Beautiful design is now a commodity.

I've spent the last 24 hours with ChatGPT 4o images, and it's clear we've entered a new reality: "Execution is cheap, ideas are everything."

For decades, we were told the opposite. Everyone had ideas. Few could execute them well. The ability to turn a concept into reality separated the winners from the dreamers.

But in an AI world, it's completely flipped.

When anyone can execute at 90% perfection with the right prompts, the limiting factor becomes the quality of your ideas. The creative direction. The strategic insight. The unique perspective.

The most successful companies I'm seeing are shifting resources from production to ideation. Less time pushing pixels, more time exploring concepts.

They're running 20-30 creative directions where they used to do 2-3, because the cost of trying ideas has collapsed.

In a world where anyone can create a beautiful website, logo, or packaging, the winners are focusing on the things AI can't (yet) simulate:

I think it's authentic relationships, innovative products, and unique perspectives.

The real advantage is in knowing when to break the rules of good design in ways that resonate emotionally.

The human touch is becoming less about execution and more about strategic deviation from the optimized norm.

This is creating strange new dynamics in hiring too. When I started our design agency @meetLCA, we hired for world class technical skills - mastery of tools, execution ability.

But now we care more about hiring for conceptual ability and creative direction. People who consistently generate novel ideas rather than perfect executions. Obviously, top tech skills still matter, but way less.

As AI makes "good enough" design accessible to everyone, the market is splitting. At the low end, good enough is actually good enough.

But at the high end, there's a premium on the truly unexpected - the ideas an AI wouldn't generate because they break conventional patterns.

I think we're heading toward a bifurcated creative world: automated beauty for most purposes, with human creativity focused on creating the unexpected, the ideas and approaches an AI wouldn't think to try because they don't follow established patterns of "good design."
The challenge for most of us now isn't "how do we execute this idea?" but "which ideas are actually worth executing?"

Execution is cheap, ideas are everything.

Tremendous alpha in it.

You're an idea person now. We all are? Example #1

https://x.com/apollonator3000/status/1904999339983819129

AI is making every product look the same. Same features. Same UI. Same smart assistant.

So if everyone has the same AI tools, what actually makes a product a $100M winning product?

Insights from a 50 page ebook "how to design products in the AI age" we wrote at @meetLCA: How AI is raising the baseline for product excellence

$375k/mo business idea for you

software that helps mexican/canadian manufacturers avoid tariffs legally. how product can work:

1. optimize shipping routes
2. automate customs
3. ensure compliance
4. find friendly paths

not a logistics entrepreneur but hear me out might be something here

19k manufacturers export $875B to US but focus on top 500 ($10M+ exports)

simple pricing: $5k/mo + 0.1% of tariff saved avg

customer saves $2.5M/yr = $7.5k/mo revenue per client

math for year 1: 50 customers x $7.5k = $375k MRR

market is massive:

2023 numbers:

7,000+ canadian manufacturers export to US ($400B) 12,000+ mexican manufacturers export to US ($475B) 19,000 potential customers

go build this tomorrow how to build this $375k MRR business:

month 1-2:

- partner with 2-3 customs brokers (they have relationships)
- build basic route optimization engine
- create compliance doc automation
- launch simple dashboard MVP

month 3-4:

- target top 100 mexican manufacturers
- cold email CEOs + ops leaders
- focus message: "save $2.5M/year on tariffs"
- host webinar with customs broker
- aim for 5 pilot customers at 50% discount

month 5-6:

- use pilot testimonials
- speak at 2-3 manufacturing events
- run linkedin ads to ops leaders
- build case studies
- aim for 15 customers

month 7-12:

- hire 2 sales reps ($150k OTE)
- expand to canada
- add shipping integrations
- automate more compliance
- target: 50 customers

key start super manual
prove value
then automate
sell on fear + savings

yesterday, i stumbled onto the most underrated market research tool.

tiktok creator insights.

it's a goldmine of consumer behavior data, hiding in plain sight. and it's free to use.

here's why it's powerful:

1. shows you what people are desperately searching for
2. highlights topics with high demand but low supply
3. reveals trending questions in every industry
4. tracks search growth over 14-day periods

the "content gap" tab shows you problems people are actively trying to solve, but can't find good solutions for.

so that's cool for a couple reasons

1. help you create content that has low supply/high demand (better chances of going viral)
2. you can build startups to some of these trends

Example:

i searched "email management" and found:

• "how to clear 10k emails"
• "best way to organize work inbox"
• "email templates for busy people"

thousands searching.
hardly any solutions.

the beauty of this

• it's real-time market research
• it's actual user intent
• it's completely free
• and most founders aren't using it

a bunch of smart founders are mining tiktok insights right now

it isn't perfect, but you never know what you might find

your next startup idea might be hiding in those search trends.

