How do 100X engineers, cheap development, and AI-everywhere workflows flip slow-moving industries and legacy business models?
AffiniPay CEO Dru Armstrong joins to discuss how vertical fintech and generative AI reshape professional services, the evolution of a new small-business software stack, and Austin’s climb to a top five tech cities.
Three Takeaways
1) Engineering costs are collapsing and it changes everything
For the first time in decades, building software is getting cheaper. This shift is changing how fast teams can ship, how companies are structured, and where capital gets allocated. The organizations that adapt fastest will move from incremental gains to step-function growth.
2) Vertical stacks beat the best in class
We often rely on scattered point solutions. A unified stack built for specific industry workflows consistently outperforms best in class point solutions. The value isn't just technical, it's strategic, giving professionals leverage to grow.
3) AI is expanding markets, not just replacing tasks
Generative AI does more than automate. It creates access. Services that were once too expensive to deliver now reach previously underserved segments. This unlocks latent demand and gives rise to entirely new business models on the edge of legacy industries.
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Highlights
00:00 AffiniPay overview & mission
02:57 Why solo firms need vertical SaaS
05:45 Unified platform vs best-in-class tools
08:26 AI’s early impact on law and accounting
11:39 Billable-hour model under pressure
14:20 Where AI in services is heading next
17:03 Culture change: adopting AI at work
20:14 Automating routine legal workflows
30:19 Manufacturing Cost crashes & roles
31:40 Austin emerging as a FinTech frontier
34:54 Building a legal-payments platform locally
39:34 Generative AI’s effect on big-law practice
45:55 Faster product cycles with AI tools
48:35 How engineering roles are evolving
53:34 What's Next Austin" “I want Austin in the top five."
Guest Bio
Dru Armstrong is the Chief Executive Officer of AffiniPay, LLC, a leading financial technology software provider for professionals, since July 2021, where she has implemented and executed a new strategic direction for the business, including its transformative acquisition of MyCase. Prior to joining AffiniPay, Ms. Armstrong served as Chief Executive Officer of Grace Hill, LLC, a real estate technology and software provider, from June 2016 to July 2021, and as Chief Product Officer from September 2015 to May 2016. Ms. Armstrong received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Columbia University.
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