Latest news with #Jotform
Entrepreneur
3 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
I'm So Glad My Company Never Went Viral — Here's Why
Growth that lasts isn't about the moment or the initial hype. It's about what happens in the months and years that follow. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. A long time ago, in the days when my startup was still in its infancy, I craved what I saw other entrepreneurs enjoying: Major, explosive growth. The kind that snatches headlines and earns thousands — no, millions — of shares on social media. The kind of growth that fuels conference panels and cocktail hour gossip. Now? I am so glad my company never had that. As scintillating as a big launch day story can be, there's a hidden cost to going viral too soon. Think about it: How many companies have you seen rocket into the stratosphere like a firework, only to flame out just as quickly? At my company, Jotform, we recently had a major launch. In the months since we released our new product, the outcome has been exactly as I'd wanted: a slow, steady climb in usage. Why would I want that over a viral hit? Let me explain. Related: Startup Culture Prioritizes Scaling Fast — Here's Why That's Actually a Huge Mistake The pitfalls of explosive growth To answer why an entrepreneur would hope for anything less than a runaway smash, let's look back on what happened to the exercise bike company Peloton during the pandemic, when usage surged. The company reacted by pushing its manufacturing capabilities beyond its limits, causing quality and customer satisfaction to take a hit. When the pandemic finally waned, the company was left with a bloated inventory and supply capacity it no longer needed. SaaS companies don't generally have the issues associated with producing physical products, but the problems are often similar: When usage skyrockets overnight, your systems get tested in ways they weren't designed for. Support tickets pile up. Bugs get exposed in the worst possible ways — publicly, and all at once. Teams scramble, often abandoning longer-term thinking in favor of short-term firefighting. Even worse, early users drawn in by hype might not be long-term customers, which means the feedback you're acting on isn't actually helpful. Too much growth, too quickly, decimates your ability to listen closely and refine your product in response to real needs. Improving your product gradually One of the most valuable things about slow growth is that it offers you the opportunity to improve your product. At Jotform, we released our AI agents and immediately got to work tweaking them based on the feedback we received. I know what we're doing is working, because I'm watching their use increase over time. Steady growth gives you space to iterate, not just react. I understand it can be difficult to resist the urge to meet demand, but I caution against rushing. Writing for Harvard Business Review, Gary P. Pisano explains that "good growth strategists do not fall into the trap of thinking they can grow fast now and fix things later. They recognize that more-measured growth over a sustained period will lead to much better financial results than explosive growth for a short period of time." I completely agree — the "move fast and break things" ethos is a recipe for overwhelm and loss of trust. A more disciplined approach lets you catch issues early, optimize systems before they're overburdened, and prioritize features that truly matter to your core users, not just the loudest voices. In our case, it meant identifying which use cases were gaining traction and which needed further support, all without burning out the team or breaking what we'd built. Related: Don't Be Fooled By Overnight Success Stories — Building a Business Takes More Time Than You Think. Here's How to Play the Long Game. Learn about actual customer use When growth is gradual, you get something far more valuable than vanity metrics: insight into how people actually use your product. Not how you hope they'll use it or how they describe it in a survey, but real behavior, in real environments. At Jotform, one of our biggest discoveries after launching our AI agents was that usage wasn't just happening inside our platform. It was happening on users' own websites. We started seeing thousands of daily views coming from embedded agents — far more than we initially expected. That told us that customers weren't just experimenting with the tool; they were integrating it into their businesses. We saw custom buttons, branded interfaces and even AI agents connected to WhatsApp. These weren't casual users — they were adapting our product to their needs in creative, sometimes surprising ways. This information has been instrumental in helping us chart our path forward from here. Building for the long-term When you grow slowly, you don't just learn more — you build better. You're able to lay a strong foundation that can support future scaling, instead of racing to patch things together after the fact. At Jotform, that meant making smart decisions about infrastructure, support systems and product design based on real patterns rather than assumptions. It also meant giving our team the time to build sustainably, without chaos. When the next wave of users arrives — and it will — we'll be ready, not scrambling, because growth that lasts isn't about the moment or the initial hype. It's about what happens in the months and years that follow.
