Code is Cheap, Moats are Hard: Winning the New Software Battleground

​AI is collapsing the distance between business intent and working software. The result is not that software has become easy. It is that the bottleneck has moved from writing code to deciding what should exist, how it should work, who should trust it, and how fast organizations can adapt.

This panel brings together operators, founders, investors, and technology leaders to discuss what happens when software gets faster to build, cheaper to test, and harder to defend.

We’ll look at three realities:

For executives: roadmaps are compressing from quarters to weeks. How do leaders budget, staff, govern, and make decisions when technology can move faster than the organization?

For founders: AI lowers the cost of building, but not the cost of distribution, trust, or insight. Where are the real openings to attack legacy players?

For investors: if anyone can build a product faster than before, what counts as a moat now?

No vendor pitches. No sci-fi hype. Just a blunt conversation about what replaces the old software model, and what still requires human judgment.

Agenda:
11:00 AM – Networking (30 min)

​11:30 AM – Panel discussion (90 min)

​1:00 PM – Closing networking (60 min)
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Our Panelists 🎤

​Gus Spathis
Founder & CEO, Xogito

​Gus’ career spans over 30 years, managing businesses and award-winning teams and technology. He has focused on realizing entrepreneur’s visions by solving difficult problems efficiently and creating breakthrough solutions.

​As an entrepreneur himself he has participated in founding over a dozen different companies. He is a sought-after advisor by venture capitalists, angel investors, and private equity firms.​

​​Kayan Mishra
Vice President, Mudita Studios

​Kayan Mishra is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur behind Mudita Studios, where he backs early AI software companies and helps turn raw ideas into real businesses.

​He spends his time investing with founders, shaping the story, sharpening the product, and figuring out how to win in the market. As a serial entrepreneur, he’s known for mixing sharp strategy with taste: strong GTM, clean design, and a relentless focus on what actually matters.

​Outside of work, he’s drawn to music, community, and creating spaces where ambitious people can think bigger together

​​Rob Bailey
Serial Entrepreneur

​Founder and operator focused on building category-defining AI and enterprise software companies. He has been part of the core teams behind multiple category winners, including DataSift, Kustomer, and CrewAI. His work centers on the new playbook for AI-native companies—where product, positioning, and go-to-market are tightly integrated to drive rapid scale.

​​Paul Trapani
Co-Founder, PassTech Development

​Paul Trapani is the Co-Founder of PassTech Development, a software advisory firm that helps organizations regain control of mission-critical systems. He works directly with executive teams on technology governance, vendor risk, and where AI creates real operational advantage versus unnecessary complexity. He also serves as President of LISTnet (Long Island Software and Technology Network), advancing collaboration across the regional technology ecosystem.

​​Adam Pleasant
CEO of The Outcome Company

​Adam Pleasant is the founder and CEO of The Outcome Company, an AI-native platform delivering 100 fixed-scope outcomes across health, financial, legal, and other verticals. He concurrently serves as Head of Strategic Initiatives & Ventures at Truffle Pig, a Chicago single-family office, and as AI Chief at Decennial Group, a private equity firm spanning data centers, controlled environment agriculture, and multi-family housing.
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​​About Xogito

​Xogito partners with startups and enterprises to design and deliver scalable, high-performance systems using modern engineering and AI-driven practices. With over 20 years of experience, Xogito helps teams launch new products, rebuild fragile MVPs, modernize infrastructure, and implement intelligent workflows that scale with the business.