Felix Hoffmann has been inside Zalando's pricing engine. Now he's building the tools retail brands need to survive the AI.

We talked about what agentic shopping looks like these days, why European platforms are dangerously slow to react, and why asking "how do I use ChatGPT in my company" is completely the wrong question.

In this episode:

- Why 30–50% of online purchases already start with an AI conversation

- The real reason OpenAI paused agentic shopping (hint: Amazon)

- How product decisions — not just pricing — will be shaped by what AI assistants recommend

- Why Zalando is losing to Amazon

- The offline retail impact nobody's talking about yet

- Why predictive pricing beats LLM-based pricing for explainability and trust

- The chess computer analogy: why specialized AI beats general AI for enterprise use cases

- What a €500M investment commitment would actually look like for a European platform to win

Felix is one of the clearest thinkers on what AI actually changes in commerce versus what's just noise.

Timestamps:

00:00 - The Future of AI in Shopping

03:47 - The Role of Discoverability in Retail

06:47 - Personalization and Production in Fashion

10:58 - The Impact of AI on Consumer Behavior

13:59 - 7Learnings: Optimizing Retail Decisions

16:48 - Consumer Readiness for AI Shopping Assistants

19:35 - The Offline Shopping Experience and AI

22:50 - Luxury Brands and AI Integration

27:43 - The New Gatekeepers of Retail

28:57 - The Competitive Landscape of AI in Shopping

31:02 - Opportunities for Independent Brands

32:14 - Navigating Uncertainty in AI Adoption

36:14 - Strategic AI Investments for Retailers

37:56 - The Risks of Inaction in Retail

40:55 - Pricing Strategies in the Age of AI

46:28 - Trust and Explainability in AI Systems

51:07 - The Future of Decision Automation

Felix - https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-hoffmann-7learnings

7Learnings - https://7learnings.com/

─── sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina soundsgoodpod.com

anna@soundsgoodpod.com sounds good. is sponsored by saas.group - serial acquirer of profitable SaaS businesses. If you're thinking about an exit, they're worth a conversation. https://saas.group/

Most AI companies make big claims. Sai built a guarantee into the business model.

Sai Dhanak is the founder of Deduction, an AI tax firm that pairs licensed CPAs with AI agents to deliver tax advice, planning, and filing for US consumers — at a fraction of traditional accountant prices. We talked about what happens when accountability is actually on the line, why services that were "unscalable" are suddenly the hottest pitch in VC rooms, and what the SaaSpocalypse gets completely wrong about junior talent.

In this episode:

- Why "own the customer outcome" might be the only real moat right now

- The CPA shortage nobody's building fast enough for

- AI agents with names and phone numbers (meet Taylor at deduction.com)

- Why predictable workflows scale and litigation doesn't

- The Deduction partner program — a franchise model for the AI era

- Whether Google I/O just quietly ate vibe coding for the masses

- The real reason companies are laying people off (hint: it's not productivity)

- Senior engineers saying they need zero engineers on their team — and whether that ends in burnout

Sai is one of those founders who thinks clearly about messy questions.

Timestamps: 00:00 - Navigating the AI Landscape

11:06 - The Role of Human Touch in AI Services

21:59 - Building Trust in AI-Driven Tax Services

30:28 - The Need for AI Guidance

31:50 - Integrating AI into Daily Life

32:26 - The Reality of AI Implementation

36:24 - Balancing AI and Human Interaction

37:03 - Data Infrastructure Challenges

40:46 - The Cost of Building vs. Buying Software

44:19 - The Future of Vibe Coding

50:29 - Building Trust in AI Solutions

Sai - https://www.linkedin.com/in/saayuj/

Deduction - https://deduction.com/

─── sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina soundsgoodpod.com

anna@soundsgoodpod.com sounds good. is sponsored by saas.group - serial acquirer of profitable SaaS businesses. If you're thinking about an exit, they're worth a conversation. https://saas.group/

Good content still wins. Finn Thormeier has spent years building LinkedIn presence for B2B executives and he's got a genuinely uncomfortable take on why most of it fails — and it's not the algorithm.

Finn runs Project 33, an executive LinkedIn agency working with B2B founders and C-suite leaders to turn their actual opinions into content that moves pipeline. He's obsessed with the gap between what people think LinkedIn content does and what it actually does.

