The Startup Ideas Podcast

S/o Coderabbit for sponsoring today’s vid: https://startup-ideas-pod.link/code-rabbit
On this episode I sit down with Professor Ras Mic to break down agentic loops. We define what a loop is, explain why well-known builders like Boris and Peter swear by them, and stay honest about who they truly serve. Mic argues that human-in-the-loop remains the strongest setup today, and he walks through the one loop he runs every day for code review using Cursor, GitHub, and Greptile. By the end you will know when a loop earns its place and when your own hand belongs on the wheel.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
01:23 – What is a Loop
07:59 – /goal Explained
11:32 – The Slop Machine
12:42 – Code Review as a use case for Agentic Loop
18:19 – Honest Take for Builders
20:42 – The Future of Loops
21:50 – Closing Thoughts
Key Points
A loop fires once from a human, then the agent generates, reviews its own result, and feeds it back to keep building.
Human-in-the-loop keeps you directing, governing, and approving each step while the agent builds.
Wide-open loops make heavy assumptions and burn serious tokens; Michael cites Peter's tweet about $1.3 million worth of tokens in one month.
Reserve slash goal and similar loops for the $200/month plan, since the $20 and $100 tiers burn through fast.
Loops shine in confined, fixed-feedback work: code review, SEO pages, and other binary tasks.
Mic’s daily win is a closed code-review loop with Cursor, GitHub, and Greptile that chases a 5/5 score.
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND MIC ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://x.com/Rasmic
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rasmic

Become an AI Native Organization: https://startup-ideas-pod.link/ai-native-org

In this episode I sit down with Theo to unpack what becoming AI native truly means. We define an AI native org as people managing agents, agents reading and writing to the company, and the company growing smarter over time. Theo opens his actual workflows, walking through a working prototype, an auto-generated client proposal microsite, and a live usability test that synthesizes feedback into a V2 in one session. We close with service-business startup ideas built on this same system, plus a free consultation offer for larger companies. For founders and operators, the value lands as a concrete playbook for turning speed into customer signal and a durable moat.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

04:09 – The Demis Hassabis origin story

06:53 – Defining AI Native Organization

08:19 – Mapping the system: people, agents, context

09:18 – Why people lead: strategy, taste, trust

13:23 – Agents: models using tools in a loop

16:12 – Evals and defining "good"

17:34 – Skill chains explained

20:06 – Proposal skill-chain demo setup

25:48 – Proposal microsite walkthrough

30:46 – Building the Daily Blitz feature demo

32:50 – Context as the foundational layer

41:07 – Daily Blitz ships and the labs page

43:47 – Bootstrapping context with a small team

46:21 – Usability test and live feedback

51:18 – Startup ideas: productize the system

54:28 – Closing Thoughts

Key Points

An AI native org runs on three layers: people for judgment, agents for execution, and context as the shared brain.

Everyone becomes a manager, so I set each agent up with a clear goal, the right skills, tools, and context.

Skill chains fire playbooks back to back, lifting quality and keeping outputs grounded in real data.

A living context layer gives agents 2020 vision, letting a personalized proposal ship in minutes.

Live prototypes plus built-in usability tests turn raw ideas into customer signal the same day.

The fastest service play right now: niche down by industry, function, and company size, then sell this system.

The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com

LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/

The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/

FIND ME ON SOCIAL

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg

Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

FIND THEO ON SOCIAL

X/Twitter: https://x.com/TheoTabah

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theotabah/

LCA: https://www.latecheckout.agency/

In this episode, I sit down with Alex Finn for a full, screen-shared walkthrough of Hermes Desktop, the new desktop home for the Hermes AI agent. I open with a clear challenge: by the end, sell me on installing Hermes Desktop, show me real ways to make money and stay productive, and explain his move from OpenClaw. Alex tours every major surface — sessions, profiles, artifacts, skills, cron jobs, and sub-agents — and shares money-saving tactics at each step. We close on the idea that matters most to me: aiming these agents at other people's challenges as the clearest path to real value.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

04:04 – Sessions and Context Management

06:10 – Profiles Explained

08:49 – Model-Based vs Role-Based Profiles

12:58 – Artifacts as a Second Brain

14:32 – Why Alex Switched From OpenClaw

17:32 – Skills, Tools, and Tool Sets

19:19 – Messaging and Cron Setup

21:44 – Reverse Prompting and the Brain Dump

28:09 – Sub-Agents vs Profiles

32:12 – Putting It Together: Solving Challenges

32:38 – The Daily Business Opportunity Scan

37:05 – Local Models: Mac Studio vs DGX Spark

39:03 – Reframing Cost as Investment

41:59 – The Real Way to Make Money With Hermes

42:51 – Closing Thoughts

Key Points

Hermes Desktop pulls sessions, profiles, artifacts, skills, and cron jobs into one polished, Apple-style interface.