So, ill share how to access it because it’s kinda hidden:

1. Go to TT search
2.Type in “creator search insight”
3. Tap view

im one of those people that think using data like this is your unfair advantage.

if tiktok is the new search engine, then tiktok creator insights is the new google trends.

might as well use it. this is how i use it

i scroll through suggested/trending tap

i see if anything catches my eye

i look to see search data

sometimes ill look for demographic data

i write notes on what i learn

and i see what are related videos

that sparks ideas for me

free ideas galore.

Startup ideas thread:

#1 AI-driven email signature A/B tester

1. Create plugin for Gmail, Outlook
2. Use GPT to generate variant signatures, track performance
3. Charge $29/month for "Signature Optimizer Pro"
4. Scale to full email copywriting assistant #2 Micro-SaaS for Airbnb hosts

1. Create AI tool to optimize listing titles and descriptions
2. Add feature to auto-respond to common guest inquiries
3. Charge $99/month for "SuperHost Autopilot"
4. Expand to pricing optimization, review management

my notes on mr beast's LEAKED 36 page leaked "how to succeed in mr. beast production" document

unfiltered analysis/reactions/full document below: page 2

i find it fascinating that this "rulebook" for a billion dollar empire is written so casually.

he even calls out there will be grammar issues.

you feel like he is writing to you. Pretty powerful way to begin.

more companies should do this. founder mode?

here we go.

business school should be a year of v0, cursor, replit, claude prompting, design 101, finance 101, how to find startup ideas and 3 years of how to hack distribution.

you can't graduate unless one of your products gets 100 customers and you go viral.

i'm sorry. pretty crazy to think that business grads come into this world not knowing how to ship something and get it seen by millions

thats business 101 in 2024.

what have you been learning and getting into debt for?

How to build a startup with v0, cursor, claude and replit in 67 minutes (beginner's guide)

I asked @rileybrown_ai if he could build an app in under 2 hours and he did it.

He has zero engineering background. Blew my mind.

You'll witness:

1. Complex app architecture materializing out of thin air
2. AI turning "make it pretty" into pixel-perfect UI
3. Real-time problem-solving that would make MacGyver jealous

By the end, you'll be ready to:

1. Sweet-talk AI into building your dream app
2. Decipher error messages like a seasoned Stack Overflow pro
3. Stitch together AI features faster than you can say "labor day"

We're living in an era where "I'm not technical" is no longer an excuse. Speak english and you're an engineer.

You can build a startup in 67 minutes now.

The future of startups is here (see next tweet):

*reply if you want to see more live cookies sessions and what you want to see next*

If you comment (and subscribe) over there, I'll reply

19 AI-assisted marketing tools to build a cash-flowing business in 2024: Market research

1. Hotjar AI surveys (@hotjar)
- auto generate custom surveys
- analyze audience segments

2. Crayon (@Crayon)
- competitor metrics
- alerts

3. Speak (@speakai_co)
- analyze customer data
- pattern recognition

Why is Gen-Z OBSESSED with luxury watches?

- 41% of Gen Z acquired a luxury watch in the last 12 months
- Avg spend on a watch was $10,870, millennials spend 1/2 that much
- Gen-Z buys on avg 2.4 new watches per year
- 21% more likely than other generations to use debt

Wild.

My best guess is you have TikTok creators who romanticize watch flipping.

People are buying it half for the flex, half for the investment.

New pod just dropped with Cody. It’s going viral.

9 profitable startup ideas anyone can start in 2024 (please do them).

I’ll summarize the startup ideas for you in this thread: 1) LinkedIn Short Form Video Agency

LinkedIn just dropped a video tab

Cody’s friend just got 400,000 views in 7 days with only 2500 followers.

The idea:

If you can script, record, and edit videos for founders and business leaders, start reaching out now.

Low risk biz idea.

Niche internet communities are in high demand. And it's not stopping.

But the best part isn't the traffic from Reddit. It's the ideas and trends.

My entire business is plan is listen to what people say on Reddit, and build internet products for them.

It keeps working. It’s never been easier to find ideas to build and build ideas quickly

There are tons of bad startup ideas.

But ideas from subreddits are validated.

People are literally telling you what they want.

I'm a startup idea junkie. Maybe you are too?

I interview top founders 2x per week on "The Startup Ideas Podcast"

Here are 8 ideas free startup ideas that could make $10k-$1M/month (with no investors): 1. Google Ads for XYZ

Everyone is searching on Google for tips on how to run ads.

You can dominate YouTube search results with tutorials tailored to specific niches.

Think "Google Ads for apartments" or "Google Ads for car dealerships."

This model works for any niche.

1) Pick an industry
2) Master the nuances
3) Crank out helpful content

Tutorial videos drive ad revenue, open up affiliate marketing opportunities, and open the door for a specialized agency.

