Show Notes
๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐. โ๏ธ Robert Thompson is president of TechFuel, serving accounting firms across the greater Toronto area. He joined us at ASCII Edge in Toronto, and his first recommendation was the least fashionable one in the building. ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐. Help people write better, more effective emails, and keep them short so the read is short. In a practice where client communication is paramount, he calls that an easy win, and easy wins are how adoption actually begins. ๐ด Why it works as a first step: every person in the firm already writes email, so nobody has to learn a new workflow to feel the benefit on day one.
๐ด Shorter also means clearer. A client who reads the whole message is a client who does not need the follow up call.
๐ด The myth Robert would retire: that AI is turnkey. You do not plug it in and watch profit and time expand. There is real work in planning the business, finding the opportunities and moving crawl, walk, run.
๐ด That pacing matters more in his world than most. Accounting firms hold deeply sensitive client information, and the sequence you follow is part of the duty of care.
๐ด On staying relevant over the next twelve months, he was direct: have the conversation with the client. AI has arrived in the MSP's space, and providers need to keep it there.
๐ด His warning attached to that: keep clients happy with the AI services they need, or somebody else will step in and do it for you.
๐ด His highlight was a keynote that changed his mind on exactly this point, that the plan comes before the action. Networking is usually his answer at these events, so that was a notable swap. Plan it, then act on it. ๐๏ธ Stream on: โถ๏ธ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SMBAIHUB โถ๏ธ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/b93fd52f-bc53-4ee9-98d7-3b9e10ea0e6f/ai-breakdown โถ๏ธ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/ai-breakdown/id6799578599 โถ๏ธ Web: smbaimagazine.com โถ๏ธ Web: smbaipodcast.com Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as direct financial or business advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. This is an Independent commentary. Third-party excerpts are credited on screen or in the show notes. Some voices in this program are AI-generated.
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๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ: ๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐๐ก ๐๐ฌ $๐๐๐,๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ. ๐ณ Jason Lemkin of SaaStr asked the question. His revenue agent alone makes between 35,000 and 40,000 API calls a day, and a price per call that looks trivial turns into a large number by month end. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง: ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ. Your agent is a new kind of customer, and vendors have noticed. The next line in your software budget may be one nobody has written yet. Inside the episode: ๐ด That $240,000 against the $5 Postgres instance the agent itself suggested, and why the contract and the security review come before the saving
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๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฌ. $๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก. ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค. ๐ณ Which is a team of fourteen where ten have never turned up. Most owners have never added that column up, because every line was small enough to ignore and they arrived one at a time. This week on ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง, we open a theme that runs all seven days: ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ญ. Output stopped being tied to headcount. For most of business history, doing more meant hiring more. That equation has quietly come apart, and the gap between what a lean team can attempt and what it can afford narrowed sharply in about eighteen months. Inside the episode: ๐ด Solo founded US startups rose from 23.7% in 2019 to 36.3% by the first half of 2025