How Yasser Bootstrapped Chatbase to $10M ARR in 3 Years

Yasir, CEO and solo founder of Chatbase, joins Saba and Charlie on the Napkin Math podcast to break down how he bootstrapped an AI customer support platform from a PDF chatbot side project to $10M ARR in just 3 years — starting before ChatGPT even launched. He shares the real story behind going viral, hitting $1M ARR in 4 months, the chaos of early growth, why he stayed bootstrapped, and how he thinks about building durable AI "harnesses" in a world where models improve every few months.

Timestamps:
01:38 - Origin story — building before ChatGPT existed
14:04 - 0 to $1M ARR in 4 months
22:13 - Product evolution — PDF chatbot to B2B AI agent
31:05 - Why brand makes every channel easier
35:44 - What makes a great AI harness vs a mediocre one
43:48 - Moats in the AI era
52:43 - Bootstrapped vs raising — Yasir's decision
56:15 - Path to AGI through harness improvements
59:12 - Advice for new founders: operate like an agency