AI Business
Welcome to '🏁 Your First $1,000 AI Niche' – a transformative playbook designed to guide you on a 10-week journey to launch your very first AI business.
Start ReadingGreg Isenberg dropped this tweet last week that stopped me in my tracks:
Someone should create "AI Summer Camp".
There are 254 million college students worldwide who know that AI is coming for them.
By the time today's college freshmen graduate, AI agents will have eliminated 80% of entry-level jobs.
Enter “AI summer camp”
10 weeks. 50,000
— GREG ISENBERG (@gregisenberg)
1:09 PM • Jun 6, 2025
He's onto something massive here. But as I read through his vision - 50,000 students, 10-week intensive programme, learning to build AI businesses from scratch - I kept thinking: why limit this to students?
Hell, there are 50,000+ of you in the newsletter already. Another 150,000 or so on social. All of whom want to start a business with AI.
The reality is, AI isn't just coming for entry-level jobs. It's reshaping entire industries. Whether you're a fresh graduate, mid-career professional, or someone who's been in their field for decades, the message is the same: adapt or get left behind.
So I'm adapting Greg's concept and opening it up to everyone. All you beautiful people.
Consider this your invitation to AI Entrepreneurship Summer Camp - a 10-week journey from complete beginner to AI entrepreneur generating real revenue.
Our goal? Our first $1000 within 10 Weeks.
No prerequisites. No technical background required. Just a willingness to build.
Let’s get started:
The next 10 weeks
Using AI research tools
Creating their simple tracking spreadsheet
Doing manual verification
Starting our build in public journey
So what’s the 10 Week AI Summer Camp look like?
Here's the outline of what we’ll be covering:
Week 1: Finding Your Niche - Market-first opportunity discovery (not passion-first)
Week 2: Build in Public Content Strategy - Learning through building and sharing
Week 3: Finding Your Startup Idea - Problem-solution discovery with real validation
Week 4: Vibe Coding Your MVP - Building something people can actually use
Week 5: Manual Beta Testing - Finding users through direct outreach
Week 6: Grassroots Marketing - Marketing that works without an audience
Week 7: Basic Revenue Systems - Setting up to get paid
Week 8: Peer-to-Peer Growth - Growing through relationships, not ads
Week 9: Direct Sales Mastery - Converting interest to revenue
Week 10: $1K Milestone and Foundation Building - Achieving success and planning growth
The goal? Generate your first $1,000 in online revenue within 50 days. But more importantly, build the audience, skills and systems to keep growing from there.
Will your first idea make you a millionaire? Honestly? Chances are no. But you’ll be building a foundation that will get you moving in the right direction.
Let’s get started with working out what you are going to build.
Here's where most people get it wrong. They start with their passion and try to force a business out of it.
“I love going to restaurants. I should start a restaurant.”
Terrible idea. It’s so backwards. Don’t do it.
We start with finding a market. And finding the problems the market has.
Markets exist where people congregate and complain, not where you have passion.
The market does not care what you want to do. It’s irrelevant. Sorry!
The best niches have three elements:
Active communities - Places where your potential customers already gather
Documented pain points - Problems people openly discuss and struggle with
Evidence of spending - Proof that people pay to solve these problems
Your passion for artisanal coffee doesn't matter if coffee lovers aren't actively seeking solutions to expensive problems. But a boring niche like "compliance reporting for small accounting firms"? That's where the money is.
Today, we're not building anything. We're not even choosing our niche yet. We're going to become market researchers, looking for opportunities with the cold, calculating eye of someone who wants to build a profitable business.
Here's the truth nobody tells you: boring business problems are where the money is.
B2C (selling to consumers)? They'll haggle over £10/month. And then be pissed off the first time they hit a problem.
B2B (selling to businesses)? They'll happily pay £500/month to save time. Hell, if you charge them too little they won’t trust the product.
Don't chase shiny cool markets:
AI for artists? Sounds cool, but artists famously have no money
AI for accountants? Sounds dull, but specialists bill £200/hour
Often the more boring the problem, the more businesses will pay to make it go away. Invoice processing, compliance reporting, data entry - these aren't sexy, but they're expensive, time consuming problems that businesses want solved.
And AI is real good at solving some of these boring problems.
First, let's set up your AI to think like a market researcher. Use this prompt with Manus (this is my invite link) or any AI with research capabilities like ChatGPT or Claude.
