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Why AI Salaries Are Outrageous
You know, if you're a 25-year-old recent grad from an elite university who is perceived to be an AI expert, you can get a $50 hundred million pay package right now. And if you are a brand name that everyone recognizes your name, you can get a billion dollar pay package right now for a single individual. I think they're symbolic of this sort of desperation in the ecosystem where it's like we need to ek out progress.We need to prove that all these investments are worth it. And I think there's this logic that ...
The AI Power Trade
The best trade of 2025 was the AI power trade. A lot of Wall Street people made a lot of money betting on the fact that power was going to be the constraint and we're going to move away. You know, you hear Sam Alman now talking about gigawatts every day.He's not talking about dollars anymore, right. So, we're moving away from dollars and we're moving toward gigawatts. And I think that transition has fully happened in the last. ...
Who Will Survive the AI Bubble?
I do think we're in an AI bubble. You can see the fragility. Everybody can see the fragility.The thing that I think is more interesting is who's going to survive the bubble. Consumers of compute benefit from a bubble because if we overproduce compute, prices go down, your COGS goes down, and your gross margin goes up. The lesson that punches you in the stomach in venture is you can't make a company succeed.How would you respond to Sequoia were asleep at the wheel when it came to defense not being in Helsing ...
This is the best UGC strategy today
User Generated Content (UGC) Strategy - UGC 可以转化为白名单广告策略,增强营销效果 [1] - 白名单策略允许公司通过第三方账户推广内容 [1] Benefits of Whitelisting - 通过第三方推广产品,减少销售感 [2] - 提升真实性,提高转化率 [3] Example of Whitelisting - Dscript 公司可以通过播客主 Pat Flynn 的账户进行白名单推广 [2] - 广告直接来自 Pat Flynn,视频内容也由他讲述 [3]
Most Common Growth Mistake (And How to Avoid It)
Onboarding Strategy - Companies often emulate competitors' successful strategies, such as onboarding processes, aiming for improvement [1] - Pinterest, during a period of user onboarding challenges, observed Facebook's seven-part email onboarding series [2] - Pinterest replicated Facebook's onboarding flow, including email sequences and question formats, assuming its applicability due to Facebook's large user base [2] - The copied onboarding process failed to improve user engagement or drive lift for Pinterest [2] Data-Driven Decision Making - The failure was attributed to a lack of data-inspired insights and customer context, highlighting the differences between Pinterest's and Facebook's user bases [2] - The experience underscored the importance of understanding the target audience and using data to inform product and onboarding strategies, rather than blindly copying competitors [2]
Don't Corner Your PMF
Branding & Positioning - Early-stage companies should avoid overly narrow market segment focus in their branding and positioning [1] - A more horizontal value proposition allows for multiple entry points to attract different customer segments [1] - Targeted entry points, reflecting specific use cases, can effectively engage customers [1] User Behavior & Conversion - Over 50% of users arriving from specific landing pages navigate to the homepage as their second action [2] - The homepage plays a significant role in driving overall conversion rates [2] - The homepage boosts conversion rates by showcasing the broader product value proposition [2]
The Rise of Spotify 🎧
All the other music startups based in the US got strangled at BERT by lawyers because it was all about IP property rights and little old Spotify got going in a bunch of European countries that let's be frank your average big five record label didn't really focus on. So they got a much more attractive licensing deal while in the US all these guys were wrestling with shitty gross margins and litigation with the music companies. So they got critical mass early on, built an excellent product and then gradually ...
The EASIEST way to make money in 2025 is...
Market Strategy - Doubling down on the largest companies may be the easiest way to generate profits in 2025 [1] - Over-romanticizing verticals in the age of AI could lead to TAM exhaustion [1] Risk Assessment - Any deceleration due to saturation or slowdown could invalidate current estimates [2] - In a bull market, aggressive risk-taking appears smart until a crash occurs [2] - The current market environment feels exceptionally challenging [2]
Why Vertical SaaS is a Bad Investment Today
Investment Focus & Market Trends - Venture Capital firms are analyzing the potential overhype in AI verticals [1] - The discussion includes the "Covid mistake" in AI investing, suggesting lessons learned from previous market behaviors [1] - The report highlights the increasing costs associated with competing in the AI sector [1] - The analysis covers whether AI markets will experience a boom or deflation, indicating uncertainty in the sector's future [1] Company & Valuation - Revolut's $75 billion valuation is discussed, providing insight into high-value startups [1] - OpenAI's billion-dollar cloud play is examined, showcasing the company's expansion into cloud services [1] SaaS & AI - The report addresses the truth about vertical SaaS, offering insights into this specific business model [1] - AI's impact on the legal industry is explored, demonstrating AI's transformative effects across sectors [1]
Building a company is not for everyone.
Entrepreneurship & Commitment - Starting a venture capital-aligned business demands extreme dedication, potentially sacrificing 99% of other aspects of life [1] - The assumption that everyone can or should be an entrepreneur is incorrect [1][2] - Entrepreneurship is suited for a select group focused on solving significant global problems [2]