As I peruse industry news every day and repeatedly feel heavy-hearted for talented folks who are impacted by rounds after rounds of layoffs, two questions linger in my mind:
A. Where are humanity’s key roles shifting toward in the age of AI?
B. What can I do to be of service to people who are impacted?
While I don’t have definitive answers for (A) yet, I have a proposition for (B).
I am hoarding high-value businesses
There are many things in life I am admittedly bad at... And yet, I happen to be a “startup machine.”
Friends and acquaintances alike know me as someone who can build minimum viable products (MVPs) as efficiently as getting an oil change over the lunch break. These days, having an MVP is often all you need to raise venture capitalist (VC) funding, grow a customer base, or even generate profits!
I am also an “idea machine.”
All the MVPs I’ve built so far stem from my original ideas. And new ideas keep popping up in my head every day, which will likely continue to for a long time to come.
Now, let’s see: There’s no short supply of business ideas. I possess the skills to quickly and effectively build out their prototypes. So what’s one thing that’s standing in the way of their success? The answer is me.
Why am I giving out the businesses?
It doesn’t take much to speculate that these businesses will only reach their full potential (earning or otherwise) if they are run by a dedicated CEO.
As a two-thumbed person in this one universe, I cannot be that CEO for every single one of these high-potential businesses. This is where you may come into the picture.
Despite the valuation, there is no guarantee that each of these businesses will indeed yield multimillion dollars in cash. All we know is that, idling them or putting them on the back burner indefinitely means they will remain ZERO-dollar businesses for sure.
These high-potential businesses need the care and attention they deserve.
What exactly are the businesses?
Mostly tech startups in the realms of software-as-a-service (SaaS), ecommerce, games, robotics, internet of things (IoT), and many more. There’s a bunch of “traditional” businesses I’ve built as well, which may also be put on the to-give list.
Over the coming months, I will pick out the exact startups to give away from my repository, one after another — so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for updates if you’re interested.
What’s involved?
One new CEO will be selected for each of the startups I am about to give away. Said CEO will work closely with me to ensure a smooth transition, before taking on post-MVP executive responsibilities.
The work will be remote, or at least the part between us will be. This way I don’t have to limit the location. After the transfer, it’s up to the new CEO to decide whether they want the company to remain distributed.
For each startup, the CEO will form a C Corporation in a State of their choosing. In most cases, the C Corp will be co-owned by my main company, Buildiful (also a C Corp).
The reason behind this co-owning arrangement is simple: I am passionate about the business (hence why it was born in the first place), and would like to be a part of its growth, at least at the beginning.
It’s worth mentioning that the CEO does not necessarily have to be a US citizen — I’m not.
Should you jump on board?
If your answer to one of the following is “yes,” you should consider counting yourself in:
- You are recently impacted by layoffs, and is currently funemployed.
- You are looking for a new, exciting opportunity.
- You are interested in being a startup CEO (with or without prior experience) and running your company to your best abilities.
What’s the catch?
Initially, there will be no monthly salary. Starting out, I will not be on the payroll either.
But the nice thing is, the MVP has already been built, so that’s a huge (if not the biggest) chunk of costs eliminated.
Some of the businesses on my list (for example, a STEM card game business, a SaaS, etc.) are already bringing in revenues, so they may be slightly easier to work with. It all comes down to how much buffer you have at this point in time, and how big of a challenge you think you can take on.
As far as whether to bootstrap the startup or to raise external funding, it’s something we can discuss on a case-by-case basis.
When will this start?
At the time of this post, I am in the home stretch of launching an AI product.
I will have more time to disclose more details after the launch. Once again, stay tuned for updates.
On a related note, I have no immediate plans to put this AI product on the to-give list just yet, since it’s at a stage where it still requires a lot of my attention. That’s not to say circumstances won’t change in the future. We’ll see.
What will the future hold?
To dive back more into my original question (A), short of a definitive answer, I have an inkling.
I firmly believe that we have entered an Innovative Revolution, where there will be a surge of unique business ideas being executed all around the globe.
It’s not that people didn’t have innovative ideas before. It’s just that, following the AI Revolution, it’s now easier than ever to build prototypes with the help of AI. Testing one’s ideas now costs significantly less. Opportunity costs are also remarkably lower.
It’s possible SMEs and self employment will gradually become the norm. As Innovative Revolution continues, working for someone else will become less and less commonplace — at least as far as the tech industry is concerned.
But that’s just my two cents.
Lastly...
On the cusp of change, these are challenging times. Whether or not we end up working together on this initiative, please remember to keep your head up. When one door closes, another opens. And then another. And another. I am eager to see if I can hold the door open for some of you this time. But if not, I’m sure you are more than capable of opening it yourself just fine.
Speak again soon!