Founder Reality · George Pu

What building companies actually looks like.

Essays and letters on what AI changes about building, working and owning things. Practical tools to work through your own decisions.

Read the latest essaysRead the letters →Find a guide →

Latest essays

Recent essays on building, working and owning things.

All essays →

Letters from George

Latest newsletters

Personal dispatches from the work, ordered by their original publication dates.

All newsletters →

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.

Money and options

Personal perspectives on money, obligations and risk.

Added to the archive

Earlier letters now available here. Original dates and editorial context are preserved.

  • LetterOriginally published Published on FR

    Meet Vinci

    George’s June launch letter about building an AI people could own. Includes context on the launch promises and later terms.

  • LetterOriginally published Published on FR

    The Day the Frontier Got Pulled

    A June letter about access to frontier AI, with dated context on the suspension and restoration.

  • LetterOriginally published Published on FR

    I Got Locked Out of Frontier AI. It Cost Me $4.

    George’s June account of losing access to frontier AI and the bill he reported. Includes later restoration context.

Browse the letters →

Start here

Selected writing behind the ideas. Separate from what is newest.

I Got Bored of Being a Commentator

I got good at having AI takes - and one day realized I'd become a commentator, not a builder. A complaint is just a wish with better production values. So I built the replacement.

The Day I killed our product strategy

Today (on a Sunday) I took our own AI models off our own app and replaced them with a competitor's model. This is the story of how the decision happened in 24 hours, what it was like in the 4 days leading up to it, what it cost me to see it, and what I think other founders can take from it. Day 1 - my own product told me the truth We're an AI model company. Or we were. We spent months training small open-weight models for honesty - models that say 'I don't know' instead of inventing answers

Why We Shipped Vinci on the Eve of Canada Day

Nobody takes Canada seriously on AI - and for years we earned it. The compute wall, why it finally fell, and why we shipped Vinci Piccolo on the eve of Canada Day.

Six Months After My Post-AI Manifesto - A Reflection

Six months ago I posted the Post-AI Manifesto - five layers to stay ahead of AI. Here's what happened to each one, and the single line that captures the whole difference.

What are you working through?

A reading path, a worksheet and tools for the next decision.

All free resources →

Use your own numbers

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.

All tools →
George Pu

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.

About George →Current work at SimpleDirect ↗

New essays and letters by email

When I have something worth sending. Free to read, with nothing to buy.

Read the published letters →