Vanilla AI models aren’t going to cut it here. Use a proper agent or deep research model because we need more detail. Here’s the prompt:
You are a market research analyst helping a first-time solopreneur find profitable business opportunities. First, ask me about:
1. My background and work experience
2. Industries I have knowledge of or connections to
3. ~5 Markets that interest me (even if they seem random) Then search for market opportunities that match my background, focusing on:
- Markets where BUSINESSES (not just consumers) have expensive problems
- Communities where people actively complain about time-consuming tasks
- Evidence of current spending on solutions
- Growing trends in Google Trends
- Active discussions on Reddit, industry forums, Twitter/X Look for the "boring goldmines" - problems that aren't sexy but cost businesses real money. Things like compliance, reporting, data processing often hide the best opportunities. For each market you find:
- What specific problems do they complain about?
- How much time/money does it cost them?
- What solutions exist and what do they cost?
- Why are people frustrated with current options?
- How does this match my background/interests? Search Reddit, Google Trends, industry publications, and business forums for real evidence. I want actual data and complaints, not assumptions. Aim for 10 potential markets.Right now we are keeping it wide.
Do not fall in love with the first market idea you get. Chances are it won’t be “the one”.
We’re going to spend time validating and verifying our markets, winnowing down until we find a winner. And the winner will probably not be the one you think sounds cool to pursue. Quite the opposite.
This is why it’s important at this stage not to get too emotionally attached to one idea. Ideas are cheap. Implementation is all that matters. So get ready to dump a lot of ideas along the way.
Right now forget complex scoring systems. Create a dead simple spreadsheet with just three columns:
Market Name: Be specific (not "fitness" but "CrossFit gym owners")
Big Complaints: What are they moaning about constantly?
Money Spent: Are they already paying for solutions?
That's it. We'll get fancy later. Right now we just need to spot opportunities.
And yes, you can ask your AI to prep this for you. You’re already thinking with AI - nice!
By the end of today, you should have:
~10 markets analysed based on your background and interests
A simple spreadsheet tracking opportunities
This isn't busy work. You're laying the foundation for a real business. The market you choose determines everything else - how hard you'll have to work to find customers, how much you can charge, how painful the problems are that you're solving.
So even if it doesn’t feel like we are being productive believe that we’ll save a lot of time (and money) later by doing this work.
As we move through this AI Entrepreneurship Summer Camp I highly recommend you start documenting your journey.
We’ll talk about this more in detail in Week 2 but in a nutshell:
it’s becoming VERY easy to build nowadays with AI
which means supply of products and solutions is on the rise
which means more competition against you
Your main counterattack here is distribution. Being known. Being able to talk to hundreds of thousands of people about your product and solutions.
This comes from building an audience.
And if you have an audience right now then documenting your process through this AI Entrepreneurship Summer Camp is the single best way to start growing one.
Need a great example? Check out Yoni’s work at https://www.instagram.com/yoniman.mp4
Everyday he shoots a video documenting what he’s up to. What he’s learning, what he’s building. What’s working and what is not.
So today share your research process. Post something like:
"Day 1 of building an AI business from scratch. Learned that boring problems = profitable problems. Found accountants spending 10 hours/week on compliance reports. They hate it. They're paying £500/month for software that barely helps.That's a real opportunity. Tomorrow: Diving deeper into the top 3 boring problems I found."
This does two things: holds you accountable and starts building your audience from day one. Use the hashtag #aisummercamp and tag me in (if TikTok) and I’ll be sure to engage.
Tomorrow we'll take your top 3 markets and dive deep into problem density analysis. We'll map out exactly what problems exist, how painful they are, and which ones represent the best opportunities for an AI-powered solution.
Your future customers are out there right now, complaining about something. Your job is to find them. And fix their problems.
Keep Prompting,
Kyle
Within five minutes, he was moaning about his job as an estate agent. The property descriptions. The viewing schedules. The solicitors who never return calls. The vendors who think their house is worth double. The buyers who ghost after making offers.
By the third pint, I was getting the full download. Every system that's broken. Every task that wastes hours. Every bit of software that 'nearly' works but doesn't.
My other mates were glazing over. But I was taking mental notes.
See, most people avoid the complainers.
But when you're looking for business opportunities? The complainers are gold.
The more they moan, the more problems you've found. The louder they complain, the more it hurts.
I feast on their pain!
No but for real we’re going to use this to validate our markets.
Yesterday you found markets. Today we're going to find the ones full of people like this estate agent - the ones who can't stop listing everything that's broken about their industry.
Let’s get started:
Complaints = business gold
Clusterf_cks of problems
Creating your problem density map (o la la)
Yesterday you identified a handful of promising markets. Today we're going deeper. Much deeper.
