Show Notes
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In 2026, building an AI product is easier than ever, but getting traction and finding customers is the real challenge. In episode 82 of Tool Use, we sit down with Mano Tsiris, a serial exited founder and head of growth at Optimal AI, to break down the ultimate go-to-market strategy for technical founders and builders. Discover how to validate your startup ideas and talk to users before writing a single line of code. Mano shares his proven marketing playbook, including how to build in public on LinkedIn, repurpose content using AI tools like Gemini and Claude Code, and leverage IRL events to grow your network. Whether you are bootstrapping a side project or trying to get your first hundred users, this conversation is packed with actionable advice on distribution, audience building, and standing out in a crowded market.
Mano Tsiris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emanueltsiris Optimal AI: https://getoptimal.ai
Connect with us https://x.com/ToolUsePodcast https://x.com/MikeBirdTech
00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:53 - Mindset Shift: From AI Builder to SaaS Seller 00:09:21 - Building in Public & Thought Leadership Strategies 00:11:21 - Repurposing Content & SEO with AI Tools 00:22:12 - A/B Testing & Finding Viral Hooks with Gemini 00:26:56 - Startup Ideation: How to Validate SaaS Ideas Before Building 00:37:02 - The Ultimate AI Marketing Tech Stack for Founders
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Check out www.ToolUsePodcast.com Are AI web browsers falling short of the hype? Enter Rover, a revolutionary open-source AI agent that unlocks full autonomous workflows directly on your website with just a single script tag. In this episode, Arjun and Bhavani from rtrvr return to dive deep into how Rover uses a unique DOM-only approach to navigate, click, and type with subsecond latency. This innovative method completely bypasses slow screenshot-based models and outdated playwright or puppeteer scripts. We discuss the engineering secrets behind building smart DOM trees, why they crushed web benchmarks, and how Rover provides a powerful alternative to Google's Web MCP by keeping users engaged on your site instead of handing traffic over to external AI tools. Plus, learn how you can trigger complex agentic workflows via simple URL queries and why open-sourcing this technology is a massive win for the developer community. Rover links:https://x.com/rtrvrairover.rtrvr.ai Github: https://github.com/rtrvr-ai/rover Rover Deep dive: https://www.rtrvr.ai/blog/10-billion-proof-point-every-website-needs-ai-agent Benchmark: https://www.rtrvr.ai/blog/web-bench-results Connect withus https://x.com/ToolUsePodcast https://x.com/MikeBirdTech https://x.com/rtrvrai 00:00:00 - Intro 00:03:05 - The DOM-Only Approach vs Screenshots for AI Agents 00:06:00 - Parsing HTML vs Markdown for Reliable LLM Data 00:11:47 - Handling Modals, iFrames, and Canvas Elements 00:15:32 - Implementing AI Guardrails and Extracting User Intent Data 00:28:04 - Rover vs Google Web MCP for Website Automation 00:31:25 - Triggering Autonomous AI Workflows via URL Queries Subscribe for more insights on AI tools, productivity, and web automation. Join the Tool Use Discord: https://discord.gg/PnEGyXpjaX Tool Use is a weekly conversation with the top AI experts.
Join the Tool Use Discord: https://discord.gg/PnEGyXpjaX
Join the Tool Use Discord: https://discord.gg/PnEGyXpjaX
Join the Tool Use Discord: https://discord.gg/PnEGyXpjaX