Real talk from a technical founder building AI-powered businesses
Published October 14, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 29
Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube
Three things happened this week that look completely different but tell the same story:
- Wall Street Journal published research showing AI is widening the gap between superstars and average employees
- A new breed of founders on Twitter are building distribution first, products second
- ChatGPT launched an app store that could be the next App Store moment
The connecting thread: We're entering a phase where the gap between people who get AI and people who don't is about to become permanent.
Not temporary. Not reversible. Permanent.
And you have about 18 months to decide which side you're on.
Story 1: Why AI Makes Superstars Even More Super
The Wall Street Journal just published an article that challenges everything we thought about AI leveling the playing field.
Everyone assumed AI would help average performers catch up. That junior employees could use ChatGPT to do senior-level work. That the performance gap would narrow.
The opposite is happening.
AI is widening the gap between superstars and average employees. And the superstars are pulling away 10x faster.
Here's why:
Superstars master tools faster. They understand what tools exist that most employees don't even know about yet.
Superstars have domain expertise. They can ask better questions. Remember when we talked about prompt engineering a few years ago? It's still relevant. Better prompts = better outputs.
Superstars use AI systematically. They don't just open ChatGPT and type a question. They have frameworks. They have systems. They extract way more value.
Meanwhile, average employees wait for guidance, stick to basic features, and get less credit.
The Three Types of Builders
I've spent the past three years building with AI (I started early 2023, a few months after ChatGPT launched). I've seen three distinct types of builders emerge:
Type 1: Building the Old Way (80-90% of founders)
Still using manual processes. Still hiring for every job function. Still skeptical about AI beyond basic ChatGPT usage.
They might occasionally ask "Give me a template for my hiring plan" or "How do I optimize my business?" But it's minimal. Nothing significant.
If you look at Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn - people are still hiring for tons of office jobs. These business owners haven't changed their workflow at all.
Type 2: Using AI as a Tool (Most of the remaining 10-20%)
Using lots of AI tools - Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT, Cursor. But not fundamentally changing how they build.
They use AI as a reference point, not as a system. On-demand questions: "I have a question, I ask AI. I have another question, I ask AI."
They might use Cursor for some code, ChatGPT for content. They're better than Type 1, but still thinking in the old paradigm.
AI is just a tool for them, not a fundamental shift in how they operate.
This is probably you if you're being honest. It's definitely where I was until recently.
Type 3: AI Native from the Ground Up (The Future)
These founders tend to be younger - straight out of college in recent years. But it also applies to founders in their late 20s, 30s, 40s who've made the mental shift.
Every workflow is embedded with AI. Not just for the name, but because it genuinely benefits from AI technologies.
Every hiring decision starts with: "Can AI do this + contractors?" Instead of "Should we hire an employee?"
They're building products that would've needed 10 engineers with just 2 engineers, using AI for the rest. Same quality as Type 2 and Type 1, but with 80% fewer people.
Why the Gap Will Become Permanent
Here's the scary part:
The gap between Type 3 founders and Type 1/Type 2 founders won't show up for another 12-24 months.
Technology is only two years old. Everyone's revenue still looks roughly the same.
But Type 3 founders are:
- Building 2-5x faster
- Learning 10x faster
- Compounding knowledge at a rate Type 1 and Type 2 can't replicate
We won't see the revenue differences, productivity differences, or headcount differences yet. But in a year, it's going to show up. And the gap will widen.
By two years from now, it'll be impossible to catch up.
Type 3 and Type 2 founders will be fundamentally different people using fundamentally different workflows. By the time the gap becomes visible, it'll be too late for Type 1 founders to catch up.
While you're figuring out "how do I better use AI tools?", they're already building their second and third companies with AI-first thinking.
My SimpleDirect Reality Check
At SimpleDirect, we have 2 engineers now. Two years ago, we had 6-8 engineers.
Going from 8 to 2 doesn't mean we're less productive. We're just as productive. Maybe more.
We've built 2-3 different products over the past two years. Thanks to GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code.
If you told me two years ago we'd be this productive with 2 engineers, I wouldn't have believed you. But AI makes it possible.
We can also pivot faster. Right now I'm giving SimpleDirect Financing a 90-day sprint to see if we can make it work with a different customer profile and distribution strategy. I'm doing this solo while my team works on another project.
That's only possible because of AI. Using Claude to draft articles for our target readers, social media posts for X and LinkedIn, brainstorming distribution strategies.
Two or three years ago? We'd need 10+ people to do what we're doing now.
If You're an Employee, This Should Excite You
The Wall Street Journal article focused on corporate employees. If you work for someone, this shouldn't be draining news.
You have two massive opportunities:
Opportunity 1: Maintain Performance with Less Time
I have friends (you probably do too) using AI to do their jobs in 50-70% of the time it used to take.
If you used to work 9am-5pm, now you can work 12pm-5pm and exceed expectations.
What do you do with that extra 30-40% of time?
Build side projects. Work on your own startup. Learn new skills. Develop expertise.
The old excuse was: "My job is too demanding. I'm 9-5 all the time."
That excuse doesn't hold anymore. Get your work done with AI, then spend the rest building your own thing.
And before you quit your job, make sure you have:
- 6-12 months runway saved (I prefer 12-18 months)
- Stable consulting income (ideally 80-100% of your current income from 3-5 diverse clients)
- Clear validation for what you're building
Build revenue before you quit. That's critical.
Opportunity 2: Become Indispensable
Use AI to become the person everyone turns to when they're stuck.
Figure out AI workflows that 10x your output. Share easier workflows with colleagues. Become the go-to AI implementation person on your team.
I know people in supposedly forward-thinking, tech-focused organizations who still can't figure out how to use Notion. It's mind-boggling, but it happens.
If you can be that person, two things happen:
- You're too valuable to let go - job security in an uncertain time
- You build transferable skills - reputation and skills that work whether you stay or leave
The Framework: Four Questions to Assess Yourself
Take the AI Positioning Audit:
Question 1: Am I using AI just as a tool, or is AI core to how I think about building?
This applies whether you're a software engineer, business owner, or employee.
Question 2: Can I reclaim 20-30% of my work time minimum using AI?
If not, you're not actually trying. Go back and figure out the workflow.
Question 3 (If employed): Am I becoming the AI expert in my organization?
If not, how can you make that happen?
Question 4 (If founder): Would my business operations collapse if AI tools disappeared tomorrow?
This is bold. ChatGPT, Claude, all of it - gone tomorrow. Does your business collapse?
If yes, you're AI-dependent. That's a good thing. Not bad. Good.
For me, yes - SimpleDirect operations would collapse without AI. That means we're AI-native.
If it would just be "a bit uncomfortable" or "hazy" but not destroyed - that's discomfort, not collapse. You're not AI-native enough.
You need collapse, not discomfort.
Story 2: Distribution First, Product Second
A few episodes ago, I talked about why distribution is the only moat left in 2025.
This week, I got validation from a new breed of founders on Twitter. I analyzed their tweets, their startups, what they're building.
They're all talking about distribution first, product second.
They're building TikTok audiences, newsletter lists, and communities BEFORE they build products.
The logic is simple: Copying products is trivial now with AI. But audience moats aren't.
Build audience first. Validate with that audience second. Build product third for that audience.
Not build → validate → ship. That's the old way.
My Biggest Regret
I thought building distribution didn't matter for SimpleDirect Financing because I was targeting blue-collar customers.
I thought: "These customers use phones, call all the time, use pen and paper, Excel. Building a distribution moat won't work here."
I was wrong.
There are companies that built successful audiences using Facebook groups with exactly these customers. They post memes. The memes make blue-collar workers happy. It works.
I could've done this years ago. I could've started before launching my startup.
Instead, I focused on cold calls, BDB, distribution partners, business development. I never thought about building distribution first.
I was afraid: "I'm not blue-collar. How will they see me?"
But after digging into marketing the past few months, I realized it's just an excuse.
I'm good at talking about tools and resources. I could've opened a TikTok account talking about how home improvement contractors, roofers, HVAC people, garage workers can use technology to make their lives better and make more money.
That would've taken off. But I found excuses for years.
If I'd done this a few years ago on Instagram, YouTube, anywhere - I would've built a loyal blue-collar audience. Selling to them would've been way easier than cold calls and outbound.
The Inbound vs Outbound Reality
Always think about inbound, especially in B2B. Outbound costs a lot of money and doesn't work well anymore.
We all get 3-5 LinkedIn cold messages daily about IT products, services, whatever. They don't work.
As an AI-minded, budget-conscious founder, it makes way more sense to do marketing first. Once you have a solid moat and enough money, maybe consider enterprise sales.
And you're still the best salesperson initially. I've tried hiring sales people multiple times. It's not worth it early on.
Your Distribution-First Action Plan
1. Start on day minus 100, not day one.
If you're figuring out distribution on day one, you're late.
Start 100 days before you even have the idea. By the time you launch (day 50, day 100), you'll have 5,000-10,000 loyal people who know you, trust you, and are waiting to see what you're building.
2. Pick your platform and commit.
Post 3 times per week for 90 days minimum on the problem space your product will solve.
For e-commerce: Instagram/TikTok/YouTube Shorts
For tech products: Twitter/LinkedIn/Newsletters
Don't talk too much about yourself. Talk about the problem space. Engage people in that space.
3. Identify 3-5 distribution partners.
Remember ConvertKit? They became successful leveraging a huge affiliate marketer who had their target audience (creators). They paid affiliate percentages on every sale.
That was their initial moat.
4. Test demand with a landing page.
This isn't hard anymore. No Webflow, no Lovable needed. You don't need to write a single line of code.
Five years ago, I built my landing page from scratch with HTML, CSS, JavaScript. If I could do that then, you can do it now with no-code tools in 1-2 days.
Send that landing page to potential customers. Ask if they resonate with the problem. Ask if they want you to solve it.
Story 3: The ChatGPT App Store Could Be Your 2008 Moment
ChatGPT just announced their app store with 800 million weekly active users.
They're working with Booking.com, Expedia, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, Canva. Uber and Lyft coming soon.
They launched an App SDK Preview for developers. Sam Altman says it's "a new generation of apps - interactive, adaptive, personalized."
I've personally tried the Spotify plugin. It's not perfect, but it works. It built me a playlist. Got stuck a few times. It's raw.
That's where the opportunity is.
Why This Matters: Platform Moments in History
2008: Apple introduced the App Store. Instagram, Uber, Airbnb were early developers. Got massive early distribution. Much of their early success came from being on the App Store day one.
2016: TikTok became available in the US. Early creators became instant millionaires with millions of followers because they created when everyone using TikTok was hungry for new content.
If you start TikTok today? It takes significantly more time to get to a million followers.
2018: Shopify released their app store. Early builders captured category advantages. They're still the top sellers in their Shopify categories today.
Now: ChatGPT apps are the AI-native OS. Your app gets distributed to 800 million active users.
That's the population of a continent.
Should You Build on ChatGPT's Platform?
Two sides to this:
The "Yes, Build Early" Case:
- Discovery is free
- Users are forgiving in early days (Shopify apps didn't work perfectly last week when I tried)
- First movers might dominate categories (like Shopify apps that are still #1 today)
- If you launch in 6 months, you might be one of 10,000 apps fighting for attention
The "No, Stay Focused" Case:
- If you already have profitable products, distribution channels, moats
- Don't take dev time away from your roadmap just to build for ChatGPT
- Usage might be lower than you think (people use ChatGPT, but not necessarily the apps yet)
My framework for deciding:
Build if:
- Your existing users could benefit from using ChatGPT
- You could benefit from customers discovering your product in ChatGPT's early days
- You can launch in 2-4 weeks (later = moat already left)
- There's no category leader in your space on that platform yet
If three of those are yes, it's worth a sprint.
If not, stay focused.
Even If You Don't Build an App
Think about how to optimize your website/blog to be captured more by AI agents.
My website got captured 60-100 times last week by AI agents in China (3-second sessions, clearly bots). But ChatGPT hasn't captured it yet.
Getting ChatGPT to send traffic your way is low-maintenance. You don't have to build an app. It can significantly increase value for your products and services.
Just don't chase it because everyone else is doing it. That's FOMO. Instead ask: "How can this benefit my business?"
How the Three Stories Connect
Story 1: AI is widening the performance gap
Story 2: Distribution is becoming the only moat
Story 3: New platforms create new opportunities with good timing
We're in a moment where AI made building easier, so products are commoditized. But distribution is still hard.
Audiences and channels are the new moat. New platforms are resetting distribution and creating opportunities.
If you're AI-native, distribution-first, and platform-early, you're going to beat people building the old way by a long shot.
You'll create a gap your competitors will take years to close.
Your Action Plan This Week
1. Audit your AI use (take the 4-question test above)
2. Check out the ChatGPT App Store - see if it's worth your time
3. If employed: Use AI to reclaim 20-30% of your time, start building side projects, become the AI expert your team relies on
4. Start building distribution: Post 3x per week on your platform, talk about the problem space
5. Most importantly: Decide which type of builder you want to be
In 18 months, the gap will be permanent. No matter if you're a founder, entrepreneur, business owner, or employee - you have to act now.
In 12-18 months, it'll be too late.
Which type of builder are you? Take the 4-question AI positioning audit and email me at george@founderreality.com with your results. I'm curious how many founders realize they're Type 2 when they think they're Type 3.
Get my free ebooks on consulting-first approach and de-risking your startup at founderreality.com
New episodes Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 9am EST. Real founder lessons about surviving the permanent AI gap.
Daily thoughts: @TheGeorgePu on Twitter/X
