Editor's pick · Start reading
The parts of AI I could no longer delegate
Then consider what a founder needs to understand before trusting work delegated to AI.
Read the essay Latest writingFounder Reality
Work, money & everyday life.
Writing by George Pu about AI, work, money and the choices behind them. Start reading, work through a question, or follow how his thinking changes.
By George Pu, founder of the AI lab SimpleDirect. A builder's perspective, with room to question it.
Latest
Essays, briefs and letters, newest original publication first.
Founder Reality is changing
AI wrote too much here. We're checking everything, starting today.
I approved AI work I didn't check
What would let me say no?
The people still using what I'm moving on from
Two daily Vinci users keep returning to a product while I think about the company's next direction. What do I owe the people who stayed?
More recent writing (2)
I forgot how unusual my AI use had become
My work now depends on AI in ways I had stopped noticing. My parents and a friend reminded me how different the same technology can feel.
I'm Afraid to Take a Vacation
Start with the gap between owning a company and having the freedom to step away from it.
Read by interest
Follow George's experience, explore money and power, or think about changing work.
Journey
Building, ownership and changing your mind.
Personal accounts, read in their original context.
Explore JourneyMarkets
Money, power and the businesses changing our lives.
Understand the companies changing your money, your work and the world around you, through the eyes of someone building one.
Explore MarketsAdapt
Find your footing as AI changes work and life.
Stories, clear explanations and useful ways to build skills and keep more options open as AI changes work and everyday life.
Explore AdaptContinuing stories
Work and judgment
Following the work of learning enough to judge AI output, and building a company that does not depend on constant founder intervention.
Follow the storyTools and control
Following George’s decisions about dependence on AI tools, the cost of using them and the ability to leave.
Follow the story
Selected writing
Personal accounts of ownership, judgment and changing your mind. Read each in the context of when it was written.
I'm Afraid to Take a Vacation
Start with the gap between owning a company and having the freedom to step away from it.
The parts of AI I could no longer delegate
Then consider what a founder needs to understand before trusting work delegated to AI.
I Got Locked Out of Frontier AI. It Cost Me $4.
A letter about an experience that challenged George’s ownership thesis, with the later access context preserved.
Browse all reading paths and collections
Recent essays
Recent essays on building, working and owning things.
Founder Reality is changing
AI wrote too much here. We're checking everything, starting today.
I approved AI work I didn't check
What would let me say no?
The people still using what I'm moving on from
Two daily Vinci users keep returning to a product while I think about the company's next direction. What do I owe the people who stayed?
I forgot how unusual my AI use had become
My work now depends on AI in ways I had stopped noticing. My parents and a friend reminded me how different the same technology can feel.
I'm Afraid to Take a Vacation
Start with the gap between owning a company and having the freedom to step away from it.
Find your next read
Work and AI
How AI changes the working day, from faster output to the judgment and review that still need people.
I have stopped knowing what a productive day feels like
A personal account of producing more while finding it harder to know when the day’s work is enough.
The parts of AI I could no longer delegate
Then consider what a founder needs to understand before trusting work delegated to AI.
Money and options
Personal perspectives on money, obligations and risk.
I'm Done Pretending I Know My Net Worth
George’s February account of removing a paper valuation from his profile and focusing on cash flow and expenses.
I'm Starting to Write About Money
George’s April introduction to writing about financial products, personal choices and the numbers behind them.
Added to the archive
Earlier letters now available here. Original dates and editorial context are preserved.
Meet Vinci
George’s June launch letter about building an AI people could own. Includes context on the launch promises and later terms.
The Day the Frontier Got Pulled
A June letter about access to frontier AI, with dated context on the suspension and restoration.
I Got Locked Out of Frontier AI. It Cost Me $4.
A letter about an experience that challenged George’s ownership thesis, with the later access context preserved.
What are you working through?
A reading path, a worksheet and tools for the next decision.
All free resources →Use your own numbers
Freedom Number Calculator
Explore a financial independence target from spending and investment assumptions, with scenario ranges.
Startup Runway Calculator
Estimate cash runway from expenses, income, reserves and buffers. Compare scenarios using your own assumptions.
Consulting Pricing Calculator
Explore project pricing from your revenue goal, client capacity and estimated client value. The suggested range uses illustrative multipliers.
Revenue Concentration Worksheet
Measure customer or platform revenue shares and compare cash runway in a loss scenario, with explicit reserves and monthly units.
The person behind the publication
George is the founder of SimpleDirect, an independent Canadian AI lab. Founder Reality is where he writes about the decisions, questions and changing beliefs behind the work.
New essays and letters by email
Occasionally, when I have something worth sending. Free to read, with an unsubscribe link in every email.
Read a sample letter: I didn't want to do thisRead the published letters →