business problems through multi-agent orchestration, showcasing the future of AI as inherently multi-agentic. His story encourages builders to embrace challenges and explore AI's possibilities, advising, "Solve a problem that you have yourself." Whether you're an experienced builder or just starting, Vikram's journey offers valuable lessons and inspiration for all.Subscribe for more Builder Stories and visit agent.ai to start building your own agents.Learn more and connect with Vikram Ekambaram:Connect with Vikram on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vekambar/ Follow Vikram on Agent.ai: https://agent.ai/human/vekambar VYCERAL Solutions Website: https://www.vyceralsolutions.com/ VYCERAL on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VYCERALSolutions/
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Turning Support Tickets into Product Insights with Tom Bachant (Unthread Founder) - Ep 21
What if your backlog of support tickets could do more than record problems? In this episode of Builder Stories, Kyle James sits down with Tom Bachant, founder and CEO of Unthread, to explore how AI can transform everyday support conversations into actionable insights.Tom’s journey spans from co-founding the ride-sharing startup Dashride (acquired by Cruise) to leading Unthread, an AI-powered support platform that lives entirely inside Slack. Along the way, he built the Support Ticket Analyzer Agent on Agent.ai — a practical tool that turns raw CSV data into clear recommendations for product, IT, and HR teams.You’ll learn:How Unthread automates internal support directly within SlackThe story behind Tom’s Support Ticket Analyzer Agent and how it worksWhy actionable insight is more powerful than simple AI summarizationHow teams can use AI to prioritize fixes, improve documentation, and plan better roadmapsThe human lessons behind building real, useful AI agents🎯 Try Tom’s Support Ticket Analyzer Agent: https://www.agent.ai💬 Join the community: https://community.agent.aiIf you’ve ever wondered how to make AI actually useful for your team, this episode will show you where to start.Learn more and connect with Tom Bachant:Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tombachant/ Tom’s Support Ticket Analyzer Agent: https://agent.ai/profile/ticket-analysisUnthread’s Website - https://unthread.io/
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Beth Dunn on Finding Your Sweet Spot: How AI Agents Unlock Creative Potential - Ep 20
Beth Dunn, Head of Product Experience at Agent.ai and former HubSpot content design leader, shares her journey from creating “BethBot” to developing the Sweet Spot Framework for working with AI. In this episode of Builder Stories, Beth explains how builders can use agents to amplify their strengths, fill workflow gaps, and create more space for creativity.You’ll learn:How Beth “automated herself out of a job” and into more meaningful workThe origins of the Sweet Spot archetypes and sidekick agentsWhy generalists may be superpowered in the age of AIHow agents can evolve into adaptive teammates, not just toolsPractical advice for builders on where to start and how to collaborateBeth’s message to the Agent.ai community is simple: lean into the weird.👉 Watch now and discover your sweet spot with AI agents.🎧 Full podcast available wherever you listen. 🔗 Try the Sweet Spot agent here: https://blog.agent.ai/the-sweet-spot-agentLearn more and connect with Beth Dunn:Beth on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethdunn/The Sweet Spot Sidekick Blog Post - https://blog.agent.ai/sweet-spot-sidekicks Beth’s Website - https://www.bethdunn.com/ Beth Dunn’s Builder Profile - https://agent.ai/human/BethDunn_4 Beth riding in a Waymo - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/inbound_inbound25-activity-7369810396318285825-qyY_
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Play, Community, and Iteration: Mike Redbord’s Guide to Successful Agent Building - Ep 19
Learn more and connect with Mike Redbord:Mike on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mredbord/AI Workshop Signup - https://content.agent.ai/ai-skills-workshop Session Ran at Inbound - https://www.inbound.com/sessions/recQMNBsJpB6ZLhIk--Welcome to another episode of Prompted: Builder Stories by Agent.ai.In this conversation, we sit down with Mike Redbord, known as the “Human Helper” at Agent.ai. Mike has taught thousands of people to build their first AI agent through Agent.ai’s 101 workshops. He’s seen firsthand what sparks confidence, creativity, and real adoption.In this episode, Mike shares:Why starting small is the key to success in agent buildingHow play and experimentation lead to breakthrough ideasThe role of community and co-learning in building momentumInsights from INBOUND 2025 and the shift from curiosity to imperative adoptionWhy an iteration mindset is more powerful than aiming for perfectionWhether you’re just getting started or already experimenting with agents, Mike’s story is full of practical takeaways to help you move from tinkering to traction.👉 Subscribe for more builder stories and join the Agent.ai community: https://community.agent.ai/ 👉 Try building your first agent today: https://agent.ai/
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From Demand Gen to DIY Agents: How Logan Rivenes Landed His Dream Role with AI - Ep 18
Learn more and connect with Logan Rivenes:Logan’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/loganrivenes/Red Bike Marketing - https://redbikemarketing.com/Demand Gen Confidential Podcast - https://redbikemarketing.com/demand-gen-confidential/ HR Bench Pulse Podcast - http://www.hrbench.com/resource/pulse --Landed a Job with AI Agents“I’m of the opinion that out of the box is for amateurs.” – Logan RivenesWhen layoffs and market shifts put pressure on job seekers, Logan Rivenes, demand generation veteran and host of Demand Gen Confidential, turned to AI agents not just as a side project but as a lifeline. With 15 years of experience scaling pipeline for B2B companies, Logan knew how to work systems. What he did not expect was that building agents would land him his next big role at HRBench.The DIY MindsetLogan describes himself as a sales rep turned marketer with a love for tinkering. That do-it-yourself streak led him to push past “out of the box” defaults in both marketing automation and AI. Rather than rely on pre-built templates, he stitched together free tools like Clay, Apollo, and Google Sheets with Agent.ai webhooks to create a fully customized job-hunting workflow.“Every post is basically a thousand applications… How am I gonna get through the noise?”The Job Search Agent StackLogan’s system started with firmographic filters (HR tech, company size) in Apollo, cross-checked in Clay, then piped into Google Sheets. From there:Agent.ai webhook calls scanned job boards and company sites directly.A validation agent enriched company profiles with funding and context.Manual plus AI-assisted cover letter drafting layered personalization on top.The scale was impressive:“The total company list was 5,000… whittled down to 10 or 15 good jobs I could apply for.”This was not a spray-and-pray approach. It was targeted, systematic, and repeatable.The OutcomeThe process worked.“I landed a gig through this AI builder.”Logan joined HRBench, an HR data company, and immediately began applying lessons from agent building into his marketing workflows. For him, the takeaway was clear: agents are not abstract toys. They are practical leverage.Lessons for BuildersLogan’s story highlights several principles that builders can carry into their own projects. First, agent design is about workflows, not lines of code. He compares building with Agent.ai to designing a HubSpot workflow or drawing a flowchart in Miro. Once you know the outcome you want, you can break the process into steps and link them together. That mindset lowers the barrier to entry for anyone who has ever worked with automation.Another lesson is the importance of resourcefulness. Logan deliberately avoided expensive SaaS tiers by piecing together free versions of Clay, Apollo, and Google Sheets, then connecting them through simple webhook calls. It required more manual effort, but it also made the solution more accessible and replicable. He encourages builders to focus first on solving the problem with whatever is at hand, rather than waiting for perfect conditions or full-featured subscriptions.Finally, Logan underscores the value of tinkering. Just as in his DIY home projects, he believes the biggest hurdle is choosing what to build and being willing to open the wall to see what is behind it. Some agents will stall, others will be clunky, but the act of trying creates learning. For Logan, playful side projects like an “AI general manager” for his fantasy football league sharpened the skills that later applied to professional work. The experimentation itself is the training ground.Need Help Landing a New Job?Logan is open to sharing the very agent he used for his job hunt.“If you are in the job hunt or want the agent I used, just reach out and I’ll give it to you and teach you how to use it.”
