This Excel AI Agent Built Me a $1M Financial Dashboard in 10 Minutes (LIVE Demo)
Join me as I chat with Nico Christie where he demos Shortcut, an AI-powered spreadsheet tool that functions like "Excel built for the future." Through several live demos, he shows how the platform can create financial models, update existing spreadsheets with new data, and build custom analysis tools using simple natural language prompts. The product aims to make Excel-based work significantly faster while maintaining transparency about data sources and calculations.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Overview of Shortcut
02:08 - First Demo: How Shortcut works with Existing Excel files
04:44 - Different User Types Who Benefit From Shortcut
08:50 - How to Prompt Shortcut Effectively
11:20 - The benefits of Using Shortcut
13:42 - How Shortcut handles data verification and transparency
17:03 - Best Use Cases for Shortcut
19:03 - Obvious ideas and market opportunity
22:23 -Building a Utilization Model for Agencies
34:59 - Greg's Custom Utilization Rate Dashboard Demo
39:29 - Who should try Shortcut
Checkout: https://www.tryshortcut.ai
Key Points:
• Shortcut is an AI-powered alternative to Excel that allows users to create and modify spreadsheets using natural language prompts
• The tool can perform complex financial modeling tasks in minutes that would take hours in traditional Excel
• Shortcut provides transparency by showing data sources and allowing users to trace where information comes from
• The platform serves both Excel experts (making them faster) and non-experts (making complex spreadsheet tasks accessible.
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com
The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com
Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND NICO ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://x.com/nicochristie
Shortcut: https://www.tryshortcut.ai
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Can You Make $10K/Month MicroSaaS? (The Truth)
On today’s episode I share a comprehensive guide to building micro SaaS businesses, which are niche-focused software products that can be developed by individuals or small teams. I explain the difference between traditional SaaS and micro SaaS, share real examples of successful businesses generating $20K-40K monthly revenue, and outline a step-by-step playbook for validating ideas, building MVPs, and growing through audience building and SEO.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:08 - What is a MicroSaaS?
02:25 - Examples of successful micro SaaS businesses
05:35 - Growth flywheel explanation
07:57 - User journey and funnel metrics
12:06 - Building in public strategy
18:28 - MicroSaaS Frameworks
21:58 - MicroSaaS Ideas 1: PermitSync
25:33 - MicroSaaS Ideas 2: PodScriptor
28:52 - MicroSaaS Ideas 3: SpecSheet
32:30 - MicroSaaS Ideas 4: CartSaver
33:58 - MicroSaaS Ideas 5: GrantGuru
Get Your Complete Financial OS at https://www.brex.com/sip
Key Points:
• Micro SaaS businesses focus on niche markets with specific products, typically built by solo founders or small teams
• Successful micro SaaS businesses can generate $10K-50K monthly profit with 80-90% margins
• Growth comes from building an audience first, identifying pain points, creating solutions, and reinvesting revenue
• Pricing strategies typically include free trials converting to monthly subscriptions or usage-based models
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com
The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com
Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
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Stole an Idea, Built It in 12 Hours, Sold for $15K in 8 Days (Exact Playbook)
Join me as I chat with Josh Pigford, who took an idea from Idea Browser, built a tool called NameSnag for finding expired domains, and sold it for $15,000 within eight days. The conversation explores Josh's rapid development process, including how he leveraged AI tools like Claude for naming and coding, created branding, and used Twitter to build momentum and find customers. Josh emphasizes the importance of shipping quickly rather than aiming for perfection.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - NameSnag Backstory
04:44 - Explanation of domain acquisition strategy
13:29 - Branding NameSnag
19:12 - Building Hype through Building in Public
29:28 - Biggest Takeaways from Josh's story
30:58 - What Josh would have done differently
33:17 - Q&A about selling side projects
Key Points:
• Josh saw a viral tweet about an AI tool for finding expired domains and decided to build it
• He publicly committed to building the project on Twitter, which created accountability
• He named the product "NameSnag" and secured both .com and .ai domains
• Josh documented his entire build process on Twitter, generating interest and early customers
• He sold the project for $15,000 just 8 days after starting it
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com
The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com
Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND JOSH ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://x.com/Shpigford
Personal Website: https://joshpigford.com
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6 One-Person AI Businesses That Will Make You $60,000/mo (FULL Playbook)
Join me as I chat with Cody Schneider discusses why productized services using AI tools are superior to traditional AI automation agencies, offering five specific business ideas that can generate $40K - 80K monthly within six months. Each idea leverages AI tools to create scalable, recurring revenue streams while providing measurable value to clients. The conversation highlights acquisition strategies, pricing models, and specific AI tools that entrepreneurs can use to implement these services.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:34 - Why Productized Services
03:29 - Med Spa AI Marketing Service
13:50 - AI Ads for Beauty E-Commerce Brands
21:33 - SMMA for nutrition coaches
25:04 - Link Magnets for Webinars
29:34 - Data Analytics AI Agency
32:32 - Voice AI Agents and Future Trends
Key Points:
• AI automation agencies often struggle with sustainability, while productized services offer recurring revenue and better scalability
• Med Spa marketing services using AI-generated content and Google Maps optimization can generate $2-3K monthly per client
• Facebook ads for beauty e-commerce brands is a high-value opportunity due to constant need for fresh creative content
• Social media management for nutrition coaches represents an underserved market with significant revenue potential
• Data analytics services for SMBs can leverage AI tools to provide insights from existing business data
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com/
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/
The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/
Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND CODY ON SOCIAL
Cody’s startup: https://www.graphed.com/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/codyschneiderxx
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@codyschneiderx
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5 New Tools from Google AI to make money/be productive (INSANITY)
Join me as I chat with Josh Woodward, VP of Google Labs & Gemini, as he showcases Google's latest AI products and their capabilities. The conversation covers Gemini's advanced features including personalized context integration and video generation, Flow's AI filmmaking capabilities, Notebook LM's research and knowledge exploration tools, Stitch's UI design automation, and Project Mariner's autonomous web task execution. Throughout the demonstration, Josh highlights how these tools can empower both professionals and individuals to create high-quality content and automate tasks.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:57 - Gemini app features and capabilities
06:53 - Video generation with Gemini
13:53 - Flow AI filmmaking tool demonstration
21:17 - Notebook LM research and knowledge exploration
26:47 - Stitch UI design tool overview
31:04 - Project Mariner autonomous web agent demo
Checkout Google’s AI Product Suite: https://labs.google
Key Points:
• Josh Woodward demonstrates five Google AI products: Gemini, Flow, Notebook LM, Stitch, and Project Mariner
• Gemini features include scheduled actions, personalized context, and video generation capabilities
• Flow is an AI filmmaking tool that allows users to create and edit high-quality videos with simple prompts
• Project Mariner enables AI agents to perform web-based tasks autonomously with human oversight
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: http://boringmarketing.com/
The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: http://thevibemarketer.com/
Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.skool.com/startupempire/about
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
FIND JOSH ON SOCIAL
X/Twitter: https://x.com/joshwoodward
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshwoodward/
Get your creative juices flowing with The Startup Ideas Podcast. Published twice a week, we bring you free startup ideas to inspire your next venture. Hosted by Greg Isenberg, CEO of Late Checkout and former advisor to Reddit and TikTok. Subscribe so you don't miss out.
For more startup ideas, we created a database of 30+ startup ideas you can take at https://gregisenberg.com/30startupideas