14.ai Dispatch #16
Escalations, rug pulls, and why TikTok Shop is QVC for people born after 2000.
This week featured a house party skit, crypto-flavored Monopoly, and lessons on scaling support in TikTok Shop.
Customer support IRL
You throw a house party. Someone clogs the sink. Someone else eats all the hummus. Suddenly you’re running Zendesk at home.
Every ticket got logged. Every escalation went nowhere.
Just like real SaaS.
Scoble and the future of support
Robert Scoble stopped by, Vision Pro and all, to talk about where customer support is heading.
Watch the full interview here:
Monopoly, but make it fintech
Next week we’re playing Monopoly Deal with crypto/fintech friends.
Expect:
Free Parking getting minted as an NFT
Community Chest forming a DAO before turn three
Michael inevitably rug-pulling the whole table
Mediterranean food included. Also unsolicited hot takes about AI agents.
TikTok Shop: Supporting viral success?
We hosted Swapnil Thombre, founder of Blazi AI, on how brands can turn TikTok from viral spikes into repeatable growth.
Listing a product is easy, but once you go viral and sell 20,000, how do you keep up?
Key takeaways:
TikTok is Amazon if Amazon had vibes.
TikTok is discovery-first: people buy from authentic video, not polished listings.
Growth comes from thousands of micro-creators. AI helps rank, personalize outreach, and handle logistics.
Support must balance speed and trust: automate the routine, keep humans for depth.
With TikTok’s future clearer, expect mainstream brands and higher-ticket products.
Thank you, Swapnil!
Upcoming workshop: MCP in production
AI agents are fun until they email your entire CRM a Shrek meme.
Join Wojciech Blaszak co-founder and CEO of Golf, YC X25, for a live session on:
The dumbest ways AI can get you sued
Workflows that keep customer data safe
Guardrails that don’t sound like a TED Talks
If you’ve ever worried about your AI agent going off-script, this one’s for you.
📆 Wednesday, Sept 24, 9 am PT
There's just no way
In case you missed it:
Claude effecting: Yes Claude, please keep shipping.
Startups + cardio: Michael swears the best startup ideas hit between mile 3 and cardiac arrest.
Vegas vlog: A day in the life of 14.ai on the Strip.
Chat support: If you're looking for AI chat support, book a time with us.
Cool jobs at 14.ai (and friends)
🛠️ Founding Engineer @ 14.ai (San Francisco)
💻 Customer Success @ Alex (San Francisco)
⚙️ Customer Success Specialist (Onboarding, AI) @ Toma (San Francisco)
What we’re reading & listening to this week
Marie: Conversation with Abigail Hing Wen, Garry Tan
Maya: The Ends of the Earth, Yasemin Saplakoglu
Michael: “Your” vs “My” in user interfaces, Adam Silver
Ugo: The Weird Death of User Interfaces, Enrico Tartarotti
🫡 That’s all for now. May your escalations be funny, your NFTs optional, and your TikTok affiliates slightly less cursed.
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