Misusing AI Is Riskier Than Ignoring It
Using AI wrong is now more dangerous than not using it at all. That should terrify you. Most early stage founders think the risk is moving too slow with AI. The real risk is moving fast in the wrong direction. Here are the 3 ways AI fails founders. And exactly how to fix each one.
Under $500K? Founder Handles All Marketing
And also, if your e-commerce business makes less than $500,000/year you truly don’t need a marketing team or an agency or a social media manager. And I truly don’t care what anybody in any of those roles have to say....
Funding Won’t Save You Without Real Customer Demand
A founder DM'd me last week: "I just raised $8M. What should I do first?" Me: "Give it back." He laughed, but I wasn't joking. When you have money, you spend it. You hire 15 people in 60 days. You burn $300K on...
Build Big, Empower Others, Escape Solopreneur Loneliness
Solopreneurship is shallow and lonely. Build something so big, you get to bring others along with you. Not just build your bank account. Don't just be free, free others.
Try Sharing Honestly; Few See, some Love.
Are you 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 to put yourself out there? To be honest on social media, or build in public including failures? Totally fair. You don’t 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 to be public, you know. But, you could just try. Probably, no one will see anyway. And some will love...
High Pay, Low Support: Engineer Quits Over Overload
Another engineer quit midway through a trial $9,000 a month and apparently keeping Linear updated as you go is too much Listed twice in job description Designed to facilitate remote work and fewer meetings
Personal Stake Drives Effort; Work Ethic Wins
Mark Cuban says all good businesses are personal. If your name is not on the line, your effort drops. The only edge you control is how hard you work and how fast you learn. Love the work or quit, because someone else is...
Anthropic AI Shifts Focus to Lucrative Non‑US Government Deals
Prediction: @AnthropicAI may have lost the US government as a client, but will gain even more collectively-lucrative government contracts outside of the US.
Celebrating My First $200k ARR Milestone
Claude code and Theanna launched days apart last year. Claude code hit $2.5B ARR in one year. I just hit $200k ARR today. No comparison but tons of emotions today: proud, relieved, excited, tired, stressed, ready.
AI Empowers Founders, but Shouldn't Replace Professional Artists
I used AI to make cinematic content for my app. I also believe companies with budgets should hire real artists. Both things can be true. AI should expand what solo founders and small teams can accomplish — not eliminate the livelihoods of...
AI Agents Can Clone Competitor Apps Through Iterative Reverse Engineering
We seem close to: - Give an agent access to a competitor app on a computer - Tell agent: Rebuild this app by using all its features - Agent tries app -> documents all flows/features/edge cases - The other agent builds all flows/features - They...
AI Forced Me to Scrap My SaaS Pre‑launch
ICYMI: AI Killed My SaaS Why I replaced my own software before I could even properly launch it https://t.co/nDyTkKUqem
Early Bets Win; Amazon’s Late Entry Costs Billions
Early positioning beats late capital every time. Amazon just invested $50 billion in OpenAI for 6 percent ownership and distribution rights. Microsoft invested $13.8 billion starting in 2019 and owns 23.5 percent with exclusive IP, revenue sharing, and API control locked through...
Prioritize Growth and Brand Over Early Profit
Profitability shouldn't always be the primary goal in the early stages. Sometimes, investing in growth, user experience, and brand reputation is more important than immediate profits. Play the long game. ✨
Atrium Launches to Tackle Rare Heart Diseases with RNA
Atrium spins out of Avidity, aiming to target rare heart diseases with RNA https://t.co/xLp2oQDHGy $RNA $NVS #startups
Efficiency Revolution: Companies Will Trim Workforce by Half
Could you operate your company with half the people? Jack Dorsey’s announcement yesterday, reducing Block’s headcount from 10,000 to 6,000, should provoke this question in every management team. The stock surged 24%. Dorsey’s memo framed it as inevitable : Within...
Ignore Generic Advice; Trust Your Own Startup Journey
So far I’ve built two SaaS companies, and this advice almost killed both of them: “Your TAM is too small, it’ll never be a unicorn” “Drop your tiny startup and join this rocket ship” “Build a full go-to-market platform” Every person who gave me...