The best markets aren't just big - they're dense with problems. One passionate community with 5 urgent problems beats a massive community with 1 mild annoyance.
Think of it like fishing. You could fish in the ocean (massive market) and catch one fish every few hours. Or you could find a stocked pond (dense market) where the fish are jumping into your boat.
We’re going to find a market where we can pull a bucket through the water and come out with lunch.
And here's the key: we want to find ALL the problems now, even though we'll only solve one initially. The other problems become your expansion opportunities later. That’s a spoiler for a few weeks from now once we are rolling.
Time to turn your AI into a problem analysis machine. Work through one market at a time for best results. Use this prompt with an agent like Manus (that's my invite) or an AI with deep research capabilities:
You are a problem density analyst helping me evaluate a market for a new business. Let's analyse this market: [Market name from yesterday's research] First, do comprehensive research:
1. Search Reddit, forums, industry publications, Twitter/X
2. Look for all problems and complaints in this market
3. Find discussions from the last 6 months
4. Identify problem patterns and connections Then use these specific tactics to go deeper: "Day in the Life" posts:
- Search: "day in the life of a [profession]", "typical day", "my workflow"
- These reveal hidden problem chains Rant/Vent posts:
- Search: "rant", "vent", "frustrated", "is it just me"
- Look for high engagement posts with emotional language Workaround posts:
- Search: "workaround", "my hack for", "how I deal with"
- Complex workarounds signal valuable problems Create a complete problem map showing:
- ALL problems you find (big and small)
- How problems connect to each other
- Frequency (daily/weekly/monthly)
- Emotional intensity (include exact quotes)
- Time/money costs mentioned
- Current solutions and their limitations Look for at least 15-20 different problems or pain points. Show me where problems cluster together and create compound frustration.Run this for each of your top 3 markets, one at a time. Quality beats speed.
As you gather this information, you (and your AI) are looking for patterns:
High-Density Indicators:
Multiple problems mentioned in single posts
Problems that reference each other
Daily/weekly frequency (not yearly)
Strong emotional language
People helping each other with workarounds
Low-Density Warning Signs:
Isolated complaints
Mild annoyance language
Problems solved with free tools
Infrequent occurrence
No follow-up discussion
You can 100% do this work manually. And if you have the time definitely do so. But an AI agent can get a lot of the base level work done for you. I’ve written up that prompt to go deep for you.
Live Webinar
Learn How to Make $1,000-$4,000 an Hour Teaching Businesses Around the World How to Use AI…without needing a PHD in AI.
🗓️ Thursday 12th June
⌚️ Check registration page
🔴 Register to get recording
Here's what a problem map might look like:
MARKET: Estate Agents CLUSTER 1: Property listings take forever
- Writing descriptions (2 hours each)
- Photo editing (1 hour each)
- Uploading to multiple portals
- Keeping everything updated CLUSTER 2: Client communication chaos
- Scheduling viewings
- Chasing feedback
- Managing expectations CLUSTER 3: Legal process nightmares
- Chasing solicitors
- Tracking chain status
- Document managementand so on…depending how many complaints and problems there are!
No need to create this manually though. Once your AI is done with the preliminary analysis chain it straight into the next prompt to cluster the problems.
Based on all the problems you found in [market name], create a simple problem map showing: 1. Problem clusters (group related problems together)
2. Time/money cost for each problem
3. How problems connect to each other Format it as:
CLUSTER NAME: [Main theme]
- Specific problem 1 (cost/time impact)
- Specific problem 2 (cost/time impact)
- Specific problem 3 (cost/time impact) Show me 3-5 main clusters. Keep it simple and scannable.Remember: we're mapping all of this now, but when we build, we'll pick just one problem to solve. We ain’t doing ALL of this in one-shot.
Once you’ve done all this manually read all the reports. This is where we are adding in human judgement. Especially if you have experience in the area and can tell when the AI is talking nonsense.
From you personal analysis you should immediately see one idea that stands out. If not, continue to interrogate the information. Work with your AI. Literally tell it “I’m deciding between these X number of ideas. Please help me with the analysis”.
Be careful here not to use leading language. But if you do then chances are you (subconsciously) already know which idea you want to roll with.
At this point your subjective opinion is allowed back into the room. We locked it outside until now whilst we pulled in the data but now that we are narrowing down to one market we want the enthusiasm.
By end of today, you should have:
Deep analysis of your top 3 markets (one at a time)
Problem maps for each market (created by AI)
Clear winner - the market with the most painful problem clusters, one that you want to serve.
