After 15 years of building Zapier, Wade Foster is inviting his team to rethink almost everything. What started as a “code red” response to AI has become an opportunity to rediscover what the company could be. Wade describes the feeling as “10 out of 10 anxiety, but 10 out of 10 fun.” The challenge is getting an entire organization to see the possibilities, especially when change can feel threatening.

Wade shares what this looks like inside Zapier, including an experiment to let AI agents handle customer support emails. It turns out that handing work over to AI is much harder than simply adding an assistant to an existing process. The team has spent months figuring out how to make it work, with humans still playing an important role.

Henrik, Jeremy, and Wade also explore what it takes to thrive when the old rules no longer apply. They discuss curiosity, resourcefulness, and the instinct to act instead of waiting for instructions. And while Wade is giving his team permission to question everything, the conversation raises a harder question: how do you get people to challenge the way things have always been done when that's exactly what they've been taught to follow?

Key Takeaways

The work is changing, even when the jobs aren't disappearing.
Henrik and Jeremy reflect on Wade's point that AI doesn't necessarily make a role obsolete, but it can fundamentally change what people do in that role.
Resourcefulness is becoming a superpower.
Henrik and Jeremy discuss why curiosity, adaptability, and the willingness to act without all the answers are increasingly valuable. Sometimes the most important step is realizing you can just build something.
Question everything, but bring a better idea.
Henrik points out that challenging the way things have always been done is only useful if you're willing to suggest or try something different.
You can't refound a company by announcement alone.
Jeremy wonders how leaders can make questioning old assumptions part of everyday work. He and Henrik explore why established habits, defaults, and organizational structures can be harder to change than the rules themselves.

Wade's LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/wadefoster
Wade's X: X.com/wadefoster
Zapier: Zapier.com
Wade's articles: Zapier.com/wadefoster

00:00 Intro: The Work Is Changing
00:48 Meet Wade Foster
04:49 Is Your Strategy Too Small for AI?
06:14 From Code Red to Refounding Zapier
07:31 10/10 Anxiety, 10/10 Fun
08:50 How Much Has AI Actually Changed?
10:41 Getting People Excited About AI
13:56 Why Jobs Are Changing
15:34 Rethinking How Work Gets Done
16:39 Inside Zapier's AI Support Experiment
20:14 When Existing Workflows Break
21:45 Identity, Curiosity, and Adaptability
25:36 The Instinct to Act Without All the Answers
29:39 Stop Waiting for an Assignment
33:28 You Can Just Build Something
34:43 What Does Refounding Actually Mean?
36:40 Giving People Direction Without All the Rules
38:36 The Future of Automation at Zapier
39:18 Wade's Advice for Refounding a Company
41:45 What Would a New CEO Do?
43:23 The Debrief

For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:

Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley

Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.

What Happens When the Jobs Stay but the Work Changes? Refounding Zapier with CEO Wade Foster

Beyond The Prompt - How to use AI in your company

What Happens When the Jobs Stay but the Work Changes? Refounding Zapier with CEO Wade Foster