Alex RoyEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

Episode #224: Alex Roy — Bootstrapping an AI company for 12 years, no funding He founded an AI company in 2014—when AI was a punchline—bootstrapped it with zero outside capital, and landed Fortune 50 clients. For founders and growth operators figuring out how to build (and sell) AI products in a market that shifts every few weeks. Alex Roy is the founder of SalesBox AI, a single-founder, bootstrapped company he started in 2014 after 20+ years in martech (MarketFirst, TrueInfluence). With no outside funding, he reached Fortune 50 clients through a partner-led, agency managed-service model—building the part of the product that generated both capital and data first. In this episode he walks through why he moved from lead-centric to a buying-group, opportunity-centric model, how SalesBox's agents work toward one unified revenue goal, how he proves ROI to enterprises burned by AI promises, and why he says product-market fit now lasts "maybe a month." What you’ll hear Why he scrapped lead-centric and account-based marketing for a revenue/opportunity model that scores and prioritizes buying groups How he bootstrapped: building the managed-service module first to capture both capital and data, then reaching Fortune 50 through a partner-led agency model Where founders go wrong—chasing the hype to "hop off" in a couple of years instead of building, and not yet knowing when to override the agent How to apply it: start with a pilot before a full rollout, and learn how the system makes decisions so you know when to step in Chapters 00:00 — Cold open: don't build it for free 00:31 — Intro: the three AI traps 01:50 — What breaks when you scale revenue 02:29 — Betting on AI in 2014 03:39 — Building in 2014 vs. 2026: PMF as a moving target 05:10 — Why bootstrap, and what it cost 05:52 — Landing Fortune 50 clients with no VC logos 06:38 — What makes SalesBox AI different 08:00 — How the platform works 08:51 — Lead to account to buying group 09:45 — Hype vs. real: start with a pilot 10:27 — What AI can't do: knowing when to override 11:37 — Proving ROI to burned enterprises 12:56 — What founders get wrong about timing 14:39 — Advice: get someone to pay the first dollar 15:38 — Lightning round 16:22 — Live demo: RevOps, voice agents, LinkedIn 20:47 — Where to find Alex + the offer 21:28 — Closing takeaways Links & resources Guest Alex Roy — Founder, SalesBox AI Website LinkedIn Mentioned Get $1,000 in SalesBox AI credits About Frank Growth Frank Growth is a podcast about how companies actually grow—real operators, real constraints, real decisions. Hosted by Jason Shafton. Promotional links Work with Winston Francois Subscribe / Follow Jason

How far can a vehicle drive itself without human intervention? In this episode of FISITA's Beyond the Car podcast, we talk about just that: long-distance, hands-free driving. Motivated by decades of record-breaking road trip experience and enthusiasm, and inspired by the idea of driving from west coast to east coast with zero human intervention, our guest on this episode joins us to talk about his recent trip from Los Angeles to New York City in a Tesla in Full Self-Drive mode. As you'll hear, Alex Roy is a huge fan of human driving, and of automated vehicle technology. He's also very competitive, curious, analytical, and methodical - all the things you need to be to sit in a car that drives itself 3,081 miles from Redondo Beach in LA to midtown Manhattan in NYC - that’s 4,958km, in a time of 58 hours and 22 minutes, all without human intervention. We discuss the background to the challenge and the history of coast to coast driving, and Alex tells some great stories from the trip he completed in January 2026. He also shares valuable insight into automated driving, having advised at a strategic level right at the top of an AV company, namely Argo AI, and from the perspective of a regular automated vehicle user. Connect with Alex Roy New Industry Venture Capital: NIVC LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alexroy Get in touch! Follow FISITA's 'Beyond the Car' podcast on LinkedIn - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You can listen to FISITA's 'Beyond the Car' podcast wherever you get your podcasts. For more information about FISITA, head to FISITA.com - and to learn more about the 'Beyond the Car' podcast, you can contact us at info@fisita.com. Thank you to Martyn Strong for production.

0:00 Open and welcome to Alex Roy 2:40 Alex Roy presentation on the Past, Present & Futureof Self Driving 4:54 Alex presents The True History of Self Driving from DaVinci to today 10:47 Could in vehicle humanoid robots be helpful 19:50 from DARPA on 31:30 In 2025 Waymo scales operations and Tesla robotaxislaunch 34:00 Roy’s Razor -the test of what really is self-driving 40:30 SAE Levels should be done away with 44:55 A focus onaffordability? 48:20 Tesla owners could be paid for use of vehicle computepower for AI 50:25 Elon Musk issaying drivers using FSD may soon be able to text and drive 54:55 Congratulations on ITN America’s 30 years of providingrides

