In this episode, host Rick Watson talks with:

Vinod Kumar, CEO of Syntheum AI and formerly Head of Global Business Insights & Growth at Demandware/Salesforce CommerceCloud. He shares insights on leveraging AI in e-commerce and startups amid rapid technological change. He identifies trust as the top concern, emphasizing the need to earn and maintain it quickly to enable users to offload tasks to AI systems. Technological commoditization shortens the runway for startups, making efficiency metrics like ARR per employee critical. Synthium AI develops agentic merchandising systems that integrate AI into existing workflows to simplify operations and improve margins. Hiring now involves evaluating candidates' proficiency with AI tools.

Within large organizations, balancing entrepreneurial innovators, strategic leaders, and cautious employees is key to adopting AI effectively. Customer demand drives prioritization of AI features. Vinod advises startups to prioritize distribution and trust by building communities and thought leadership before product creation.