Play AI automation agency: projects first, product later
Technical generalists who can integrate tools and talk to non-technical buyers.
First dollar: Days to weeks with outbound. Projects fund learning; retainers fund stability.
Exact steps. Ship the smallest unit of paid value before you gold-plate.
Lead capture, support triage, reporting. Record Loom demos with clear ROI stories.
2-week paid pilot with a defined success metric. Avoid open-ended discovery forever.
Vertical lists. Speak operations language, not model names.
SOPs, reusable agents, monitoring. Move toward service-as-software retainers.
No access, no data, no budget = no project.
Not the median. These are rare winners so you can study a real decklist.
Base44 AI app builder, solo founder, no outside funding; sold to Wix in mid-2025 for $80M on ~$3.5M revenue (22x multiple); milestone payouts have since pushed his total proceeds above $150M as of Aug 2026
Polsia 'AI CEO' agents running businesses with zero human employees; self-reported run-rate climbed from ~$1M to ~$4.5M ARR within months, targeting $10M by end of 2026. Newest and hypiest, opaque revenue definitions, treat skeptically
Related decks if this one is working or if you need a stronger wincon.
What you do on paper: Build AI agents, RAG, and workflow automation for SMBs as a project or retainer service. Sister deck to service-as-software: here you still sell hours/projects; there you sell a productized outcome. Fast 2025-26 entry niche, skill-gated.
Frequency: Emerging (unmeasured)