Fast Company
6 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
5 ways to keep your business ahead of tech disruption
'The best laid schemes of mice and men [often go awry],' wrote the poet Robert Burns in 1785. In other words, even our most carefully crafted plans rarely unfold as expected. Nearly two and a half centuries later, in the fast-moving age of AI, that insight feels more relevant than ever. For entrepreneurs, staying competitive means building a business plan that can keep pace with evolving technology. After nearly two decades as CEO of a SaaS company, I've learned that planning isn't about predicting the future with perfect clarity—it's about being ready and adaptable. Here are five planning strategies that have helped me make my company more tech-responsive and allowed me to future-proof our growth. Building flexibility into budgets If the past few years have taught us anything, it's that change is the only constant—and that rapid change is more likely than ever, whether in technology, the economy, or global health. To keep up in a fast-paced and largely unpredictable tech landscape, leaders need to build flexibility into their budgets. At Jotform, that means factoring in a bit of slack for experimentation and unforeseen shifts. We make space for pilot programs, internal beta testing, and regular software updates—not as an afterthought, but as a core part of our planning process. This approach enables us to pivot as needed and stay open to emerging tools or trends, like AI agents, that could give us an edge. In a landscape defined by constant evolution, adaptability can become a competitive advantage. Revisiting the tech stack quarterly It's essential to regularly revisit your tech stack—the software tools, frameworks, and infrastructure that keep the wheels of your company turning. An interface or database that worked well six months ago may be completely obsolete today. What's more, I've found that you can almost always identify ways to make your workplace more efficient. While many companies revisit their tech stack annually or biannually as a rule of thumb, for businesses operating in environments where technologies are evolving fast, I'd recommend a quarterly check-in. Conduct your review with an automation-first mindset. With the right tools and tech, you can streamline entire processes and eliminate tedious, manual tasks, freeing up employees for work that truly matters. Nowadays, I'm investing my time and energy in researching the latest AI agents to integrate into our tech stack. These are autonomous tools that can independently carry out tasks or entire workflows. You give them the goal, and they figure out how to execute it. Think of it as regularly tuning your engine—and you don't want to cruise, you want to race. Creating a cross-functional tech committee At our company, cross-functional collaboration is second nature. Since most projects span multiple departments, we've found that bringing together diverse expertise not only builds momentum, but also leads to smarter, faster decision-making. By involving key stakeholders early, we avoid costly delays and hiccups down the road. Today, most companies need a dedicated tech committee—one that keeps a pulse on emerging technologies, evaluates the company's existing tools, and offers strategic guidance on implementation. To make the best decisions for the business, this committee should include representatives from across the organization: developers, designers, sales, HR, finance, and beyond. A cross-functional makeup ensures that all perspectives are considered when shaping the company's tech stack. Investing in digital upskilling As a growing body of research shows, professionals across the board are anxious about the impact of AI on their job security. A recent survey, for example, found that 74% of IT professionals fear AI will render their skills obsolete. And yet, many companies continue to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to AI, mistaking a fundamental shift for a fad. But as each day makes more patently clear: AI isn't going anywhere. To stay competitive—and to ease employee concerns—companies should adopt a top-down strategy for digital upskilling. Fortunately, AI itself can be a powerful solution. AI-powered tools offer scalable, cost-effective training tailored to each employee's role, skill level, and goals. Take those AI agents, for example: They can design personalized learning paths, identify targeted materials, and conduct Socratic-style sessions to deepen understanding. Imagine a social media manager aiming to upskill in AI-generated content. An agent can provide curated lessons, recommend practice exercises, and schedule check-ins—making it easy to integrate learning into the workday without cutting into personal time. Monitoring adjacent industries Finally, monitoring industries adjacent to your company is not a planning tip—it's a strategy for survival nowadays. Consider the cautionary tale of Blockbuster. By ignoring advances in technology and e-commerce, and consumers' shift toward convenience, they missed the streaming revolution. They filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Meanwhile, Netflix is crushing it in 2025. The takeaway? Leaders who track innovation beyond their own industry are quicker to adopt the right solutions for their companies. Identify the right thought leaders, check software review sites like G2, and stay plugged into emerging tech. Your plans still might not unfold as expected, but with the right tools, you'll be able to adapt.
Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Every Business Is Becoming An AI Company. Here's How To Do It Right
The best way to future-proof your business is to embrace AI and build adaptable teams. Business in the United States is being completely overhauled as artificial intelligence upends nearly every industry. Whether you're exploring new ways to scale your company or reshaping your workforce, business leaders must weigh the costs — known and unknown — with potential gains, which are hardly guaranteed. 'For managers, AI agents mean less time spent overseeing basic training and more time to focus on higher-value tasks,' writes Forbes contributor Aytekin Tank, CEO of the San Francisco-based startup Jotform. 'The key is smart delegation: Entrepreneurs and managers should use AI agents to handle designated training tasks, while maintaining strategic direction. Businesses that move quickly to integrate AI-driven learning will reap a major competitive advantage.' Here's how our expert contributors suggest you do it. Writing and editing text may be the most popular use case for AI tools today. According to a McKinsey & Company survey from late 2024, more than 63% of executives said their companies are using generative AI to write text, relying more on chatbots. The trouble is, employees often say that AI tools can make teams less productive, Forbes contributor Tor Constantino reports. He cites research highlighting 'the shockingly wide divide between the expected productivity gains by senior executives and the lackluster results shared by the overwhelming majority of rank-and-file employees.' In fact, University of Chicago professor Anders Humlum and University of Copenhagen professor Emilie Vestergaard published a study in 2025 that found 'AI chatbots have had no significant impact on earnings or recorded hours in any occupation.' The modest productivity gains were offset by disengaged workers who felt they lost both growth potential and agency. Reece Akhtar, Forbes contributor and CEO of the talent-management tools company Deeper Signals, recommends offering AI initiatives as an avenue for teams to experiment rather than merely scale operations. 'The extent to which we can use AI to augment the curious, driven and collaborative tendencies of our teams, the more optimistic we can be about their ability to develop new, unimagined innovations that open new streams of revenue,' Aktar writes. Otherwise, executives may expect more from employees without considering that new tech tools require training to use well, and troubleshooting to maintain. Plus, automated production routinely requires human intervention to protect quality. If executives merely expect teams to churn out more work — seeing AI tools and services as a way to reduce headcount — the result may be additional work and lower morale. 'Workers report spending more time reviewing AI-generated content and learning tool complexities than the time these tools supposedly save,' writes Forbes contributor Luis Romero, the founder of GenStorm AI. If maintaining positive team dynamics isn't part of the foundation of your company's business strategy, then adopting AI tools is unlikely to increase productivity — and could lead to a worker exodus. When employees start using AI tools creatively to achieve high quality outcomes, that is a sign that the company is achieving a healthy level of AI adoption that can evolve along with the emerging technology. As talent leaves, cyclical recruiting costs increase. Mounting tech support responsibilities without pay raises, team-building and growth opportunities can lead employees to disengage. To keep staff connected, executives must protect face-to-face time with coworkers, if only via remote video calls. 'What draws people in now isn't just communication. It's the sense that someone notices effort before asking for output,' writes Forbes contributor Vibhas Ratanjee, a Gallup researcher who specializes in leadership development. 'Most internal tools are built to save time. Fewer steps. Smoother clicks. But frictionless doesn't always mean thoughtful. When we remove human pauses, we risk removing the parts that build connection.' Prolonged human-machine interaction creates mental fatigue, which can be eased with team-building and collaborative projects. When motivated teams use AI tools, that's when the magic happens. Forbes contributor Anne Griffin, an AI product consultant, writes that executives should measure a team's AI adoption by focusing on speed and value created without compromising quality. Most teams could move faster, but quality suffers. That's not the goal. Instead, Griffin recommends evaluating whether employees are demonstrating more agency in how they use AI tools. When employees start using AI tools creatively, rather than merely prescriptively, that's the type of AI adoption that can evolve along with the emerging technology. Once sustainable AI adoption has become a central pillar of your company's business strategy, that's when you should start hiring AI experts. Skills-based hiring and internship programs can help companies identify new, AI-savvy talent. Hiring for any role is an opportunity to diversify and level-up your team. 'Check that your job ads reach a broad range of potential candidates. Use gender-neutral job descriptions to increase the number of women applicants,' writes Forbes contributor Corinne Post. 'Involve technical women in the interview process: female job candidates who interview with female role models are more likely to accept job offers.' That advice doesn't only apply to technical roles. Forbes contributor Dr. Aviva Legatt, the founder of EdGenerative consultancy, which focuses on AI in education, recommends that employers should look beyond computer science majors and focus on 'cross-disciplinary connections.' AI learning is not restricted to the IT department or engineering team, it will be a part of every department at the company. Recruit interns and entry-level employees from universities that have robust AI education programs, like the University of Georgia and Emory University, in addition to Ivy League schools like Princeton. 