Tech Adoption Lag: Most People Resist New AI Tools
The one thing that keeps me from indulging in the AI panic is the sheer reluctance of most people I've met in my life to adjust to new technology. All these wonderful things exist at the fingertips of each human...
Banks Fund Equipment, Not Your Business Goodwill
"Most commercial banks will lend against machines & equipment... Do you know what the bank won’t finance? Goodwill… the intangible value of the fact that you’ve built up a great clientele" –12 Things to Do Before You Consider Selling Your...
From Boise: 24k Subscribers, Lessons for Local Media
A few years ago Marissa Lovell and I had an idea for a local newsletter. From Boise now has 24,000+ subscribers. On March 4th we're doing a fireside chat about how it grew, what we learned, and where local media is headed. Join...
Storytelling Beats Metrics in Early-Stage Fundraising
Metrics matter. But in early-stage fundraising? Storytelling matters more. In Ep. 234 of The SaaS CFO Podcast, Helen Hastings shares why vision + narrative win investor conviction. Listen here 👇 YouTube: https://t.co/BnQYh8fzzR #SaaS #Fundraising #Startups https://t.co/zRSXoqqM2z
Ask Rejected Investors for Immediate Feedback to Refine Pitch
Seek feedback from investors who pass on your pitch. In fact, ask for feedback right there on the call (much easier than trying to get it via email later). Use it to improve your approach and strengthen your next presentation. Constructive...
AI-Powered Reconciliation Automates Trillion-Dollar Payments Ops
End Close builds automatic reconciliation for payments companies, replacing manual ops work with AI agents that automatically investigate and resolve every exception. This team previously reconciled $1,000,000,000,000 at Modern Treasury. Congrats on the launch, @SeanBolton and @DavidNewell95! https://t.co/cHDvWS2INp
LLM Boom to Yield $10B Profit by 2031
Can someone make me an analysis for the jcurve being created by LLMs and supporting companies (data centers)… which should be $250b today… Assume $250b more invested over next 4 years Then assume $10b in profits in 2031 and 50%...
True Strategy Demands Choosing, Not Embracing Contradictory “Both”
ICYMI: Fresh new article dropped: The Opposite Test: "Good design" isn't strategic because "bad design" was never smart. But “all-in-one” vs “small core + ecosystem” is real because both result in beloved, successful products. If both sides work, "both" is incoherent. “Strategy” means making...
No Degree Needed—Start Your Business When Ready
There is no speed limit. You don't need to finish school, get a degree, or do an internship before building a business. Start as soon as you're ready. https://t.co/EF2CXDCFKP
Fast Followers Win: Learn Quickly, Execute Better
First movers fail 47% of the time. Fast followers win by learning faster, spending less, and fixing early mistakes. Google beat Yahoo. Facebook beat MySpace. Slack refined chat tools. Timing drives 42% of startup success, but execution decides who owns the market. Are you...
AI Platform Cuts $26.5K Monthly Marketing Costs
I replaced $26,500/month in marketing headcount with one AI platform. 37 agents. Zero full-time hires. Most agencies pay $26,500/month for SEO, content, social, competitive intel, and marketing ops. We built the AI CMO Platform. 37 agents that coordinate and execute like a full...
60‑Second Value: The AI Growth Imperative
I’m running a 5-day intensive starting Monday for AI and SaaS founders. It’s called WARP Week. The premise: the fastest-growing companies in the AI era are getting users to value in 60 seconds or less. The ones that figured this...
Future CEOs Will Favor Small, High‑Impact Teams
the size of a public ceo’s workforce is shifting from being a flex if large to a flex if small. the next few years of refactoring will be significant (and seat-based models will shift to value-based), but I also think...
Founders Juggle Bugs, Growth, Support, and Newsletters
Founder life: fixing a bug while thinking about distribution while answering support while writing the newsletter
Avoid Startups Whose Founders Aren't AI Wartime
there’s actually a whole raft of tech companies where if the founders are not AI wartime you should abandon ship real fast
Small Teams Offer Growing Long-Term Advantages
the advantages of keeping a team - and company - small will continue to grow
Founders Should Partner With DStrachman – Highly Recommended
Shoutout to @DStrachman, I just really really appreciate her. Also every founder should try to work with her. :) https://t.co/IoNNQu40Tn
Crypto Incentives Can Fuel AI’s Data Hunger
So many interesting ideas to explore at this intersection. One such example: crypto is great at using incentives (i.e. $) to get people to do something, and AI companies are incredibly data-hungry. If you can use crypto incentives to get...