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Inside Inbound 2025 with Matthew Stein: AI Agent Buzz and Practical Builder Takeaways - Ep 17
Learn more and connect with Matthew Stein:Matthew’s LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steinmatthew/ Matthew’s Agent AI Profile - https://agent.ai/human/Chefmattrock --*We wanted to take advantage of the recent momentum of the Inbound 2025 conference and are putting together a few episodes that dive into those insights with conversations from select insiders. Matthew here is the first of those conversations.At Inbound 2025, one thing was undeniable: AI agents were everywhere.As Matthew Stein, executive producer of Prompted Builder Stories and part of the Agent.ai team, put it:“AI is definitely front and center stage, everywhere you look.”This year’s conference wasn’t just about buzzwords. It was about building. The Agent.ai booth gave attendees space to post ideas on a Bright Ideas Board and then walk over to the Builder Support Station, where Matthew and the team sat down with screens open and started turning those ideas into prototypes — often in under an hour.Theme 1: The Vibe at Inbound 2025What stood out wasn’t just how much attention AI agents drew, but how engaged people were in translating curiosity into action. Some attendees came with vague notions (“can AI help my sales team?”), while others brought specific, costly problems. In both cases, builders could help define the problem and spin up working solutions.As Matthew shared:“Sometimes they’re incredibly vague… Other people came in with an extremely discreet idea… and we solved some of those building pretty cool prototypes in, you know, under an hour.”The energy was hands-on, collaborative, and optimistic. The takeaway? Builders aren’t just theorizing about agents anymore — they’re making them real.Theme 2: Practical Lessons from Builder ConversationsAcross dozens of conversations, Matthew noticed clear patterns:Ops leads the way. Beyond sales and marketing, operations teams brought some of the most compelling use cases — where agents can eliminate repetitive workflows and unlock scale.Clear problem definitions win. Good agent ideas start with specific, bounded problems. Bad ones are fuzzy (“find my spiritual center”). The best? Precise tasks with measurable outcomes.The payoff is real. Time saved, money saved, errors reduced — those were the consistent benefits.One standout story came from a translation company that still hired interns to manually count words in non-Latin scripts so they could price projects:“That’s a perfect idea of something that helps save money, saves time, and reduces a bunch of grunt work.”Within 45 minutes, the team had a prototype that handled Arabic and Greek documents with 95% accuracy — freeing interns from mind-numbing work and helping the company scale faster.What Makes a Good Agent?Matthew boiled it down simply:“Basically we think of an agent as something that takes input, does a multi-step process that leverages tools, … and then returns output to you.”And the litmus test for value?“They need to solve painful problems, save meaningful time and money, have a thoughtful user experience, and create genuine value.”Looking AheadInbound 2025 showed how quickly builders are moving from ideas to working prototypes. And Matthew sees a clear trajectory:“You’re going to see people jumping between applications less and less as these agents do a better job of stitching together the different places where you work.”The message to builders is clear: start with well-defined problems, lean on the community, and build agents that deliver measurable impact.Or in Matthew’s own words:“I want to see what people are gonna go build. … Build things that you think will genuinely help people and share them.”
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How Erol Aykan Built ObjectionOwl to Scale Sales Coaching with AI - Ep 16
Learn more and connect with Erol:Erol’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/erolaykan/ ObjectionOwl Agent (Award Winner) - https://agent.ai/profile/objectionowl Sales Discovery Coach Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/discovery-coach --“What’s really important to me is that I build something that makes a change in someone’s life.” – Erol AykanWhen Erol Aykan, a Sales Manager at HubSpot, first started tinkering with AI, he wasn’t chasing awards. He was trying to solve a problem for his team. A tedious process that used to take five hours a week could now be done in just 20 minutes, thanks to a simple Chrome extension he built by prompting an LLM. That lightbulb moment kicked off his builder journey.From there, Erol leaned into his strengths as a sales leader: frameworks, repeatable processes, and a relentless focus on coaching. The result? Two standout agents, ObjectionOwl and Discovery Coach, that transform raw sales call transcripts into structured insights and actionable coaching feedback.Erol describes his philosophy this way:“Make it scalable, make it simple, and build on a framework.”For him, Agent.ai wasn’t just about fancy output. It was about building tools that sales reps and managers could actually use to improve every single day. ObjectionOwl surfaces and categorizes deal-blocking objections in seconds. Discovery Coach turns discovery call transcripts into a coaching scorecard, breaking down strengths and areas for improvement.What makes Erol’s story powerful for the builder community isn’t just the award-winning output, it’s his mindset. He didn’t try to build “software.” He started with a small, painful use case and scaled it into something useful. And he’s quick to point out that anyone can do the same:“Don’t overthink it. Start small, and progress it into something applicable and useful for you.”Erol’s journey is a reminder that the most impactful agents often come from people closest to the problem. You don’t need deep technical skills to start, you need curiosity, a willingness to ask good questions, and the drive to make a difference.
