2 men listening in to work meetings fool their customers into paying $100 per month for "AI note-taking startup": 'The first version... doesn't even have AI'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 12, 2025 11:00 AM EST

Not all AI technology is as it seems… just ask the customers who paid $100 a month for an AI service, only to discover the "service" was just 2 dudes listening in to their calls!

Taking notes during meetings can be really important, but it's also distracting. As you're sitting there, typing out the notes from your boss before you forget them, you're not 100% focused on the actual conversation at hand. Wouldn't it be great if someone, or something, could take notes for you, instead? While you and your coworkers could take turns being the notetaker, some tech bros have proposed an easier solution… or so they claim.

Although some video-calling services now claim they can take notes from your calls using AI tech (and do this for free!), there's apparently a demand for this service anyway. Having the ability to focus 100% of your energy on a call is valuable to many business professionals, which this startup capitalized on with their idea. They were selling a service that claimed that AI could take notes for any call you were on and send them over within 10 minutes or so. But, as you'll read below, that was far from the reality of the situation. Check out the full story, as well as the shock (and in some cases, admiration) expressed by commenters, all down below. 

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  • 01
    6 business people sitting around meeting table, two shaking hands, with coffees and notebooks in front of them
    via Curated Lifestyle For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    Came across this post on LinkedIn... Turns out the first version of @firefliesai - Al meeting assistant - doesn't even have Al.
    via @pbteja1998
  • 03
    It's just founder joining the calls, taking notes manually, and sending the summary back.
    via @pbteja1998
  • 04
    Sam Udotong in - 1st Co-founder & CTO at Fireflies.ai 10h We charged $100/month for an Al that was really just two guys surviving on pizza. We scaled Fireflies to a $1B valuation after 6 failures from our original crypto food delivery idea. : Nothing motivates you more than the pressure of living month to month with no safety net.
    via @pbteja1998
  • 05
    Before I explain how 2 broke guys validated a $1B idea, you need to understand we were couch surfing while desperately chasing our entrepreneurial dreams. An Al notetaker was our last hope after 6 ideas our friends claimed were "genius". The best way to validate your business idea is by becoming the product yourself. We told our customers there's an "Al that'll join a meeting." In reality it was just me and my co-founder calling in to the meeting sitting there silently and taking notes by hand.
    via @pbteja1998
  • 06
    When customers scheduled a meeting, we'd manually dial in as "Fred from Fireflies.ai" We'd sit there silently, take detailed notes, and send them 10 minutes later. After taking notes for 100+ meetings (and falling asleep in many), we were finally able to make enough money to pay the $750/month rent for a tiny SF living room. That was the point when we said let's stop and automate everything.
    via @pbteja1998
  • 07
    The best prototype was 2 guys surviving on pizza. Validation before automation saved us from our 7th failure. Follow for more unconventional stories about how we built Fireflies to what it is today.
    via @pbteja1998
  • 08
    This story is insane. The founders of Fireflies Al (now worth $1B+) pretended to be an Al notetaker before the tech existed.
    via @rowancheung
  • 09
    The founders would: > Join meetings on mute as "Fred from Fireflies" > Take notes by hand while sitting silently > Send the "Al-generated" notes 10 minutes later They did this for 100+ meetings to pay rent, before actually building the product that went on to become a unicorn.
    via @rowancheung
  • 10
    Stefan-Iulian Tesoi @stefantul "The best way to validate your business idea is by becoming the product yourself" I AM THE PRODUCT
    via @stefantul
  • 11
    Siddharth Shah @siddharthshahx Yeah this was misrepresentation, fraud, and violating a shit ton of GDPR (which requires lawful, transparent processing), cross border data transfer laws, and confidentiality, if not disclosed to those customers upfront. This is not the flex you think it is
    via @siddharthshahx
  • 12
    Kole Sam @Kole_Sam This is a concierge MVP. Was it ethical and lacking in transparency? That's another question
    via @Kole_Sam
  • 13
    Pratham @Prathkum I love the growth mindset, but shouldn't this be legally wrong!?
    via @Prathkum
  • 14
    Kazi Hasan Ali @iamkazihasanali Honestly, not sure this should be glorified. Selling "AI" while manually faking it crosses into trust-risk territory for early customers.
    via @iamkazihasanali
  • 15
    Amir Zeinali @amir_zeinali can't think of a better definition of startup grit
    via @amir_zeinali

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workplace-stories jobs job work technology workplace Tech artificial intelligence modern technology
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