[SaaS & AI Series] AI Disruption and the New Future of SaaS With Kevin Surace
Release Date: 05/12/2026
INspired INsider Podcast
Brian Nolan is the Co-owner of Darren & Phillip, a purpose-driven lifestyle brand creating premium matching apparel and accessories for dog lovers and their dogs. He leads the brand’s American growth, strategy, and e-commerce expansion while advancing its mission to support dog rescue organizations worldwide. Before acquiring the company, Brian co-founded and led Sellbrite and BookOutdoors, which were acquired by GoDaddy and Hipcamp, respectively. A USC Marshall School of Business alumnus, he draws on extensive experience in entrepreneurship, product development, marketing, and...
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Chad Collins is the Founder and CEO of LiveBuys, a company that provides end-to-end live-selling solutions, including hosting, creative production, technology, fulfillment, and community engagement. Together with his team, he has produced 200+ sold-out events in 150+ cities, attracting 2.5 million fans and earning seven Guinness World Records. His event portfolio includes Brick Fest Live, Comic Con for Kids, and the Bucks County Card Show. Chad is also the creator of Coins, Cards & Chaos, a live-shopping and collectibles experience that connects collectors, creators, dealers, and brands....
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Anirudh (Rudy) Ganesh is the Co-founder and CEO of Hotelzify, an AI-powered hospitality technology company that helps hotels increase direct bookings, streamline operations, and grow revenue. He leads the company’s strategy and product vision, developing tools that combine booking technology, digital marketing, and AI-enabled guest engagement. Before founding Hotelzify, Rudy held software and product roles at JPMorgan Chase, Perpule, and Amazon. A National Institute of Technology Karnataka alumnus, he brings deep technical, product, and commercial experience to meaningful hospitality...
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Melissa Kwan is the CEO and Co-founder of eWebinar, an on-demand video platform that turns prerecorded videos into interactive experiences with chat for demos, onboarding, and training. Before eWebinar, she founded Spacio, a real estate technology platform acquired by HomeSpotter in 2019. A three-time bootstrapped founder with more than 15 years of startup experience, Melissa specializes in B2B sales, business development, and building profitable companies with limited resources. She is also the host of the ProfitLed Podcast and the author behind the Your Founder Next...
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Pat Mancuso is the CEO of Mancuso Consulting Group, a firm that helps business owners increase profitability, recover tax credits, and build stronger organizations through strategic consulting and leadership development. A serial entrepreneur, coach, and speaker with more than 30 years of experience, Pat has launched multiple successful companies and coached thousands of business leaders. Through consulting, speaking, and his proprietary RSTMM® system, he helps entrepreneurs scale their businesses, strengthen leadership teams, and create sustainable long-term growth. In this episode… Many...
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Filip Keuppens is the CEO of The Pickle Juice Company, a leading functional beverage brand known for its science-backed sports drink designed to help stop muscle cramps. Under his leadership, the company has expanded to more than 17,000 retailers across the US and is trusted by elite athletes and professional sports teams. Before leading The Pickle Juice Company, Filip built deep experience in sales, marketing, and retail at major companies, including Kraft Heinz, Warner Home Video, and 20th Century Fox. He is passionate about advancing sports hydration through science, innovation, and...
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Olivier Roth is the Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at The Swarm, a go-to-network platform that helps companies and investors map, combine, and activate relationship networks for sales, recruiting, and fundraising. He helps lead the company’s growth strategy, building systems that turn relationship data into warm introductions and stronger business opportunities. Previously, Olivier founded Timelapse, a strategic creative agency that worked with high-growth startups and brands, including LinkedIn, Lyft, and Stanford Research Park. His work focuses on helping teams use authentic...
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Gil Makleff is the CEO and Co-founder of Sembly AI, a platform that helps teams turn meetings and conversations into actionable insights and work-ready outcomes. Under his leadership, Sembly AI has advanced tools for AI-assisted collaboration, workflow automation, and human-AI interaction. Before founding Sembly AI, Gil achieved two successful exits to Microsoft and Ernst & Young, where he later served as a Partner. With decades of experience building and scaling technology companies, he is known for championing human-centered AI that empowers people rather than replaces them. In...
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Shriram Sridharan is the Co-founder and CTO of Rox, an AI-first revenue operating system that helps enterprise sales teams research accounts, automate workflows, and act on timely customer insights. He helps lead the company’s product and technical strategy, building AI agents that make sales processes more focused, efficient, and repeatable. Before Rox, Shriram held engineering leadership roles at Confluent and Amazon Web Services, where he worked on scalable data and cloud infrastructure. His work focuses on using AI to turn complex revenue operations into practical systems that help teams...
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Ben Edmond is the Founder and CEO of Connectbase, a company that helps telecom, cable, and managed service providers buy and sell network services more efficiently through a digital platform. Under his leadership, Connectbase powers over 4 million quotes each month and serves nearly every major operator across North America and Europe. Prior to Connectbase, Ben served as CRO at Global Capacity, where he led the company’s customer go-to-market strategy and execution. With over 25 years in telecom, fiber, and networking, he is known for modernizing connectivity commerce and reducing...
info_outlineKevin Surace is the CEO and CTO at Appvance, a company that provides AI-native software quality assurance and autonomous testing solutions for enterprise applications. He is also Chair of Token, bringing decades of experience as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, inventor, and futurist. Recognized as the father of the AI virtual assistant, Kevin has led multiple technology companies, earned broad recognition, includingbeing named Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year, and holds dozens of patents. He speaks globally on generative AI, automation, innovation, enterprise software quality, and the future of work.
In this episode…
AI is not just changing how software gets built — it is challenging the foundations of how SaaS companies create value, compete, and survive. As AI tools make it possible to generate code, automate testing, and streamline go-to-market workflows faster than ever, what happens to traditional SaaS moats?
For Kevin Surace, a veteran technology entrepreneur, inventor, and AI pioneer, the answer is that SaaS companies must rethink where they truly add value. He highlights how AI is democratizing software creation, allowing smaller teams and even non-coders to build products that once required large engineering teams and major funding. The result is a more competitive SaaS landscape where speed, execution, trust, governance, and customer outcomes matter more than software complexity alone. Kevin also explains why enterprise companies may not abandon major SaaS platforms overnight, but startups can still disrupt incumbents by building leaner, lower-cost alternatives. He also explores how AI-driven QA can uncover bugs that human testers miss, helping companies improve software quality while accelerating productivity.
In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Kevin Surace, CEO and CTO at Appvance, to discuss AI disruption and the new future of SaaS. They cover how AI is transforming software development, why QA automation is ripe for disruption, and what SaaS companies must do to adapt. Kevin also shares insights on cybersecurity, identity protection, and the joy-based mindset behind fulfillment and peak performance.