Fringe Lines

Doom and Quinn discuss why paid advertising is getting more expensive as AI enables advertising at scale without increasing the supply of prospects, driving CPCs up and reinforcing that customer acquisition will not get easier. They argue “software is the new cable” amid a great unbundling: cheaper building and AI tooling make long-tail, niche SaaS viable, likely increasing total software spend an...

Doom and Quinn discuss trends in AI and go-to-market, including Frontier model updates (notably prompt retention changing to 30 days), massive capital raises (Google, SpaceX, and anticipated AI funding), tightening budgets, and the push toward agentic security. They focus on the rise of GTM engineers as roles collapse into technical, full-cycle sellers, debating where this works (e.g., Clay) and w...

Doom and Quinn discuss how AI tools still require subject-matter expertise to produce high-quality outcomes, citing an AI-made Cannes film that cost $500K and required ~3,000-word prompts and film know-how. They explore “harness + model” as the new differentiator, the shift of buying decisions from models to runtime/orchestration, and rising pressure to manage token spend through routing, caps (e....

Doom and Quinn discuss signs that “token maxing” is peaking as AI token spend has surged (Ramp data cited as 13x higher than January 2025) while finance teams begin tightening controls and accounting (a proposed AI COGS line, reclassifying credits, departmental allocations, and new AI margin metrics). They react to headlines including reported $100M CRO packages at frontier AI labs, group quotas,...

  Doom and Quinn discuss how AI agents are compressing work and reshaping organizations, arguing middle management and “measurer” roles are being cut (citing a Cloudflare CEO framework and recent Meta layoffs) while high-agency ICs can orchestrate more directly. They debate AI coding volume vs customer outcomes, bottlenecks shifting to system management and human customer touch, and a compensation...

Quinn and Doom discuss how high-agency “AI-pilled” users are achieving outsized productivity gains, driving fear of a “SaaS apocalypse” as people can build custom tools—like a real-time ClickHouse dashboard—directly with Claude Live Artifacts instead of buying SaaS. They review headlines including massive AI infrastructure spending, Anthropic/OpenAI moving into services via “forward deployed” engi...

This week discuss the accelerating pace of AI releases and launches—highlighting OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 shipping six weeks after 5.4, Google Cloud’s 8th-gen TPU gains, Amazon/Anthropic AWS enablement, and rapid adoption of Claude tools like Cowork, Code, Desktop, and “live artifacts” that enable refreshable dashboards and iterative deck design. They debate major industry moves and rumors (SpaceX’s deal...

Doom and Quinns discuss the widening gap between people who use AI daily and everyone else, describing the pace of new tools as a “fire hose.” They share hands-on experiences with Google Stitch for fast UI prototyping (including use with kids), and react to Anthropic’s new design-related Claude release and the timing of a CPO stepping off Figma’s board. They compare design and web-building workflo...

Anthropic just hit a $30 billion revenue run rate — and that's not even the wildest story this week. In this episode of Fringe Lines, Quinn Devery and William Doom break down why OpenAI may be losing the enterprise race (and why it might not be their fault), what Anthropic's Claude Mythos and Project Glasswing mean for cybersecurity, and whether we're watching the early innings of a full-blown Saa...

Doom and Quinn talk about a week of experimenting with Anthropic tools like Claude Code and Cowork, focusing on building “skills” using MCP integrations to query company data (ClickHouse/Metabase) via natural language with guardrails and anomaly flags, while noting the tedious human eval/review step. They discuss using Playwright MCP for visual website iteration and automating WordPress page creat...

The speakers discuss a hectic week leading into the RSA Conference in San Francisco, describing the logistical challenge of scheduling back-to-back executive meetings across locations and adjusting flights around leadership sessions. They compare RSA, Black Hat, and Amazon’s discontinued re:Inforce event, then shift to how they use sanctioned internal AI tools (including a suite with multiple mode...

The conversation covers how model providers subsidize compute costs, leading to token caps on max/enterprise plans and pushing some teams to shift backend usage to hyperscalers like Amazon Bedrock to avoid throttling, consolidate spend, and leverage cloud commitments, amid explosive token adoption (notably for coding). They discuss SaaS pricing moving toward seat-plus-usage models with AI credits...

