Hamzaa Shergill

How I’d start an AI company today if I had to do it all over again in 2026.

90% of AI startups still fail in their first year.

Worse:
60–70% of “AI wrapper” startups are sitting at exactly $0 in revenue.

Not low revenue. Zero.

Here’s the brutal test I’d run before writing a single line of code:
if OpenAI or Anthropic shut down your API key tomorrow, does your company die with it?

If yes, you didn’t build a business, you built an unpaid distribution arm for someone else’s model.

Swipe through for the 5 decisions I’d make differently this time:

→ Pick a vertical so narrow it feels uncomfortable (not “AI for healthcare”: patient intake for single-doctor clinics)

→ Build a real moat: proprietary data, deep workflow integration, owned distribution — not a thin layer on GPT

→ Price for outcomes, not seats. Per-seat SaaS is dying. $2T is already gone.

→ Stay lean. Solo founders are running $3M+ ARR companies with a $300/month agent stack instead of a payroll

→ Know exactly what VCs are checking for now because “we use AI” doesn’t cut it anymore
The bar is higher than it’s ever been.

But the opportunity is bigger too, 53% of all global VC funding is flowing into this category right now.

Comment “Build” to get the complete guide in DM👇

SpaceX jumped in to give a heads on competition to OpenAI, Google and Anthropic!

SpaceX agreed to acquire Cursor maker Anysphere for $60B in stock, just days after its IPO.

This is not just “Musk buys an AI coding app.” It is SpaceX/xAI trying to own the full stack: compute, models, and the developer interface where agents actually get used every day.

The hidden angle: AI coding tools are becoming strategic infrastructure.

If Cursor becomes part of xAI’s stack, the battle shifts from “which model is smartest?” to “who owns the workflow where developers generate, review, and ship software?”

Why it matters: builders should watch this as a warning shot.

The most valuable AI surfaces may not be chatbots. They may be the daily tools that quietly capture user behavior, code context, enterprise spend, and training signal.

What do you think about this move by Elon Musk?

Most founders think they need more leads.

They don’t.

They need a system that turns strangers into customers.

Because people don’t wake up one day and decide to buy from you.

They move through stages.

First, they discover you.

Then they learn from you.

Then they start trusting you.

Then they consider buying.

Then they buy.

The problem is that most businesses try to skip half of this process.

They post an offer to people who don’t know them.
They run ads to people who don’t trust them.
They pitch before they’ve built credibility.

And then wonder why conversion rates are low.

Here’s the framework I use:

👉 Attention → Get discovered
👉 Education → Teach something valuable
👉 Authority → Prove you know what you’re talking about
👉 Lead Capture → Turn attention into an audience
👉 Nurture → Build trust over time
👉 Intent → Show people how you solve their problem
👉 Offer → Present a clear path forward
👉 Conversion → Close the sale
👉 Expansion → Turn customers into advocates

Every piece of content should move people one step deeper into the funnel.

Not every post should sell.

Not every email should educate.

Not every ad should convert.

Each stage has a job.

When you understand that, marketing becomes predictable.

The businesses growing the fastest aren’t necessarily the ones with the most traffic.

They’re the ones with the best systems for moving people from:

“I’ve never heard of you”

to

“Take my money.”

That’s the real game.

Comment “Funnel” to get the complete Playbook in your DM.