Faisal Zahid

Supabase hit $5B yesterday. But the most important number in their announcement wasn’t $100M in funding. It was 3. Not 3x revenue multiple. Not $3B in enterprise contracts. 3 years - the length of Sugu Sougoumarane's sabbatical before he emerged to build Multigres. For context: Sugu co-created Vitess. The system that scaled YouTube’s MySQL to billions of users for over a decade. He retired. Then came back specifically for Supabase. Here’s what everyone missed: While VCs chase the next AI model wrapper… While startups race to build “copilots for X”… The co-creator of internet-scale database infrastructure quietly chose his next 10-year bet. And he chose Postgres. Not because it’s trendy. Because he sees what’s actually happening: → 30% of Supabase signups now come from AI coding tools → Developers building in Cursor and Claude are choosing backends in hours, not weeks → “Vibe coding” projects are hitting production scale without traditional DevOps The pattern is obvious: AI democratized who can build software. But someone still needs to scale it. Think about what just happened: Lovable, Bolt, Figma Make - every major AI coding platform chose Supabase as their default backend. Not Firebase. Not MongoDB Atlas. Not custom infrastructure. Why? Because the new paradigm isn’t “own the entire stack.” It’s “be the world’s best at one thing that AI builders actually need.” And what they need is dead simple:     • Postgres (the database developers actually know)     • That scales to YouTube-level workloads (Multigres)     • With an MCP connector (AI tools as first-class citizens)     • All open source (Apache 2.0, no lock-in) The lesson from going $2B → $5B in 4 months: In 2010, companies raised money to “own the cloud.” In 2020, companies raised money to “own the API economy.” In 2025, companies raise money to be… the infrastructure that AI coding tools depend on. And sometimes, being the world’s best Postgres platform is worth more than being a mediocre everything platform. P.S. - They’re letting their community co-invest at the $5B valuation. When was the last time you saw that at Series E? That’s not normal. That’s conviction.

158

9 Comments

The hottest role in AI startups right now isn’t Forward Deployed Engineers. It isn't GTM Engineers. It’s Deployment Strategists. Decagon calls it an “Agent Product Manager.” Harvey calls it a “Solutions Architect.” Palantir Technologies has had versions of this role for years. And the salaries are climbing fast: - Decagon: $200k–$285k - Palantir Technologies: $120k–$200k - Figma: $150k–$260k - Ramp: $100k–$180k - Harvey: $190k–$260k So who are these people? They are usually pseudo-technical -- CS or engineering majors, or folks with technical work experience. Many come from 2 years in consulting, IB, or PE, then jump into startups to get their hands dirty. They are young, hungry, polished, and comfortable being in front of customers. What do they actually do? They make sure enterprise AI deployments succeed. A $100k+ deal does not survive on a nice pitch or a self-serve onboarding flow. It survives if the customer sees value in the pilot. That means: - Embedding directly with the customer - Designing prompt logic for specific workflows - Working with engineering to align integrations and data flow - Helping exec teams define their AI roadmap - Running feedback loops into product and GTM Why does this role matter so much? Because enterprise AI is messy. Integrations, data transfer, and adoption make or break a deal. Most buyers are using AI for the first time, and each has unique workflows. Deployment Strategists bridge that gap. They own the outcome. They are accountable for making pilots successful, which often means millions in revenue down the line. At Conversion, Sam Bochner has been leading this work for us. We are now thinking about scaling it into a full team. Because a few successful pilots can fund an entire department, and the cost of failed deployments is too high to ignore. Is this just a rebrand of customer success? Not really. Success is about answering tickets and renewals. Deployment Strategy is about going deep with a few enterprise accounts, extracting maximum value, and ensuring the pilot closes into a multi-year contract. Call it Agent PM, Solutions Architect, or Deployment Strategist. Whatever the title, this is becoming one of the most important roles in AI SaaS.

647

91 Comments

Startups looks glamorous from the outside. Inside, my calendar looks far from it...👇🏻 It’s easy to glean at the facade and be drawn to the autonomy, the $0→$1M journey, and the highlights they see on LinkedIn (guilty). I really do get it. Startups ARE fun/rewarding/exciting. But the the harsh, unspoken reality? The expected value of starting a company is drastically lower than taking a job at an established tech company. So… I think it’s important to give aspiring founders a bit of a reality check — because it’s not all glamorous, and the reality of nearly every successful startup is that it was built on mountains and mountains of sweat. A few major gaps that come to mind: Daily Work 😊 Expected: Strategic planning, delegating, big-picture thinking 🤯 Reality: Manually creating 120+ demos monthly, fixing customer issues on weekends Work-Life Balance 😊 Expected: Flexible schedule, freedom to set your own hours 🤯 Reality: 7-day workweeks, work is never “done” Growth Trajectory 😊 Expected: Quick Traction, general MoM growth as long as you spend 🤯 Reality: Months/years of grinding with plateaus, troughs, valleys, before meaningful traction This isn't a complaint. It's just reality. But if you’re an individual who wants to optimize their professional life for learning, growth, and ambition — entrepreneurship fits this specific reality. And you SHOULD sign up for this. I've built two seven-figure ARR companies now. The work never gets easier — it just changes form. The growth, personal development, and impact are worth it to me. But it's not for everyone, and that's perfectly fine. — 👋 I'm Joseph Lee. I build Supademo, helping companies create interactive product demos. ♻ Share if you've experienced entrepreneurship's glamour vs. reality gap. 💬 DM me if you're thinking about starting something and want a reality check. #entrepreneurship #startups #saas