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15
Julia Turnbull: From Global Development to Award-Winning Agent Builder - Ep 15
Learn more and connect with Julia Turnbull:Julia’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-turnbull/Award Winning Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/grantfunding Bonbillo - https://www.bonbillo.com/ --When you look at Julia Turnbull’s journey, it’s easy to see why she became one of our Agent AI Community Award Winners. Her career has spanned grassroots entrepreneurship in Mexico, impact finance across Latin America and Africa, and leadership at MIT Sloan Executive Education. The throughline? Helping founders find the resources they need to build and scale.Now she’s taken that experience and turned it into something new: an AI agent that helps startups discover grant opportunities.“I started kind of learning more about what we now call or think of as entrepreneurship before it necessarily became the discipline that it is now.”That early curiosity has carried through her work with founders around the world. She saw a recurring pattern: entrepreneurs are big on ideas but often struggle with structure, especially when it comes to financing.“We need ideas. But I think really giving people a structure—frameworks, goals, things to work towards—is critical. The only thing worse than not having any funding is having the wrong kind of funding.”Turning Expertise into an AgentJulia partnered with the BonBillo team to translate years of tacit knowledge into an accessible, scalable tool. The result: an agent that helps entrepreneurs quickly surface grant opportunities aligned with their industry, stage, and geography.For Julia, the act of building was just as valuable as the end product:“It’s one thing to explain knowledge to other people all day—it’s another to explain it back into an agent. Building it forced us to decide what was really most important.” This is a lesson for all builders: encoding expertise requires ruthless prioritization. Agents aren’t just about replicating your knowledge; they’re about distilling it down to what’s most useful for others.A Tool for Focused DiscoveryThe grant discovery agent doesn’t try to do everything. Instead, it gives founders a clear starting point in a notoriously messy landscape.“Startup founders are busy… this is a tool for people to take off the blinders and see what else is available. It’s really a research tool, giving early-stage teams a high-level overview of what’s out there.”The practical takeaway for builders: the best agents succeed by removing friction and freeing up time for their users.Agents as Team Members and BridgesJulia also sees agents not just as productivity tools, but as enablers of new networks and opportunities.“Think of AI as a tool and as a bridge. These agents can become team members and do some of the thinking or the work for you, but they’re also an entrée into new networks and opportunities.”For builders, this is an important shift in perspective. The real power of an agent isn’t just in the tasks it performs, it’s in the connections it creates.Wisdom to Build ByAs the conversation wrapped, Julia shared a piece of advice she’s heard from many founders over the years:“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. The solution may change, but really think about the people you’re solving for… and you’ll be successful.” It’s a reminder that resonates across the builder community. The most impactful agents, like the most impactful startups, begin with a deep understanding of real problems and the people experiencing them.Supporting Julia and Building TogetherJulia’s agent is already being used by startups to uncover grants they might otherwise miss. She and the BonBillo team are continuing to expand the vision, curating the broader “funding stack” for early-stage companies.You can support Julia by trying out the agent, sharing feedback, and passing along success stories. As she puts it, hearing how tools are used in the wild is what makes the work worthwhile.Her story is also a challenge to all of us: What problem are you falling in love with as a builder?
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Award-Winning Builder Monique Howard on Meetings That Shoulda Worked Better - Ep 14
Learn more and connect with Monique Howard:Monique’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/monique-h-82b2722/ Shoulda Been An Email Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/shoulda-been-an-email Smarticles Website - http://www.mysmarticles.com/ --"What's really important to me is that I build something that makes a change in someone's life." – Monique HowardThat’s the heart behind Monique’s work, and it’s also why she was recognized as one of our very first Community Choice Award winners for her agent, Shoulda Been an Email.At first glance, the name is funny (and instantly relatable). But dig a little deeper, and you see the serious builder’s mindset behind it. Monique saw meeting transcripts not just as records, but as raw material:“Meeting transcripts in the world of AI are gold because you can do everything with a meeting transcript.”Her agent uses transcripts to evaluate meetings against their agenda, then delivers witty, practical feedback on how to facilitate better. Instead of a dry checklist, you get a voice with personality. Her agent helps people not just run meetings, but learn to run them better.And Monique’s motivation goes even deeper. Her journey into agents started years earlier when she built tools for her children on the autism spectrum. From experimenting with Alexa to creating Color Together, she’s always been driven by one question: How can this technology make a real difference in someone’s life?That’s what makes her story resonate so strongly in this community. Yes, agents can save time and cut repetitive tasks. But they can also be designed to teach, to coach, to include, and to change lives.Builder takeaway: When you’re creating agents, don’t stop at efficiency. Ask yourself: What lasting impact could this agent have on the way people learn, connect, or grow?Big thanks to Monique for showing us what it looks like to build with both craft and heart.--
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Agents in HVAC: How Hi-Fi Vents Turns Technical Catalogs Into Instant Answers - Ep 13
Learn more and connect with Evan Gouzie:Evan’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evangouzie/HiFi Vents - https://hifivent.com/ HIFI VENT AI Assisted Guide - https://hifivent.com/pages/buying-guide FIFI Vent YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@HIFIVent--“We wear a lot of hats here… sometimes it could take a day before we can get back to people. And this really helps streamline the decision-making.” – Evan Gouzie, Hi-Fi VentsWhen you’re running a lean startup, time is your scarcest resource. For Evan Gouzie and his team at Hi-Fi Vents, juggling product design, customer service, and operations meant customer questions often had to wait. In the HVAC world, where projects involve architects, contractors, and homeowners, delays can quickly stall momentum.That’s where bringing agentic technology into the mix made all the difference.Hi-Fi Vents built an AI-powered buying guide agent trained on their catalog of 100+ 3D-printed parts. Instead of sifting through PDFs or waiting on email replies, customers now get tailored recommendations in real time:“Just go look at these… here’s a link, this one is your best bet, but you might also consider this.”For builders, the takeaway is clear:Complex product catalogs (especially technical or customizable ones) are perfect candidates for agent deployment.Multi-stakeholder decisions benefit from agents that translate expertise across roles such as designer, installer, and homeowner.Startup constraints such as limited staff and long response times can be offset by an agent that works around the clock.What’s especially interesting here is the industry: HVAC. A space not traditionally associated with cutting-edge AI now has an agent sitting at the heart of the customer journey. It’s a reminder that the best agent use cases are often hiding in plain sight, inside workflows that look “old school” on the surface.For builders in the community: where else are you seeing “hidden agent opportunities” in industries that aren’t usually first-movers on tech?
