Holy crap! I wasn't expecting that response.
11 replies. 4 offers to invest. 6 of you offering to hop on calls to help.
Right after I sent the email last week, I thought to myself, "Oh man, what have I done here?" However, I do think that trying to build a business that can get a $500,000 valuation at the end of year one and potentially be able to sell it for that amount is doable if I pick the right idea, use my skills, and stay focused.
First things first: I'm not taking investment. But I'll remember who was ready to put skin in the game, and those doors might open later.
Will this work? I have no idea, but you guys know me by now. I've never NOT tried things in life. I go for everything because who knows where it will take you. I'm sure it will at least take me somewhere!
I always remind myself that motion creates momentum. And momentum is a powerful thing. It propels you forward. It gets you unstuck. It turns ideas into action and action into results. You don’t need to see the whole staircase; you just need to take the first step.
Here's what happens next:
This next week will be what I call "The Idea Factory." I'll be leveraging every AI tool at my disposal to discover opportunities. By next Saturday, I'll present the different ideas I've come up with and how I found them. Then, I'd love your feedback on which one I should pursue.
My Idea Selection Criteria
As I'm hunting for the right opportunity, I'm keeping these parameters in mind:
Stay Close to the Invoice: One of the best pieces of advice I got from someone in this group: build businesses where you can directly invoice customers. No advertising models or long monetization timelines.
Tap Into Existing Strengths: I'll be focusing on ideas where I can leverage my existing networks, knowledge, and skills.
Money-Ready Audience: I'm specifically looking for B2B opportunities where customers already have budget allocated and are actively looking to solve problems.
Quick Revenue Path: The business needs to be able to generate its first dollar within weeks, not months. No long product development cycles.
Scalable Without Me: I need something that can eventually run without my daily involvement. That means systems and processes that can be documented and delegated.
I believe the selection process is where most businesses win or lose. Choose right, and execution becomes easier. Choose wrong, and you're fighting uphill forever.
This isn't just about building a business. It's about discovering what's possible when you combine human experience with AI capabilities.This Week's: Signal Over Noise
There's a TON happening as usual, but I only bring you the stuff that deserves your radar time. Let's roll.
The AI Voice That's Turning Heads
Sesame just dropped a voice AI that's very impressive.
This isn't your standard robotic voice assistant. This thing actually sounds like a HUMAN - with thoughtful pauses, excitement in its voice, and warm reassurance when needed.
Their "Conversational Speech Model" (CSM) is what powers their demo voices Maya and Miles, and WOW - these might be the most human-sounding AI voices I've ever heard.
What makes this different? Sesame's team focused on something they call "voice presence" - making every interaction feel genuinely real.
Instead of just converting text to audio, their model understands:
- The emotional context of your conversation
- Natural timing and pauses (no more robot cadence)
- When to shift tone based on the situation
- How to maintain a consistent personality throughout
YOU NEED TO TRY THIS. Seriously, take 30 seconds out of your day and check it out. https://www.sesame.com/research/crossing_the_uncanny_valley_of_voice#demo
Perplexity's Deep Research: B2B Prospecting on Steroids
Here's an awesome prompt workflow I found this week for anyone doing B2B outreach:
Use Perplexity's Deep Research to generate focused prospect lists and craft personalized messages that actually convert. Here's how:
- Define your targeting criteria (industry, company size, location, pain points)
- Hit up Perplexity and enter a prompt for companies matching your criteria
- Ask it to analyze and prioritize prospects, explaining why they're a good fit
- Generate personalized outreach messages that reference their specific situation and funding
PRO TIP: Use separate tools for research and writing - take your prospect insights from step 3 and feed them into your favorite writing assistant for polished outreach.
This workflow is like having a sales researcher and copywriter in your pocket. Game changer for founders and sales teams.
The Multi-Tab AI Problem Solver
Here's a problem I have: my AI workflow is pure chaos.
When I hit a tough problem, my browser transforms into this digital version of that conspiracy meme with the guy connecting red strings to newspaper clippings on his wall.
Tab 1: Claude thinking deeplyTab 2: GPT-4.5 calculatingTab 3: o3-mini-high processingTab 4: o1-pro contemplatingTab 5: Gemini 2.0 experimentingTab 6: Grok doing whatever Grok does
It's like I'm running an AI focus group where I ask the same question to 8 different superintelligences and then compare notes. No wonder Chrome keeps freezing up on me.
Why do I do this? Because each model has its superpower. Claude might nail the nuance, GPT the technical accuracy, Gemini the creative angle.
Well, check out Chorus.sh. I'm testing it now and will keep you posted on what I think. But basically, it's designed to solve this exact problem. So smart!
Manus AI: The Agent That's Breaking The Internet
The AI world is losing its mind over Manus right now, and for good reason.
Unlike most chatbots that just talk, Manus actually DOES stuff. It executes complex, multi-step tasks without constant babysitting - building websites, analyzing stocks, planning trips, and apparently crushing OpenAI's Deep Research.
What makes it next level? It can reportedly handle up to 50 tasks simultaneously, works through a unique virtual machine, and comes from a Chinese team at Monica (potentially another "DeepSeek moment" showing China's growing edge in cost-efficient AI).
Right now, it's invite-only with limited server capacity, creating a feeding frenzy. People are literally scalping invitation codes online.
Watch this demo and judge for yourself: https://youtu.be/K27diMbCsuw?si=yZzjwmNeJFEng6w8
I'm on their waitlist and hoping to try it soon. I'll keep you posted if I get access.
A16Z Just Dropped Their GenAI Consumer Apps Report
A16Z just published their new report on the top 100 GenAI consumer apps by traffic and mobile downloads.
If you're building in this space or just curious about which apps are actually getting traction (versus just getting VC hype), definitely worth a look. https://a16z.com/100-gen-ai-apps-4/
Alright, that's all I got for you this week. As always, feel free to reach out to me any time you want.Thanks,Mike
P.S. - If you know someone who would genuinely add value to our group, send them here to join: https://form.jotform.com/250523773604152
