Podcast Summary: Startup Stories – Mixergy
Episode #2289: "Building Companies Using Zapier’s AI Automations"
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Andrew Warner
Guest: Wade Foster, Co-founder & CEO of Zapier

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, Andrew Warner interviews Zapier CEO Wade Foster about the powerful ways businesses are being built using Zapier’s newest AI-driven automations. The conversation dives into real-world examples, compares Zapier’s AI automation workflows to new entrants like OpenAI Agent Builder, and explores practical automations for startups and agencies. In hands-on demonstrations, they show how Zapier’s agents and AI tools can automate critical business processes—even for non-technical founders—with practical examples for lead qualification, meeting preparation, and more.

Key Discussion Points

1. From Roofer to Automation Agency: The Power of No-Code (00:33–03:35)

• Wade Foster shares a user story: a roofer who modernized his business using Zapier to manage ads, leads, invoicing, and payments. Eventually, the roofer shifted careers and launched an agency that sells automation playbooks to other roofers, drastically improving their operations and efficiency.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 01:31):
  "He set up a roofing automation agency where he works with roofers and basically gives them the playbook for like, here’s how you can manage your back office way more efficiently so you can take on more clients and spend more time out on the roof."

2. Automating the Back Office for Everyday Businesses (02:02–03:35)

• Foster explains how Zapier moves leads from Google or Facebook Ads into automated follow-up systems—handling scheduling, payment forms, and personalized communication—removing manual work from small business owners.

3. How AI Supercharges Automations (03:53–06:08)

• AI’s transformative feature: Ability to process unstructured data, such as personalizing emails using deep research or summarizing customer feedback, which was previously too manual or complex for standard automations.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 05:45):
  "AI allows you to put brains in your business in a places that was really hard to put brains in the past. It was very manual, very expensive, and mostly—especially for small business—you just couldn’t do it."

4. Zapier vs. OpenAI Agent Builder: What’s the Difference? (07:07–12:20)

• Foster outlines how OpenAI’s Agent Builder is focused on creating chat agents that respond to user-initiated prompts, whereas Zapier enables automations triggered by thousands of sources—calendar events, emails, forms, CRM changes, etc.
• Zapier can be integrated with OpenAI’s agent tools, vastly expanding the potential actions those agents can take.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 11:12):
  "Agent Builder and Zapier are kind of like peanut butter and jelly… If you’re not using Agent Builder with Zapier, you’re probably using just a vanilla chatbot builder."

5. Building a Meeting Brief Generator in Zapier (13:06–27:51)

• Live Demo: Foster and Warner walk through building an AI-powered agent that summarizes upcoming meetings, drafts context-rich briefs (with external research and prior emails), and automatically delivers them before the meeting.
• Highlights Copilot’s ability to coach users into providing effective prompts and building step-by-step workflows—making AI automation accessible to non-technical people.
• Quote (Andrew Warner, 18:04):
  "This is so easy to read that now I can go back in and edit it if I want to change it… It feels like a blog post, but with just the facts."
• Demonstration shows the agent producing an accurate meeting brief, reflecting Warner’s actual interview style and focus—after just five minutes of setup.

6. Lead Qualification Agent: Automating Customer Profiling (28:07–34:42)

• Foster demonstrates an agent for qualifying inbound leads (e.g., via Typeform) against an ideal customer profile (ICP), using AI to do deep research, score leads, and automate personalized follow-up.
• Describes business impact: “Speed to lead”—instantly engaging ideal customers to close deals faster.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 28:32):
  "Every business has to acquire customers... if you’re any good at marketing at all, you’re going to acquire a bunch of leads. Not everybody ... is going to be an actually good fit."

7. Real-World Automation Agency Business Models (34:42–38:14)

• Discussion of agencies built entirely on Zapier automations for industries like trades (roofers, plumbers, electricians), real estate, and digital marketing.
• Customizable workflows allow these agencies to serve very specific niches—handling lead flow, scheduling, and paperwork.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 38:14):
  "When you improve your conversion rates, it means you can now be more efficient in how you deploy your advertising dollars... These types of automations—it's not just about being faster or more efficient and saving you time—it is actually real money."

8. The Durability of Zapier’s Position in the AI Era (40:01–42:34)

• Warner and Foster discuss whether OpenAI or another LLM provider could displace Zapier’s role; Foster argues the value of Zapier's vast integration ecosystem and its platform-agnostic approach make it foundational for business automation.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 40:49):
  "Every business can benefit from automation. AI is valuable by itself, but it becomes critical and high ROI when you connect it to the rest of your stack."

