Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last

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Mostly Growth

Mostly Media

27 episodes

3 days ago

Mostly growth brings together go-to-market strategist Kyle Poyar and CFO CJ Gustafson who swap smart takes on growing revenue and running a company. From pricing and packaging to unit economics, AI trends, and the day-to-day realities of leadership, they share candid insights for CEOs, CFOs, and CROs who want to grow and operate at a high level. Serious topics tackled with a light touch for leaders who keep the trains on time.

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Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynor

Mostly Growth

46 minutes 27 seconds

3 weeks ago

Escaping the AI Thirst Trap: Building Products That Actually Last | Des Traynor

In this episode of Mostly Growth, Kyle Poyar and CJ Gustafson sit down with Des Traynor, Co-Founder of Intercom, to unpack how building, marketing, and scaling software has changed over the past decade—and what still matters. Des reflects on the early days of SaaS, why attention and distribution have become the hardest problems in modern growth, and how AI has intensified both competition and hype. The conversation dives into founder-led sales, why customer love and real product value beat narrative-driven marketing, and what weak retention metrics reveal about many AI-native startups. Des also shares Intercom’s thinking on outcome-based pricing, brand investment, and why reality ultimately “bats last” in software, offering a grounded perspective on what it takes to build durable companies in an increasingly noisy market.

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SPONSORS:

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LINKS:

Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/

Des on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destraynor/

Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

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