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From Storytelling to Agent Building: Michael Ahn’s Creative Process - Ep 12
Learn more and connect with Michael Ahn:Michael’s Agent.ai Profile: https://agent.ai/human/Michael_AhnMichael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahnnyc/Michael’s Website: https://storysaveslives.com/ Public Agents by Michael:Article Idea Generator – https://agent.ai/profile/Article-idea-generator – Generate ideas for blog posts or articles based on keywords; helps fuel your content calendar by suggesting topics, tones, and tips for writing.Film/TV Show Suggester Based on Specific Subjects – https://agent.ai/profile/film-suggester – Suggests films or TV shows tuned to a user’s specific interest areas, helping find content aligned with their subject preferences.Effective Employee Review Feedback Generator – https://agent.ai/profile/employee-feedback-advisor – Advises managers on best practices when providing employee feedback; manager inputs context and gets tailored guidance.Speech Creator – https://agent.ai/profile/Speech-creator – Helps users who struggle to write a speech from scratch by generating one based on their input and purpose.Book Suggester Based on Learning Preference – https://agent.ai/profile/Book-suggester – Recommends books to users based on how they prefer to learn (e.g. visual, auditory, interactive formats).LinkedIn/X/Facebook Post Composer – https://agent.ai/profile/social-post-composer – Drafts social media posts (LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Facebook) tailored to a company, product, service, cause or organization’s tone.Voir Dire Jury Selection Questions Generator – https://agent.ai/profile/voir-dire-questions-generator – Provides trial attorneys with potential juror themes and voir dire questions to support courtroom strategy.Short Scene Script Creator – https://agent.ai/profile/Scene-script-creator – Helps non-writers draft short scene scripts, offering story structure and dialogue suggestions for storytelling.Teaching the Pros and Cons of AI: A Dynamic Lesson Generator – https://agent.ai/profile/ai-dynamic-lesson-generator – For educators, generates dynamic lessons comparing AI’s benefits and drawbacks tailored to subject and level.Corporate Ideology Researcher – https://agent.ai/profile/corporate-ideology-researcher – Helps consumers or stakeholders research the ideology behind a product or service—from the company’s standpoint.Social Media Social Justice Story Generator – https://agent.ai/profile/Social-Media-Social-Justice-Story-Generator – Generates story ideas for social justice causes, targeting specific demographic groups on social media.Find Potential Book Buyers and Market to Them – https://agent.ai/profile/Book-buyer-finder – Assists booksellers by searching for potential readers or buyers online, including adjacent forums for marketing outreach.--When you talk to Michael Ahn, it’s clear you’re in the presence of a natural storyteller—someone who has spent a career weaving together narrative, technology, and human curiosity. Michael’s journey began with journalism and creative writing, moved through the worlds of film, video games, and Fortune 500 branding, and eventually led him to the frontier of AI agent building. At every step, his core focus remained the same: helping people tell better stories.Michael doesn’t see AI agents as just technical tools. For him, the process of building an agent feels much like the creative act of writing.“When you write, you write a first draft. It's usually really bad, but there’s some element of it that you like or you surprise yourself... And that's like creating an agent. So there's a lot of similarities there.”This iterative approach embraces the messiness of early drafts and the process of tweaking and refining. It has shaped how Michael approaches both narrative and technology.One of Michael’s most memorable analogies sums up his practical, honest relationship with AI:“AI is like a really smart but slightly sociopathic intern. So you say, hey, write me the first draft of this story. And it'll do it... And you'll look at it and go, this is OK... this is terrible. I could do better than this. And it's like being handed a first draft. That's the number one thing that I, when I create agents, it's not to solve a problem. ... An agent shouldn't, it should be a tool and not a crutch, right?”For Michael, the real power of agents is not in replacing human creativity. The magic happens when an agent sparks new ideas and supports users by giving them a leg up, not by doing the job for them. Whether he’s designing a book recommender, a scene generator, or a tool for social justice research, Michael’s aim is to make the user the protagonist of their own story. His goal is to equip users with new perspectives and ideas that they might not have found on their own.He also believes the world of agent-building is wide open to people of all backgrounds. Technical expertise, while helpful, is not required.“If you could speak, you could probably create an agent. I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but it's just a fact.”Michael’s journey proves that blending life experience, empathy, and narrative thinking can result in tools that anyone can use and learn from.As the field of AI continues to evolve, Michael offers this reminder:“Anyone who feels like they've aged out or they can't do it—I think that's 100% wrong. They can do it.”If you have a story to tell, a problem to solve, or a curiosity to follow, maybe it’s time to start building. The only thing you need is the willingness to take that first step. Let your own story guide the way.
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The Future We Build: How Chris Kiper Blends AI with Homebuilding and Trust - Ep 11
Learn more and connect with Chris Kiper:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-kiper/Chris’s Ted Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w90ZDNsz1yw Reflective Designworks - https://www.reflectivedesignworks.com/ Public Agents by ChrisLLM Battle! AI Model Comparison Tool for Usage Insight - https://agent.ai/profile/LLM-Comparison-Tool - Compares large language models side‑by‑side on evaluation criteria—like zero‑shot performance, reasoning, retrieval, cost—for selecting the right model for your use case.Programs and Activities to Enrich Company Culture - https://agent.ai/profile/company-culture - Reviews your company’s industry and website, then recommends tailored programs and initiatives to strengthen and align organizational culture based on selected values.House Location Analysis Tool (For Architect, Builder, Real Estate) - https://agent.ai/profile/house-site-analyzer - Analyzes a property’s physical address to surface key location and environmental attributes—like walkability, terrain, zoning, proximity to amenities—to inform site and build decisions.Mission Statement and Motto / Tagline Generator - https://agent.ai/profile/mission-and-motto - Generates three custom mission‑statement options and five matching mottos/taglines based on your company’s industry, values, and tone preferences.Local Zoning Ordinance Summary (For Architects, Builders, Real Estate) - https://agent.ai/profile/zoning-summary - Summarizes zoning classification, restrictions, setbacks, permit difficulty, code compliance, and property tax projections for a specific location.New Home Construction Cost Estimator - https://agent.ai/profile/construction-estimator - Guides users through entering project specs (e.g. square footage, finishes, materials) and returns cost‑range estimates for new home construction projects.House Image Pattern Finder - Profile page - https://agent.ai/profile/house-image-pattern-finder - Identifies architectural motifs, visual patterns, styles, and design elements in home photos to help clients curate and communicate their aesthetic preferences.Collections Email Writer - https://agent.ai/profile/Collections-email-writer - Crafts professional, tone-appropriate collection emails using invoice details—making uncomfortable follow-ups more efficient and effective.AI for Architecture Newsletter – Profile: - https://agent.ai/profile/ai-for-architecture-newsletter - Delivers a curated weekly email with AI tools, trends, and news for architects and designers—based on your selected areas of interest.OG Architectural Material Idea Generator (For Architects, Designers, Builders) - https://agent.ai/profile/material-idea-generator - Generates fresh architectural material concepts with example images and style summaries, helping break creative ruts and inspire new ideas.DIY Landscape Designer (For Architects, Designers, Builders, Developers) - https://agent.ai/profile/DIY-landscape-designer - Provides a custom, cost-effective landscape plan based on project inputs—complete with plant recommendations, pricing, planting instructions, and maintenance tips.