In this episode:

- Why AI ghostwriting and human ghostwriting have almost identical failure modes

- The real reason LinkedIn reach is dropping (hint: it's supply, not algorithm)

- How to train an AI — or a writer — to not produce slop

- Why Finn stopped using em dashes and what that tells you about the platform right now

- The "VP of Supply Chain" rule: what good engagement actually looks like in B2B

- When LinkedIn posting can't save you (and what product-market fit has to do with it)

- Where Finn would go if LinkedIn disappeared tomorrow: newsletters, in-person, and why

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

03:59 - The Role of AI in Content Creation

07:01 - Human Touch vs. AI in Content Strategy

09:44 - Navigating AI Biases and Content Quality

12:54 - The Importance of Clear Communication in Content

15:53 - The Shift in Audience Perception of AI Content

19:02 - The Impact of Algorithms on LinkedIn Engagement

22:55 - Understanding Content Effectiveness and ROI

25:48 - Balancing Salesy Content with Value-Driven Posts

28:35 - Final Thoughts on Content Creation and Engagement

36:11 - Finding Balance in Content Creation

41:56 - Navigating LinkedIn and Social Media Burnout

48:42 - Debunking Myths About AI and Content Creation

53:58 - The Shift Towards In-Person Networking

56:28 - Inspiration from Real-Life Experiences

If you've ever wondered whether any of this content stuff actually works, this one's worth your time.

Finn Thormeier - https://www.linkedin.com/in/finnthormeier/

Project 33 - https://www.project33.io/

─── sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina

soundsgoodpod.com

anna@soundsgoodpod.com

sounds good. is sponsored by saas.group - serial acquirer of profitable SaaS businesses. If you're thinking about an exit, they're worth a conversation. https://saas.group/

What happens to bootstrapped SaaS when AI levels the playing field — and VC money controls distribution? Antoine Minoux, serial founder and builder of Fernand (a customer support tool for founders doing their own support), gets real about what's actually broken right now: UI as a moat is dead, cold email is harder than it looks, and "distribution is king" is not just a cliché anymore — it's existential.

In this episode we cover:

- Why Antoine rebuilt Fernand's AI layer (and what his power users are doing instead)

- The 3,000-email cold outreach experiment that looked genius and flopped

- Bootstrap vs. VC-funded SaaS in 2025 — who actually wins

- Why product-market fit is harder to find when everyone has the same AI stack

- The case for done-for-you services as SaaS's next pivot

- Why "sounds good" and "works well" are two completely different things

Timestamps:

00:00:01 - Fernand, a customer support tool.

00:02:23 - Rebuilding with an AI layer.

00:03:07 - Thoughts on rebuilding and innovation.

00:05:17 - Customers not asking for current developments.

00:06:28 - AI can do 90% of the work.

00:08:04 - Not using the interface anymore.

00:09:29 - Uncertainty about UI needs.

00:11:11 - Two hypotheses in the world.

00:13:29 - Brutal market for SMBs.

00:18:42 - Distribution is the main thing.

00:19:51 - Hypothesis about bootstrapping challenges.

00:23:34 - Cold email automation experiment.

00:32:09 - Pricing strategies.

00:51:48 - Final thoughts on adaptability and innovation.

If you're a founder who's ever thought "this idea is so smart" and then watched it land with a thud — this one's for you.

Antoine Minoux - https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoineminoux/

Fernand - https://getfernand.com/

─── sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina soundsgoodpod.com anna@soundsgoodpod.com

sounds good. is sponsored by saas.group - serial acquirer of profitable SaaS businesses.

If you're thinking about an exit, they're worth a conversation. https://saas.group/

Your product isn't defensible because it's hard to build. The tough news: you're in trouble.

Joe Lee, founder of Super (200,000+ users, growing without a sales team), joins Sounds Good to dismantle the idea that technical complexity is a moat.

We get into why distribution and brand eminence are what's left, why "we're just watching AI" stance might have been the smartest move of the year, and why "ever-boarding" beats onboarding every single time.

In this episode:

→ Why tech defensibility has collapsed — and what actually replaces it

→ Is waiting on AI a power move or a mistake?