9. Personal Automations and AI Coaching (42:34–47:02)

• Foster shares his personal use case: AI-driven meeting coaching, where transcripts are analyzed (via the "Five Dysfunctions of a Team" framework) and DMed to participants for feedback.
• Warner explores applying similar feedback loops to his own interview techniques, connecting transcript analysis via Zapier flows.
• Quote (Wade Foster, 44:24):
  "AI is an exceptionally good coach. It is infinitely patient, it is neutral, it just observes what it sees and tells you what it thinks it has observed."

10. Favorite AI Tools and App Integrations (47:02–51:34)

• Foster recommends:
  • Claude Code: Not just for coding—can automate non-tech tasks and optimize devices.
  • Monologue: Voice-to-text with contextual awareness—adjusts style based on app context (Slack, Email, Docs).
  • Granola: Records and analyzes meetings/interviews, enables post-meeting coaching via Zapier.
  • Quote (Wade Foster, 49:16):
    "Monologue is like chef's kiss, just really well designed. Anytime you hit the keyboard shortcut... it knows how to adjust my writing style to fit that."
• Warner shares his favorite: Lori, an iPhone/Apple Watch AI voice interface for seamless ChatGPT conversations.

11. Giveaways & Closing (51:29–end)

• Foster agrees to share the "Five Dysfunctions of a Team" coaching prompt template for Zapier listeners.
• Episode closes with gratitude and a lighthearted wrap-up.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the shift from small business owner to automation agency:
  "He set up a roofing automation agency where he works with roofers and basically gives them the playbook... so you can take on more clients and spend more time out on the roof." (Foster, 01:31)

• On AI’s value in automations:
  "AI allows you to put brains in your business in places that was really hard to put brains in the past." (Foster, 05:45)

• On Zapier’s strategic moat:
  "Every software company has got to have a Zapier connection or else they’re disconnected from the rest of them. Right. They’re on an island on their own." (Warner, 40:01)

• On using AI for management coaching:
  "It just gives you those things. It’s neutral, and it comes in a DM. And so I’m just like, great, thanks, that was a helpful tip." (Foster, 44:24)

• On the accessibility of workflow building:
  "We want to make the ease of use that really simple setup, as simple as that meeting brief generator... But for someone who’s like, that’s not good enough... you can come in and fiddle around with it and really get it working so that... it matches exactly the way my business works." (Foster, 41:44)

Helpful Timestamps

• 00:33: Roofer-to-agency story
• 03:53: AI’s impact on automations
• 07:07: OpenAI Agents vs. Zapier workflows
• 13:06: Live demo—building a meeting brief agent
• 28:07: Lead qualification agent demo
• 34:42: Automation agency business ideas
• 40:01: Discussion of Zapier’s strategic positioning
• 42:34: Personal AI automations for professional development
• 47:02: AI tool/app favorites
• 51:29: Sharing the “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” coaching template

Takeaways for Entrepreneurs

• Small businesses and agencies can now create sophisticated, AI-driven automations without code—boosting efficiency and customer experience.
• Zapier’s expanding AI features are not about hype, but about empowering real business outcomes—particularly in lead management, customer communication, and workflow optimization.
• Agencies and individuals can now create products and even entire businesses founded on repeatable automations—with the market for such solutions expanding rapidly.
• The best automators understand both the opportunities and the limitations—using AI thoughtfully, and layering in human guidance and review where necessary.
• Foster’s advice: Start by automating the recurring, manual steps in your business, experiment with new AI agents for research or analysis, and always look for ways to connect data sources for smarter insights.

Resources Mentioned:

• Zapier
• Claude Code (by Anthropic)
• Monologue (Voice to text)
• Granola (Meeting recording and AI insights)
• Lori (AI voice assistant for iOS/Apple Watch)
• OpenAI Agent Builder

Template Giveaway:
Wade Foster will share the “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” AI-coaching prompt as a Zapier template for listeners.

For non-listeners:
This episode is an energetic, practical, and example-packed walk through Zapier’s latest AI innovations—directly from its founder. If you want to quickly understand how entrepreneurs are building (and can build) agencies, side hustles, and real SaaS businesses on Zapier’s platform—this is the playbook. Expect actionable product demos, street-level business advice, and unfiltered founder perspectives on where AI automation is headed.