--"Sentimentality says 'keep things the way they were.' Adaptability says 'let’s evolve.' That mindset is how we survive." — Chris KiperChris Kiper isn’t just designing homes. He is designing better ways to live, work, and adapt to a world that continues to shift at an accelerating pace.In his recent TEDx talk, Chris explored how form, function, and fallout affect the spaces we inhabit. But the deeper thread running through his work is the belief that our ability to adapt, rather than cling to nostalgia, is what carries us forward. That mindset now extends into the way he is building and using AI agents.Chris brings a unique perspective to his Agent.ai builds. With a background that spans carpentry, welding, property management, restoration, and design, he has built a deep understanding of how homes and people work. Now he applies that same insight to agents that save time, build trust, and simplify complexity.One example is the agent he built to analyze home images and identify recurring architectural patterns. After running it for a client, both of them landed on the same insight. The client trusted the agent’s pattern recognition as much as Chris’s own. "It almost made him trust me more," Chris reflected. "It gave us both confidence that we were making the right decision."Another example is the zoning and site analysis agents he uses before client meetings. What used to take hours of manual prep now takes minutes. Those meetings now start with trust, not guesswork.This is what happens when builders take their expertise, pair it with AI, and focus it on real problems.Chris isn’t building agents for novelty. He is building them to help himself and others adapt. As he said in the interview:"We know everything's going to change. It always does. So how do we be more adaptable?"For Chris, building AI agents is part of the answer. Each one reflects his effort to respond to real-world needs with smart, thoughtful solutions.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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What Paul Schmidt Learned Building AI Agents That Drove $1M in Efficiency at SmartBug - Ep 10
Learn more and connect with Paul Schmidt:Agent.ai Profile: https://agent.ai/human/paulschmidtLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drumming/X (Twitter): https://x.com/drummingPublic Agents by Paul:Manufacturing sell sheet creator - https://agent.ai/profile/manufacturing-sell-sheet-creator - Instantly generate professional, one-page sell sheets for your manufacturing products.. Used this on an agent AI workshop with prospects, where we all worked on this agent together and everyone walked away with their own customized version of this agent.Agentic Idea Generator - https://agent.ai/profile/agentic-ai-idea-generator - Helps companies brainstorm agents that align with a consumption based pricing modelAI Dataset Recommendation Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/AI-Dataset-Recommendation-Agent - Good AI outputs requires good data input. This agent helps departments think through the types of datasets they need to create for effective AI output.GiftSage: The Corporate Gifting Strategist - https://agent.ai/profile/corporate-gifting-ideas - Purpose of this agent is to provide the top gift ideas that would resonate most with your customer or prospect or partner.Non-boring Event Swag Idea Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/event-swag-generator - Purpose of this agent is to provide the top swag ideas that would resonate most with an audience of an event.--“We think about almost a million dollars in efficiency that we've created just by launching this agent for us.” — Paul Schmidt, VP of Marketing & Innovation, SmartBug MediaHow do you prep your sales team with deep insights before a first call, without making them do hours of manual research?For Paul Schmidt and the team at SmartBug Media, the answer came through a homegrown AI agent that transformed their CRM into a powerful prospect intelligence tool.By integrating HubSpot with Agent.ai, they built a research agent that auto-generates company background, technographic data, case study matches, discovery questions, and even custom follow-up emails. Sales reps now go into calls sounding like insiders, with no manual digging through spreadsheets or old decks required.Paul’s estimate? Nearly $1M in efficiency gains by reducing the time spent on prep across their sales pipeline.And none of this happened all at once.It began with something much smaller: an agent designed to stop the noisy Slack messages like “Has anyone worked with a manufacturing client before?” That early win helped them organize historical case study data, which became a key input for their more advanced sales research agent.The core takeaway?“Start small. Build for the future.” And get your data in order.Once the foundation was in place, the SmartBug team started layering on more complexity. They began using multiple LLMs tailored to different steps in the workflow, generating executive briefings, and analyzing call transcripts for marketing, CS, and sales insights. All of this is built on a single structured data layer customized to SmartBug's business.Paul is also leading a cultural shift at SmartBug, working to raise AI fluency across the team. He believes real adoption starts with leadership.“Your leaders need to be using AI every single day.”--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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Tim Macchi’s Approach to Agent Building Starts with Learning, Not Expertise - Ep 09
Learn more and connect with Tim Macchi:Agent.ai Profile: https://agent.ai/human/TimMaccLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmacchi/X (Twitter): https://x.com/TimMaccLeafari introductory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fP9G-VvgJE Featured Agents by Tim:Newsletter Design Agent (HTML Template Generator) - https://agent.ai/profile/Newsletter-Design-Agent - This agent generates an amazing design, output to an HTML template, for using in your email or newsletter.Conference/Event Look-alike Finder - https://agent.ai/profile/conference-lookalike-finder - Never miss another must-attend conference! This agent analyzes your conference history and uncovers hidden look-alikes.Request An Agent Refiner - https://agent.ai/profile/agent-request - You might have an idea for an agent you want built on Agent.ai, but might not know what’s possible to build.Transcript to Podcast Title & Description Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/transcript-podcast-title - The Ultimate Podcast Title Generator: From Transcript to Viral Headlines. Drop your podcast transcript and get title + description.Introductory Call Rapport Builder Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/rapport-builder - A smart agent that generates personalized jokes, icebreakers, and rapport tidbits for starting a call.Podcast Prep Agent (Podcast Outline Generator) - https://agent.ai/profile/podcast-prep-outline - Takes podcast guest LinkedIn details and a discussion topic to generate a custom introduction, tailored interview outline, and questions.Writes Like a Human (Agent Use) - https://agent.ai/profile/writes-like-a-human-agent-use - Note: This is the agent‑use agent – designed to use in your agent workflows to output context‑aware content that sounds human.Advanced SaaS Landing Page Optimization Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/saasy-landing - This agent will look at your target personas, and combine it with insight from what people are saying about your product to optimize your landing page copy.Transcript to Content Generator (social posts, blog posts) - https://agent.ai/profile/transcript-content - Transform your audio goldmine into compelling content. Whether it’s podcast episodes, sales conversations, or interviews.Newsletter Curator Agent (News Roundup Newsletter Generator) - https://agent.ai/profile/newsletter-curator - Automatically compiles a monthly newsletter by fetching the latest blog posts, news and updates on your topic(s).Writes Like a Human - https://agent.ai/profile/writes-like-a-human - (This is the human‑use version) Designed to take your human‑written content, and output improved versions that retain your voice.