A YC founder turns a manual, low-IQ grind into an AI agent that finds creators, negotiates terms, and scales UGC—sometimes a little too far. What starts as a viral local-model demo becomes Stormy AI’s end-to-end engine for influencer marketing.

Fresh off YC Demo Day, Robert Lukoszko (Stormy AI) breaks down the pivot, the fundraising blitz, and how agencies are replacing hours of scrolling with autonomous outreach. We get into model-proof moats, why micro-creators beat celebrity accounts, and the coming wave of AI-generated influencers.

You’ll learn:

How a YC pivot formed around a founder’s own pain (and real demand)

The playbook: sourcing, outreach, negotiation, and QA with AI agents

Why “every better model makes us stronger” is the right moat test

Micro vs. macro creators: what actually converts in 2025

The next act: AI-native UGC, personalization, and brand-owned AI faces

Tactical Demo Day lessons: energy + social proof = signed checks

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Cold Open

00:13 Welcome to Lobster Talks

00:37 Demo Day Insights

03:05 The Journey of Stormy AI

04:39 From Viral Demos to YC Acceptance

07:35 Pivoting to Stormy AI

09:41 Automating Influencer Marketing

18:39 The Future of Influencer Marketing

19:50 AI and UGC: The Future of Influencer Marketing

20:11 The Rise of AI Influencers

20:41 AI-Generated Content vs. Human Content

21:05 The Makeup Industry and AI Influencers

22:26 The Shift to Micro-Influencers

23:23 Emerging Platforms and the Decline of Meta

25:22 The Future of AI in Content Creation

28:58 Preparing for an AI-Driven Future

31:46 Building a Moat in the AI Industry

34:54 The Importance of Vision and Customer Interaction

38:16 Stormy AI: Current and Future Plans

39:20 Conclusion and Call to Action

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GJarrosson

AI won’t live in chat. The future is headless agents doing real work — and calling humans only when it matters. Dexter Horthy, cofounder of HumanLayer, explains how agent-driven software actually ships.

In this fast, tactical deep-dive, we unpack HumanLayer’s origin story (from failed data tools to paid customers in a week), why frameworks lag real production apps, and the workflow that lets AI agents ship in complex codebases. We cover research-plan-implement loops, context engineering, team process, and how “specs become the new code.”

You’ll learn

- How HumanLayer emerged from a SQL “janitor” agent that needed human approvals

- The YC grind as a solo founder and closing first revenue in a week

- Why horizontal AI dev tools are hard — and how top 1% teams actually build

- Context engineering 101: research → plan → implement, and why it beats vibe coding

- How to review plans, not code, to scale quality across a team

Where headless agents win first — and why culture, not models, is the bottleneck.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Cold Open

00:21 Welcome to Lobster Talks

00:47 Guest Introduction and Background

01:12 Early Startup Journey

01:35 Building the AI Agent

02:18 Challenges and Pivots

03:52 Solo Founder Experience

05:28 The Importance of Data Tools

11:20 YC Experience and Revenue

13:59 Building for the 1% vs. 99%

23:50 Exploring New Ideas

25:18 Exploring Cloud Code SDK

25:34 Building Experiments with Claude

26:05 Challenges and Learnings

26:49 Insights from AI Engineering Talks

28:22 The Future of Coding with AI

30:22 Context Engineering and Workflow

32:19 Product Development and Customization

38:22 Scaling AI in Teams

48:10 Exciting Future Prospects

50:42 Conclusion and Farewell

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

Show Notes & Resources:

• 14min Youtube video on wielding coding agents: https://hlyr.dev/ace

• Blog post version - https://github.com/humanlayer/advanced-context-engineering-for-coding-agents/blob/main/ace-fca.md

• Sign up for codelayer beta: https://humanlayer.dev/code

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GJarrosson

Founders closing rounds before lunch. Investors making handshake commitments in the hallway. A startup with $9M+ ARR and another with $15M ARR lighting up the room. YC Demo Day isn’t a show; it’s a marketplace where speed and execution decide everything.

In this fast, founder-first debrief, we break down what actually happened at the latest YC Demo Day: the subtle format changes (that matter), why the one-minute pitch is only the opener, and how deals really get done. We cover the batch’s AI/devtools tilt, the contrarian bets in defense and hardware, and why early traction remains the single best predictor at seed. We also unpack portfolio construction, conversion-rate dynamics inside YC, and what support looks like after the cameras stop.

You’ll learn:

- The real Demo Day mechanics: tranches, chat apps, long breaks for dealmaking

- Why some hot rounds are already full and what to do about it

- How to win YC deals: first-meeting decisions, 24–48h timelines, and prep work

- The $9M+ ARR investment we made—and why traction beats narrative

- Why we’re now backing deeptech/hardware (missiles vs drones, autonomous excavators)

- Portfolio strategy: aiming for the fund returner, not spray-and-pray

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Demo Day Overview

00:15 Behind the Scenes of Demo Day

01:03 Changes and Improvements at YC Demo Day

03:11 Investor Insights and Strategies

04:23 Engaging with YC Startups

06:35 The Importance of Early Traction

09:49 Demo Day Pitch Dynamics

13:42 Fundraising Conversations and Strategies

18:07 Lobster Capital's Investment Approach

21:54 Portfolio Construction and Future Prospects

27:02 AI and Dev Tools: A Crowded Space

27:39 Challenges in Identifying Winners

28:48 Customer Acquisition: The Key to Success

29:57 The Importance of Traction

33:32 Investing in Deep Tech and Hardware

39:24 Evaluating Flywheel's Potential

45:46 Supporting Startups Post-Demo Day

50:09 Looking Ahead: The Never-Ending Cycle

📌 Watch now and subscribe for more smart, fast, founder-first interviews.

🎧 Listen on the go:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1u1JyRKH8JYFjhBkvTUOAP

Apple: https://apple.co/4cZ8RMm

My other YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GJarrosson