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Key Takeaways AI startups don’t just need engineers — they need experienced founders who know how to build businesses.
Even after 40 years of startups, building in AI can make seasoned founders feel like beginners.
Technology may change, but fundamentals like customers, margins and execution still decide success.
I started my first company at the age of 21 and have launched 9 more over the last 39 years. That’s a total of 10, and I just turned 60 this year.
I have had multiple exits — including acquisitions by venture capital and private equity firms.
I have also failed multiple times and lost everything once. I have consulted for public companies, and I was elected to public office, lost a state senate race, written two Wall Street Journal bestselling books and spoken on 3 TEDx stages.
After 4 decades of startups, you develop a pattern. You see the opportunity, you build the team, you grind through the first year, you hit a rhythm and you either scale, fail or exit. I have lived this story my whole life.
Restaurants, insurance, media, marketing, consulting — every business I started was in an industry that I did not know or understand when I started. That was actually normal. I understand the business side and the economics. I knew how to manage money and risk so I moved forward.
Then I decided to build an AI company. And everything I thought I knew went sideways. I was now a non-tech founder.
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