what people actually ask me
the questions i get asked, and the ones i think about, answered in my own words.
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inside venture693what do investors want founders to post on social media?
honestly, i want founders to brag about why you. as someone looking for the next best startups, i use social media to see what founders are building, and i feel like i don't see enough of us showing why we're the right person to solve this problem. show me your conviction at the earliest stage.
inside venture693can you pitch a vc without a warm intro?
yes, you don't need a warm intro. you can pitch us through our website and we accept all cold pitches. we love backing highly technical teams and repeat founders building in ai.
inside venture1kshould you mention competitors in your ads?
honestly, i don't think trying to shit on your competitor in your ad works, it usually backfires. if you make fun of the user's current choice, it's more likely to piss them off than win them over, and you forget the main purpose of the ad, which is to actually convert them.
inside venture1khow to market a startup and actually find your customers?
in my experience, you meet your consumers where they're at, consistently. figure out your view of one, the exact person you're building for, and go test it instead of throwing ads at a wall to see what sticks. listen to why consumers actually use your product.
inside venture3kshould you show a demo instead of a pitch deck?
honestly, i'd rather see a real demo than a deck. i run an event called ditch the deck for exactly this, where you skip the pitch deck and show us whatever demo you have. it's so easy to build nowadays that we want to see a real product.
inside venture3kis it worth going to a startup networking event if you're not pitching?
honestly, i think it's worth showing up even if you're not demoing. we always encourage founders to attend anyway, because some really great connections can come out of it, and it might take a few times for your demo to start resonating.
inside venture1khow to follow up with an investor after meeting them at an event?
honestly, follow up with a specific ask, not a vague coffee invite. tell me you want to practice your pitch, get feedback on your demo, or think through your go-to-market, and i'm more than happy to help and i'll be there every time. asking to grab coffee with zero context wastes both our time.
inside venture1kwhat do founders want from investors besides money?
in my experience, the best founders want advice, not just access and capital. the ones i've worked with told me what they're building, why they're stuck, and how i could help them think through it. i feel like a good founder also knows when to ask for that help.
inside venture3kwhy is claude beating chatgpt?
honestly, i think it's the marketing, not the technology. claude identified developers as their initial users, built sticky infrastructure around the use cases those developers were already doing, and expanded from developers to early adopters to non-technical people evangelizing a technical product. chatgpt did the spray and pray method and never locked in on a persona, which is why it feels like a fancy google.
inside venture3kwhat can startups learn from anthropic's marketing?
my take is you identify your ideal customer profile and build for them, not at them. claude created sticky infrastructure for those original users, then doubled down on the use cases those customers were already doing so people naturally preach about it. i think that's the playbook to copy instead of spray and pray.
inside venture1khow to follow up after a networking event
honestly, skip the business card and follow up on the specific thing we actually talked about. if we had a great conversation, reference the very specific ask and point we touched on, because that's actionable and easy for my brain to say yes i can help or no not right now. a flimsy card just gets thrown away like a gum wrapper.
inside venture1kwill live events matter more in the age of ai?
honestly, i think live events are the future. if anybody can make stuff online now, the only differentiator is how you make the experience better and more memorable in the physical world. you might not pay $1,200 to see an ai artist, but people already pay that to see lady gaga, so there's still inherent demand for human connection and human artistry.
inside venture1khow do you build a loyal audience when ai makes content easy?
the way i see it, you climb a ladder. first you need a great product, then a great user experience on top of that, then a great community around that experience, and then a great brand on top of the community, because the brand is what people associate themselves with. that's how you create a long-lasting, sticky audience.
building in public1khow to build an app with no coding experience
my stack as a non-technical person is simple: claude code in my terminal for building, supabase to track my data, and vercel to deploy it as both a website and something i can use on my phone. it took me a couple hours.
building in public1kvibe coding project ideas for beginners
honestly, build something just for you, like the home inventory app i made for myself. all i do is take a photo of an item and it saves it into a category with a location, tags, and care instructions. it's my own personal app, not something i'm trying to sell, just for my own fun.
building in public904how to use claude code from your phone
use the remote control feature. i leave my laptop plugged in and go on a walk with my claude code session on my phone, talking right to it so my project doesn't stop. i come up with my best ideas on a walk, so being able to brain dump and actually build it is life changing.
building in public959why does all ai content sound the same
the thing is, it all sounds the same because when we brainstorm with ai, it's pulling from the same training data and best performing videos, so we're all just regurgitating. i think the key is making ai brainstorm with you based off your own brain dumps, observations, and opinions.
building in public1kwhat skills are future proof in the age of ai
i think the number one skill is the ability to get shit done, plus being a great communicator who can read a room. the only thing ai can't take from you is your own unique experiences and your ability to create a vision you want to build and rally people behind you.