Share your problem discovery. Something along the lines of:
"Day 2 deep dive into [market]. They're not just complaining about one thing - it's everything:
[Screenshot of your problem map]
One person said: '[actual quote showing frustration]'
This market is dense with problems. Perfect for building a business that can expand over time."
Literally screenshot or video the work you’ve been doing and talk people through the process, what you are thinking and (importantly) what you are feeling.
Tomorrow, we'll take your highest-density market and analyse the competition. But here's the twist - we're not avoiding markets with competition.
Competition is GOOD. It means a market exists. Yay!
Instead we're looking for gaps in their solutions.
Competition validates demand. Your job is to find what they're missing.
But today? Today you're looking for the markets full of complainers. The more problems they have, the better. Find your estate agent friend - the one who can't stop moaning about everything that's broken.
Keep Prompting,
Kyle
Most, especially early, were complete disasters.
Over time (too much time!) I learnt why.
I kept finding markets with zero competition and thinking I was a genius.
"Nobody's doing this!" I told everyone who'd listen. "I've found a completely untapped market!"
Turns out I was being a dumbarse.
Within months I discover why nobody was doing it. There were no customers. There was no market.
Competition isn't your enemy. It's market validation delivered on a silver platter.
Let’s get started:
Why competition validates demand (and why that's good)
Blue ocean vs red ocean - why red oceans work for solopreneurs
Finding gaps through 3-4 star reviews
Four types of gaps to exploit
Choosing your angle of attack
You've probably heard about "blue ocean strategy" - finding untapped markets with no competition. It’s a classic MBA book - pretty sure I read it during my MBA.
Basic idea is there are blue oceans and red oceans.
Red oceans are red with blood. Pretty metal huh?
The blood of new entrants and competitors who got murdered.
Blue oceans on the other hand are untapped markets. Tranquil, no competition.
Generally though a blue ocean is one that has to be created. You are the pioneer. And this means educating your customers on what the new opportunity actually is.
It’s doable. And big FMCG (fast moving consumer good) companies do it all the time. They create something and convince the public that they can’t possibly live with this new product.
Here's the problem: creating a new market requires massive budgets for education and awareness. You need to convince people they have a problem, then convince them to pay for a solution. That's market risk on top of product risk.
And even big companies fail here. Remember “New Coke”? No? Exactly.
So….we want competition risk, not market risk.
We can deal with competition risk. We can’t deal with market risk.
Enter an existing "red ocean" where people already buy solutions. Then find your own way to serve that market better. You're not creating demand - you're redirecting it. Capiche?
(I've got a whole playbook on leapfrogging competitors if you want to go deeper, but for now, let's stick to finding gaps.)
Time to turn your AI into a spy. Work through your winning market from yesterday. Use this prompt with Manus or another research-capable AI:
You are a competition analyst researching solutions in the [your market] space. I need to understand what solutions exist and where they fall short. Research current solutions by:
1. Finding the main 5-10 companies/tools in this space
2. Checking their websites, pricing, and features
3. Reading customer reviews on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, Reddit
4. Looking for complaints in forums and social media IMPORTANT: Focus on 3-4 star reviews. Ignore 1 and 5 star reviews. For each competitor, tell me:
- What they do (main features)
- Pricing (be specific)
- What customers say is "good but not great" (from 3-4 star reviews)
- Specific improvements customers want
- Features people request but don't get Then identify gaps across all competitors:
- Features nobody offers
- Price points nobody serves
- Customer segments everyone ignores
- Problems from yesterday that nobody fully solves Focus on balanced reviews where people clearly explain what's missing.You should by now be narrowing in on a single market. Not sure yet? Run this with multiple markets - no problem, it’ll just take more time.
The basic name of the game here is to:
Identify competitors
Get their basic product line up
Find out what customers think about them
For the last part we’ll use reviews. Notice that we specifically exclude 1 and 5 star reviews because they're too emotional.
A 1-star review? Someone's angry, often about something specific that went wrong. We won’t get much of practical use here.
A 5-star review? Someone's delighted, often just after purchasing. Again, not very valuable information.
But a 3-4 star review? That's someone who's used the product, found value, but can articulate exactly what's missing. They've thought about it. And then bothered to write down what they think is great and what’s not so great. They're giving you a roadmap to build something better.