Smart session and context management keeps each message slim and keeps monthly costs low.

Profiles map to different models — Opus 4.8 for strategy, ChatGPT 5.5 for coding, a local Qwen model for free research — so each task runs on its best fit.

Reverse prompting plus a personal brain dump produces far stronger prompts, cron jobs, and outputs.

Sub-agents handle one skill across many parallel tasks; profiles handle work where each step needs a distinct skill set.

The biggest opportunity: aim your agent at Reddit and X to surface real problems you are positioned to solve.

The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com

LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/

The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/

FIND ME ON SOCIAL

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg

Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

FIND ALEX ON SOCIAL

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexFinnOfficial/videos

X/Twitter: https://x.com/AlexFinnX

Creator Buddy: https://www.creatorbuddy.io/

In this solo episode I walk through Codex Sites end to end, building a real internal tool live so you can copy the exact workflow. I open by comparing Codex Sites with one-prompt tools like Replit and Lovable, then construct a Startup Ideas OS board in six prompts. Along the way I cover memory and persistent storage, safe actions, Codex skills, save-gates, and proving the loop so the app updates autonomously. The core promise: by the end you know how to ship a Codex Site that an agent keeps operating for you. This one suits builders who already live in Codex and want self-updating products.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro and Episode Agenda

01:17 – Codex Sites vs Replit and Lovable

04:33 – The Build Plan: Startup Ideas OS

05:08 – Prompt 1: Build the Shell with Sites

07:02 – Plugins Worth Using and Game Studio

08:54 – First Board Review

09:21 – Prompt 2: Add Memory and Show the Data Model

10:56 – Prompt 3: Create Safe Actions

13:25 – Prompt 4: Create the Startup Ideas Admin Skill

14:51 – Prompt 5: Save-Gate and Checkpoints

16:29 – Prompt 6: Prove the Loop from a New Chat

18:10 – Publish, Auth, and Live Updates

20:28 – TLDR: Memory, Safe Actions, Skills

22:40 – The Real Unlock and Closing Thoughts

Key Points

Codex Sites rewards builders who already live in Codex by updating apps autonomously after launch.

Replit, Lovable, and Bolt stay the simpler one-prompt choice; Codex Sites trades that for autonomy and self-updating products.

Out of the box you prompt in auth, databases, payments, email, analytics, and a secrets vault yourself.

I build a Startup Ideas OS board in six prompts: shell, memory, safe actions, a skill, a save-gate, and a proof loop.

Safe actions let an agent call approved buttons and named mutations, so edits flow from any chat.

The real payoff is autonomous products that Codex keeps operating and improving on a live URL.

The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com

LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/

The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/

FIND ME ON SOCIAL

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg

Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/

In this solo episode, I break down the shift from a human-first internet to an agent-first one, where AI agents become the customers that discover, evaluate, pay, and recommend. I map the agent buying journey and the new infrastructure agents need: identity, tools, an inbox, memory, a wallet, and receipts. I ground it with concrete examples like AgentMail and Stripe's agent wallet, then show how to make your website agent-readable through structured docs, schemas, MCP tools, and executable actions. I close with rapid-fire startup ideas and my big prediction for the next ten years: build startups for agents.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

00:49 – The tweet: build startups for agents

01:47 – Old web vs. agent web

02:24 – The agent buying journey

04:38 – What agents need: identity, tools, inbox, memory, wallet, receipts

05:30 – Examples: AgentMail, Stripe agent wallet, support, procurement, MCP, travel agent

08:24 – Building an agent-readable website

09:31 – What does this change for Startups

11:55 – Rapid-fire startup ideas for agents

13:07 – Closing Thoughts

Key Points

I explain that AI agents are becoming the primary customers online, with agent traffic set to outnumber human traffic.

I lay out the agent buying journey: finding, evaluating, transacting, using tools, and recommending to other agents.

I list what agents need beyond what humans need: identity, tools, an inbox, memory, a wallet, and receipts.

I walk through real examples like AgentMail, Stripe's agent wallet, support, procurement, MCP servers, and a travel agent.

I show how to make a site agent-readable with structured docs, schemas, MCP tools, SDKs, OAuth, checkout, sandboxes, and receipts.

I share rapid-fire startup ideas for the agentic era and frame my big prediction: build startups for agents.

The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com

LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/

The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: https://www.thevibemarketer.com/

FIND ME ON SOCIAL

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg

Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/