building in public5khow to build an interactive animation with claude ai no coding
i built an interactive animation of the innovation curve in about 20 to 30 minutes with zero cs background, i studied communications and media production. it broke the first time, so i screenshotted it and told claude to fix itself. the tip that worked for me was describing exactly what the user will see and how i want to interact with it, instead of just saying make me a diagram.
building in public5khow to enable dictation on mac to talk instead of type
on a macbook, go into your settings and set a hot key for dictation. i use my fn key and tap it twice to turn on dictation, so i can talk directly to my laptop instead of typing. i love having it enabled.
building in public2kwhy do i keep attracting other founders instead of customers when i build in public?
i feel like it's because tiktok is a discovery-first platform, so every video has to make sense to someone who has no idea who you are. starting with taking you through me building xyz is great for your existing audience, but nobody new knows who you are. try the view of one instead, envision the exact person you want to see this, and you'll attract the whole category of people like them, which is usually your ideal customer.
building in public2kwhy isn't my founder content getting views
honestly, i don't think it's that the content is bad, it's that you're trying on someone else's style. it's like wearing clothes that don't fit your body shape, it could technically work but it makes you look a little boxy and it's not totally you. that's probably why your messaging isn't landing, so find your view of one and talk to them.
building in public1kare ai prompt packs worth it
honestly, i'd be wary of anyone selling you a prompt or getting you to download something, because that prompt is dead the second the next model drops. i feel like 90% of what tech influencers teach about ai is stuff you could just learn from claude yourself. the best thing you can do as a non-technical person is learn for yourself by making your own things, so you still know the process when a new llm comes out.
women in ai115kwhere are the women building ai?
honestly, we have enough skincare brands and consumer goods, and i'm looking for the tech girlies building software and fantastic ai tools for women. i feel like it's equally important that women are behind building ai, because if we just let the tech bros build it, it'll keep coming from a male perspective.
women in ai1kresources for female founders building in ai
my firm is writing 200k checks into technical teams and repeat founders building in ai, and you can pitch us on our website with no warm intro needed. i'm also part of women applying ai, one of the largest networks of women in ai, which hosts free events, free programming, and a ton of resources.
women in ai1kdo you need to know how to code to vibe code?
no, you don't need to know how to code. we're looking for all types of builders, whether you're super technical or not technical at all, so just bring your ideas, your willingness to collaborate, and a laptop. this isn't to pitch or sell to anybody, it's just a room of people building and hacking on cool shit.
women in ai968how to connect with other women in tech and ai
i feel like we all need to learn how to show up online and show exactly what we're building, so we can be inspirations to each other and help each other out. i don't need to tell you how male dominated the tech and business world is, but we need more women in ai and building startups with ai.
women in ai2khow can women founders support each other?
honestly, start following, supporting, and answering each other's questions. over 300 of us showed up talking about what we're building, and i think that's the best thing we can do. if you want feedback on your pitch, make a tiktok and dm it to me and i'll respond with content back on my channel so you get visibility too, because someone else probably has the same question.
personal566how has social media and personal branding changed over the years?
honestly, i feel like it's completely flipped. ten years ago you were unemployable and seen as cringey for having a following, and now it's almost a requirement and you're considered bold for having a personal brand. but just because you can monetize your thoughts doesn't mean you should, so be mindful of what you're creating.
personal566are tiktok followers worth as much as instagram or linkedin followers?
honestly, i don't think so, the weights have changed, so 100,000 followers on tiktok is not valued the same as 100,000 on linkedin or instagram. just because i have 100,000 on tiktok, that doesn't mean shit to people on instagram.
personal636best tv shows for founders and entrepreneurs to watch
honestly, if you're a founder i think you need to watch hacks, it's one of the best displays of grit. every season deborah gets told no, gets barred from business decisions, and her team still finds a way. that scrappiness is exactly what you need when shit needs to get done.
personal2kis boston a good city for startups?
honestly, i think boston might be one of the best cities to live in over the next 10 years. it's ranked top three for public transit, it's walkable, and it's number three in cities deploying venture capital. unlike sf and new york it's still being built right now, so you get to shape the community. never bet where everybody's going, go where everybody's not.
personal965can you get a job without linkedin?
yes, i didn't post on linkedin for a year and a half before graduating in december and still landed a full-time job. the craziest part is my boss found me because i was posting on a tech tiktok account, a side project i started in one of my classes. every employer i ask tells me they're looking for agency and execution.
personal965what does it mean to be a content creator now?
to me, being a creator means something entirely different than it did five or twenty years ago. it's somebody who has a vision for the world and is actively executing on it. my whole thesis is that to be successful you have to be a great storyteller, a great builder, and a great executor, and that's exactly why i came back to tiktok.
want the long version?
i go deeper on substack, and i post new ones on tiktok every week.