'Rather than limiting AI development to computer science or IT departments, Emory has deliberately fostered cross-disciplinary connections,' writes Legatt. Skills-based hiring can help identify needed know-how on resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn profiles, regardless of the candidates' from all backgrounds can prove their skills on tests you can administer during the interview process. With regards to Gen Z candidates, Forbes contributor Sarah Hernholm, a SXSW EDU Student Startup Competition coordinator, also recommends considering candidates with communications degrees if they have social media skills, and graduates with degrees in human-computer interaction or cognitive science. 'Cognitive science sits at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, computer science, and philosophy,' Hernholm writes. 'This interdisciplinary approach creates graduates who understand how both human and artificial minds process information—a crucial skill as AI systems become more sophisticated.' Next, send employees to network in person at conferences like World Summit AI Americas, the AI World Congress, the AI and Big Data Expo, and Ai4. Attendees might consider asking speakers and experts to introduce them to professionals they recommend. Spread word of new job opportunities far and wide. When your team members post on social media about company job openings, the listing can reach a broader audience. Be open to candidates who may not have traditional qualifications but have the skills and experience to adapt to dynamic work environments. When interviewing candidates, consider with whom those candidates might collaborate. In addition to hiring AI-savvy talent, your business should create strategies for existing teams to experiment with AI tools. Investing in upskilling employees can be more cost-effective than trying to immediately automate numerous roles. Forbes contributor Barry Libert, CEO of the platform advisory firm AllMatters, writes: 'A workforce familiar with the company's data and systems can more effectively integrate AI solutions into existing processes, reducing the time to implementation and ensuring smoother transitions.' Companies frequently save money when they train and inspire current staff to adopt emerging trends like AI rather than relying solely on new employees. 'Effective training develops skills during the training rather than relying on participants to revisit material independently afterward,' writes Forbes contributor Cynthia Pong. 'When employees see immediate applications for their new skills, they're far more likely to incorporate AI into their daily work how you want them to.' AI tools are not just for technical teams. Every team can explore how AI tools might be useful for different projects. AI tools are not just for technical teams. Forbes contributor Christian Stradler, a professor of strategic management at Warwick Business School, recommends that operations personnel try AI tools like LawGeex, Kira Systems or Luminance AI for simple, standard contracts. Marketing teams can try tools like the video editing tool Opus Clip, the text-to-video generator Runway or the image editing tool Pixlr — whatever suits the task at hand. The most AI-proof companies with growth potential will strategize how to go beyond AI automation and specific tools. Creating an AI-savvy company is all about how teams adapt and evolve along with the technology. 'Winning organizations aren't just updating their tech infrastructure. They're preparing their people with training and clear guidelines,' writes Forbes contributor Sarah Elk, a senior partner focused on AI solutions at Bain & Company. 'Companies that hesitate now risk being left behind—not just by their competitors, but by their own employees.' What's propelled your business to this point won't necessarily guarantee your future success. Balancing bold investments and regular improvements can help prepare you for whatever AI may bring.
Forbes
10-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How AI Agents Are Eliminating Boring Work In 2025
Photo by Fernando Hernandez on Unsplash When it comes to innovation, the adage 'if it's not broken, don't fix it' doesn't apply. Case in point: AI agents. They're poised to reimagine how we complete everyday tasks—even those that never seemed to need fixing. Why spend time jumping through hoops of daily busywork if you don't have to? Crucially, the latest AI agents aren't just speeding up task execution—they're shifting how we approach work altogether. AI is no longer just a helpful assistant; it's becoming a reliable, independent executor of everyday tasks. Take your inbox. Until recently, AI could help draft replies or summarize email threads—but only when you asked. Now, newer agents like HyperWrite's browser-based assistant can read, prioritize, and respond to emails on your behalf. It's more than just a productivity hack. As CEO of Jotform, I'm constantly on the lookout for new ways to streamline the systems that keep my company moving. Here are some of the most powerful ways AI agents are eliminating boring work and improving everyday tasks in 2025. Steve Jobs' signature outfit was simple but intentional: black turtlenecks, Levi's 501s, and New Balance sneakers. It eliminated the daily decision of what to wear, saving time and mental energy. Over time, those minutes compound into hours and days that can be spent on more meaningful activities. I can relate. As a business owner and father of three, I'd rather spend extra time with my kids than agonize over summer wardrobe choices. That's the promise of AI agents in 2025: