In today’s episode, Craig sits down with AI-SEO expert Lars Lofgren to unpack the future of AI-SEO in a world dominated by artificial intelligence. They explore how to attract and retain traffic through both on-site and off-site strategies like Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, and beyond.

With AI rapidly reshaping the digital landscape, the traditional rules of content and inbound marketing are being rewritten. Should SEO still be your top focus? How do you build brand authority when search algorithms are changing every day?

Tune in for practical tips and bold insights on what’s working now—and what’s next.

• What does SEO even mean in the age of AI?
• How the search landscape has shifted with AI’s rise
• The #1 thing to do now to thrive in AI-powered search results
• Top of Funnel (TOFU) vs Bottom of Funnel (BOFU) marketing
• Why Google prioritizes specific landing pages for specific products
• The companies gaming AI—and how it’s disrupting traditional SEO
• How to get your brand seen in AI answers and social media feeds
• The surprising impact of Reddit on SEO strategy
• Why SEO best practices feel more unclear than ever
• Authentic content vs high-volume output, what wins with AI?
• Building trust: How to make your site feel real to your visitors
• Ads, paid influencers, evangelists: what actually pays off?

Resources and Links from This Episode

• Lars on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larslofgren/
• Lars’ website and newsletter: https://larslofgren.com/
• Lars on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/larslofgren.bsky.social
• Lars on Twitter/X: https://x.com/larslofgren?lang=en
• Find me on Twit...

• (00:00:00) - Interviewing Lars Lofgren on AI-SEO
• (00:01:20) - What to Call AI SEO?
• (00:03:23) - SaaS Companies: The AI SEO Challenge
• (00:05:56) - Top of the funnel and AI in the SEO
• (00:09:57) - SEO Training: Bottom of the funnel vs
• (00:12:43) - What's The Difference Between a Keyword and a Topic?
• (00:16:10) - Is Content Still the Only Way to Win on Google?
• (00:22:46) - Local SEO: Don't Get Duped By Fake Reviews
• (00:27:00) - How to Build a Brand on Reddit
• (00:33:39) - How to manage content at the startup level
• (00:35:55) - What Do You Think of SEO?
• (00:40:28) - How to Optimize Content for AI in 2020
• (00:46:19) - How to Build a Content Team
• (00:50:13) - How Do You Get Your Personal Brand Out There?

This week on Rogue Startups, Craig chats with Mike Buckbee from Knowatoa about how AI is changing the game for brands. With tools like ChatGPT taking over the way we search and discover businesses, Mike breaks down what you need to do to get your brand noticed in the AI world. From content strategies to getting your site in front of the right eyes, this episode’s got the lowdown on how to stay ahead in an AI-driven world.

Michael is a serial entrepreneur and software developer who has founded multiple successful startups in the cybersecurity space. With over a decade of experience in marketing and technology, he previously worked as a Director of Demand Generation for a public cybersecurity company, as well as consulting for multiple YC startups.

Knowatoa’s mission is to help businesses win the AI search game by ensuring they remain discoverable, relevant, and competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

• How to get your business in front of customers in the AI-driven world
• New strategies for success: creating brand-specific content that attracts customers
• What "Face vs Space" content really means
• Where AI is training and how it impacts businesses
• The role of txt: Is it still important, and what’s the best alternative?
• Why you should ask ChatGPT questions about your business
• Personalized AI search results: Are they working for or against you?
• Why your content should be on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Reddit
• The growing role of LLMs in social etiquette and advice
• How search, companionship, and advice are blending in the AI space
• What does all this mean for businesses in the future?
• The future of business is pay-to-play
• Will AI take 30% of our jobs? The "floor" may rise, but the "ceiling" will stay human

Resources and Links from This Episode

• Knowatoa: https://knowatoa.com/
• Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelbuckbee
• Email: Mike@knowatoa.com

If you feel like Rogue Startups has benefited you and it might benefit someone else, please share it with them. If you have a chance, give Rogue Startups a review on iTunes.

Do you have any comments, questions, or topic ideas for future episodes? Feel free to reach out to me:

• Twitter: @TheCraigHewitt
• LinkedIn: Craig Hewitt
• Email: podcast@roguestartups.com

• (00:00:00) - AI SEO in Inbound Marketing
• (00:01:10) - Noah Toa: The Only AI-based Tool for S
• (00:05:02) - How HubSpot is Preparing for AI-based Resignation
• (00:13:28) - How to Optimize Your Website With Google Search
• (00:17:18) - Is LLMs Txt important for your site?
• (00:23:09) - Ask ChatGPT: How Much of its Intelligence Is Based on
• (00:25:02) - What's AI Doing To Your Company?
• (00:32:43) - How Social Networks Are Affecting Business
• (00:35:28) - Deep Learning and the Google Cloud
• (00:37:08) - Top Tech Thinkers: The Future of Content
• (00:46:11) - Noah Toa: A Landing Page for New Users

In this episode of the podcast, Craig sits down with longtime entrepreneur Colin Bartlett, cofounder of StatusGator, to explore what it really takes to build, and sustain, a SaaS business over the long haul. With more than a decade at the helm of a company that helps users monitor service outages, Colin shares hard-won insights from 12 years of entrepreneurship and 11 years of running StatusGator. The conversation dives into how founders’ perspectives evolve, especially in today’s turbulent tech landscape, and how to stay grounded and successful through all of that craziness.

