Jun Kwak - AI Agents and the Future of Commerce (Ep. 335)

Jun Kwak, co-founder and CTO of Overjoy, joins Jim O'Shaughnessy on Infinite Loops to talk about why he believes every B2B SaaS company will have to become a service business, how Overjoy went from selling software to delivering sales outcomes for consumer brands, why tangled data is the strongest moat against the frontier labs, how AI agents could weaken wholesale marketplaces, why brands need websites AI agents can read, why small brands chasing big box stores often abandon their most profitable channel, whether agents will turn premium products into commodities, and what three national debate championships taught him about running a company.

Show Notes

Jun Kwak & Jim O'Shaughnessy

• Jun Kwak: Co-founder and CTO of Overjoy. Connect on LinkedIn

• Overjoy: The AI-powered wholesale growth platform Jun co-founded with Alex Han. Overjoy

• Overjoy on X: Follow Overjoy on X

• Jim O'Shaughnessy: Host of Infinite Loops, founder and CEO of O'Shaughnessy Ventures, and author of the New York Times bestseller What Works on Wall Street. Follow Jim on X

• Full transcripts: Transcripts and highlights from every Infinite Loops conversation. OSV newsletter

Books & Ideas Mentioned

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig: The source of Jim's story about a friend outraged that his BMW motorcycle was fixed with a scrap of aluminum can. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

• Influence by Robert Cialdini: The classic text on persuasion Jim cites when asking whether AI will master it. Influence

• Sebastian Barry: The Irish novelist whose McNulty book A Temporary Gentleman Jim discussed with his AI agent. Sebastian Barry

• Consumer Reports: Jim's model for a trusted product-rating source in a world of AI shopping agents. Consumer Reports

• Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: The 2023 bank run that locked up Overjoy's seed funding. Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

• Faire: The wholesale marketplace Jun cites as the market leader. Faire

• Electronic data interchange (EDI): The ordering system big box retailers require, and one reason small brands fear that channel. Electronic data interchange