Big Seed Rounds Aren’t Irrational, They Reflect
A mini rant about seed VC models and pricing. Seed VC's lament that rounds have gotten so big and varied and there is no definition of a seed round anymore. They tend to suggest this is a signal of irrational...
Uncover Hidden Customer Concerns to Optimize Pricing
We went into this sales call and found all sorts of weird things that had nothing to do with our product. We asked about it, and learned a 𝘵𝘰𝘯 that allowed us to price and sell our product better. Here’s what we...
AI-Powered Personalized X Feeds and Real-Time Reports
A little sneak peak at what I am building with @blevlabs using the X API. A new kind of personalized X is now possible. And it comes with many side benefits I haven’t yet shown here. Like feeds for your @openclaw And reports...
Organic Surge: 307 Signups & New Editing Features
⚡️ WEEKLY VLOG 02 @ @ChoppityAI Founders are never truly satisfied with the speed of shipping, but looking back at this week... we’ve had some absolute bangers. We hit an all-time high of 295 signups in a single day (We broke...
Side Hustle SaaS Success Comes With Brutal Realities
I'm 40, I've built 7 SaaS products since 2022. Hivoe, Inboxs, Userdesk, Shipped, BlackTwist, and 2 that flopped hard. And I still have my 9-5. Here are 8 brutal truths about indie hacking on the side:
Markiplier's Indie Horror Proves Creators Can Redefine Hollywood Distribution
From YouTube to $48 million box office hit @markiplier's self-financed indie horror film 'Iron Lung' more than 15x'd it's budget and is a glimpse into how the right creators will redefine distribution in Hollywood 00:00 The Story of Iron Lung 05:54 By...
Seamless Global Hiring: Infrastructure You Never Notice
The best infrastructure is the kind you can stop thinking about. That's how we measure what we build at Remote. The goal isn't applause (though it's nice). It's that you can just hire someone in another country, pay them and manage...
Carson Frees AI Agents with Custom Secure Interfaces
AI agents are trapped in chat bubbles. @usecarson breaks free by generating custom, task specific interfaces with enterprise-grade security. Sign up today at https://t.co/JXVGTwfA0a. Congrats on the launch, @sidharthkmenon, @_ketan0, @alex_iansiti, and @milanb_123! https://t.co/lbJRHR4mYu
Defining Real Success Metrics for AI Product Launch
I was sketching out the launch plan for Data Techcon first AI product, and without even realizing it, I slipped back into my growth data scientist mindset — questioning metrics, success, AI features values & what “working” really means 1....
Stripe’s $159B Success: Craft, Talent, Obsession, Leadership
Gamma Co-Founder Grant Lee spotlights the core principles behind Stripe’s $159B rise in a comprehensive breakdown of its business philosophy. The thread explores how craft, talent density, customer obsession, and decisive leadership compound over time. In partnership with Stripe, the full...
Growth Stems From Self‑Running Business, Not Hustle
Growth doesn’t come from hustling harder. It comes from designing a business that runs itself.
Roam Builds Virtual Office for Future Collaboration and Events
pretty wild what @howard + the @roam team have painstakingly built, iteration by iteration, to enable the virtual office of the future; now empowering modern companies to host virtual events, enable spontaneity, humans to work together (w/ agents, too), and...
AI Removes Friction, Boosts Your Creative Workflow
AI can help you become the creator you've always wanted to be by removing friction. @dancumberland breaks down: - How to reduce friction in your workflows - How to automate newsletters with AI - The secret technique for better prompts Search "Nathan Barry Show" to...
Great Founders Avoid Over‑deferring to Senior Hires
New episode of Long Strange Trip with @bhorowitz of @a16z is now live. The first time I pitched Ben for @HubSpot, he passed on us. It stung. So naturally, it’s the first thing I brought up with him in this convo. He’s...
Stop Glorifying Stress: Prioritize Kindness and Boundaries
Entrepreneurs burn out because they treat stress like a badge of honor. Cash flow pressure, hard calls, and long hours drain your focus and judgment. Schedule fun, train hard, sleep, write your thoughts down, and set work hours you respect. When you practice...