• How Colin and StatusGator did when Google Cloud went down for a few hours
• The factors that can determine whether or not free trials can work for your business
• The difference between the company in the beginning versus 10+ years down the road
• How their businesses fit into the current markets (alongside AI and other tech advances)
• Appreciation and respect for the businesses in such uncertainty
• Plans, trajectories, and what the future holds for them
• Views on profit in the SaaS industry
• Their team structures and how to hire and maintain a team in the AI era
• Staying fresh in the market after you’ve been in the business for a while
• The benefits of having a cofounder
• SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) compliance and privacy standards
• How many hours does your team have to work to be a value to your company?

Resources and Links from This Episode

• Colin Bartlett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinabartlett/
• StatusGator: https://statusgator.com/

If you feel like Rogue Startups has benefited you, and it might benefit someone else, please share it with them. If you have a chance, give Rogue Startups a review on iTunes.

Do you have any comments, questions, or topic ideas for future episodes? Feel free to reach out to me:

• Twitter: @TheCraigHewitt
• LinkedIn: Craig Hewitt
• Email: podcast@roguestartups.com

• (00:00:00) - Talking Startup With Colin Bartlett
• (00:01:51) - Flare on the Internet Outage
• (00:03:48) - How Do You Capture Leads From Free Signups?
• (00:09:18) - How Long Can You Keep Working On Your Startup?
• (00:14:42) - How Do You Think Your SaaS Business Should Be Profitable
• (00:16:53) - What Your Team Looks Like on SaaS
• (00:19:12) - How We Run a WordPress Team
• (00:21:34) - How to Hire a Team in the AI Era
• (00:25:46) - Top Executives: How AI Will Affect the Business in 2
• (00:31:20) - Podcaster on An Economic Dip
• (00:32:17) - How Do We Stay Fresh After 11 Years?
• (00:37:22) - If You Had to Pick A Boss, What Would You Do?
• (00:38:39) - Cisco on SOC2 Compliance
• (00:42:30) - How much Time Should Your Team Work?
• (00:46:48) - How To Get Things Done As A CEO

- LLMs.txt article: https://www.quoleady.com/llm-txt-files/

- Craig's YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@thecraighewitt

• (00:00:01) - Rogue Startups: The Startup Podcast
• (00:00:07) - Content Marketing: Multimodal
• (00:03:37) - Is Content Necessary for Your Business?
• (00:06:23) - How to get a crawler to crawl your website for SEO
• (00:13:58) - Marketing Decoded: Content and Search
• (00:17:14) - Want to hear more of my ranting on AI?

What does it really take to lead a company for over a decade—and still be growing?

In this episode, Craig chats with Amar Ghose, founder and longtime CEO of ZenMaid, about the challenges, lessons, and evolution that come from running a SaaS company for 12 years. From market leadership and internal conflict to personal growth and productivity, Amar shares candid insights into the realities of long-term entrepreneurship.

Whether you're scaling a startup, feeling stagnant in your leadership role, or just wondering if AI is going to eat your SaaS lunch, this conversation delivers.

• Transitioning from following trends to becoming a category leader
• Navigating internal disagreements and managing tough decisions
• Running a "benevolent dictatorship"—and why that sometimes works
• How to deal with boredom, complacency, and staying sharp as a CEO
• The productivity paradox: what being "productive" means at the top
• Entertainment vs. distraction: protecting your focus
• How coaching reveals your blind spots (and helps you evolve)
• Staying out of cruise control—how to keep leveling up, year after year
• Is AI a threat to SaaS companies, or a tool for growth?

Takeaways and Vision

Longevity in SaaS isn’t about coasting. It’s about evolving. Amar Ghose proves that staying in the game for 12+ years means embracing discomfort, sharpening your focus, and leading with intention. Whether you're one year in or a decade deep, this episode is a reminder: real leadership isn’t about avoiding boredom, it’s about leveling up through it.

Resources and Links from This Episode

• ZenMaid – Amar’s SaaS for maid service businesses
• Follow Amar on LinkedIn
• Rogue Startups Podcast Archive
• Connect with Craig on Twitter/X: @TheCraigHewitt

If you feel like Rogue Startups has benefited you and it might benefit someone else, please share it with them. If you have a chance, give Rogue Startups a review on iTunes.

