$5M Startup with 5 People
Welcome to the Dave vs. Startups.
When Chris (my co-founder and brother) and I were building AppArmor back in the day, we scaled the old-school way… grit, talent, long hours, and plenty of trial and error.
But if I were starting over today?
I’d build differently and probably quite a bit faster.
Because we’re living through a once-in-a-generation shift in how companies are built.
And the secret weapon is AI.
The Founder’s Cheat Code
Startups used to be a battle of headcount. The more people you had, the more you could get done.
Not anymore.
With tools like Lindy.ai, founders can now offload entire workflows to AI agents. Customer service, lead generation, inbox management, operations, internal documentation… it can all be automated.
(Not sponsored by any means… but a tool I genuinely like and use).
Lindy doesn’t just save you time. It gives you leverage. You’re no longer trading hours for output. You’re trading ideas for execution.
That’s a game-changer.
Lean Teams. Massive Impact.
There’s a common belief that you need a big team to build a big business.
But I’ve seen firsthand that it’s no longer true.
With the right systems, 5 people can build a $5M+ company today. You don’t need 50 engineers. You need 5 smart generalists with AI at their fingertips.
Here’s an example:
This is wild.
That’s the model I talk about in Startup Different. It’s about being ruthlessly efficient, automating what doesn’t need a human touch, and giving your small team superpowers through systems - in this case, powered by AI.
What This Means for You
If you’re a founder or operator, and you’re not using AI to scale, you’re playing the game on hard mode.
Here’s what I’d suggest:
Pick one area of your business that drains your time
Experiment with a workflow in Lindy to handle it
Get it set up, then repeat
This simple habit can cut your workload in half and double your output.
You don’t need to build the next AI unicorn.
But you do need to use AI like a founder who understands the moment we’re in.
Because this isn’t a trend. It’s a tectonic shift.
If you want to build your startup different, the time is now.
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Chris and I take on how guerrilla marketing can move the needle in a big way for small companies.
Tune into the Startup Different Podcast