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AI Agents: Pivoting from Consulting Services to $1M ARR | Cotera

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Manage episode 521459948 series 61396
Content provided by Omer Khan. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Omer Khan or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Ibby Syed accidentally built a consulting agency while trying to build software. In this episode, early-stage B2B SaaS founders will learn how Cotera escaped the "services trap" and pivoted to AI agents to hit $1M ARR.

Ibby breaks down why hitting $150k ARR in consulting revenue was actually a "local maxima" that nearly killed the startup. You will learn how his co-founder replaced months of data science work with a 100-line OpenAI API experiment, and the painful but necessary decision to fire legacy customers to focus on a scalable product.

In this episode, Ibby also reveals his "value-first" LinkedIn outbound strategy that books 25+ meetings a week, why horizontal AI platforms (like Cotera) will outlast narrow vertical tools, and how they transitioned from custom enterprise contracts to a product-led growth model.

This episode is brought to you by:

šŸ’– ⁠Gearheart⁠ → Book a call + get the first 20 hours of development free

🚨 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NordStellar⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a demo and get 20% off with code blackfriday20

šŸ“” ⁠⁠⁠Signal House⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Learn more and get a demo

šŸ”‘ Key Lessons

  • šŸ“‰ The Consulting Trap: Why early service revenue can trick you into building an unscalable agency instead of a software product.
  • šŸ¤– The AI Pivot: How 100 lines of OpenAI API code outperformed a massive data science stack and sparked the pivot.
  • šŸ“§ LinkedIn Outbound: The "Value-First" playbook (sending free leads, not pitches) that books 25+ meetings a week.
  • šŸ› ļø Horizontal vs. Vertical: Why broad tools (like Zapier/Cotera) are more defensible than niche AI wrappers.
  • šŸ’° Pricing Strategy: Moving from custom enterprise contracts to a $20/mo usage model to fuel PLG.

Chapters

  • The consulting trap and false traction
  • Why $150K ARR nearly killed the company
  • The 100-line OpenAI experiment that changed everything
  • Firing customers and stopping services
  • Pivoting to AI agents and prompt-based workflows
  • Why deals became easier after the pivot
  • LinkedIn outbound by sending free value
  • Horizontal vs. vertical AI startups
  • Pricing from enterprise contracts to PLG

šŸ’Œ Get weekly 5-minute SaaS insights: https://saasclub.io/email

SaaS Club Programs

Resources

  continue reading

629 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 521459948 series 61396
Content provided by Omer Khan. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Omer Khan or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

Ibby Syed accidentally built a consulting agency while trying to build software. In this episode, early-stage B2B SaaS founders will learn how Cotera escaped the "services trap" and pivoted to AI agents to hit $1M ARR.

Ibby breaks down why hitting $150k ARR in consulting revenue was actually a "local maxima" that nearly killed the startup. You will learn how his co-founder replaced months of data science work with a 100-line OpenAI API experiment, and the painful but necessary decision to fire legacy customers to focus on a scalable product.

In this episode, Ibby also reveals his "value-first" LinkedIn outbound strategy that books 25+ meetings a week, why horizontal AI platforms (like Cotera) will outlast narrow vertical tools, and how they transitioned from custom enterprise contracts to a product-led growth model.

This episode is brought to you by:

šŸ’– ⁠Gearheart⁠ → Book a call + get the first 20 hours of development free

🚨 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠NordStellar⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a demo and get 20% off with code blackfriday20

šŸ“” ⁠⁠⁠Signal House⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Learn more and get a demo

šŸ”‘ Key Lessons

  • šŸ“‰ The Consulting Trap: Why early service revenue can trick you into building an unscalable agency instead of a software product.
  • šŸ¤– The AI Pivot: How 100 lines of OpenAI API code outperformed a massive data science stack and sparked the pivot.
  • šŸ“§ LinkedIn Outbound: The "Value-First" playbook (sending free leads, not pitches) that books 25+ meetings a week.
  • šŸ› ļø Horizontal vs. Vertical: Why broad tools (like Zapier/Cotera) are more defensible than niche AI wrappers.
  • šŸ’° Pricing Strategy: Moving from custom enterprise contracts to a $20/mo usage model to fuel PLG.

Chapters

  • The consulting trap and false traction
  • Why $150K ARR nearly killed the company
  • The 100-line OpenAI experiment that changed everything
  • Firing customers and stopping services
  • Pivoting to AI agents and prompt-based workflows
  • Why deals became easier after the pivot
  • LinkedIn outbound by sending free value
  • Horizontal vs. vertical AI startups
  • Pricing from enterprise contracts to PLG

šŸ’Œ Get weekly 5-minute SaaS insights: https://saasclub.io/email

SaaS Club Programs

Resources

  continue reading

629 episodes

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