automating the kind of everyday decisions most people don't love, or don't have time for. Credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard are now rolling out autonomous agents that can shop and make purchases on your behalf, based on your preferences and spending habits. For business owners, this shift could be huge. Imagine delegating recurring inventory orders, team gift shopping, or even booking travel, without having to open a web browser. The agent knows your budget, your standards, and your preferences, and handles it all in the background. Let's say you're prepping for an all-hands meeting. Normally, that means hours spent gathering information, connecting the dots, and shaping it into a compelling narrative—a process that can take longer than the meeting itself. With AI, you can state your objective, and an agent will handle the rest. Companies like Microsoft are rolling out research and analysis agents powered by advanced reasoning models. These agents don't just respond to questions, they pursue goals. Give them a task, like 'prepare a status update with key business metrics and recent customer feedback,' and they'll source the data, analyze it, and present it in a thoughtfully organized format. Again, it's not just faster, it's a fundamentally different way of working. Most importantly, you're saving your mental energy for important work, like being 'on' for your colleagues during the actual meeting. Google search revolutionized how we access information, offering instant answers from countless sources at no cost. The reliability of those sources varies, sure, but it changed how we think. These days, it's almost reflexive to Google something the moment a question pops into our heads. Now, AI agents like Gemini 2.0 are redefining what it means to search. Instead of typing queries and scanning hyperlinks, you can have a dialogue with an AI-powered search assistant that learns your preferences and stores your history, continually updating as you go along. Let's say you're searching for summer vacation destinations. Gemini can recommend destinations that fit the profile of your past trips—for example, national parks over beach resorts, or Tuscany instead of the Amalfi Coast. If you're planning a team-building outing, it can suggest trips that fit your budget, group size, and travel preferences. Another feature that sets this agentic AI apart is memory. You can explicitly tell Gemini what matters to you—say, your love for Stumptown coffee—and it will factor that into future coffee shop suggestions. The result is not just search, but personalized assistance, delivered in natural, conversational language. When tools like Slack and Notion first launched, they revolutionized how teams, especially remote ones, collaborated. Now, AI agents are taking that utility to the next level by turning these platforms into integrated, intelligent assistants. Agents like Notion AI can search across your connected tools—Slack, Google Docs, Slides, and more—to surface answers in full context. It can retrieve and synthesize that information instantly, even if you didn't know where to look. It's like having a digital chief of staff who knows where everything lives, and brings it to you exactly when you need it. 24/7, no less. With AI agents, you're not just using your workspaces—you're compounding their value.
Chicago Tribune
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Indiana weighs new academic accountability rules; test results less important
Indiana education officials are laying the groundwork for a new A-F accountability system they said is aligned with what Hoosiers agree are the characteristics important to lifelong success. The State Board of Education welcomed the first draft Wednesday on the K-12 measure that will go into effect next year to better prepare students for the future, they said. It dovetails with the state's newly revised diploma that becomes effective with the Class of 2029. It focuses on three areas – students preparing for college, the military or direct employment after high school. 'To best prepare students for the future – whether their next steps include college, a career or military service – we know that both knowledge and real-world skills are essential to their success,' said Gov. Mike Braun in a release. The new characteristics that indicators will measure are academic mastery, career and postsecondary readiness, credentials, experiences and work ethic. The process, built upon multiple rounds of public comment and feedback, is likely to consume most of the year. Its main change, however, is testing assessment scores will no longer be the sole letter grade criteria for school evaluations. A state law, authored by House Education Chairman Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, calls for two drafts, each with a 30-day public comment period. The first public comment period opens later this summer, but officials said the public can provide immediate feedback via Jotform, an online feedback/survey tool. The state also requires the State Board of Education to adopt a final draft of the A-F grading scale by Dec. 31. Democrats argued its results could still be punitive on schools with lower poverty rates. Schools have not received letter grades since 2018 when the DOE moved from the ISTEP exam to a new accountability test called ILEARN. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted testing, and no grades were assigned. Presently, the state's assessment system rates students in grades 3-8 based on academic performance and growth on ILEARN. High school grades are based on SAT scores, graduation rates and college and career readiness. The new grading system is expected to focus on math, English and literacy mastery in the lower grades and a shift toward skill development and work-based opportunities and credentials in high school. To offer feedback, see
