A successful serial software entrepreneur, Tim seemed destined for a career scaling private equity backed businesses but the AI wave felt exhilarating, existential, compelling… He kept asking himself, “What happens if you’re AI‑native from day zero?”
In this talk, he shows hands-on how he runs product, marketing, and operations with a handful of people and a fleet of AI agents: the folder structures and ‘knowledge assets’ that make agents useful; how he writes specs so AI does real work instead of expensive noise; and the ‘guardian’ agents that stop automation going rogue (including the $2,000 LinkedIn mistake that taught him why they matter).
Tim’s uncovered some uncomfortable truths about how experienced software and SaaS founders must now rethink org design, funding, and their own role in an AI‑accelerated world. Tim explores what this means for you: how to think about org design, funding, and business models in a world where AI can 10x your velocity and competitors can build your features in a week.
Beware, your hardest-won leadership skills might be the next legacy constraint you have to disrupt.
Tim Barker
CEO and Co-Founder, Attain IP
Tim Barker has founded five startups and seen the ups and downs of the startup journey from many sides. He sold his first company to Salesforce where he spent five years in the formative age of cloud computing, he’s taken companies public, scaled them to several hundred souls. He’s the sort of person any PE firm dreams about plugging in to their best prospect in the sure knowledge he will create value.
Tim is a keen advocate for transparency, eating humble pie, and being big enough to own your mistakes. He is also a lifetime learner, part of the reason he felt compelled to ask the question, “What happens if you’re AI‑native from day zero?”
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