Backers & Builders, Episode 1 is now live. So many good gems from @sshergill & @amishjani on AI agents, the future of commerce, and how to build a durable, financially sharp brand in that world. Watch the full episode below. 00:25 Agentic purchases: consumer vs B2B 04:35 Hype vs reality in agentic payments 09:45 Shopify and the TAM blind spot 13:20 Brand blind spots: cash and discovery 16:01 Who wins in agentic commerce? 18:34 Shopify, AI, and vibe coding 23:32 Who owns the customer experience? 27:26 Agentic infra and VC opportunities 33:43 What great brands get right 37:19 Where software actually helps 39:01 DTC’s distribution time bomb 42:33 Luma and the future of finance 47:23 What makes AI finance defensible 49:10 Why vertical banking wins 53:04 Redefining what a bank is 57:01 Does AI favor platforms or startups? 59:10 Founder advice and company DNA

Partnered with @firstmarkcap on their Guilds Summit. Some takeaways👇🏼 @anjsud CEO @tubi x @amishjani 1. The best CEOs aren’t the experts on everything. They hire experts, give them ownership, expect it back and get out of the way. 2. “Never waste a good crisis”, that’s often when the biggest leaps happen. @davidneckstein CFO @wearelegora x @abimbhet 1. The best fundraising rounds optimize for value add, not valuation (yes their investors are actually getting them customers). 2. AI is pushing CFOs out of spreadsheet management and deeper into driving revenue growth. Li Fan CTO @circle x @amankabeer11 1. The opportunity is bigger than agentic payments, it’s the agentic economy (there’s an entire stack that involves things besides payments). 2. Winning won’t come from forcing every workflow to go headless but from finding where agents create enough value to earn the right to transact. (It’s still early and no one has cracked it yet). Thank you @mrbenwinn for hosting and leading a phenomenal production. @airwallex is proud to facilitate bringing the best forward to share how they build.