{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"START","title":"JJ Maxwell, CEO & Founder, Pillar (trypillar.com) \"Your App's Copilot\"","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":997,"description":"Setting up a single trigger in Zendesk takes 30 clicksWith Pillar it takes one sentenceJJ Maxwell built an open source copilot you build into your app. Users talk to it in natural language and it drives the app for themThe problem: products can do a lot but users don't always know what's there. So they ask support. Or they churnBefore Pillar, JJ built a creator ad marketplace with about 40,000 creators. Then spent two years on another product through YC W24. About $30M on the platform, real users, decent growth. Pivoted anyway. As soon as he lost belief it was gonna work, he ripped the bandaid offWeb MCP is already rolling out. Companies trying to stop agents from taking actions are fighting a losing battle🎙️ JJ Maxwell, Founder & CEO of Pillar (trypillar.com) on the Fondo START pod01:56 What Pillar is: a copilot that’s easy to build into your app02:19 Why users ask support or churn when product complexity hides value03:05 “30 clicks” in Zendesk becomes a sentence03:39 Why AI can do this now: models are better at reasoning and chaining actions04:19 What implementation looks like: wrap existing frontend code and tool calls05:25 Why teams can often get Pillar working in about a day06:09 The Double journey, real traction, and the decision to pivot11:00 Web MCP and why agent-ready software is coming12:23 Why companies may not be able to stop agents from taking actions forever","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q-E1hh7K6IS4AfZiNy2p4MYVGcUOO8lQP92h8QbOEOA/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80NzVj/MDEzNjkxNjU1N2Uy/NDFhMDQ3M2ZhNWI3/NWY0MS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}