The World Has Changed
We used to measure success by how fast you could ship, how well you could code, or how original your idea was.
But now? ChatGPT and other advanced AI tools can brainstorm, write, code, design, and deploy in minutes.
With a single prompt, you can spin up a website, write a marketing plan, generate code, and even simulate customer feedback.
In this new world, the bar has shifted. It’s no longer about can you build—it’s what you build and why.
⚡ The Idea Equation Has Flipped
Before AI, thinking through an idea was crucial. Building a product took real time and effort. If you chased the wrong idea, even a beautifully built product would fail—violating the YC mantra: Build something people want.
Now, tools like Replit and ChatGPT make it fast and easy to bring ideas to life. The cost of trying has dropped.
So the strategy must evolve:
- Don’t overthink upfront.
- Build first, test fast.
- Let execution follow evidence.
In this AI-powered world, the best ideas often emerge after you build.
As Sam Altman put it in a recent interview, “People get excited about the same thing at the same time… the most enduring companies are usually not doing the same thing as everybody else.” In other words, avoid the echo chamber. If you’re working on what everyone else is chasing, you’re already late. The real edge comes from exploring what others aren’t even looking at yet.
So the question becomes:
📝 What Should You Be Doing?
🤖 But Wait—What About Pure Software?
Some might wonder: Does this mean pure software products are dead?
Not at all. But the bar is higher.
Pure software still wins when it:
- Solves a real, ongoing pain point.
- Delivers delightful UX or opinionated workflows AI can’t fake.
- Builds emotional pull or network effects.
- Acts as infrastructure—tools, platforms, or curation layers.
But it’s risky when it:
- Looks like yet another CRUD app.
- Can be cloned by a smart prompt and a weekend.
- Requires heavy upfront work with little fast feedback.
In short: software is still powerful—but it must be sharp, human-centered, and iteratively alive. Let AI do the plumbing. You build the magic.
So if AI can generate apps, art, essays, or even entire businesses…
What’s your role? How do you create things that matter—and last?
If AI can generate apps, art, essays, or even entire businesses…
What’s your role? How do you create things that matter—and last?
Here are three paths to think about:
1. Build for the Short Now
There’s power in the short-lived. A meme, a micro-product, a trend-aware tool—these have massive impact in their moment.
AI gives you speed. So use it to:
- Create fast, lightweight experiments.
- Ride cultural waves.
- Launch quickly and learn faster.
⚡ If it’s going to vanish, make it pop. If it’s going to last, make it human.
2. Build the Scaffolding, Not Just the Product
In an AI-rich world, infrastructure and curation matter more than ever.
- Scaffold tools: Build platforms that others (humans or AIs) build on.
- Smart interfaces: Make it easy for people to steer AI.
- Tastemaking: Curate the chaos into meaning.
🌐 Think: frameworks, data schemas, structured interfaces, clever workflows.
The builders who last aren’t just shipping things. They’re shaping how things get made.
3. Build What Only You Can
AI can simulate personality. But it can’t replicate your lived experience, your taste, your relationships, your values.
Your unique lens is the moat.
- Personal brands.
- Niche communities.
- Human stories.
- Deep expertise in weird corners of the world.
💡 AI can generate content. You can create connection.
Real-World Sparks
- Beehiiv gives anyone a newsletter empire. But your voice makes people stay.
- Notion AI helps write, but it’s your insight that organizes ideas into action.
- TikTok edits go viral with AI help—but your perspective is what gets shared.
So… What Will You Build?
In a world of infinite possibility and instant creation, your job isn’t just to make things.
Your job is to make things worth making.
Whether they last a day or a decade—choose what plays to your humanity, your timing, and your taste.
🔖 Key Takeaways
- AI can build fast—so you can focus on building smart.
- Embrace the short now, or scaffold for the long game.
- Your perspective, values, and community are your moat.
- In an infinite creation engine, meaning is the new scarcity.
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