Ep 31 - Stas Levitan - Founder & CEO of Lightsite AI

In this episode of the Founders & Funding Podcast, Philip Smith speaks with Stas Levitan, Founder and CEO of Lightsight AI, a full-stack AI search platform that covers both the technical and analytics sides of winning visibility in AI search. Stas shares the story of bootstrapping Lightsight AI to over 150 clients within its first year, growing almost entirely through referrals and community trust with near-zero marketing spend.

He talks about why he recommends founders avoid chasing funding too early, what he learned watching well-funded startups run fast in the wrong direction, and how getting to know customers deeply was the foundation everything else was built on. They also discuss the skills that matter most for founders today, why go-to-market and brand building have become harder than building the software itself, and why the best way to attract investors is to stop thinking about attracting investors.