Building AI Products That Sell: Engineering Moats, Optimizing Performance, and Closing Enterprise Deals
An AWS x Fireworks AI exclusive event for Y Combinator batch founders (W26, F25, S25, X25)
Hey YC founders! Join the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center (GenAIIC) for Startups & Fireworks AI for an exclusive high-energy deep-dive into what it takes to build unbreakable AI moats, master enterprise GTM strategies, and optimize AI models to build truly delightful products.
Specialists and ex-founders from AWS and Fireworks will reveal how to ignite your startup's trajectory with battle-tested model customization techniques and commercialization strategies.
We'll also be giving away $5K AWS credits each to a few lucky startups that attend! Special shoutout to our friends at Porter for hosting. Note: limited seating capacity, registration on first come first served basis.
Schedule
3p - 3:10p: Welcome
3:10p - 3:40p: Why some startups close 6+ figure deals in days while others spin in pilot purgatory
3:45p - 4:15p: Accelerating GTM traction - What Enterprise buyers need from AI startups
4:20p - 4:50p: Own your AI: Beating frontier models with your own data (with Fireworks AI)
4.50p - 5p: Closing
5p - 6p: Networking/Social (drinks + apps)
Speakers
AWS: Mo Ahmed (Head GenAIIC Startups, ex-founder), Shane Rai (GenAIIC Startup Strategy, ex-founder), Alireza Dirafzoon (Sr Applied Scientist), Sudha Vijayakumar (Startup GTM Specialist)
Fireworks AI: Rob Ferguson (VP of Technology & Strategy), Roberto Barroso (Head of Applied AI), Max Stein (Startup Partnerships & Programs)
Session Details
Why some startups close 6-figure deals in days while others spin in pilot purgatory AI startups frequently struggle to build defensible moats amid rapid commoditization, fall into the "wrapper" trap of superficial integrations, misread product-market fit (PMF) signals, choose suboptimal paths between horizontal and vertical scaling, and fail to separate scalable strategies from those that stall (did someone say FDE?) —resulting in prolonged pilots and missed revenue opportunities. In this session, hear from ex-founders who will share real lessons from successful startups on how to to accelerate your path to 6-figure deals, from proven positioning tactics and automating internal workflows to avoiding common pitfalls and identifying key PMF indicators that can predict success.
Accelerating GTM traction - What Enterprise Buyers Want from AI Startups Enterprise buyers aren’t swayed by flashy demos; they demand solutions that deliver real‑world ROI from day one. In this session, seasoned AWS startup specialists will reveal how to cut the gap between founder pitches and the concrete needs of enterprises based on real world observations selling startup solutions to large organizations. You’ll get to understand how to align product features with enterprise pain points, narrow the chasm between pitch and reality, master buying dynamics, and also get a preview of exceptional AWS programs and services that can fast‑track your GTM motions and distribution.
Own your AI: Beating frontier models with your own data by Fireworks AI The best AI companies aren't renting intelligence from closed model APIs — they're building their own. In this session, Fireworks AI busts three common myths about fine-tuning open models: that closed models are always better, that fine-tuning is hard, and that you need massive labeled datasets. Drawing on real production examples from companies like Vercel and Genspark, you'll see show how SFT, DPO, and reinforcement fine-tuning turn your production data into a compounding moat — and why the best model for your product is the one you own.