How Not to Startup / The AI Business Partner Trap

I've been a software engineer for 30+ years - Java (SE & EE), Android, C, C++, web, Javascript, SQL, Python.

I've had the privilege of being involved in some fascinating projects and delivering real value to truly discerning customers. I did run into some dead-ends along the way, usually due to someone being promoted well beyond their ability and specifying the wrong technology to be used in the wrong place. But that was a small minority - most projects delivered real value that made significant real-world difference.

I stopped working in March 2024 and did not touch a keyboard for months. But to be honest, I missed delivery! Knowing that someone needs something and delivering a product that meets and exceeds their expectations. Perhaps I'm strange but I like that whole (agile) requirements-to-delivery cycle. It's challenging but rewarding.

So I turned to my new best buddy - Artificial Intelligence, in the form of an LLM... ChatGPT, to be precise. Within minutes, I was fired up with a plan - roll out an Android app, gain users, build userbase, gather feedback, spot gaps in the market... and see where it takes us. Perfect! Organic, fluid, dynamic. No more hours than I want to commit. Users, demand, opportunity. And when the time is right, revenue, monetisation.

A year or so earlier, I had looked and failed to find an Android app that did what I wanted - a nice, clean, simple-to-use working hours logger, for keeping a record of my hours worked. If I had failed to find one that worked the way I needed then others would, too. But rather than go off half-cocked, I had a clear proposition in mind - a time logger aimed squarely at those who bill clients for their time - freelancers. They would be prepared to pay for a good app and I could draw in users with a free offering, only charging users once they wanted to charge their time to three or more clients.

Yeah.

I launched in February. As advised by AI, I promoted on the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook and Reddit... and here, on Indie Hackers. I knew the MVP was minimal (the clue's in the name, after all) and so would need extension and specialisation... but I was hopeful and optimistic.

The vagaries of analytics aside, user numbers grew to nearly 200 in March... but by April, the graphs were all headed in the wrong direction. Long story short, I now have 8 users.

I know the code is rock-solid and the app is sweet to use. And I had a 5-star review, too. Just a couple of minor issues in prod, quickly fixed. Growing features - monthly views as well as weekly, summary reports as well as session-based and data export. The design and development - my core skillset - has gone very well. It became more and more clear - the gap is clearly proposition and promotion/visibility.

And this is where the lesson was learned. Having been inspired and supported by AI, I looked to it for answers on how to get past this valley of death. I felt it was time to buy installs - with paid promotion. The AI said I would be wasting my money. It clearly had a very strong inclination to double-down on its earlier advice to promote harder and discover a few early adopters to help refine the proposition. I followed the advice and put a lot of effort into finding such users... but with little success.

When that approach was exhausted, the AI then started to contradict its own advice on which segment to target - it now said that my proposition was too narrow and I should widen my market by making the product more generic. Abandoning that original niche proposition was emotionally tough but you have to be flexible in this game. I re-positioned the app and all the surrounding collateral (store listing, graphics, etc.). I then spent further time promoting it to various new groups to try and find those early adopters who would help me build community and spot unmet need in the market.

When that also came to nothing, the AI then suggested that my proposition was too generic and that I should narrow it down... and one of the groups it suggested I target was the exact same one I had started with - freelancers. Right back to square one.

So my advice is to use AI... but use it wisely. In short, do not trust it. The one thing that LLMs like ChatGPT do very well is this: Illusory competence. Their grasp of English and their ability to corral supporting material and present supporting arguments is so good that it often takes an expert in the field to spot their weaknesses. If you are not an expert in the field then you will not know when it misdirects you.

But that's not the only thing they do well - they also do sycophancy extremely well. When I have challenged ChatGPT on this, it has told me that very few users notice its 'ingratiating manner'. But when I have asked other users, it is clear that they are well aware of its tendency to suck up. This combination of illusory competence with sycophancy can be an intoxicating mix.

I will continue to use ChatGPT for what I consider it to be best for - inspiration. It really is a good partner for batting ideas about and even brainstorming. But I'll be a bit more careful to test credibility before moving on from the 'Ideas' phase to the 'Action' phase.