As you analyse competitors, you'll find gaps in (roughly) four areas:
Gap Type
What to Look For
Example
Feature Gaps
What nobody's building
"All tools do invoicing but none handle recurring contracts"
Price Gaps
Who nobody's serving
"Too expensive for freelancers, too basic for agencies"
Service Gaps
How nobody's helping
"Great product but onboarding is a nightmare"
Market Gaps
Who everyone's ignoring
"Built for US market, doesn't handle UK compliance"
The best opportunities combine multiple gaps. Maybe there's a feature gap that specifically affects a market gap at a certain price point. Let’s go ahead and feed our competitor info into this next prompt:
Based on the competitor research above, create a gap analysis showing: 1. What ALL competitors do (table stakes - you need these to compete)
2. What SOME competitors do (current battlegrounds) 3. What NO competitors do (your opportunities) that customers mention Then identify the top 3 gaps that:
- Match problems from our problem density map
- Have evidence of demand (people asking for it)
- Could be built by a solopreneur
- Would make customers switch solutions Keep it simple - I need to see opportunities so keep it tight.This will take all the competitor research, including what customers are saying, and look for:
Table stakes, ie. the stuff everyone does that you too have to do as a bare minimum.
Elements that some but not all competitors are currently doing.
Things that no-one is doing but customers are talking about it.
It’ll then synthesise this into a game plan for you - the top 3 gaps.
By end of today, you should have:
List of 5-10 main competitors with what they do well/poorly
Gap analysis showing what's missing in the market
Top 3 opportunities where you could enter and win
Don't spend days building competitor databases. You need enough information to find gaps, not write a PhD thesis.
If you've found 3 clear gaps with evidence that people want them solved, you're done. Move on. We’ll pick up on this tomorrow.
Share your competitive insights:
"Day 3: Researched [market] competitors. The 3-4 star reviews told me everything.
Everyone does [common feature] but NOBODY helps with [specific gap].
Found 20+ reviews mentioning this exact problem.
Now I know where to attack. Let’s go!"
Tomorrow, we'll take everything you've learned - the problems, the density, the gaps - and design your market entry strategy. You'll choose which specific problem to solve and how to position yourself against the competition.
Keep Prompting,
Kyle
I used to think the way to enter a market was to build everything better than everyone else. More features. Better design. Lower price.
The logic seems to check out right? Do more, for less.
Well…don’t.
First up that way lies only madness.
You’ll be trying to do everything whilst not charging enough. You’ll attract bad customers who expect the world for $10.
It ain’t sustainable.
Instead we’re going to start focusing down. Up until now we’ve been in exploration mode. Now it’s time to hone in and craft our wedge.
Let’s get started:
Choosing one specific problem from your cluster to solve first
Defining your wedge - the smallest viable entry point
Positioning against competitors without competing on everything
Planning your expansion path from day one
Creating your one-sentence market position
Over the last three days, you've:
Found markets with real demand
Mapped clusters of problems
Identified gaps competitors miss
All of this has been going outwards. Getting more options. More ways to tackle the market. More opportunity.
Now comes the hard part: choosing just ONE problem to solve first.
This feels wrong. You've found 15 problems! Why limit yourself?
Because trying to solve everything means solving nothing well. You need a wedge - a specific entry point where you can be genuinely 10x better than alternatives.
Prompt time. We’re going to use AI to analyse all we’ve been gathering. Use this prompt with Manus or your AI research tool. Use it below you previous work or copy/paste in the information from your other chats.
You are a market entry strategist helping me choose the perfect entry point for my business. Here's what I've learned about [market name]:
- Problem clusters: [paste your main problem clusters from Day 2]
- Competition gaps: [paste your top 3 gaps from Day 3]
- Current solutions: [list main competitors and their focus] Help me identify the ONE problem to solve first by analysing: 1. Which problems are: - Most frequent (daily/weekly pain) - Most expensive (time or money cost) - Easiest to build a solution for - Least well-served by competitors 2. Create a simple 2x2 matrix: - X-axis: Easy to build → Hard to build - Y-axis: Low value → High value - Plot each problem on this matrix 3. Recommend my entry point: - Which specific problem to solve - Why this is the best wedge - How to position against competitors 4. Sketch an expansion path: - Entry point (first problem) - Natural expansion (problems 2-3) - Long-term vision (full cluster) Keep it practical - I'm a solopreneur who needs to build something in weeks not months. This prompt will take your research and narrow it down to one plan of action.
It’ll plot everything for you in a matrix and then choose the best option. As always work with the AI. Don’t just take everything at face value. You are part of this process too.