Huge opportunity target high-value keywords and monetize every step of the way.

h/t @codyschneiderxx

How to win in your 20s (a thread):

1. Don’t send angry emails/texts. Wait 24 hours. Eat, sleep, chill and remember that it’s not worth it

2. Post vids. You’re young, you know how to film well. Pick a niche, share 1 video a day, and let it compound. By 30, you have 100k subs 3. Move to a big city. Don’t have to live there forever, but being in NYC or SF even for a short while will pay you back like crazy in your 30s.

4. Be a generalist. The internet belongs to people who understand design, copy, paid ads, new technologies.

I recently reviewed 1000+ internet businesses.

About 500 of them make $1-5M/ year of profits and 25 of them make $10M+/year of profits.

And I distilled a playbook of how to build your business to be like the top 0.01% of these businesses.

Read the playbook here: Here are the "machines" you need to master to build a profit machine:

1. Content machine
2. Referral machine
3. Events machine
4. Recycling machine
5. Paid machine
6. Hiring machine
7. Search machine
8. Innovation machine
9. Community machine

I'll explain it in this thread:

15 ideas, opportunities and things I’m thinking about right now:

1. Finding mispriced assets.

Is this business worth 2X EBITDA or 6X? In an AI world, some businesses are worth a whole lot less or a whole lot more than we think. That spread is your retirement. 2. Data is the new oil.

NewsCorp did a $250M deal with OpenAI. Reddit inked $60M/year with Google. What non-obvious data sources will be valuable to LLMs in the future? Think about the unique data you have or can access.

People who say "ideas are worthless" don't understand 2024 and the world we live in.

AI makes turning ideas into software businesses effortless.

In 2024, execution is worthless.

Ideas are everything. Ideas are

- Startup ideas (what you're building)
- Distribution ideas (how you'll get it seen)
- Creative ideas (how to make people convert)

It's more art than science.

Winning on the internet is 99%

1. Have a clear life vision
2. Spend less money than you make
3. Going offline to reset
4. Use tools to find trends
5. Automate lots
6. Have a balanced yet interesting “content diet”
7. Ignore people who make most of their money from courses 8. Be kind
9. Stay under the radar or become the radar
10. Build in underserved niches
11. Show up 5 days a week
12. Be different in design
13. Write well
14. Copy should sound like you’re reading the friend you trust the most on text
15. Know how to visualize ideas like a pro

I've been on "pinch me mode" since 2019.

Life has been happier and wealthier ever since.

I'll explain this simple concept in this thread: How often do you pinch yourself?

I mean, really stop in the middle of your day and think:

"Damn, how cool is this? I'm so lucky."

I call these "pinch me moments".

The truth is 95% of startups in 2024 can start as a:

1) group chat
2) waitlist

That's it. It usually costs ~$10 and takes a weekend.

You do pre-sales to fund development. Give away 0% equity to investors. Profit share with your team.

This is building startups in 2024. You'll learn pretty quickly through your group chat, what's resonating.

You can't hire a community manager to run it. You're the community manager.

Your job is to figure out what this group chat wants, and go build it for them.

Meet Marques "MKBHD" Brownlee.

30 years old, has 18.3M subscribers, 4.2B views and makes $3M+/year.

But you haven’t met him at 10 years old giddy over his 79th subscriber.

This video is his 100th video. A must watch for anyone that puts creative work out on the internet.

It reminded me that “perfection kills progress”.

At age 10, MKBHD wasn’t the best tech reviewer on the internet. But that didn’t stop him.

In the first 6 months of putting out videos, Marques had already posted 200+ videos.

The guy was just unapologetically hitting publish on videos.

And did you watch the intro to this video?

I mean, that intro got me fired up, but it wasn't exactly a Scorsese film.

Many of us get lost in the “comparison trap”.

You don’t start something because you don’t think you’re good enough.

The reality is you aren’t good enough until you start something.

Marques didn’t wait.

He published his work.

From the video: “I hope I get more subscribers if I upload great videos everyday”

It turns out he did. 18M+ of them.

MKBHD shipped 100 videos to get 74 subs.

MrBeast shipped 100 videos to get 760 subs.

PewDiePie shipped 100 videos to get 2500 subs.

You get the idea.

Hit publish first, get good later. Maybe even more remarkable is MKBHD's first ever video.

My observations:

- Authentically curious about tech
- 10 years old but speaks more confident than most 30 year olds I know
- Clearly had raw talent
- Empathetic from day 1
- I wonder if he ever thought he'd interview Bill Gates, Kobe Bryant and Elon Musk one day

This was no ordinary 10-year-old

Wise beyond his years.

We could all learn a lot from him.

--

You can follow me @gregisenberg for more stories of how people use audiences, communities and the internet to build businesses (and if you want to see more of this sorta stuff)