--“A generalist brain is actually a specialist brain in cross-domain thinking.” — Tim Macchi, Builder & Product LeaderIn past Builder Stories, we’ve highlighted creators who are deep subject matter experts. These are people who’ve spent years mastering a specific domain and are now building agents to automate or scale what they already know how to do well.Tim Macchi brings a different energy to the table.He’s not just automating existing expertise. He’s inventing entirely new workflows, experiences, and use cases. From sales to marketing to product and now agent building, he embraces the role of the curious generalist. He’s the type of person who wants to be a beginner. Someone who lives at the intersection of multiple disciplines. He learns just enough to get dangerous and then starts shipping.“The people who win with AI are the ones who bring something to the table.”Tim sees this moment as tailor-made for generalists. It’s not because depth no longer matters. It’s because cross-domain thinking, creativity, and the willingness to explore uncharted territory are exactly what’s needed when there are no established playbooks.This creates a powerful contrast with past guests. Most had niche expertise as their starting point. Tim builds from curiosity. And this shows that both approaches can succeed in the new agentic age.In our conversation, we explore how he’s applying this mindset to build everything from podcast assistants and onboarding advisors to a gamified plant-learning app with his kids. If you’re a product builder, a lifelong learner, or someone trying to find your lane in the AI era, this one’s for you.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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John Marcus III on Why Perfect Is the Enemy of Shipped: Lessons from a Builder’s Graveyard - Ep 08
Learn more and connect with John Marcus III:Agent.ai Profile: https://agent.ai/human/jm3LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwmarcus/X (Twitter): https://x.com/jm3Fractional Ventures: https://fractional.ventures/Featured Agents by JM3:“I’m Running Late” Rescue Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/im-late-to-my-call - Instantly access relevant prospect company info when you're five minutes late to a sales call—helps you appear prepared, even at the last minute. Follow‑up Email Generator - https://agent.ai/profile/followup-email-generator - Craft polished follow‑up emails effortlessly—paste your initial outreach and the prospect’s reply to generate the perfect next message. Diversity and Inclusion Content Auditor - https://agent.ai/profile/wmjz0b536syi3b1v - Reviews content to identify biases, measure inclusivity, and ensure messaging meets D&I best practices. Instant Sales Battle Cards - https://agent.ai/profile/instant-sales-battle-cards - Quickly generate competitor comparison cards—input your site to automatically create pitch-ready rebuttals. Rival Watch – Competitor Alert System - https://agent.ai/profile/competitor-alert-system - Monitors competitor activity like product launches or price changes and delivers scheduled briefs to keep your team informed. Unhelpful Life Goals Coach - https://agent.ai/profile/unhelpful-life-goals-coach - A purposely unqualified “life coach”—for when you want no-nonsense, tongue-in-cheek guidance that offers comic relief. E‑commerce Product Description Enhancer - https://agent.ai/profile/ecommerce-product-description - Optimizes product listings to boost conversions—improves clarity, tone, and SEO for e‑commerce platforms. Philosophical Archetype Detector - https://agent.ai/profile/mt8gcxqblc5pukic - Analyzes text to identify philosophical influences and archetypes—covers classical, modern, fringe, and lesser-known schools. YouTube Video Summarizer - https://agent.ai/profile/youtube-summarizer - Produces concise summaries of YouTube videos by analyzing transcripts, ideal for quick overviews and content review. Video Script Generator - https://agent.ai/profile/lt8gzzc4s59qym06 - Automatically creates engaging scripts—perfect for explainer videos, product demos, marketing clips, etc. Featured and promoted by John Marcus himself.--“Trying to get things perfect is the absolute enemy of getting an agent out.” John Marcus IIIIn our latest Builder Story, JM3 shares a truth every creator needs to hear. Whether you're building agents, apps, or anything else, it's a reminder that perfection is often the thing that holds us back.Too many ideas die while waiting to be “perfect.” John’s approach is different: get the roughest, scrappiest version working, then improve from there. His Agent.ai profile is full of powerful tools, but behind the curtain is what he calls a graveyard of unfinished agents. And that’s the point.“The best agents end up coming from seeing all those different angles... It’s like seeing a bunch of 2D pictures and then suddenly you can spin it around.”Whether you're a RevOps leader or a first-time builder, John’s story is a reminder that iteration matters more than perfection. Building agents can be the first step into building apps, and apps can grow into full-fledged products. You don’t need to know exactly where it will lead. What matters is that you start.Agent → App → ProductExperiment oftenShip before it’s readyLearn from the messWatch the full episode and get inspired to build something, even if it’s a little rough around the edges.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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Automate Everything: Chris Shuptrine’s Journey to 30+ Agents Without Formal Dev Education - Ep 07
Connect with Chris Shuptrine:Agents: https://agent.ai/human/cshuptrineLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisshuptrine/X (Twitter): https://x.com/cshuptrineSEO Widgets: https://www.seowidgets.ai/Featured Agents:DMARC Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/dmarc-finder – This agent will find the DMARC record for a given domain. You can input any URL, but the agent will strip it to just the domain.SPF Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/spf-finder – This agent will find the SPF record for a given domain. You can input any URL, but the agent will strip it to just the domain.Trending Twitter (X) Hashtags – https://agent.ai/profile/trending-twitter-hashtags – This agent outputs the current trending hashtags on Twitter (also known as X).Trending Snapchat Lenses – https://agent.ai/profile/trending-snapchat-lenses – This agent shows the latest trending Snapchat Lenses, offering insights into popular augmented reality filters.Google Related Searches – https://agent.ai/profile/google-related-searches – This agent returns Google's "Related Searches" for a given keyword, typically providing around 8 suggestions.BIMI Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/bimi-finder – This agent will find the BIMI record for a given domain. You can input any URL, but the agent will strip it to just the domain.Remove Stopwords From Text – https://agent.ai/profile/remove-stopwords-from-text – This agent removes common stopwords from a given block of text, returning a cleaner version for analysis.Pull a Site's URLs – https://agent.ai/profile/pull-a-sites-urls – This agent finds and lists all URLs on a given domain, making it useful for SEO audits or web content reviews.People Also Ask Google Results – https://agent.ai/profile/people-also-ask-google-results – This agent pulls the "People Also Ask" questions from Google for a given keyword, typically returning about 4 results.Recent Tweets Analyzer – https://agent.ai/profile/recent-tweets-analyzer – This agent reviews a user’s recent Tweets and summarizes common themes and topics they tweet about.G2 Category Scraper – https://agent.ai/profile/g2-category-scraper – This agent scrapes G2 to show rankings for software tools within a specified category, revealing which products rank highest.Trending TikTok Hashtags – https://agent.ai/profile/trending-tiktok-hashtags – This agent identifies the most popular TikTok hashtags