Do you have any comments, questions, or topic ideas for future episodes? Feel free to reach out to me:

• (00:00:00) - How to Build a 12-Year-Old SaaS Company
• (00:01:15) - Squarespace CEO on How Far Along the Business Is
• (00:03:39) - How We Went From Fast Follower to Industry Leader
• (00:08:35) - Jeff Bezos on Decisions Made by the Team
• (00:13:52) - Zenmaid's CEO on Never Enough
• (00:18:10) - How to Get More Out of a Manager
• (00:19:30) - Craig on His Side Businesses
• (00:25:49) - Kastos on What Would He Tell You?
• (00:28:03) - How Do You Continue to Evolve As a Founder?
• (00:33:16) - Brain tumor patient on work life balance
• (00:39:46) - Jordan G. on AI and the Economy
• (00:44:55) - Brands and the AI revolution
• (00:46:33) - Amar Ghosh on Connecting With People

Hello, remember me? Sorry that it's been 6 weeks, but I'm back.

In this episode I talk through what I've been up to recently, what's going on with Castos, with myself personally, and things I'm learning growing the business.

Towards the end, I share the lessons I learned from a recent 2-day Scaling Workshop with Alex and Leila Hormozi. The event was great, and really reframed how I am thinking about the business, and about being a business owner.

My YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@thecraighewitt - for sales, marketing, and founder-focused content like this.

• (00:00:00) - What's Up With Me
• (00:00:38) - Top Creators: AI and How to Use It
• (00:06:21) - How We're Going to Implement Hybrid Podcasting
• (00:10:36) - How I'm Using AI on My Personal Channel
• (00:14:27) - Writing Content Is Dead on Social Media
• (00:17:43) - A Retrospective on The Kastos Scaling Workshop
• (00:18:43) - Interview
• (00:19:14) - The Warren Buffett Lecture
• (00:21:19) - Six Metrics That Make Up My Business
• (00:23:17) - Top Executives: Paid Acquisition
• (00:24:39) - Keeping Person in the Business
• (00:25:42) - What is the Key Customer Risk?
• (00:27:16) - Key Market Risks
• (00:29:15) - Sales Funnels and How to Manage Them
• (00:30:37) - How to Get More Out of Your Work Life
• (00:31:40) - How to Scale a Startup: The Castos
• (00:34:01) - The Four R's for Job Description
• (00:35:04) - How To Get Feedback From Your Sales System & Culture
• (00:37:12) - What They Look For In Their CRM Hiring
• (00:38:54) - Sales and Marketing: The Middle of the Revenue Cycle
• (00:42:21) - Castos: How to Make Paid Acquisition Work
• (00:45:28) - The Time Evaluation Workshop

In this episode of Rogue Startups, Craig chats with Jesse Hanley, marketer, self-taught developer, and founder of Bento, a powerful email marketing platform for modern teams. With today’s economy in flux and global events adding more pressure, Craig and Jesse dive into what it really means to run and grow a SaaS business in 2025.

They explore how entrepreneurs can protect their businesses and families in turbulent times, why niching down is more important than ever (but only for some), and how AI is transforming both Bento and Craig’s own company, Castos. From global living experiences to making tough decisions about free tiers, this episode is packed with honest insights, practical advice, and a few spicy takes on the future of SaaS.

• Living and working in Japan, France, Australia, and the US: cultural and business differences
  
  
• Bento’s vision and how they are navigating economic uncertainty
  
  
• Knowing when to bring in experts (and when to trust your gut)
  
  
• How Bento is integrating AI—and how it’s driving real results for users
  
  
• Behind the scenes at Castos: using AI to boost productivity and creativity
  
  
• Are free plans a growth hack or a trap for SaaS companies?
  
  
• Marketing smarter: finding your ideal customers in a crowded market
  
  
• To niche or not to niche? What to do if your product is a Swiss Army knife

If you’re a SaaS founder, bootstrapped entrepreneur, or just love behind-the-scenes looks at real businesses navigating real challenges, this episode is for you.

• Jesse Hanley on Twitter/X: https://x.com/jessethanley
• Bento: https://bentonow.com/

If you feel like Rogue Startups has benefited you, and it might benefit someone else, please share it with them. If you have a chance, give Rogue Startups a review on iTunes.

Do you have any comments, questions, or topic ideas for future episodes? Feel free to reach out to me:

• Twitter: @TheCraigHewitt
• LinkedIn:

• (00:00:00) - Interview + Co-Host Chat
• (00:02:34) - Visit Annecy, France
• (00:02:51) - Living in France as an American
• (00:04:39) - Trump on Trade Wars and AI
• (00:05:04) - Bento CEO on Working With Customers
• (00:07:41) - What's the rest of the team like?
• (00:11:02) - How to Hire an AI-Inspired Team
• (00:16:46) - Bento's CEO on How Long Will He Run the Business?
• (00:18:55) - Bento CEO on Cash Exclusion
• (00:23:53) - WSJD: Business Cycle, Uncertain Future
• (00:27:15) - Have We Should Offer a Free tier?
• (00:33:03) - Bento vs. Mailchimp: How To Reach Out to
• (00:38:41) - Bento on Being a Utility Tool
• (00:40:24) - Bento on Collaboration and Its Impact
• (00:43:52) - Community and the AI of Business

Craig recaps his biggest takeaways from MicroConf 2025, reflecting on lessons in positioning, lead generation, conference ROI, and the power of going all in on what’s working. From tactical marketing insights to personal reflections, this episode delivers both strategic clarity and founder fuel.