It’ll also give you a rough sketch of the next steps. We are NOT doing these now. Or even in the 10 weeks. But they are there to give you an idea of where this could go moving forward. This is primarily to cut off the “ugh why bother with this tiny thing” complaint. I see you…you can do all that cool stuff later don’t worry! After we drive a wedge in.
Choosing a wedge means saying no to everything else - for now. This is such an important skill for entrepreneurs to learn. When you see other problems, other opportunities, other markets, write them down. Put them in a "later" folder. But don't chase them.
Your only job for the next 10 weeks is to solve one problem so well that customers can't imagine using anything else. Cool?
Your wedge is your initial focus - narrow enough to dominate, valuable enough to charge for.
It’s the fix to the blue ocean, red ocean dilemma we discussed earlier. You are finding your own damn ocean.
Good wedges have three characteristics:
Painful Enough: People actively seek solutions
Narrow Enough: You can be the obvious best choice
Expandable Enough: Natural path to adjacent problems
Example wedges that worked:
"Slack to task management" (not "project management")
"Instagram analytics for food bloggers" (not "social media analytics")
"GDPR compliance for UK dentists" (not "compliance software")
You don't need to beat competitors at their own game. You need to create your own game. We’ll basically outmanoeuvre them by not even playing with them…spoilsports that we are!
Here's how to position your wedge:
Against Feature-Rich Competitors: "Unlike [big tool] that does everything adequately, we do [specific thing] brilliantly."
Against Expensive Competitors: "All the [specific feature] you need, none of the complexity you don't."
Against Cheap/Free Competitors: "Finally, [specific solution] that actually works for [specific industry]."
You're not saying competitors are bad. You're saying you're perfect for this one specific use case. We don’t even engage (yet). We don’t need to.
OK here’s one I want you to do. Not ChatGPT. This one is an important manual exercise because it’ll help your crystallise what your are building.
Distill everything into one sentence that makes your position crystal clear:
"We help [specific customer] solve [specific problem] better than anyone else by [unique approach]."
Examples:
"We help UK accountants automate compliance reporting in half the time by focusing only on HMRC requirements"
"We help Shopify store owners recover abandoned carts 3x better by sending WhatsApp messages instead of emails"
"We help estate agents write property listings in minutes by training AI on successful local sales"
If you can't explain your position in one sentence, your wedge is too broad.
If you find yourself adding conditionals, provisos and exceptions then take it back to the drawing board. It has to be clean, focused, easy to understand.
By end of today, you should have:
Your chosen entry problem - the specific wedge you'll attack
Your 2x2 matrix showing why this problem is the sweet spot
Your positioning statement - one sentence that defines your unique position
Share your strategic decision:
"Day 4: Choosing my wedge.
Out of 15 problems in [market], I'm starting with [specific problem].
Why? It happens daily, costs [time/money], and nobody's solving it well.
My position: [your one-sentence statement]
Narrow focus = clear path forward."
Tomorrow, we validate your chosen wedge with real conversations. You'll test whether your entry strategy resonates with actual customers before building anything.
But today? Today you make the hard choice. One problem. One customer. One clear position.
Everything else can wait.
Keep Prompting,
Kyle
I remember messaging with him during that week. He was absolutely shattered.
"This seems excessive," I thought at the time "Surely a few calls would do?"
Then he launched. The numbers were insane. Product-market fit from day one.
Why? He'd listened. Really listened.
And then built in everything they'd told him. The product was like a custom suit - fitted perfectly because he'd taken every measurement.
Everyone talks about AI, but no one has the time to learn it. So, we found the easiest way to learn AI in as little time as possible: The Rundown AI.
It's a free AI newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest AI news, and teaches you how to apply it in just 5 minutes a day.
Plus, complete the quiz after signing up and they’ll recommend the best AI tools, guides, and courses – tailored to your needs.
Let’s get started:
Why talking to customers beats any other research
Practice interviews with community members first
Social media questions to warm up your audience
Real customer calls that reveal what people actually pay for
Week 1 recap and weekend action plan
You cannot build a successful business without talking to customers. Full stop.
Sorry! I know…if you’re like me you’d probably prefer to hide behind a computer. But we can’t!
Good news is we can make it painless. That’s what we’re doing today.
Not talking to customers leads to big expensive mistakes. And lots of wasted time.
Even a giant like Google makes this mistake. Remember AI Overviews from May 2024? They forced AI summaries on everyone's search results without asking if anyone actually wanted them.
The results? Catastrophic. The AI told people to add glue to pizza. It gave dangerous medical advice. Users hated the messy interface that made finding real sources impossible.
