In the latest episode of Ignite Podcast, host Brian Bell sits down with Adam Barbera, the CEO and founder of Dost, an AI-powered accounts payable co-pilot that streamlines invoice and delivery note management. Adam shares his journey from working in enterprise software sales at SAP and Tech Data to building an AI-driven solution that solves a major pain point for businesses dealing with high-volume supplier invoices.
Dost is a Team Ignite portfolio company, but its journey to investment wasn’t straightforward. In fact, when Adam first pitched the company, Team Ignite passed on it. However, Adam stayed in touch, sending consistent updates, and as the company’s traction grew, it became clear that Dost had found a strong product-market fit. This episode explores that journey, the challenges of scaling a B2B fintech startup, and the future of AI in financial operations.
The Problem: Why Accounts Payable Needs AI
For most businesses, managing invoices and payments is a tedious, manual process. While small companies may handle a few invoices per month, large enterprises—especially in manufacturing and construction—deal with thousands of invoices and delivery notes that need to be matched against purchase orders. When errors occur, they often go unnoticed until the end of a financial quarter, creating significant operational risks.
Dost solves this by leveraging AI to automate invoice processing, ensuring that purchase orders, invoices, and delivery notes match seamlessly. This reduces errors, eliminates tedious manual work, and provides businesses with real-time visibility into their financial operations.
The Journey to Product-Market Fit
Adam’s path to founding Dost was shaped by his experience in enterprise sales and business development. While working at SAP and Tech Data, he became deeply familiar with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the inefficiencies they create in financial operations.
Initially, Adam attempted to build an internal solution within his company, but the project was rejected because Tech Data wasn’t a software company. Seeing the massive opportunity, he decided to quit his job and start Dost.
At first, selling the product was a challenge. Many businesses were skeptical, having tried other automation tools that failed to meet their needs. However, Adam and his team focused on customer feedback, continuously refining the product until they found features that competitors lacked. When customers began demanding these unique features, the team knew they had built something truly valuable.
Scaling the Business: From Zero to Growth
The early days of Dost were driven by founder-led sales, leveraging Adam’s personal network to acquire customers. His initial clients were primarily in manufacturing and construction, industries that rely heavily on timely supplier payments.
Once Dost started gaining traction, the company structured its sales strategy:
Cold calling: Instead of relying solely on inbound marketing, the team focused on direct outreach. Since accounts payable teams feel the pain of manual processes daily, cold calls were surprisingly effective.
Structured outbound sales: Dost built a playbook-driven sales team, starting with SDRs (Sales Development Representatives) and scaling up with Account Executives and Customer Success roles.
AI-enhanced outreach: While the team believes in traditional sales tactics, they also leverage AI for market research and crafting personalized outreach messages.
Over time, Dost expanded into multiple countries, refining its sales playbook for international markets.
The Future of AI in Finance
As AI continues to evolve, Adam envisions a world where accounts payable is nearly fully automated. While many believe SaaS will be replaced entirely by AI agents, he sees a hybrid future, where agentic workflows complement traditional SaaS platforms.
Dost has embraced AI-driven automation by:
Building AI models in-house instead of relying on cloud-based solutions, ensuring greater control and cost efficiency.
Developing AI-driven financial insights, allowing businesses to optimize working capital management.
Enhancing supplier relationships by automating communication and reducing friction in invoice processing.
In the next decade, Adam believes finance teams will shift from manual processing to high-level decision-making, as AI handles routine tasks with greater accuracy and speed.
Lessons for Startup Founders
Throughout the episode, Adam shares key lessons for founders scaling a startup in a B2B environment:
Stay Persistent – Investors may not say yes initially, but keeping them updated on progress can turn a “no” into a future investment.
Start with Founder-Led Sales – Before hiring a sales team, founders should personally sell the product to understand the ideal customer profile (ICP).
Balance Speed and Control in AI Development – While off-the-shelf AI tools are tempting, building proprietary AI solutions provides long-term flexibility.
Hire Thoughtfully – Scaling a team too quickly can lead to inefficiencies. Focus on hiring when there’s a clear need.
Cold Calling Still Works – While AI can optimize outreach, human conversations remain crucial for B2B sales success.
What’s Next for Dost?
Looking ahead, Adam sees Dost becoming a global leader in financial automation, helping businesses optimize their financial operations with AI. As AI technology advances, invoice processing will become a background task, with finance teams only stepping in for exception handling.
For those interested in learning more about Dost, visit dost.io. Adam is also active on LinkedIn, where he shares insights on AI, finance, and enterprise software.
This episode offers valuable insights for startup founders, enterprise operators, and anyone interested in how AI is transforming financial workflows. Even if you don’t work in accounts payable, the lessons from Dost journey—from product-market fit to scaling sales and leveraging AI for automation—are applicable across many industries.
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Chapters:
Welcome & Guest Introduction (00:01 – 01:19)
Adam’s Journey: From Enterprise Sales to Startup Founder (01:20 – 04:08)
The Aha Moment: Identifying the Accounts Payable Pain Point (04:09 – 06:18)
Scaling Dost: Finding Product-Market Fit (06:19 – 09:26)
Outbound Sales & The Power of Cold Calling (09:27 – 13:39)
Leveraging AI: The Build vs. Buy Decision (13:40 – 16:24)
AI in Finance: The Future of Automation (16:25 – 19:08)
Building a High-Performance Team (19:09 – 22:18)
The Challenges of AI Adoption in Large Enterprises (22:19 – 27:08)
Long-Term Vision: Where Dost is Headed (27:09 – 30:34)
Rapid-Fire: Productivity Hacks, AI Trends & Startup Advice (30:35 – 34:50)
Final Thoughts & How to Connect with Dost (34:51 – 35:01)
Thanks to Byldd for sponsoring this episode! Byldd helps startups rapidly build and launch revenue-generating SaaS and marketplace businesses with cost-effective, scalable solutions - Get Started Here.
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