Framework
The Survivable AI Formula
AI alone is a commodity. Workflow plus AI is a feature. Only the third combination builds a real moat.
How it works
- 1AI alone gets cloned in 30 days. The barrier to copy is near zero.
- 2Workflow plus AI gets you a feature, not a moat. Still reproducible with effort.
- 3AI plus workflow plus deep domain expertise is the magic spot — you had to live the domain to build it.
- 4Domain expertise comes with distribution baked in: the people who trust you most are the people who most need what you built.
Hear it on the podcast
"We Don't Use AI" Will Be the Flex of 2026Listen to the episodeMore from this episode
Follow Opportunity, Become PassionateCause of a Kind's entire twenty-year career arc came from saying yes to what showed up, not from executing a fixed vision.Experiment and ExploitRun many small experiments to catch signal with the least effort. Kill more than you release. Some bets need years of patience before they pop.Enshittification vs. Main StreetificationTwo simultaneous forces are reshaping software. One degrades quality; the other opens access. Smart founders position for the second.Delusional ConfidenceThe founders who survive long enough to compound all share a slightly unhinged commitment to mastery. Tell yourself daily you are the best in the world at your craft — and then earn it.
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