Google basically broke their main product: Google Search.
Google - with infinite resources and data - assumed they knew what users wanted. They built first, asked questions never. Quick rollback and public outrage followed.
But at least we ate some yummy rocks in the meantime as it suggested.
If Google can fail this badly by skipping customer validation, what hope do we have?
I don't care how good your research is. How obvious the problem seems. How confident you feel. Until you've heard real people describe their real problems in their real words, you're guessing.
And here's the thing - it's not about asking "would this be useful?" That's leading the witness. People will say yes to be polite.
Instead it's about listening. Really listening. To their language. Their emotions. The specific words they use when something drives them crazy.
Before you talk to real prospects, let's practice with fellow builders.
In the WhatsApp group, we're doing interview exchanges. Just drop a message like "I'm exploring [market/problem]. Anyone willing to do a 15-min practice interview? Happy to return the favour for your market if I’m part of it!"
This gives you:
Practice with your questions
Feedback on your interview style
A safety net before real calls
Someone else who needs the same practice
It’s stress free practice to ease you in. Try to make sure that they are still someone who is a potential customer though - ie. if you are looking at the accountancy market ask for accountants!
Before you talk to real prospects feel free to practice with fellow builders. In the WhatsApp group, we're doing interview exchanges:
Your post: "I'm exploring [market/problem]. Anyone willing to do a 15-min practice interview? Happy to return the favour for your market!"
This gives you:
Practice with your questions
Feedback on your interview style
A safety net before real calls
And most of all confidence! We make the first one super friendly so that doing subsequent calls feels more natural.
Make sure the people you talk to are actually in the market though! If you are exploring the accountancy market make sure they are an accountant!
When we’re moving to find “real” people it’s much easier if you have an audience in place.
When Ole did his 50+ calls, many were from his existing audience. They already trusted him. They wanted to help. Some even became beta testers and first customers.
This by the way is why Week 2 focuses on building in public - we're growing an audience while building our product. Because launching with even a small audience is 10x easier than launching to crickets.
If you already have an audience? Brilliant. Offer them beta access or a future discount for their time. They'll queue up to help. It’s a genuine game changer.
No audience yet? That's fine - but it shows why we start building one immediately! Every day you're not building an audience is a day you're making your future launches harder. And any audience you gather during this building and launching process you can talk to for your next launch too…it becomes a valuable asset.
Just saying “go build an audience” isn’t helpful if you don’t have one!
So…here’s a neat technique technique that works whether you have an audience or not - the one question post. Drop this prompt in:
You are a customer development expert. Help me craft ONE powerful question to post in communities where my target market hangs out. My market: [Your market]
My problem hypothesis: [Your specific problem] Create three versions of this question for: 1. LinkedIn (professional tone) - Posted to relevant industry groups - Positions me as researching, not selling 2. Reddit (casual, community tone) - Fits the subreddit culture - Encourages detailed responses 3. Twitter/X (concise, engaging) - Under 280 characters - Likely to get responses The question should:
- Focus on their experience, not my solution
- Encourage specific stories, not yes/no answers
- Feel like genuine curiosity, not market research Example format: "For those in [industry], what's the most time-consuming part of [process]? Curious about everyone's different approaches."We’re going to take the results and post where our customers already hang out: LinkedIn groups, industry sub-Reddits on Reddit, forums etc. Places where you don’t need to build an audience but instead can tap into one.
We also don’t post a whole litany of questions. I have startups do this to me a lot - asking me for feedback on their product and then sending me 10 pages of survey questions. No way am I taking the time to do that.
Instead ask ONE solid question and people are much more likely to answer.
Post this question in 3-5 places. Those who give detailed, passionate answers? Those are your interview targets. Reach out to them for calls.
This works because:
Initial low commitment (just answering a question)
You see who's actually passionate about the problem
Natural lead-in to deeper conversation
Works even with zero followers
After practice rounds and social posts, it's time for the real validation.
First up let’s get you a basic script so you aren’t wondering what on earth to ask. I’m trying to remove as much friction as possible for you here! I know this stuff is hard…but it’s so important.