trending at the moment to help you stay culturally relevant.Find Your Google Rank for a Keyword – https://agent.ai/profile/find-your-google-rank-for-a-keyword – This agent tells you where your domain ranks in Google search results for a specific keyword.Get Wordcount of a Text – https://agent.ai/profile/get-wordcount-of-a-text – This agent counts the number of words in a provided text input. It supports up to 75,000 characters (~13,000–15,000 words).Quora Scraper – https://agent.ai/profile/quora-scraper – This agent finds popular Quora questions and threads related to a given keyword, useful for content marketing and SEO.Reddit Thread Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/reddit-thread-finder – This agent searches Reddit for relevant threads on a given topic, helping you discover discussions worth joining.Pull Blog URLs from a Site – https://agent.ai/profile/pull-blog-urls-from-a-site – This agent extracts and lists all blog URLs from a domain, helping you inventory or audit blog content.Website Positioning Analysis – https://agent.ai/profile/website-positioning-analysis – This agent reviews a website’s homepage and offers feedback on strategic messaging and market positioning.Internal Links Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/internal-links-finder – This agent scans your site and helps identify relevant internal links for a keyword to support SEO and content planning.Google Results – https://agent.ai/profile/google-results – This agent returns the top ~100 Google search results for a given keyword, without any summaries or filtering.DKIM Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/dkim-finder – This agent will find the DKIM record for a given domain. You can input any URL, but the agent will strip it to just the domain.LinkedIn Posts Analyzer – https://agent.ai/profile/linkedin-posts-analyzer – This agent analyzes the last 25 LinkedIn posts of a user and provides a thematic summary of what they tend to post about.Email Validator – https://agent.ai/profile/email-validator – This agent checks if an email address is valid and gives insight into its quality, such as whether it’s a free or business domain.FAQSchema Creator – https://agent.ai/profile/faqschema-creator – This agent generates FAQSchema JSON metadata for your content, helping boost SEO by enabling rich FAQ snippets in search.Trending Instagram Hashtags – https://agent.ai/profile/trending-instagram-hashtags – This agent provides a list of currently trending Instagram hashtags to help inform your social media strategy.Listicle Finder – https://agent.ai/profile/listicle-finder – This agent finds relevant “Top 10”-style listicles related to your keyword, useful for PR and link-building outreach.Domain Validator – https://agent.ai/profile/domain-validator – This agent checks if a domain is live and valid, which is useful for lead validation and data hygiene.Trending TikTok Songs – https://agent.ai/profile/trending-tiktok-songs – This agent lists the most popular TikTok songs trending now, helpful for aligning video content with viral trends.IP Lookup – https://agent.ai/profile/ip-lookup – This agent provides geographic and network data for a given IP address, including city, region, country, and more.--"I have never found something that can't be automated." — Chris ShuptrineChris Shuptrine didn’t take a traditional path into tech. He started in marketing, not engineering. But when he saw the rise of AI and realized he could pair large language models with his domain knowledge, everything changed. Tedious SEO and marketing workflows became...
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Shaalin Parekh: From Finance Consultant to AI Builder of an Agent Used 13K+ Times - Ep 06
Explore More from Shaalin:Shaalin’s Agent.ai Profile - https://agent.ai/human/Shaalin Connect on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaalin/ Follow on X (Twitter) - https://x.com/Shaalin Visit IndustryGTM Website (and sign up for the newsletter) - https://industrygtm.com/ Try His Most Popular Agents:ICP Builder - https://agent.ai/agent/icp-builder - Looks at your current customers and figures out what they actually have in common—not just firmographics, but deeper patterns—so you can identify and prioritize similar prospects.Industry Messaging Generator - https://agent.ai/agent/industry-email-template - Drop in a LinkedIn profile, and it figures out the person’s industry and role, then writes a cold email tailored to them using relevant trends and language.Case Study Willingness Index - https://agent.ai/profile/case-study-willingness - Helps you figure out which customers are most likely to say yes to a case study by checking if they've done them with other vendors and how well their role/use case matches your product.Expert Opinion Research Agent - https://agent.ai/profile/interview-resarcher - If you're researching a topic, give it the questions you're trying to answer, and it finds interviews from credible experts, summarizes their insights, and links back to the sources.--Sometimes the best journeys start with a shrug and a sign-up form.“I must have signed up for a waitlist or something... I honestly had no idea what an agent was. But I thought, I could be an early adopter to this AI stuff.”Shaalin Parekh didn’t set out to become a builder. As a consultant deeply familiar with go-to-market in financial services, he was just looking for ways to stay ahead of the AI curve. But the moment he started playing with workflows and prompting, something clicked.“You're a product manager in that. You have to think about the user experience, lowest friction way to use it, and readability of the output.”Suddenly, his domain expertise wasn't just strategy; it became a blueprint. He knew the pain points. He knew how to simplify them. And that knowledge started transforming into agents. One of those experiments? The Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) Builder.“It’s been used over 13,000 times... The feedback was really positive. It’s amazing what can happen when you just get some of this stuff right.”What started as curiosity turned into contribution. And along the way, Shaalin unlocked something many in this community are discovering: the future of building belongs to specialists who aren’t afraid to experiment.So if you’re a subject matter expert, even if you’ve never written a line of code, Shaalin’s story is proof that you’re closer to building something useful than you think.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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Steve Hollis on Learning Through Play - Ep 05
Connect with Steve & Explore His WorkAgent.ai Profile: agent.ai/human/hollis24926LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/steve-hollis-367ab636/Sign Up for Steve’s Workshop: mediajunction.com/trainingTry Steve’s D&D PDF Extractor Agent: agent.ai/agent/dandscraper“We all learn by playing. I mean, we do if you think back to when you were a kid, like we learned through play. And we stick with it more when we're enjoying it, right?” — Steve HollisFor Steve Hollis, building with AI isn’t just about solving problems or launching the next cool tool. It’s about tapping into something far more foundational: play. Whether he’s hacking together a D&D agent, experimenting with data cleanup, or guiding others through the labyrinth of prompt writing, Steve approaches each challenge with the same spirit of curiosity that got him into computers in the first place.That mindset, he says, is crucial not just for kids, but for all of us. When learning (and building) feels like play, we stick with it longer, take more risks, and ultimately learn more. It’s a philosophy that shows up in everything Steve does, especially when he’s teaching others.One of his favorite lessons for both newcomers and seasoned builders is to start simple and build up:“Trying to do too much too soon is where you get in over your head, in my opinion... Start with a block. Let's start with just a square that you can control with the arrows. And then we'll worry about these cool animations, right? Because it's that fundamental thing.”That advice isn’t just for code, it’s for life. Steve believes in breaking down big ideas into manageable pieces, letting people experiment, and keeping things fun along the way. Whether he’s running an AI agent workshop or helping a friend troubleshoot, his passion is contagious: make it playful, keep it simple, and you’ll be amazed at how far you can go.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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Alex Blackmon’s Path to Helping Others Thrive - Ep 04
