By George Pu | Founder Reality Podcast | November 19, 2025
Back in 2017, I couldn't put down this book called "Machine, Platform, Crowd." The premise was simple: build a machine (computer/server), create a platform (marketplace/SaaS), and harness the crowd (audiences). It felt like the blueprint for every successful tech company.
Fast forward to 2025, and that framework is completely broken.
I'm running two companies from Toronto with five people total. No VC money, no San Francisco office, no 50-person engineering team. Yet we're successfully competing with companies that have raised millions and have teams 10x our size.
Looking back at the last two and a half years, I realized we've been unconsciously following a completely different playbook. I call it Capital, Code, and Audience – the three C's that actually determine success in the AI-first world.
Why the Old Playbook Died
Everyone's still selling you the same tired story: raise millions, hire 20+ people, move to San Francisco, burn $200K-500K monthly, and hope you find product-market fit before the money runs out.
This worked when information moved slowly, when you needed to be physically close to access talent and customers, and when technical tools were expensive and required specialized knowledge.
None of that is true anymore.
Information is instant globally. Remote work isn't just proven – it's the norm. AI tools are accessible everywhere, including open source options. The entire game has changed, but most founders are still playing by 2015 rules.
Capital: Efficiency Beats Size
When most people hear "capital," they think venture funding. That's backwards thinking.
Capital isn't about how much money you have. It's about how efficiently you deploy it and how long you can keep it working.
The Old Way vs. The New Way
Old way: Raise $5M, hire 20 people, get a fancy San Francisco office, burn $300K monthly, pray you hit product-market fit in 18 months.
New way: Start with under $20K, keep costs brutally low, focus on recurring revenue from day one, stay alive long enough to build something people actually want.
We built SimpleDirect's initial product for under $20,000. Not $5 million. Not even $500K. Twenty thousand dollars.
Here's how we did it:
- No office for the first two years. When we finally moved into an office, I realized how many pre-revenue companies burn hundreds monthly on expensive spaces they don't need.
- We started with two people, scaled to 14, then realized that was insane. We're back to five and moving faster than ever. Those "savings" from not hiring 15 people? Hundreds of thousands to millions annually in avoided salaries.
- AI tools instead of new hires. We spend about $8,000 yearly on AI tools versus $200K-300K per additional person.
- Toronto instead of San Francisco. We're 40% cheaper than SF/NYC across rent, cost of goods, everything. That's $100K+ annual savings for our current setup.
But here's what matters more than cost-cutting: capital liquidity.
Ask yourself three questions:
- Can you deploy your capital anywhere?
- Can you reposition it fast if something isn't working?
- Does it compound without requiring your constant time?
We currently have 50+ months of runway. That's not because we raised a massive round – it's because we're religious about capital efficiency. Every dollar we don't spend on unnecessary overhead is another month of freedom to find what actually works.
Code: Direction, Not Implementation
"George, I don't know how to code. I'm not technical. I need a technical co-founder."
Stop right there.
This excuse worked five years ago. It doesn't work anymore. AI has fundamentally changed what it means to "know code."
You don't need to write code. You need to direct it.
Think of yourself as a film director versus a cameraman. The director doesn't operate the camera, but they know exactly what shot they want, how it fits the story, and whether the cameraman got it right.
That's you with AI tools.
My Tech Stack Reality
I personally use:
- Cursor for development (it's free for me currently)
- Claude for strategy, content, problem-solving, brainstorming
- ChatGPT for customer support automation (we automate almost all support queries)
- GitHub Copilot for code assistance
- MCP servers for giving AI context about our business complexity
The key insight: I haven't shipped production code in two and a half years. But I review code consistently, understand our architecture, and can direct our developers effectively.
The Co-founder Math That No Longer Works
I started with four co-founders. Now it's just me and one other person. Here's what AI replaced:
- CTO role: Cursor, Claude, and me directing development
- Product feedback: Customer interviews + AI tools for booking and analysis
- Content creation: Claude amplifies my voice across blog, social, etc.
- Customer support: Chat automation handles 90%+ of tickets
- Strategic planning: Weekly sessions with Claude reviewing KPIs, discussing strategy
That's five co-founder functions replaced by ~$500 monthly in AI tools plus strategic contractors.
The math Silicon Valley sells you no longer works. You don't need five co-founders, a huge dev team, or massive sales organization.
The Reality Check
Before you hire anyone or consider bringing on co-founders, ask: Can AI do this, or can AI + a contractor solve this?
If yes, you just saved equity and complexity.
The goal isn't replacing all humans – it's being brutally honest about what requires human judgment versus what can be automated or directed by you.
Audience: Trust Over Followers
When people hear "audience," they think Logan Paul or Mr. Beast. Million-follower influencers selling courses.
