AI Just Changed the Rules of SaaS: What Every Founder Needs to Know. A Deep Dive With SaaS Operators.
"The SaaS of 2021 is Probably Dead. It's at Least Geriatric. But B2B Spend? It's On Fire. It's Like Nothing We've Ever Seen Before.
AI Just Changed the Rules of SaaS: What Every Founder Needs to Know
The SaaS Operators do deep dives on eCommerce B2B issues, and reached out to see if we'd to their podcast. We did and it ended up being a great deep dive on just how AI is changing the entire B2B software industry. Profoundly. And what you need to be doing about it.
The brutal truth about how AI is reshaping B2B software—and why the playbook you used to scale to $10M won't get you to $100M anymore
Top 5 Takeaways
• The $10M to $100M path is no longer inevitable — High NRR + good team used to guarantee growth, but AI disruption means every customer is back in market shopping for vendors
• AI native advantages are real but temporary — Startups can exploit the "installed base debt" of established players who are too busy servicing existing customers to go all-in on AI transformation
• Deploy, don't just buy AI tools — Every founder should personally deploy one new AI tool monthly; managing AI requires daily iteration and is as much work as managing humans
• Platform attachment is now existential — In e-commerce, Shopify is the entire game at $12B ARR; VCs won't fund pure ecosystem plays anymore unless they're Stripe-level disruptive
• Fire the resisters immediately. Kindly, but immediately — Most management teams don't want to adapt to the new reality; you're better off with half the company that embraces change than keeping people who resist
The Old Rules Are Dead. Period.
If you're still building your SaaS company like it's 2021, you're going to fail. Not struggling—failing. The amount of disruption happening in B2B software right now is unprecedented, and it's accelerating faster than most founders realize.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: The pre-AI products and lifestyle business model that worked beautifully in 2021? It's dead. The "set it and forget it" SaaS playbook where you could push out one feature every year or two and ride demand? Gone. The predictable path from $10M to $100M ARR that felt almost inevitable if you had good unit economics? Now it's a "maybe" instead of a "will."
Why Everything Changed (And Why It's Still Accelerating)
AI is the accelerant, but it's not happening in isolation. Three massive forces are converging:
1. The Platform Consolidation Reality
In e-commerce, Shopify has become the entire platform. Everything else has died. Shopify grew 30% last quarter at almost $11 billion in revenue—that's up from 20% growth a year ago. At coming up on $12 billion, they're destroying everyone else while simultaneously going deeper into AI and enterprise.
This isn't just about e-commerce. We're seeing similar platform consolidation across B2B software, where the winners are accelerating and the rest are getting steamrolled.
2. The AI Native Advantage
Companies founded before 2023 aren't automatically disadvantaged (OpenAI and Anthropic prove this), but they face a unique challenge: servicing existing customers creates AI debt.
When you have 10,000+ customers demanding regular feature requests and bug fixes, you can't go all-in on AI transformation the way a startup can. This creates a massive opportunity gap—but only for founders who move fast enough to exploit it.
3. The Defense Contractor Awakening
Look at Palantir. This company went from 13% growth to 49% growth at $4 billion in revenue. The fastest-growing public B2B company today. How? They went ultra-deep on AI, ultra-deep for real. And they were founded in 2003—so what's your excuse?
The New Math: Why $10M ARR Doesn't Lead to $100M ARR Anymore. At Least, It's No Longer Inevitable.
For years, the math was simple: If you hit $10M ARR with strong unit economics and a good team, getting to $100M was just a matter of time. High NRR + consistent execution = inevitable growth.
That's no longer true.
We're now seeing established players—companies with well-known brands north of nine figures—that are growing at 8%. Something we never saw before 2023. The combination of AI disruption and increased competition means every customer is back in market for the first time in decades.
Why Customers Are Shopping Again For Apps Again
Until recently, B2B software was "set and forget." The energy required to rip and replace vendors was almost always higher than the potential benefit. If you won a customer, you often won it for a decade. Or at least 4-5 years.
But AI has changed the equation:
Everyone wants instant ROI from AI solutions
Every deal is in play when contracts come up for renewal and CIOs and more are looking for AI-first solutions with big productivity gains
People are actively sourcing applications to replace 70% of their support teams, automate their marketing, or deploy AI SDRs
This puts tremendous pressure on incumbents who don't own the platform (like Shopify) because they're being attacked from all sides.
The Brutal Reality for VCs (And What It Means for Founders)
Most VCs have given up on moats and defensibility in B2B software. Because of this, they've also given up on companies that are "merely" growing extremely quickly.
The new VC math: If you're going to give up on moats and defensibility, you better be growing from $1M to $100M in six months (like Lovable and Replit), because traditional growth trajectories may not justify venture investment anymore.
This has led to a rational but brutal increase in the funding bar. If it's not defensible, it better be growing so fast that investors can mitigate the defensibility risk.
