Merge's Unified API Bet in the AI Era | E2033

In this episode: Alex talks with Shensi Ding from Merge, who shares her transition from finance to tech and highlights the critical role of integrations in modern businesses. They explore the challenges of building and maintaining these integrations, emphasizing the importance of standardized data models. Shensi discusses partnerships and the strategies to overcome resistance. The conversation delves into trust-building, enhancing integration observability, and expanding Merge's offerings to include AI applications. They also touch on financial efficiency, growth strategies, and Merge's evolution beyond APIs, concluding with insights into future plans and potential acquisition interest. * Timestamps: (0:00) Alex kicks off the show with guest Shensi Ding of Merge. (5:18) Shensi's journey from finance to tech and the importance of integrations (10:20) The challenges of building and maintaining integrations (11:19) Coda. Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist (13:17) Identifying the market gap for Merge and the benefits of standardized data models (17:39) Partnership building, Salesforce integration, and overcoming resistance (20:07) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ (21:16) Further discussion on trust-building and integration challenges (26:04) Enhancing integration observability and customer support (30:01) Micro1 - Visit https://www.micro1.ai/twist to get 10 free AI Interviews and 2 weeks free per hire (31:21) Expanding Merge's integration list and its AI applications (35:27) Discussing financial efficiency, runway management, and team dynamics (43:16) Growth strategies, customer base expansion, and go-to-market experiments (47:10) Pricing strategies, customer value, and market trends (50:05) Future plans for Merge, acquisition interest, and long-term vision (52:26) Evolution of Merge beyond API focus. * Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Check out Merge here: https://www.merge.dev/ * Follow Shansi: X: https://x.com/shensi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shensiding/ * Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm * Thank you to our partners: (11:19) Coda. Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist (20:07) OpenPhone - Get 20% off your first six months at https://www.openphone.com/twist⁠ (30:01) Micro1 - Visit https://www.micro1.ai/twist to get 10 free AI Interviews and 2 weeks free per hire * Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland * Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com * Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916