Definition
Top-Down Market Sizing
Estimating market size using industry-level data.
From the episode “Stop Building, Do This First”Hear it on the podcast1 episode
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The AI Infrastructure Moat ProblemThe existential risk for AI tool startups: foundation model providers (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic) can add a capability in a single product update that renders a wrapper tool irrelevant overnight. OpenAI recently shipped a lightweight Photoshop integration; Google adds Gemini features constantly. The moat question every AI infrastructure investor must ask: what survives a model provider copying the core capability? Defensible answers: depth of workflow integration (high switching cost), proprietary training data or process, and accumulated customer context the model provider can't replicate.The Conviction-Coachability MatrixJesse Marble's framework for evaluating founders. Both axes must score high simultaneously — conviction without coachability produces a bulldozer; coachability without conviction produces a follower.The Gartner Hype CycleTechnology analyst firm Gartner's model for how new technologies move through public perception: Technology Trigger → Peak of Inflated Expectations → Trough of Disillusionment → Slope of Enlightenment → Plateau of Productivity. Eugene maps current LLM adoption to the Peak of Inflated Expectations — AI as panacea, an answer to every problem. The coming Trough will arrive as production limitations (hallucination, security vulnerabilities, error rates) surface in real enterprise deployments. The implication for builders: design for the Trough now, not just the Peak.The Mom TestA method for customer interviews that avoids leading questions and false validation.ValidationStructured confirmation that a real customer has a real problem they will pay to solve.Venture for AmericaA fellowship placing recent grads at startups, where Endear's founders met.Vertical AI SaaSA software-as-a-service product built specifically for one industry or use case, leveraging AI capabilities that are deeply integrated into the domain's workflows, data sources, and buyer behaviors - as opposed to horizontal AI tools that serve many industries with general-purpose functionality. Vertical AI SaaS requires deep domain expertise alongside AI competence: Loman.ai's team combines restaurant industry sales veterans (first DoorDash sales rep, Toast President's Club) with voice AI engineers (from Deepgram and ElevenLabs). The GTM strategy also differs from horizontal SaaS: distribution runs through industry-specific channels (restaurant owner Facebook groups, trade shows), success metrics are industry-native (labor cost per location, phone order revenue), and word-of-mouth operates within tight industry networks where one satisfied multi-unit operator can refer dozens of peers.Vesting CliffA milestone in an equity compensation schedule at which an employee's shares vest for the first time, typically after one year of employment.