What Actually Works Now: The New Playbook
1. Find the AI Native Wedge
You need what I call a "10x feature"—but now it's probably an AI-driven wedge with a unique perspective. Some combination of capabilities that leaders like Klaviyo, Gorgeous, or Shopify aren't doing.
Often, this means exploiting the installed base debt that big players carry. What are Andrew and his team at Klaviyo so busy with at $2 billion in revenue that they just can't get to? That's your opportunity.
2. Deploy AI Tools Monthly (Yes, You Personally)
Every CEO, founder, and management team member should deploy one new AI tool per month. Not buy it—deploy it. You learn nothing from buying. You learn everything from deployment.
Why this matters: Almost any AI tool that moves the needle requires training and daily iteration. Our AI SDR tool took three weeks of hardcore training, and we iterate on it every single day. Managing AI is just as much work as managing humans—it's just different work.
3. Move On From Everyone Who Won't Adapt
This sounds harsh, but it's reality. Most of your management team doesn't want this change. They want to run the same playbook from three years ago, hire 20 people for their team, work from home, and leave at 2 PM to run errands.
You're better off with half the company that wants to adapt than having hundreds of people complaining that everything's harder.
4. Go Enterprise or Go Ultra-Niche
The SMB market is getting flooded with AI-powered competitors. In e-commerce specifically, Shopify's momentum is all enterprise and big brands now. If you're going SMB, you better have some incredible AI differentiator, because you're going to have 100 competitors.
The Money Is Moving (Just Not Where You Think)
Software spending is accelerating, but 80% of incremental spend is going to AI solutions. However, this isn't just about efficiency—it's about solving problems where there are literally no humans available to do the work.
Example: In salons, spas, doctor's offices, they can't find anyone to man the front desk, pick up phones, or move appointments. AI isn't replacing humans for efficiency—it's replacing humans because the humans don't exist.
Meanwhile, enterprise companies are still under mandates to reduce vendor count by 10% annually. If you're in the bottom 10% of their vendor list, you're getting cut regardless of performance.
The E-commerce Reality Check
If you're building in e-commerce SaaS, the news gets harder. VCs hate it more now than ever because:
It's too niche and platform-dependent
No one's made real money investing in Amazon ecosystem plays
Even Shopify at $12B is 70% take rate and GMV—not a huge SaaS business
There are maybe 4-6 companies doing north of $100M in the Shopify ecosystem
To raise in e-commerce, you need to either:
Build something disruptive in commerce overall (think Stripe-level disruption)
Raise one small round and make it last—bootstrap from there
The Bottom Line
The SaaS of 2019-2021 is dying. It's not dead, but it's on the rocking chair. Meanwhile, B2B software overall is on fire. Anthropic went from $1B to $5B valuation in six months—all enterprise spend.
For founders, this means:
The bar is higher, but the opportunities are bigger
You must move faster and work harder than ever
Brand still matters, but everyone's shopping again
Platform attachment (like Shopify) is more critical than ever
AI isn't optional—it's existential
The companies that understand these new rules and adapt quickly will build the next generation of B2B software giants. Those that don't will become cautionary tales about what happens when you sleepwalk through an exponential transformation.
The world has changed. AI is the accelerant. The question isn't whether you'll adapt—it's whether you'll adapt fast enough to survive the steamroller.
The Top 4 Mistakes Founders Are Making Right Now
1. Building Like It's Still 2021
The Mistake: Thinking you can launch the same product with one feature difference and compete on price. Pushing out one feature every year or two and expecting demand to carry you.
Why It's Fatal: AI has created 50+ competitors in every category. The bar for product quality has skyrocketed while switching costs have plummeted. Customers are actively shopping again for the first time in decades.
2. Trying to Build Everything In-House Instead of Leveraging Platforms
The Mistake: Avoiding platform dependency and trying to be "platform agnostic" when there's really only one platform that matters in your space.
Why It's Fatal: Shopify grew 30% at $12B because they ARE the platform. Fighting platform consolidation instead of riding the wave means missing the massive tailwind. VCs won't fund you if you're not attached to the winning platform.
3. Delegating AI Implementation Instead of Learning It Personally
The Mistake: Telling someone on your team to "go implement AI" or hiring an agency to handle AI adoption while staying hands-off yourself.
Why It's Fatal: AI tools require daily iteration and training. If you don't understand how they work, you can't manage them effectively. Every AI tool that moves the needle takes weeks of hardcore training and daily optimization—just like managing humans.
4. Keeping Team Members Who Resist the New Reality
The Mistake: Hoping that resistant team members will eventually come around to working harder, learning new tools, and adapting to the AI-first world.
Why It's Fatal: Most people won't make this jump. They want to run the same playbook from three years ago, work from home on their schedule, and avoid the stress of constant change. These team members will actively slow down your transformation when speed is everything.
This analysis is based on insights from Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr and investor in B2B e-comm and related companies like Algolia, Gorgias, and RevenueCat. For more founder insights, visit SaaStr.com.