Is AI truly delivering ROI, or are we just “burning tokens”? In this episode of The Effortless Podcast, Amit Prakash and Dheeraj Pandey unpack the MIT report that sparked debate on AI’s real impact and revisit the timeless dilemma of whether to build or buy.

They frame the conversation through a pyramid of adoption—from global enterprises with engineering armies, to mid-market firms that buy and configure, to SMBs seeking plug-and-play simplicity. Along the way, they explore the economics of “Supernovas” vs. “Shooting Stars” in AI startups, the integration struggles holding back the mid-market, and the consulting-heavy pitfalls of enterprise “project thinking.”

This candid discussion reflects on lessons from the dot-com era, the stubbornness of leaders like Jeff Bezos and Reed Hastings, and why iteration—not initial insight—defines whether AI experiments evolve into durable products.

Key Topics & Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction: Framing “Agent Season” and the MIT report

02:00 – The ROI Question: Burning tokens or building value?

03:00 – Why Iteration Matters More in AI Than Traditional Software

04:30 – The Pyramid of Adoption: Enterprises, Mid-Market, SMBs

08:00 – SMBs, Plug-and-Play AI, and Startup Archetypes

12:00 – Supernovas vs. Shooting Stars: Startup Economics

15:00 – Dot-Com Parallels and the Role of Cheap Capital

18:00 – Disillusionment and the Stubbornness of Leadership

21:00 – Infrastructure and Iteration Speed: Microsoft vs. Google

30:00 – Mid-Market Struggles: Integration and Context Problems

36:00 – A Warehouse for Work: RAG, Indexing, and Workflows

41:00 – The Consulting Trap in Enterprises

46:00 – Projects vs. Products: The Cultural Divide

51:00 – Internal Apps, Workflows, and the “Build” Mentality

53:00 – Adoption, Habits, and the Design Challenge

55:00 – Design Partnerships as Lifelines

57:00 – Final Reflections on the MIT Report & AI’s Future

Hosts:

• Dheeraj Pandey – Co-founder and CEO at DevRev, former Co-founder & CEO of Nutanix. A tech visionary with deep interest in AI, systems, and the future of work.
• Amit Prakash – Co-founder and CTO at ThoughtSpot, former engineer at Google AdSense and Microsoft Bing, with extensive expertise in distributed systems and machine learning.

Follow the Hosts:

• Dheeraj Pandey:
  LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpandey/
  Twitter/X – https://x.com/dheeraj
• Amit Prakash:
  LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/amit-prakash-50719a2/
  Twitter/X – https://x.com/amitp42

Share Your Thoughts:
Have questions, comments, or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

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