The Importance of Niching Down in the AI Space (with Maddie Bell) | Ep 26

The SaaS Academy Podcast

“I just read the best fiction of my life and it was my pitch deck from two years ago.”

Join Johnny Page (@johnnypage13) and Matt Verlaque (@mattverlaque) on a new episode of the SaaS Academy Podcast as they sit down with Maddie Bell, CEO of Scheduler.ai. Maddie's journey from Procter & Gamble to co-founding a thriving startup is packed with valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Discover how Maddie and her husband successfully balance the challenges of building a company while raising a family. Learn how they've leveraged AI to streamline scheduling and cater to a niche market, proving that technology and personal life can coexist harmoniously.

Maddie opens up about the risks and rewards of leaving a stable job to pursue her passion, sharing her experiences from fundraising rounds and the valuable lessons she's learned along the way.

But it's not just about the tech – Maddie delves into the importance of aligning AI with the core principles of customer connection and business growth. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of AI, entrepreneurship, and achieving a fulfilling work-life balance

(05:40) - Maddie Bell's backstory

(6:34) - Winning two Hackathons (Slack and Square)

(10:32) - Unexpected expansion through 'niching down'

(13:26) - De-risking and setting timelines to go all-in

(21:35) - Expectations before leaving Procter & Gamble and feelings after the fact

(24:30) - Fundraising rounds before and after the change of focus

(26:50) - To patent or not to patent (ROI considerations)

(31:26) - The right and wrong ways to leverage AI

(35:20) - The entry point to start using AI

(37:10) - The three phases of AI (including the two we've seen so far)

(42:45) - Scheduler AI competing with basic ChatGPT wrapped tooling

(47:48) - Intimately understanding the jobs to be done for your customer

(51:40) - The rhythms and habits of Maddie and her co-founder Mike Bell

(55:18) - Maddie's thoughts on 'founders are the ceilings of growth'

(57:15) - The value of coaching

(1:01:48) - "You were digging for oil and you were close but you stopped."

(1:07:30) - What Maddie wants to be remembered for

Check out Maddie’s LinkedIn and her website:

➤ [LinkedIn] (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddiebell)

➤ [Website] (https://www.scheduler.ai/)

👉🏻 Want a 3-step action plan to help scale your SaaS? [Book a FREE growth session](https://www.saasacademy.com/scalenow?utm_campaign=SAPodcast_2023&utm_source=applespotify&utm_medium=shownotes).

Check out SaaS Academy on:

➤ [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@SaaSAcademy) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/saasacademy/) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasacademy/) | [Twitter / X](https://x.com/saasacademy) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SaaSAcademy) | [Website](https://www.saasacademy.com/) | [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/ph/podcast/the-saas-academy-podcast/id1718719323) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/05gCHHhhpmDxaFacza6Qpo?si=98bd9025716746c4)

➤ Follow Matt Verlaque on: [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mattverlaque/) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-verlaque/)

➤ Follow Johnny Page on: [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/)