→ "Ever-boarding" — Joe's framing for why switching cost beats features

→ Why ARR can mask structural problems (and what to look at instead)

→ Buyer personas are converging — enterprise buyers now self-qualify like PLG users

→ AI is becoming invisible — and why sophisticated buyers stopped caring about the label

→ The "build with Claude on the weekend" family activity rant

→ Would you trade shoes with Warren Buffett for $5 billion?

Timestamps:

00:00 - Defensibility Is Dead

01:00 - Meet Joe From Supademo

01:11 - SaaS Whiplash Era

03:57 - Escaping The AI Echo Chamber

10:06 - Hype Versus Outcomes

11:53 - Freshline Versus Supademo

15:39 - Founder Market Fit

18:01 - Build In Public For Brand

22:48 - Midmarket Buyer Reality

26:35 - Not Becoming A Feature

28:41 - Moats Brand Distribution Habits

34:05 - Everboarding For Retention

36:52 - IRL Is Back

40:52 - Work Life Balance As ROI

43:32 - Closing Thoughts On AI Anxiety

For founders who are tired of being told they're behind, and want a clearer view of what actually compounds.

New episodes of Sounds Good every week.

Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

🎙️ Joseph Lee -

Supademo -

─── sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina soundsgoodpod.com

anna@soundsgoodpod.com

sounds good. is sponsored by saas.group - serial acquirer of profitable SaaS businesses.

If you're thinking about an exit, they're worth a conversation. https://saas.group/

Sounds Good Podcast #1 — Mike Hill on whether bootstrapped SaaS is still worth starting in 2026. His advice to anyone asking him right now: don't.

Not because SaaS is dying. He doesn't buy that — neither do I. But the gap between building a product (easier than ever) and getting your first SaaS customer (harder than ever) got pretty broken.

Mike Hill is a serial bootstrapper. His newest thing is Smile — a Slack app for sending dorky cards to your team (which I love using!).

What we got into:

- Why the SaaSpocalypse started five years ago and has nothing to do with AI

- The Google-to-ChatGPT shift is wiping out bootstrappers

- AI makes senior people better and junior people worse

- Lifetime deals stop making sense when token costs are ongoing and buyers already have your competitor's LTD

- The day Claude went down and Mike just went home, and what that says about all of us

- Why he still recommends every founder who emails him to get a technical co-founder

Timestamps:

00:00 - Is SaaS Still Worth Starting?

00:57 - SaaSpocalypse Explained

03:14 - AI Makes Seniors Faster

04:30 - Content Led Growth Edge

06:00 - Why Not Start SaaS

07:47 - AI Search Hurts Discovery

11:11 - Building SaaS for Fun

15:46 - Ship Fast New Process

17:59 - Agent Overload Limits

25:24 - Get a Technical Cofounder

28:21 - AI Skepticism and Hype

29:36 - Reliance and Outage Fear

31:09 - API Risk and Cost Creep

33:09 - Lifetime Deals vs Token Costs

37:35 - SaaS Is Not Dead

45:05 - Competition and Go To Market

48:27 - AI Sidekicks Not Replacements

50:46 - Why AI Design Still Fails

52:02 - Wrap Up

If you've been wondering whether you missed the SaaS window, this one's for you.

New episodes of Sounds Good every week.

Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

Mike Hill — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mymatemike/

Smile — https://smiile.co/

Curator — https://curator.io/

Juuno — https://juuno.co/

#SaaS #Bootstrapping #IndieHackers

sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina soundsgoodpod.com anna@soundsgoodpod.com

Have you ever heard a podcast, read an article, or just seen a LinkedIn post that sounded really, really good? Where someone was sharing the ultimate playbook that definitely works, the sales process that makes your team indestructible, and that great game changer for SaaS growth?

Yeah. We've all been there.

I've clicked on those links. And hey, fair enough, some of those did work. And some sent me on a trip to Cringeville and my wine cabinet because I had to recover from thinking people get paid for this stuff.

So that's what this is. I'm Anna, and this is sounds good. — where I talk to SaaS folks who walked that yellow brick road. People who ran with it and can look me in the eye and tell me if it worked, or spectacularly didn't.

Because I'm not sure if playbooks are real. Or if there's a version of SaaS success you can follow like a recipe — or if every company that made it just had a great team, obsessive founders, and quite a bit of luck. And then someone wrote a LinkedIn post about it afterwards.

That's what I want to find out.

Tune in to "sounds good." podcast episode 1 on June 1st.