Saving 1000 - Week 2

Putting yourself out there is terrifying. Putting yourself out there on LinkedIn is terrifying AND cringey. But the response I got from friends and strangers is what will make this so worth it. Most importantly, my mom subscribed - hi mom! 👋

My LI post reached almost 15,000 people. Truly insane. Even if just one of those people can get the help they need - we did our job. Altho, I’d love to get that to 1,000.

Thank you to everyone who liked, commented, subscribed and texted me - it’s that support that will get this over the finish line.

As I said before, I actually got Benchd to a Proof of Concept and was testing it on the App Store. I did it all with AI. I used tools like Claude, Replit, Bolt, Google Stitch, Vibecode, etc. The list is endless and it’s so fun to see your idea go from 0 → 1 (see below). I use AI in my daily work - it’s ability to open up your day for more impactful work is unparalleled. That’s exactly how we use it at beehiiv - an unlock, not a replacement.

BUT - I’m not sure AI is the right tool here. I’m going up against one of the most difficult forms of human nature - addiction. I want to meet that head-on with compassion and understanding, not LLMs. I want to build something with somebody(s), not chatbots.

The easy path forward is with AI and saving hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. There was also the easy way out when I was in debt - we didn’t take it then and I won’t take it now.

SO - I’m betting on myself. My wife and I are going to allocate our own $$ to this thing. I want to work with humans:

I want to get this to the market quickly, but I want to get something out that we’re all proud of. Yes, you too. I need your help - feedback, ideas, questions. You’re going to see every iteration - so welcome to the world of product QA.