Last week I told you that I was in Gateway X’s M&A meeting when I stunned the seller by showing him how Google copied his AI tool.

I posted the story and many readers said, “That’s what you get for being a small player.”

But some had a contrarian opinion: “Google loses interest. This founder should keep building and go more specialized than Google ever could because Google serves ‘everyone.’”

Well, the contrarians were right. Google graveyarded its copy.

I’m telling you that for 2 reasons:

1. There’s always room for scrappy competitors.

2. I want more of your smart insights.

I’m on a quest to understand the opportunity in AI by interviewing smart, successful founders.

Who do you think I should interview?

Here’s who I booked so far:

Wade Foster - Zapier founder

Why: A guy pitched me on using his AI automation company. When I asked how he builds custom AI tools for his clients, he showed me his Zapier account.

Loads of agencies are building products on Zapier. I want to hear what Wade sees working for agencies today. And what envisions building.

Neil Patel - NP Digital founder

Why: In response to last week’s email about my mission, a reader emailed me about the apps he vibe-coded. I called him because his work was impressive. But he didn’t have enough users. He needs marketing help.

Neil is killer at good marketing. Always has been. I want to hear what he’s doing in AI.

Dan Shipper - Every founder

Why: Dan’s been cranking out the apps. Spiral for writing. Cora for email organization. Monologue for dictation.

I want to understand what he’s learning as he’s doing it at scale.

Ben Tossel - Makerpad founder

Why: 7 years ago, in the “learn to code” period, the founder of Bubble told me his software’s goal was to make coding obsolete.

I was skeptical. Ben heard that message and created a community of developers who built software companies using No Code. Then he sold it to Zapier.

AI supercharges the mission Ben’s been on. I want to see what he’s noticing working for bootstrapped non-developers.

Garry Tan - Y Combinator President

Why: Y Combinator is investing in and supporting small AI startups.

Garry is heading those bets. I want to understand what he learned about the AI opportunity by seeing deep inside those companies.

Alex Lieberman - Tenex founder

Why: In response to my LinkedIn posts about AI, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with founders of “AI Transformation” companies. Honestly, I don’t fully understand how that can be a real business.

What do they do? Come into companies and tell them how to AI?

But, I know and trust Alex. His company is doing this. It’s growing. I want to understand it.

Elad Gil - Investor

Why: For over a decade, I resisted interviewing Elad. He’s a big thinker who makes investments in industry-changing companies (like Perplexity).

Seems to lofty for my more “scrappy founder” style.

But AI is world-changing. I need his big vision. I want him to level up our thinking of what’s possible.

What do you think?

The lineup is in place.

What should I ask in these interviews?

Who else should I interview?

I have incredible access. What can I get you with it?

~ Andrew