What happens when AI starts competing with your open source business? In this episode, Rob Walling sits down with Adam Wathan, co-founder of Tailwind CSS, for a candid conversation about the dramatic revenue decline that forced Tailwind Labs to lay off most of their team. Adam shares the hard lessons learned from running a business based on one-time purchases, why he didn't see the slowdown coming, and how an honest podcast episode accidentally turned everything around. Then they switch gears entirely to talk about founder fitness: how Adam lost 70 pounds, his 15-minute weighted vest workouts, and why tracking strength gains can be more motivating than watching the scale. Episode Sponsor: Hiring engineers right now is kinda broken. AI resumes, fake profiles, people who look senior on paper but can't ship anything real. [G2i](https://www.g2i.co/rob) cuts through all of that. They've pre-vetted over 8,000 engineers- not "we glanced at their GitHub" vetted, actually tested with live technical interviews. Contract or full-time- just tell them what you need and within days you're reviewing real candidates. And you get a risk-free trial. If it's not a fit, they'll replace the dev in 24 hours. G2i is trusted by companies like Meta, 1Password, and countless bootstrapped founders who need to move fast without making expensive mistakes. Get a 7-day free trial and $1,500 off when you mention Startups for the Rest of Us at [https://www.g2i.co/rob](http://www.g2i.co/rob) ️ Want to attend their [AI Miami](https://www.ai.engineer/miami) in April? Use promo code use Rob50Off Topics we cover: - (4:43) – Adam's history with Tailwind CSS - (5:17) – Revenue decline and the "boiling frog" problem - (8:30) – Making the hard decision to lay off the team - (11:39) – The viral podcast episode and unexpected sponsors - (13:07) – Should Tailwind have used recurring revenue? - (21:20) – Enterprise pricing and team licenses - (25:47) – What's next: Ui.sh and swimming downstream with AI - (27:40) – Founder fitness: 15-minute weighted vest circuits - (33:01) – Tracking strength gains as motivation - (39:13) – Did getting fit make Adam a better founder? Links from the show: - [MicroConf Europe](https://microconf.com/europe)┃Reykjavik, Iceland · Sept 21–23, 2026 - [Tailwind CSS](https://tailwindcss.com) - [Tailwind Labs](https://tailwindlabs.com) - ui.sh - [Adam's Morning Walk Podcast](https://adamwathan.me/podcast/) - [My Body Tutor](https://www.mybodytutor.com) - [Adam Wathan (@adamwathan)┃X](https://x.com/adamwathan) If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please[submit your question](https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/contact) for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you! Subscribe & Review:[iTunes](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startups-for-the-rest-of-us/id366931951) |[Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5089lJbLDOmXCvbcJzLZYj)