13 subscribers
Go offline with the Player FM app!
Podcasts Worth a Listen
SPONSORED


Beyond the AI demo: Turning prototypes into real businesses
Manage episode 482549454 series 2709471
Turn your AI demo into a real business.
In this episode of Life on Mars, real founders share their experiences, strategies, lessons, and mistakes behind building scalable AI startups and growing products beyond the demo phase.
Join Àlex Rodríguez Bacardit (CEO of MarsBased) as he sits down with Ricardo Ghekiere (Founder of BetterPic) and Tanya Van Gastel (from Multiverse AI) to discuss the hard truths about scaling AI products, how to build a sustainable business, and what it takes to move from prototype to profit.
🧠 What you'll learn:
- How to turn a prototype into a profitable AI business.
- Marketing tactics that still work for AI companies (SEO, affiliates, etc.).
- The difference between side projects and scalable startups.
- Why one-time payments are a funding trap for AI companies.
- Subscription models, team culture, transparency, and avoiding common startup mistakes.
💥 Whether you're launching your own AI product or seeking to avoid common traps, this episode is packed with real-world advice that will help you build something that lasts.
🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on AI startups, SaaS growth, tech entrepreneurship, and product development.
📺 Watch more episodes here:
[Link a la playlist de YouTube]
Episode Highlights:
- 00:00 – Intro: Why most AI tools don’t scale.
- 01:42 – Meet the guests: Ricardo Ghekiere & Tanya Van Gastel.
- 03:10 – The AI demo trap: Why cool tools often die early.
- 06:45 – Going from product to company: The real transition.
- 09:30 – Challenges scaling a one-time payment product.
- 12:00 – Subscription vs. one-off pricing in AI startups.
- 14:35 – The importance of marketing early (SEO, affiliates, and more).
- 18:20 – How BetterPic grew without paid ads.
- 21:50 – Why many AI founders avoid the hard stuff (distribution, customer support...).
- 25:10 – Culture and transparency in remote teams.
- 28:05 – Fundraising as a solo founder: Lessons from Ricardo.
- 32:40 – Turning an AI project into a real business: Final thoughts.
- 35:00 – Outro and where to find the guests.
👥 Guests:
👉 Ricardo Ghekiere – Founder of BetterPic
👉 Tanya Van Gastel – From AI Sheets, Multiverse AI
🧑🚀 Hosted by: Àlex Rodríguez Bacardit – CEO of MarsBased
🎬 You can watch the video of this episode on the Life on Mars podcast website: https://podcast.marsbased.com/
Chapters
1. Episode Introduction (00:00:00)
2. Cultural Differences in Business (00:06:07)
3. BetterPic's Success Story (00:13:42)
4. Marketing Agency to Product Company (00:24:31)
5. Personal Branding and Growth Strategies (00:35:05)
6. One-Time Purchase vs Subscription Models (00:48:09)
7. Remote Work and Investment Challenges (00:56:25)
8. Biggest Business Failures and Lessons (00:59:42)
96 episodes
Manage episode 482549454 series 2709471
Turn your AI demo into a real business.
In this episode of Life on Mars, real founders share their experiences, strategies, lessons, and mistakes behind building scalable AI startups and growing products beyond the demo phase.
Join Àlex Rodríguez Bacardit (CEO of MarsBased) as he sits down with Ricardo Ghekiere (Founder of BetterPic) and Tanya Van Gastel (from Multiverse AI) to discuss the hard truths about scaling AI products, how to build a sustainable business, and what it takes to move from prototype to profit.
🧠 What you'll learn:
- How to turn a prototype into a profitable AI business.
- Marketing tactics that still work for AI companies (SEO, affiliates, etc.).
- The difference between side projects and scalable startups.
- Why one-time payments are a funding trap for AI companies.
- Subscription models, team culture, transparency, and avoiding common startup mistakes.
💥 Whether you're launching your own AI product or seeking to avoid common traps, this episode is packed with real-world advice that will help you build something that lasts.
🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on AI startups, SaaS growth, tech entrepreneurship, and product development.
📺 Watch more episodes here:
[Link a la playlist de YouTube]
Episode Highlights:
- 00:00 – Intro: Why most AI tools don’t scale.
- 01:42 – Meet the guests: Ricardo Ghekiere & Tanya Van Gastel.
- 03:10 – The AI demo trap: Why cool tools often die early.
- 06:45 – Going from product to company: The real transition.
- 09:30 – Challenges scaling a one-time payment product.
- 12:00 – Subscription vs. one-off pricing in AI startups.
- 14:35 – The importance of marketing early (SEO, affiliates, and more).
- 18:20 – How BetterPic grew without paid ads.
- 21:50 – Why many AI founders avoid the hard stuff (distribution, customer support...).
- 25:10 – Culture and transparency in remote teams.
- 28:05 – Fundraising as a solo founder: Lessons from Ricardo.
- 32:40 – Turning an AI project into a real business: Final thoughts.
- 35:00 – Outro and where to find the guests.
👥 Guests:
👉 Ricardo Ghekiere – Founder of BetterPic
👉 Tanya Van Gastel – From AI Sheets, Multiverse AI
🧑🚀 Hosted by: Àlex Rodríguez Bacardit – CEO of MarsBased
🎬 You can watch the video of this episode on the Life on Mars podcast website: https://podcast.marsbased.com/
Chapters
1. Episode Introduction (00:00:00)
2. Cultural Differences in Business (00:06:07)
3. BetterPic's Success Story (00:13:42)
4. Marketing Agency to Product Company (00:24:31)
5. Personal Branding and Growth Strategies (00:35:05)
6. One-Time Purchase vs Subscription Models (00:48:09)
7. Remote Work and Investment Challenges (00:56:25)
8. Biggest Business Failures and Lessons (00:59:42)
96 episodes
All episodes
×
1 Top 10 podcast moments that shocked, cracked us up, or both! 49:39

1 Beyond the AI demo: Turning prototypes into real businesses 1:02:56

1 Road to CTO #1: From economist to coder: why Charles Chase never went back to corporate 1:08:13


1 Quantum computing: The future is closer than you think - Corporate Innovation Summit 37:47

1 Corporate Innovation Summit: How AI is moving from obedience to autonomy 41:07

1 The Future of Agency Work: Navigating AI and Growth Strategies with Szymon Boniecki 44:45

1 How punk rock influences Simone van Neerven's innovation strategy on reBel.la 58:47

1 Is M&A activity REALLY on the rise this year? with Clemens Rossberg 57:46

1 087 - Our 2024 in review + forecast for 2025 47:01

1 086 - Open source, open heart: Ghost’s John O’Nolan secret (spicy) sauce 53:37

1 085 - Beyond TextExpander: Greg Scown’s journey after stepping down as co-founder 53:16


1 083 - Bootstrapping, marketing, branding & ass-kicking, with Tanya Van Gastel (Co-founder of The Multiverse AI) 1:01:21

1 082 - Road to profitability and AI, with Mercè Tell (Co-founder @ Encomenda Capital Partners) 56:58
Welcome to Player FM!
Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.