That's completely wrong.
Audience means a group of people who trust you enough to listen when you have something to say. This could be 200 people or 200,000 – size matters less than trust and reputation.
Why This Changes Everything
Most founders we consult have to do cold outreach when they have a product ready. They don't have distribution.
Cold LinkedIn messages get 2-5% response rates. Conference booths cost $10K-50K for 200 business cards. Paid ads burn runway fast and compete on price, not trust.
I have 30,000 Twitter followers who opted in to hear what I say. When I tweet about ANC or SimpleDirect, I get real engagement. A recent post hit 150,000 impressions.
Compare that to a founder with no presence sending 200 LinkedIn messages weekly, getting 5 responses, maybe one qualified lead, possibly one call.
Audience gives you distribution without permission.
I don't need TechCrunch to write about me (almost paid $5K monthly for PR – thankfully didn't). I don't need YC to validate me. I don't need conference organizers to give me a stage.
I already have people who opted in to hear my perspective.
If you're finding this useful, I send essays like this 2-3x per week.
·No spam
Quality Over Quantity
I've seen people with 200,000 followers get 50 likes per post. They have following without trust.
I'd rather have 500 followers who actually trust my judgment than 500,000 who see me as entertainment.
Your audience needs to believe you're an authority in your specific niche.
If you're posting memes, you can hit 500K followers easily, but the business value approaches zero. If you're building a personal brand around your expertise, 500 engaged followers are infinitely more valuable.
The Timing Mistake
Most founders think: "I'll build an audience after I launch something."
That's backwards. Audiences don't trust brands – they trust people. We follow founders, not companies.
Start building your audience before you need it. It compounds over time, but the first few months feel like shouting into an empty mountain. Keep going.
I started on Twitter in 2021 but didn't post actively until 2023. Two years to reach 30K followers. The first months had zero engagement. I kept posting daily anyway.
If you're building something or planning to build something, start your audience today. There's no time to waste.
Rented vs. Owned
Start with rented platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube) because they have built-in discovery. But prioritize building owned channels (newsletter, podcast) because you control direct distribution.
I recently started collecting emails through my newsletter. That's direct communication that no algorithm can filter.
The Leverage Shift
Here's what this looks like in practice:
Legacy approach: 50-person team, $10M raised, San Francisco office, complex organizational structure, slow decision-making, high burn rate.
Three C's approach: 5-person team, efficient capital deployment, AI-multiplied output, direct audience relationships, fast iteration, sustainable burn.
We're living proof this works. Two companies, five people total, competing successfully with teams 10x our size.
What Doesn't Matter Anymore
Headcount
More people doesn't equal more output. We learned this the hard way at 14 people – coordination overhead killed productivity. With five people, if I have an idea, I know exactly who to talk to. The team knows who to reach out to. No bureaucracy.
14 people = 91 possible communication paths 5 people = 10 communication paths
The math speaks for itself.
Geography
Location matters for networking and finding mentors, but you don't have to live in the most expensive cities to build successful companies.
I'm building from Toronto – not exactly a tech hub. But the cost savings let us extend runway indefinitely. I still visit SF and NYC for networking, but that's maybe a few days yearly.
You can build from Bali, Beijing, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, or anywhere with decent internet and lower costs. The savings compound quickly.
Your Three C's Audit
Make this actionable:
Capital: How efficient is your capital deployment? Can you extend your runway by 6-12 months by cutting unnecessary expenses? Are you burning money to feel legitimate or to get results?
Code: Do you understand your tech stack well enough to direct it? Can you use AI to replace functions you were considering hiring for? Are you using AI strategically or just randomly?
Audience: Could you reach your ideal customers in 48 hours? How many people would actually pay attention if you launched something today? If zero, start building today.
The Bottom Line
Legacy companies and VCs optimize for headcount and geography because that's worked for 50 years. Big teams are now expensive luxuries most of us can't afford.
One person with liquid capital, AI-multiplied code capabilities, and a trusted audience can outcompete a 50-person team in a fancy SF office.
My companies are betting our future on this. The shift from "machine, platform, crowd" to "capital, code, audience" isn't theoretical – it's how we're winning today.
The three C's are the new competitive advantage. Everything else is startup theater.
What's your take on the three C's framework? Are you optimizing for the old metrics or the new ones? Let me know your thoughts.
Need help figuring out your next move? I offer free one-on-one assessments for founders navigating these decisions. No charge, just honest feedback.
Email: george@founderreality.com
Twitter: @TheGeorgePu
Newsletter: newsletter.founderreality.com
George Pu builds AI-powered businesses at SimpleDirect and ANC. Follow along for unfiltered founder insights at @TheGeorgePu.