Founder's Story

On this episode of the Founder’s Story, guest host Vanessa Antonio interviews Nikolaus Thomale, who explains how Myne Homes is closing the gap between the dream of owning a second home and the reality that very few people do. They discuss the barriers—affordability, underutilization, and complexity—and illustrate how Myne’s fractional co-ownership model overcomes them. Nikolaus clarifies how this differs from traditional timeshares, and details the resale process. The conversation wraps with a look at Myne Homes’ growth, the possibility of a future IPO, and how interested buyers can easily get started.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

In this episode of Founder's Story, we sit down with Syed Hussain, the visionary Founder & CEO of SHIZA (Shared Human Intellect Zonal Agents), a company at the forefront of agentic AI. Hussain shares how his early entrepreneurial spark—as a resourceful kid in India—laid the foundation for a career in technology and data-driven innovation. He offers unique insights into the impending shift away from labor-driven economies toward intellect-driven models powered by personal AI agents. As Syed explains, the future might not be about working more hours, but about owning and monetizing your intellect and data through agentic AI solutions. Get ready to explore what it means to “own your AI before AI owns you.”

Early Entrepreneurial Roots:

• How Hussain’s first venture at age eight—renting out comic books—ignited his passion for solving real problems in creative ways.
• Transitioning from small entrepreneurial endeavors to technology consulting and eventually building his own tech-focused companies.

Embracing Emerging Technologies:

• Hussain’s journey from early web technologies and data analytics to diving into big data, blockchain, and now AI.
• The moment ChatGPT and GPT-3 opened his eyes to the immense possibilities and cost efficiencies of AI-driven infrastructure.

Agentic AI Explained:

• Understanding agentic AI as chains of AI agents (or processes) working together to execute tasks autonomously.
• Why these solutions go beyond chatbots: AI agents can handle complex multi-step tasks and feed results into one another, reducing human workload.

Shaping a Post-Labor Economy:

• The shift away from traditional labor: as tasks and jobs become automated by AI agents, how do humans create value?
• Hussain’s vision of “individualized learning models” (ILMs) let you own your data and intellect and then monetize it.
• The importance of decentralization and Web3 in ensuring individuals maintain control and profit from their data and personal AI agents.

Opportunities and Challenges:

• How younger generations, less tied to a 40-hour work model, may embrace this technology more readily.
• Potential pitfalls: the risk of repeating past mistakes where large corporations harvest and profit from personal data.
• Hussain’s call to action: “Own your AI before AI owns you.”

The Future of SHIZA:

• Building the infrastructure for a decentralized, agentic AI ecosystem.
• Creating digital intellect marketplaces where individuals can share and monetize their unique knowledge and experience.
• Positioning Shiza.ai as the hub for these agentic solutions, shaping a collaborative, globally connected web of human and AI intellect.

Actionable Takeaways:

• Start thinking about how emerging AI solutions can handle repetitive tasks, freeing you to focus on creativity and strategy.
• Consider how your personal data and unique life experiences could be assets in a future driven by intellectual property rather than labor.
• Stay informed about developments in agentic AI, Web3, and decentralized platforms to protect and capitalize on your digital footprint.

Connect with Syed Hussain & SHIZA:

In this episode of Founders Story, we sit down with Aytekin Tank, the entrepreneur behind the popular online form builder Jotform. Aytekin shares his journey from discovering a key market gap nearly two decades ago—when online forms were a major hassle—to building a thriving, bootstrapped SaaS company serving over twenty-five million users worldwide. He offers invaluable lessons on patience, customer-centric development, and how continuous innovation around customer needs led to Jotform’s robust ecosystem of workflow tools. Finally, Aytekin gives us an exciting preview of Jotform’s newest leap into the future: AI agents that will transform how businesses interact with customers, gather data, and handle tasks autonomously around the clock.

Key Topics Discussed:

The Entrepreneurial Spark:

• Aytekin’s early inspiration from building open-source tools in college.
• Realizing the thrill of seeing people use his creations.
• How the dot-com era and working full-time at a media company exposed him to the critical need for easy-to-build online forms.

Founding Jotform:

• The core problem: Web editors needed custom forms—no easy tool existed.
• The decision to bootstrap the business rather than seek investment.
• Transitioning from a free product to a paid offering and the validation that came from the first paying customers.

Slow, Steady Growth and Scaling:

• Understanding that success in SaaS often doesn’t happen overnight.
• How Jotform grew very slowly for the first five years (one new hire per year).
• Maintaining patience, listening to user feedback, and evolving the product based on actual customer needs.

Expanding Beyond Forms:

• Recognizing that forms are just the first step in countless business processes.
• Developing additional features and products: e-signatures, document generation, workflow approvals, and integration with other tools.
• Constant user research and interviews lead to a comprehensive suite of productivity solutions.

AI Agents – The Next Frontier:

• Jotform’s ambitious move into AI, starting from a small in-house team to a dedicated staff of over a hundred working on AI Agents.
• How AI Agents differ from chatbots—agents take action on behalf of users, handle tasks autonomously, and learn from feedback.
• Envisioning a future where businesses (large and small) and individuals deploy AI Agents to handle customer inquiries, sales, support, and more—even while the owners sleep.
• The February 2025 release of Jotform AI Agents and the potential it holds for revolutionizing business operations.

Empowering Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses:

• How AI Agents can level the playing field for small businesses and solo founders.
• The possibility of building highly efficient, large-scale ventures with minimal human staff by leveraging AI-driven processes.

How to Get Involved: