Startup gurus love to preach about “product-market fit”.
But here’s the catch:
Markets are moving targets.
Products are replaceable.
Look, product-market fit remains a crucial piece of the puzzle. A truly exceptional product that solves a real problem is still essential. However without an audience, product-market fit is guesswork. You’re trying to tune an engine with no fuel.
AI might be a tool, but creativity is the magic. Coca-Cola’s attempt feels like a Christmas sweater stitched by a robot—technically functional, but missing the heart that makes it memorable.
I has leveled the playing field, making it easy for anyone to churn out perfect-looking designs, pitch decks, and marketing copy. But when everyone looks professional, does “professional” even matter anymore?
I explore how taste, craft, and storytelling are becoming the last true differentiators in a world drowning in AI-generated perfection.
Instead of traditional pre-launch marketing, create what I call a "problem community" first. Find where your future customers are already discussing their pain points (specific Reddit threads, Discord channels, LinkedIn groups) and become the go-to problem solver there. Instead of teasing your product, document your journey of understanding their problems.
For example, if you're building a creator tool, spend 30 days publicly interviewing creators about their workflow headaches. Share insights generously. When people see you truly get their problems, they'll naturally want to know what you're building. I've seen this create waitlists of thousands before a single line of code was written.
Reminds me of how early newspapers initially resisted ads until economics forced their hand in the 1830s. History might rhyme here - Altman's resistance to ads echoes Larry Page's famous "ads are evil" stance before Google became... well, Google.
Most startup marketers are using AI wrong. Cranking out blog posts? That’s entry-level stuff. OpenAI’s AI Primitives—research, data analysis, automation, and creative thinking—are where the real power lies. These tools make AI a strategy supercharger, not just a shortcut. So, either go deep with AI or get comfortable getting left behind.
Volv was born out of frustration with content overload. Founders Shannon and Priyanka created an app that delivers 9-second news bites for Gen Z and Millennials who want to stay informed without endless scrolling. Their biggest lesson? Adapt fast, listen to your users, and don’t rely on influencers to fix everything.
Think of synthetic data as artificially generated data that mirrors the patterns and characteristics of real-world data—without involving any actual personal information. It's like a stand-in actor that performs just like the lead but doesn't bring along any of the baggage.
Alex Lieberman is rewriting the rules of B2B marketing—and most people missed it.
Some of his takes:
— Company social that’s “unhinged” but strategic.
— Execs getting real, specific, and not salesy on socials.
— Go-To Email newsletters that aren’t optional.
— Blog content? SEO-aware, but not SEO-driven.
— IRL experiences that actually stand out.
First, let's put things into perspective: in a world of 8 billion people, only around 27 million are software developers – this mere 0.3% – wield a disproportionate influence over our daily lives. From smartphones to critical infrastructure, their code shapes our reality. It's mind-boggling to think that such a small group of people holds the key to our digital age!