1,221

221 Comments

Australia is spending disproportionately on AI policy and regulation, and nowhere near enough on innovation. AI development will happen with or without us. Here's what we'll face if we don't invest in both innovation and oversight: - Talent will go offshore. - Startups will struggle under excessive regulation. - We will fall further behind, losing jobs, slowing growth and weakening Australia’s influence. I said this on Sky News Australia yesterday with Laura Jayes, and we covered this recently at The Australian Financial Review AI Summit in my discussion with Paul Smith. We have to rebalance. Business and government must pair innovation with oversight. Let’s build, invent and regulate concurrently. Thanks to Sky News Australia for the platform: https://bit.ly/4dRh85N

167

50 Comments

🎤 What happens when you build your startup like a global company from day one? I sat down with Ant Wilson, Co-Founder and CTO of Supabase, for our latest First Block episode to unpack how one of the world’s fastest-growing open source communities came to life. We filmed this one in Singapore 🇸🇬 — the place where Supabase was born — making it our very first international edition of First Block. A few takeaways that stuck with me: 1️⃣ Your message can move faster than your product. Supabase’s growth accelerated the moment they nailed how to explain it. 2️⃣ Customer support isn’t a department, it’s a mindset. When everyone gets involved, community trust compounds. 3️⃣ Global thinking changes everything. From hiring to shipping, it forces clarity and speed early on. We also dove into memes, marketing, and how Ant and team turned Supabase into a movement. Watch the full episode: https://lnkd.in/giRhaZS9 Plus read and listen — in the comments.

57

4 Comments

YC has quietly built a parallel tech ecosystem. Not just a network - an entire operating system for startups. Think about it: A YC founder can build their entire stack using only YC companies. Infrastructure, analytics, payment processing, marketing tools - it's all there. At friend-and-family prices. When you launch a product to the YC network, you get something priceless: A group of technical founders who actually understand what you're building. They become your first users, your debuggers, your evangelists. This is why PostHog is now used by 65% of new YC companies. This is why Brex dominated fintech... and why each YC batch makes the next one stronger. A true compounding advantage.

383

47 Comments

Ok, time for a rant. 90% of "AI Startups" aren't even AI. I've seen founders that use LLMs or have a chatbot somewhere on their site and call it an "AI startup". I've seen people who vibe code or use Cursor/Lovable and then say they have an "AI startup". I've seen people continue to build ChatGPT/Claude/Llama wrappers and call it an "AI startup". If you haven't build a custom model or used meaningful proprietary data then you aren't an AI startup, you're AI Enabled. AND THAT'S FINE. You don't have to be an AI company to solve a problem. So many companies and VCs are going to have poor performance because they have little differentiation and have claimed to build/invest in "AI Companies" and we will soon learn they are not really "AI".

128

66 Comments

A common mistake I'm seeing Australian founders make when kicking-off sales in the US: Copy & pasting what's working for the Australian team and expecting better results because its a bigger market. The US is >10X bigger population-wise. Napkin-math = 10X more sales calls, 10X more companies, 10X more emails being sent to your ICP. It's competition on another level. I've found the best results are from strategic outreach and leveraging multiple channels to hone in on your ICP. You can't just make 100 calls and have 5 meetings booked each week in the US like in AU. Reps should be: - Going to events - Engaging with partners - Heavily personalizing outreach - Creating a narrower, more thoughtful prospect list than AU. Founders should be investing in: - Ads - Socials & Organic content - Events & hosting dinners - Partnerships All with the purpose familiarizing your ICP with your solution so they're not as cold. If you want the same success in US: Take your AU budget and 10X it. If you can't afford that, then prepare for a slow burn and more cap-table dilution when you need more money. Again, napkin-math. But the principle remains the same.

50

5 Comments

Huge thanks to our customers who joined our recent CAB event. From these conversations, the message was loud and clear: AI isn’t the future. It’s already transforming ecommerce. Here’s what I learned from you: 1. First, some of the best brands are using AI for more than just content. They’re driving product innovation, operational efficiency, and real competitive advantage. Those waiting to "see how it plays out" are already behind. 2. Retail media is primed for AI improvements. Pressure continues to mount as media costs continue to rise, squeezing budgets. ROAS is nothing more than a vanity metric. Incrementality is what actually matters. The smartest brands are shifting their focus to measure performance by incrementality and want to use AI to optimize the buying and bidding process across their media portfolios. 3. Then there’s data overload, particularly with the digital shelf. Brands are drowning in data and short on action. They want clear prioritization to help them optimize organic search, share of voice, and market share. That’s exactly what we’re solving with AI-driven insights. Our customers see it, and they’re ready to move fast. CommerceIQ customers are leading the charge. Most others are scrambling to catch up. How are you using AI to stay at the top of your game? Drop your thoughts. #CAB #AI #ecommerce

146

17 Comments