A Framework for Implementing AI Across Your Company
Every founder I know is asking the same question: "How should we actually implement AI across our company?"The reality is that every playbook will require customization, but there are clear patterns beginning to emerge.In this episode, Chetan Narain, Cofounder of Pepper, joins me and my colleague, Interplay Senior Partner Kevin Tung, to share how Pepper is integrating AI across its products and organization - and the lessons they've learned along the way.We discuss:• Where vertical SaaS ends and vertical AI begins• AI agents and guardrails• Organizational redesign• How to move fast without creating chaosIf you're building a company and thinking beyond AI features toward AI transformation, I think you'll enjoy this conversation.⏱️ Chapter Markers:00:00 — Intro — Implementing AI across your company and why it matters now01:23 — Where vertical SaaS ends and vertical AI begins: dashboards → autonomous agents03:36 — Pepper 101: the $1T food distribution opportunity05:37 — Pricing agents: moving from recommendations to action08:42 — Trust, autonomy, and guardrails for mission-critical workflows09:33 — ROI you can prove: GP lift and attribution clarity11:25 — Experiments that broke: letting non-tech teams ship code14:21 — Pepper's "product build system": AI-reviewed PRDs and prototypes19:22 — Organizational design: single-threaded ownership vs. diffusion23:03 — Speed traps: building 4 prototypes ≠ faster outcomes24:22 — Kevin Tung on logging mistakes and compounding intelligence26:10 — A/B testing as a sandboxed guardrail27:02 — Chetan's path: Google PM to first PM of Uber Eats29:37 — COVID pivot: Pepper Pantry hits $10M run rate in a week32:57 — Distributor-first model: white-labeled apps and trust34:33 — If king for a day: accelerating tech adoption in food36:31 — Early adopters and tailwinds across 20k+ distributors38:11 — Wrap and takeawaysLinks:• Chetan Narain: LinkedIn• Pepper: Website, LinkedIn• Interplay: Website, LinkedIn, X• MPD: LinkedIn, X