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Dawn talks with Ricky Ho, founder of San Francisco AI startup SourceReady, which helps retailers, brands, and importers automate product sourcing from idea to factory by identifying suppliers globally (including some in the US), calculating tariffs, and even negotiating with factories using AI trained on millions of factory records, supplier disclosures, shipment records, and customs data. Ricky explains that most small businesses misuse AI like Google search, while the real power is in reasoning and execution through persistent AI “agents” with memory that can work toward goals using tools. They discuss trust and verification, emphasizing AI shouldn’t make high-stakes decisions yet, but can do substantial work with human oversight like managing an employee. They also cover AI’s growing role in customer service, recruiting, accounting, legal, sales/marketing, and retail, and suggest staying current by asking AI for updates and sources.

Who is Ricky Ho, and whom does he serve? (00:52)

Sourcing Pain Points (01:44)

Domestic vs Overseas (02:26)

AI Not Google Search (02:57)

Chatbots vs Agents (04:59)

Trust and Oversight (07:53)

Managing AI Skills (11:14)

Customer Service AI (14:26)

AI Sourcing Workflow (20:48)

Industries Up Next (24:34)

Vibe Coding Boom (26:34)

Adoption Barriers (29:16)

Stay Updated Using AI (30:43)

Ricky Ho’s Information:

Website:https://www.sourceready.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-ho-a25a05104/

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