Solve a real problem
If you can get past AI theater, you're already ahead
Last night, I had the privilege of interviewing a prominent Chicago founder at an intimate event for Hampton members in Chicago. I asked this founder, a serial founder, entrepreneur, and long-term builder, about his business beliefs, investment strategy, views on AI, and how he leads as both a founder and a CEO.
When I pushed him on what makes a good idea and the rise of AI theater1, he reflected back one of my great personal philosophies:
Great ideas solve real problems.
my product heart swooned
Back in 2023, I started teaching at Cornell Tech when AI felt shiny and new. Here is where I noticed the early proliferation of AI theater. So many talented students told me they were building “AI for X.” I was, and still am, something of an AI novice. But I was grounded enough in my product principles to recognize a familiar troupe.
AI is not a product.
It’s an enabling technology.
We’ve seen this movie before. “Web3 for Y” and “NFTs for Z” … AI for X is simply the latest iteration of technology theater.
When a company defines itself as “AI for X,” it’s solution first, not problem first.
What this founder echoed, what I’ve been vehemently been preaching and what the best product thinkers consistently reinforce, is that the strongest ideas begin with real, painful, build-a-company worthy problems. Sometimes, often even, AI enables those solutions.
But it is not where you start.
And its absolutely not the point.
If you are trying to build a moat or meaningfully differentiate from what everyone else is doing, stop framing and naming your company through the lens of AI. AI is table stakes. Frankly, if you are not using it in some capacity, that alone is concerning.
Instead, frame and name your company around the real customer problem you are solving.
As Jonathan Yagel recently stacked, the most important differentiator is not working harder or adopting the latest technology. It is working on the right thing. It’s the discipline of ruthlessly auditing where you are spending your time, energy, and attention. And in this case, that audit starts with the problem itself.
Focus first and foremost on solving a worthy problem.
If you can start here, you’re already ahead.
Shouts to Amy Mitchell for helping me discover this language, inspired by her post: https://substack.com/home/post/p-185139550
Thank you for mentioning my article on the Line Between AI-First and AI Theater, Jori! https://amycmitchell.substack.com/p/ai-first-product-management
Enjoyed your article about AI as an enabler!
Yes! This is spot on.
(And thanks so much for the shoutout!)