Connect with Alex online: Agent AI ProfileLinkedInX (formerly Twitter)Some of Alex’s Agents:Deep Image Location Analysis AgentCompany Security Dialogue AgentAgent AI HTML Output Builder v2--"I made the prompt generator for myself, but then published it so others could use it too. It’s awesome when people find it helpful." — AlexMeet Alex Blackmon, one of our most dedicated agent builders. From tinkering with toy computers as a kid to diving into web development and, later, AI, Alex’s journey has always been driven by a powerful desire to help others.It’s not just about building for personal use. Alex’s passion lies in making things modular and reusable, so others can jump in, customize, and make them their own. As Alex puts it:"I ended up building them as I was building other agents because I was like, I need this functionality, but I think I'm going to need it again one day. I think that's also the programmer in me wanting to reuse building blocks."Alex’s approach, building functional, shareable agents that can be invoked by others, means the work doesn’t just live in a silo. It ripples out, empowering other builders to tackle their own challenges faster, more creatively, and with less friction.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for your self
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Kate Reed - No Code, No Problem. Why learning to build agents empowered her career - Ep 03
Connect with Kate:Agent.ai Profile LinkedInTry Her Public Agents:Will This Customer Be a F***ing Nightmare?Website Customer Experience AuditKnowledge Base AuditCustomer Success Call Follow Up GeneratorCustomer Success MapperCustomer Onboarding Plan Generator--"It's been the most empowering experience of my entire career, learning to build agents."When Kate Reed first started experimenting with agent-building, she didn’t come from a traditional technical background."I am not only low code, I am no code," she told us, with a smile that carried both honesty and pride.But what she does bring is a deep, hard-earned expertise in Customer Success, with more than a decade spent solving real customer problems at companies like HubSpot and early-stage startups. And now, she’s combining that insight with new AI tools to build useful, practical agents that solve challenges for others in her field.From auditing knowledge bases to diagnosing onboarding friction, Kate’s agents aren’t just experiments. They are tools designed to empower others to do better work. And they reflect her bigger mission: to make Customer Success more effective, more human, and more scalable.Through her new venture, MAKR Ventures, she is not just building tools, she is building momentum. For herself. For other women in tech. And for a future where your value is not defined by how well you can code, but by how well you can build. She recently launched the company publicly during NY Tech Week, sharing her mission and first offerings in this LinkedIn post.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for yourself.
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Jenn Steele on Turning Expertise into Agents - Ep 02
Learn more and connect with Jenn Steele:Agent.ai ProfileLinkedInXExplore her Work and Builds:Read Her Agent’s Launch PostPlay with her Branded AgentsTry the Agent Flow PrototypeCreate a Cold Outreach Schedule for SDRs--“The only way I'm going to make people successful at partnership programs is to basically take my brain and dump it into some agents that they can run.”That’s exactly what Jenn Steele did, and she did it in just three weeks.Jenn is the founder of SoundGTM, a platform focused on helping companies, both tech and non-tech, scale ecosystem-led growth through referrals, partner programs, and strategic alliances. After years leading marketing and revenue at companies like HubSpot and Kissmetrics, Jenn knew firsthand how difficult partnerships can be to plan, execute, and enable, particularly for teams without dedicated resources.She didn’t just want to teach people how to do it better. She wanted to build tools that would actually do the hard parts for them.“I realized that AI, especially agentic AI, was in a place where I could actually solve the problem of planning and enablement.”With that, she launched a powerful suite of AI Agents and Playbooks, including things like an SDR Cold Outreach Scheduler, enablement checklists, referral program tools, and much more. Think: a hyper-specific, AI-powered Website Grader, only it's designed for your ecosystem program.What’s more, Jenn has embedded these agents directly into her own branded experience and is sharing her journey in detail to help others do the same.“The only way I’m going to make people successful at partnership programs is to basically take my brain and dump it into some agents that they can run.”And she’s just getting started. From new use cases to deeper personalization, Jenn is exploring ways to make her agent network smarter, faster, and more effective for go-to-market teams of all shapes and sizes.Want to hear Jenn tell the story herself? Check out the full 25-minute conversation where we dive deep into her build process, lessons learned, and what's coming next.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for your self
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Henry Carbajales: How He Teaches Students To Prepare For Life With AI - Ep 01
Learn more and connect with Henry Carbajales:Agent.ai Builder Profile - https://agent.ai/human/HCarbajale87449Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hcarbajales/YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzHnB4FxTbDAEx6jYRhESLgHis Built AgentsPlain News - https://agent.ai/profile/plain_news Bulletin Board - https://agent.ai/profile/bulletin_board Course Outline - https://agent.ai/profile/course_outline Ask-O-Matic 1000 - https://agent.ai/agent/askomatic_1000WebMaster Analyzer - https://agent.ai/profile/webmaster_analyzerNews Hunter - https://agent.ai/profile/news_hunter--Meet Henry Carbajales — Marine veteran, technology instructor at Montgomery College, and the founder of ProtoCon, an IT consulting and services firm. In our very first Builder Buildups episode, Henry shares his origin story and how building agents has completely transformed how he teaches, works, and creates."I'm not building agents — I'm teaching them." — Henry CarbajalesAs an educator, Henry understands the power of explanation. From simplifying complex tech concepts for students to accelerating lesson planning with AI, his agent-building approach is grounded in a deep desire to empower others. “What would take me hours or days, I can now do in minutes with my agents,” he says. Whether it’s designing a course outline or crafting a compelling LinkedIn post, Henry is reclaiming time and redefining his workflow.Perhaps most inspiring is his classroom philosophy:“I tell my students: use GenAI. I don’t care which tool — just learn how to think critically with it.”Watch the full 30-minute interview to hear how Henry blends his consulting background, teaching mindset, and love for technology into an Agent-building practice that’s as purposeful as it is practical.--Agent.ai is an innovative marketplace designed to empower creators by providing a platform where AI agents can be developed, deployed, and monetized. Using advanced artificial intelligence, Agent.ai offers a unique opportunity for developers to create specialized agents that cater to various needs, from customer service to data analysis and beyond. Even if you haven't ever programmed before you can create an agent on Agent.aiSign up at http://agent.ai to try it for your self
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Builder Stories is an official podcast of Agent.ai, where we spotlight the creators behind the agents. Each episode shares the journey of a different builderm, many of whom aren't traditional developers, showing how people from all backgrounds are using AI to solve problems, launch tools, and build their way into the future. If you're curious about what’s possible with AI agents, this is the place to get inspired.
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