(02:49) - Meta Poaches Apple AI Exec (07:26) - Jane Street Update (11:11) - Shaun Maguire Under Fire (13:21) - Replit Teams Up with Microsoft (15:58) - TSA Drops Shoe Rule (18:18) - Unilever Uses AI For Viral Soap Ads (19:27) - Gemini Nano Ships (21:20) - Alex Roy, a renowned automotive journalist and former Cannonball Run record holder, discusses his transition from illegal cross-country racing to investing in autonomous vehicle technology. He highlights how his experience in planning and executing high-speed, long-distance drives provided valuable insights into mapping, radar detection, and vehicle autonomy, which he later applied as an executive at Argo AI, Ford and VW's self-driving car unit. Roy also reflects on the evolution of the Cannonball Run, noting the impact of technological advancements and the potential for autonomous vehicles to set future records. (46:06) - Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a leading logistics and supply chain management company, discusses the challenges posed by recent U.S. tariffs on global trade. He highlights the complexities businesses face due to rapidly changing tariff policies, making supply chain planning difficult. Petersen also notes that while some companies have shifted production to countries like Vietnam to avoid tariffs, these regions have also been affected, leading to further uncertainty. (01:13:59) - Jonathon Barkl, co-founder and CEO of AirGarage, discusses how his company partners with real estate owners to modernize parking facilities by implementing technology-driven solutions that enhance user experience and increase revenue. He highlights AirGarage's growth to over 300 locations across 38 states, emphasizing their ability to boost net operating income for property owners by 20 to 50% through services like payments, advertising, enforcement, and data analytics. Barkl also addresses the challenges posed by traditional parking systems and competitors, underscoring AirGarage's commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. (01:30:03) - Timeline Reactions (01:39:16) - Jacob Glanville, PhD, is a computational immunoengineer and serial entrepreneur, known for founding Distributed Bio and Centivax, where he serves as CEO. In the conversation, he discusses Centivax's development of a universal flu vaccine aiming for 80-95% efficacy, supported by nearly $100 million in funding, and a universal antivenom derived from antibodies of Tim Friede, who self-immunized against multiple snake species. (01:51:53) - Craig Piggott, founder and CEO of Halter, discusses how his company is revolutionizing livestock management by replacing traditional fencing with solar-powered collars that guide cattle using sound and vibration cues, allowing farmers to control and monitor their herds remotely via a mobile app. This innovation addresses labor shortages in farming by automating tasks, enabling more precise operations, and freeing up time for farmers to focus on other essential activities. Piggott also highlights Halter's significant growth, with operations in New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S., managing hundreds of thousands of cows across over a thousand farms, and achieving a valuation of $1.65 billion following a recent $165 million Series D funding round. (02:00:19) - Jonathan Ross, CEO and founder of Groq, discusses the company's development of Language Processing Units (LPUs) designed to accelerate AI inference tasks with greater speed and efficiency compared to traditional GPUs. He highlights Groq's unique chip architecture, which eliminates external memory to reduce latency and energy consumption, and emphasizes the importance of software optimization in achieving competitive performance. Ross also shares insights into Groq's rapid deployment of data centers, strategic partnerships, and the company's vision to capture a significant share of

Alex Roy knows two things — how the mobility world works, and how to tell a damn good story. On the first front, he established himself on the legendary Cannonball Run race, held the record for fastest lap around Manhattan and served as Director of Special Operations for Argo AI. On the latter, he chaired the board of storytelling org The Moth, co-founded The Drive, co-hosts The Autonocast and even opened iconic nightclub The Box (I’d argue that few businesses rely on stories and mythos more than nightlife.) Now he’s brought those two passions together with a new early stage venture fund — NIVC — that he’s started with ex-Rivian manufacturing maestro Patrick Hunt. Alex is looking to invest in companies that have what he calls “narrative command,” meaning they drive the conversation around their entire vertical. As Alex tells, it’s why the Ubers and Teslas of the world succeed, while the Argos don’t make it. Tune in (starting at the 17:10 mark) for a wide ranging conversation on mobility investments, AV regulations, semantics, charismatic leadership and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

In this episode of the Enterprise Sales Development podcast, we speak with Alex Roy, Senior Manager of Sales Development at Drift, a Conversation Cloud company that helps businesses personalize experiences that lead to a more quality pipeline, revenue, and lifelong customers. Alex talks about how to do better inbound-led outbound campaigns and why campaigns should start with perspective. He also talks about the fundamentals of conversational marketing, like intentionality and empathy, and shares how Drift is adding value to the buyer's journey. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN Drift SDR operations Adding value to the buyer's journey through conversational marketing Why confidence is crucial to SDR’s establishing new relationships Focusing on engagement and building trust with prospects QUOTES “Seventy percent of research when buying B2B software is done before they even land on your site or engage with someone. Those first clicks are so crucial. It is when they are laying the groundwork for RFP. You want that seat at the table when they are looking for software and to be trusted from the start.” - Alex Roy [05:36] “Yes, the number one goal as an SDR is to book those meetings but it is about the long game. It is about generating inbound leads that will ultimately become fruitful for you at the end of the month but maybe not on the phone on that random Tuesday.” - Alex Roy [19:32] “Confidence creates social leverage when you are engaging with somebody.” - Alex Roy [23:27] “If you establish a relationship as an SDR, prospects are going to go back to their meeting where they start that internal exploration and say “hey, this company left a mark on me, they know what they are talking about and took a vested interest in our problems”. They will explore you even further. Then your product comes over the top.” - Alex Roy [28:19] TIMESTAMPS [00:00] Intro [02:40] Inbound led outbound campaigns [06:57] The commandments of marketing [08:45] The three B’s of buyers [13:07] Accelerating the deal cycle [17:22] First-party intent [23:07] Confidence in your solutions [28:09] Establishing relationships as an SDR [31:20] Practicing empathy [34:12] Showing vested interest to retain clients [34:46] Connect with Alex Roy CONNECT Alex Roy on LinkedIn CIENCE on LinkedIn CIENCE on Facebook CIENCE on Twitter CIENCE on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices