Real founder insights about surviving the AI commoditization era
Published October 22, 2025 • Based on Founder Reality Episode 33
Also available on: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • YouTube
I walked away from a $3-5 million partnership deal two months ago.
Not because the numbers were bad. Not because the terms sucked. I walked away because sitting in that final meeting, something in my gut said "this feels like work."
Most founders would call me crazy. But here's what I've learned after building two companies and watching hundreds of others: the moment you start optimizing for external validation instead of what actually works, you become replaceable.
The Validation Trap That's Killing Founders
Three years ago, I was that founder. Spending months pitching investors not because I needed the money, but because raising VC "felt legitimate." Chasing partnerships with big names not because they helped customers, but because they looked good on my LinkedIn.
The result? I was building someone else's vision of success while ignoring what my customers actually wanted.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: most startup advice is designed to make you replaceable. VCs want predictable patterns. Accelerators want scalable formulas. Everyone wants you to fit a mold because it's easier to categorize and manage.
But molds create commodities. And commodities get replaced.
Why AI Makes This 10x More Dangerous
I've been building AI-first businesses for three years now. Every week, I see another "founder" announce they "built an AI tool and sold it for $20K!"
Cool. I built businesses that compound for years.
We're not the same.
Here's what's happening: AI is democratizing technical skills faster than ever. Anyone can spin up a chatbot, create content, or build basic software. The barrier to entry for "looking like a founder" has never been lower.
But the barrier to being irreplaceable has never been higher.
The Only Framework That Actually Matters
Naval Ravikant nailed it: if you want to be irreplaceable, you have to be unique. If you want to be unique, you have to be authentic.
But everyone quotes this and misses the hard part: being authentic means stopping the validation chase that feels so good in the moment.
When I stopped chasing investor meetings and focused on customer problems, SimpleDirect's revenue grew 300% in six months. When I stopped hiring to look "startup-y" and cut our team from 14 to 5 people, productivity went up and stress went down.
The market rewards substance, not performance.
What Nobody Tells You About Building Authentic Advantage
I spent $200K and two years building a quantitative trading firm. Sophisticated algorithms, backtesting, the works. It was technically impressive.
Returns were shit.
You know what's actually working? A simple Bogleheads investment approach I learned on Reddit. 5.5% return in 2.5 months with zero stress and minimal time investment.
Complexity doesn't equal better results. Impressive doesn't equal profitable. Following "best practices" doesn't equal competitive advantage.
Your authenticity isn't about being different for different's sake. It's about doubling down on what actually works for you, even when it looks boring or unconventional to others.
The Three Questions That Changed Everything
Every major decision I make now gets filtered through these questions:
- Am I doing this because it works, or because it looks good?
- Building features customers ask for vs. features that sound impressive
- Hiring people we need vs. people that make us look "complete"
- Posting content that helps people vs. content that gets likes
- What would I do if nobody was watching?
- Would I still pursue this partnership?
- Would I still raise this funding round?
- Would I still launch this product?
- What do I know that others don't?
- Not because I'm smarter, but because of my specific experience
- What expensive lessons have I learned that others haven't?
- What conventional wisdom have I proven wrong in my own business?
The answers to question three become your moat.
What Actually Happened vs. What Should Have Happened
I was "supposed to" raise a Series A by now. Instead, I bootstrapped to profitability.
I was "supposed to" hire aggressively. Instead, I learned that smaller teams move faster.
I was "supposed to" move to Silicon Valley. Instead, I'm building globally from Toronto.
Every deviation from the "startup playbook" made my businesses stronger and my life better.
The Authenticity Audit Every Founder Needs
Here's your homework: list everything you're doing to "look like a successful founder."
- How much time do you spend on investor updates vs. customer calls?
- How many features exist because competitors have them vs. customers need them?
- How many hires were made to fill org chart boxes vs. solve real problems?
- How much content do you create for engagement vs. genuine value?
Be honest. The list is longer than you think.
Now ask: what would happen if you stopped doing the things on that list?
Why This Matters More Than Ever
In an AI-first world, technical skills become commoditized overnight. What can't be replicated is your specific combination of experience, judgment, and taste developed through actual building.
But only if you've been building authentically.
If you've been optimizing for investor presentations instead of customer value, AI just made your advantage disappear. If you've been copying "best practices" instead of developing your own approach, you have no defensible position.
The founders who survive the AI wave won't be the ones with the best technical skills or the most funding. They'll be the ones with the most authentic perspective on real problems.
What I'm Doing Differently Now
I turned down that $3-5M partnership. Instead, I'm doubling down on what my customers actually want: simple solutions that work better than complex alternatives.
I stopped hiring to look complete. My team of 5 ships faster than our team of 14 ever did.
I stopped posting for engagement metrics. My Twitter following grows faster with authentic insights than it ever did with growth hacks.
The market rewards authenticity more than you think. You just have to trust it long enough to see the results.
Your Authenticity Is Your Advantage
Stop optimizing for what looks impressive and start optimizing for what actually works.
Stop building what you think investors want and start building what customers will pay for.
Stop copying successful founders and start becoming the founder others want to copy.
The most valuable companies aren't built by following playbooks. They're built by founders who trust their authentic judgment over conventional wisdom.
Your specific experience, hard-won lessons, and contrarian insights aren't bugs in your founder story. They're the features that make you irreplaceable.
Trust them.
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