Austin Next Newsletter #26
In today's rapidly evolving entrepreneurial landscape, technology is the great equalizer, opening new avenues for innovation and challenging traditional notions of business scalability.
I sit down with Sameer Gulati , Chief Product Officer at ZenBusiness , to explore how the company is empowering startups on their business journey. We examine the impact of recent innovations on the entrepreneurial environment and delve into the rapid shifts in competition and remote work.
??Episode Highlights??
??Technology is having a transformative impact on the entrepreneurial landscape, enabling a new wave of business ventures through accessible tech stacks and digital tools like Generative AI.
??ZenBusiness positions itself as the K-12 level for early-stage businesses, offering specialized tools and services that guide startups through their formative years until they're ready for more specialized software.
??The rise of platforms like ZenBusiness raises questions about the changing dynamics of small business scalability and regional competition.
??The concept of a '1-button company' could revolutionize not just the startup phase but the entire lifecycle of running a business.
??In a compelling example of eating their own dog food, ZenBusiness encourages team members to launch side hustles, serving as a real-world testbed for the company’s product offerings.?
??Despite having a majority of their workforce based in Austin, ZenBusiness's commitment to a remote work culture is so strong that even local social gatherings are rare.
What’s Next Austin?
“Austin has shown that as an ecosystem, as a talent pool, as a well-connected city with ambition, it certainly has the potential to be the place which creates not just the next set of unicorns but also decacorns. I'm optimistic about that. We believe that we can be one of those.”?
You can find the episode on?Spotify,?Apple, our?website,?or any of your other favorite podcast platforms!
??Additional Thoughts
Pitchbook's New Global Ecosystem Rankings
At last, global ecosystem rankings are emerging that offer a balanced mix of forward-looking and retrospective metrics. The outcome...Austin ranks 7th in the U.S. and 14th globally.
Pitchbook's development scores evaluate the size and maturity of startups as well as the vitality of the local VC community.
For me, the most significant takeaway from these scores is how closely Austin's numbers align with Seattle's. This is especially notable given Seattle's reputation as a hub that has boomed across a number of innovation cycles.
These numbers show Austin is primed as our flywheel accelerates.
Building an AI Tutor for My Son & Embracing the Future of Education
Imagine empowering your 9-year-old to delve into the vast sea of human knowledge, tailored specifically to their unique curiosity. That's exactly what I've achieved with a customized ChatGPT tutor.
My son knows that I carry all the world's information in my pocket. At any moment, he can ask questions spanning history, science, or economics, and I can provide the answer. Wanting to shift this dynamic, I aimed to enable him to not just obtain the answer but to understand, probe, and decipher it. So, I created a co-pilot for him.
"I want to set up this chat as a tutor/teacher/thought partner for all the curious scientific, historical, and economic questions that my 9-year-old has. His questions are quite thoughtful and unique. Before we engage, I want you to work with him to assess the proper level of answers and depth. Think of it as building custom instructions for your output." This was my initial prompt to ChatGPT, setting the stage for a bespoke educational experience tailored to his unique inquisitiveness.
His questions run the gamut: "Is Bitcoin dead?", "Does ChatGPT have all of humanity's public knowledge?", "What's the biggest land purchase of all time?", and even "Explain the 4th and 5th dimensions." The scope of his curiosity is a trip to keep up with.
It was incredible to see him quickly reach the frontiers of our understanding of the universe. He became extremely frustrated when ChatGPT couldn’t clearly explain the 5th dimension, a concept that defies simple explanation as it's a mathematical construct of String Theory. Let's just say he accepted that there wasn't a definitive answer, but he wasn’t pleased about it.The tutor has only existed for a few days, but I've already fine-tuned it to align with both his preferences and the elements I want to include. My son prefers straightforward answers and asks that we skip the metaphors. When he indicates confusion, I've instructed the AI to keep and clarify jargon and complex terms rather than replace with simpler words.
I've heard that some schools are considering banning AI. If that happens at our school, I won't cease using these tools to educate my kids. The unintended consequences—1) My kids advance while rule-followers fall behind, 2) They learn that rule-breaking offers an advantage, not a great lesson.
Brett A. Hurt coined the term "linearalism," to describe the one step at a time approach that defines and plagues our modern institutions, which is fundamentally at odds with the complex, multi-layered functioning of AI. The essence of this AI revolution lies in the evolution of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking into our new superpowers.
As we optimize these AI tools, we're teaching our children to not just seek answers but to formulate better questions. If we nail this, our kids will run circles around us in understanding the complexities of the world. A result we should all strive for.
What's Next?
Austin's transformation into a global innovation powerhouse is at the heart of Austin Next. We explore insights into the region's evolution and the building of robust ecosystems. Additionally, we delve into the potential impact of emerging trends, technologies, and their convergence. Austin, as our real-world case study, helps us aspire to better comprehend the true nature of innovation.