Doom and Quinn discuss the Anthropic report estimating AI’s potential impact on jobs using synthetic and telemetry-based task data, debating whether it wrongly assumes a static economy without new job creation; they cite declining banking headcount and job postings, while noting historical counterexamples like ATMs and new industries such as SAP. They argue AI coding tools can boost productivity b...

This week we share how we are using Claude Cowork and Claude Code, emphasizing how fast agent workflows are compressing research, content creation, and GTM tasks. One describes setting up OpenClaw on a Raspberry Pi, using Claude to generate a full local-service website structure with internal/external linking, and experimenting with skills for more repeatable automation. They demo Cowork connector...

Doom and Q discuss how fast AI tooling is changing content creation, coding, and go-to-market. They troubleshoot audio/headphone issues, then dive into experiments with Claude: generating markdown-based enablement decks, comparing Gamma to Claude for PowerPoint, creating editable master slide layouts, and quickly opening/editing outputs in Google Slides. They describe building a React/JavaScript v...

The episode discusses how Claude (including the Opus model and Claude Code) is being used for everyday work like drafting content, generating PowerPoint-ready slides with images, and producing customer-facing responses by matching a prospect’s voice. The hosts debate whether this convenience reduces real research and increases low-quality ‘AI slop.’ They review February GTM headlines including Mon...

In this episode, we explore the transformative impact of AI in GTM (Go-to-Market) strategies, highlighting real-world applications and emerging technologies. We discuss the groundbreaking work of a friend who built an automated back-office ERP for his tree service business using Claude Code and Whisper. Another focal point is the extensive use of AI for Amazon Kiro in generating automated ad creat...

In this episode, we discuss the benefits and challenges of using AI in enterprise sales, and explore various industry trends, including the rise of product-led growth AI companies hiring SDRs, and potential implications of major players like OpenAI and Anthropic. We also touch on the importance of human interaction in sales and share some personal insights and weekend plans.   00:00 Surviving the...

In this episode, we dive into a variety of hot topics: the surprising rise of geriatric CrossFit, the polarizing perspectives on AI’s impact on job markets, and the integration of AI into daily workflows. We discuss Amazon’s recent layoffs, the challenges of utilizing AI tools like make.com and Claude Cowork, and the transformative potential of AI in account planning and GTM strategies. Join us as...

    In this episode, the hosts discuss their experiences with the latest tech in 2026, including account planning, the role of Claude Code in automating tasks, and the evolving landscape of large language models (LLMs). They share personal projects they've been working on, such as a math flashcard app and a habit tracker developed using Claude Code. The conversation also covers intriguing insights...

In the first conversation of the year, we delve into the transformative potential of AI in sales and marketing for 2026. We discuss major AI-related events such as Nvidia's Acquihire, Meta's acquisition of Manus, and OX's valuation surge. Addressing concerns over job replacements, we explore the role of AI agents in sales teams, as exemplified by Saster’s experience with AI-driven sales processes....

We delve into exciting developments in AI, focusing on the new versions of ChatGPT Image and Google Gemini 3 Flash, and their implications on productivity and enterprise applications. The conversation shifts to the alarming trend of rising layoffs, potential economic impacts, and upskilling strategies. Finally, we cover effective growth tactics for 2025, including outbound account-based marketing,...

In this episode, we reflect on the whirlwind end of the year, upcoming holiday plans, and dive into major AI market reports from Open Router, OpenAI, and Menlo. We discuss the rapid growth in AI-generated revenue, the success of product-led growth models, and the integration of AI in various business applications. Learn about the impressive stats on horizontal AI vs. agents, the use of transcript...

In this episode, the hosts discuss the concept of the ecosystem as a growth or sales channel, as inspired by an article by Emily Kramer. The hosts delve into the challenges posed by AI in various sales and marketing functions, such as content creation saturation, event fatigue, and the difficulty of achieving product virality. Different distribution strategies and the roles of human and AI agents...

AI Industry Insights: Generative AI, Job Market Trends, and AI Coding Revolution In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of events and their value, the potential backstopping of the AI bubble by governments, and a deep dive into the 2025 midyear LLM market update. We analyze significant growth in enterprise spending on AI models and discuss OpenAI's revenue projections. Additionally, we...