Use this prompt with your AI, preferably below everything else you’ve been working on. Or pull in the relevant details:
You are an expert at customer development interviews. Create a conversational interview script for validating my market entry strategy. My market: [Your chosen market]
My wedge: [Specific problem you're solving]
My hypothesis: [Your one-sentence positioning from yesterday] Create a 15-minute interview script that: 1. Opens warmly (not pitching) "Thanks for taking the time. I'm researching [problem area] to understand it better - not selling anything, just learning from people who deal with this daily." 2. Gets them telling stories - "Can you walk me through the last time you dealt with [problem]?" - "What does your current process look like?" - "How long does that typically take?" - [Include probing follow-ups for each] 3. Uncovers emotional triggers - "What's the most frustrating part of this?" - "How does it feel when [problem occurs]?" - "What happens if this doesn't get done right?" 4. Explores costs (without being pushy) - "How often does this come up?" - "Who typically handles this?" - "Have you tried any tools or solutions?" - "What would fixing this be worth in time saved?" 5. Tests commitment subtly - "In an ideal world, how would this work?" - "What would need to be true for you to try a new approach?" - "Can I share what I learn with you?" Include reminders to:
- LISTEN more than talk
- Ask "tell me more about that" often
- Note exact words they use
- Watch for emotional reactionsThis gives you the outline of what you’ll cover in the call. Remember though that you are primarily listening. If someone just talks then let them! Listen to the language they use, what makes them emotive and what topics they keep circling back to. Often how they say something will be more important that what they are actually saying.
Remember: Do NOT lead them to your solution. You're not validating your idea - you're understanding their reality.
Listen for:
Exact words they use (write these down!)
Emotional moments (frustration, anger, resignation)
Current workarounds (shows resourcefulness and pain)
Time/money impact (quantify the problem)
Decision making (who approves solutions?)
Red flags:
"That would be nice to have"
"Maybe someday we'll look at this"
"I personally think it's fine as is"
Green flags:
"This drives me absolutely crazy"
"We waste hours on this every week"
"I've tried three different tools and they all suck"
Here are a few basic templates that have worked for me in the past to get people onto calls.
LinkedIn/Professional: "Hi [Name], I noticed you work in [industry] and might face [problem]. I'm researching how professionals handle this - would you be open to a brief chat? No pitch, just learning. Happy to share my findings with you."
Reddit/Community: "Hey, saw your comment about [specific problem]. I'm researching this exact issue - mind if I ask you a few questions? Can do it here or quick call, whatever works."
Twitter/X DM: "Your tweet about [problem] really resonated. I'm researching solutions in this space - could I ask you about your experience? 15 min call or happy to do it async here."
The main thing is that they don’t think you are trying to sell them anything! And that’s true - right now you don’t have anything to sell! Tell them that! It’s just informational. Also, keep the calls tight - 15 mins or so tops. People are busy so don’t ask them for 1 hour calls or any madness like that!
By end of today:
Practice interview arranged with community member
One question posted in at least 2 places
Interview script ready and refined
Outreach requests sent just send, don’t think
Share your validation commitment:
"Day 5: Time to stop guessing and start listening.
This weekend:
2 practice interviews with fellow builders
Posted questions in [markets]
Booking 5 real customer calls for next week
Feel scary but how else will I know what people actually want? Who else is ready to actually talk to customers?"
OK! We have covered a lot of ground in Week 1 of the AI Entrepreneur Summer Camp!
Look what you've accomplished:
Day 1: Found profitable markets (boring = gold)
Day 2: Mapped problem clusters
Day 3: Found competitor gaps
Day 4: Chose your strategic wedge
Day 5: Starting real validation
You already know more about a real market opportunity than most "wantrepreneurs" ever will. Unlike most people with just a dream you’ve put work in this week!
Monday begins Week 2: Building in Public. You'll document every step, share every learning, build your audience while building your product.
This weekend isn't for rest. It's for talking to humans. Real humans with real problems who might become real customers. So stop guessing. Start listening. Your future customers are literally telling you what to build. You just need to listen to them.
We’ve got 45 more days to hit $1,000. Let's build something people actually want.
Keep Prompting,
Kyle
Welcome to '🏁 Your First $1,000 AI Niche' – a transformative playbook designed to guide you on a 10-week journey to launch your very first AI business. In an age where AI is reshaping industries, this playbook empowers you to adapt and thrive by focusing on market needs rather than personal passion. By the end of this program, you'll not only achieve your first $1,000 in revenue but also cultivate the skills and confidence to continue growing your AI venture in a competitive landscape. This is more than just a guide; it's your blueprint for entrepreneurial success in the world of AI.
This playbook is perfect for aspiring entrepreneurs, whether you're a recent graduate, a mid-career professional looking to pivot, or someone with years of experience seeking to innovate. If you've felt overwhelmed by the fast pace of AI advancements or uncertain about how to turn your interests into a viable business, this playbook addresses those challenges head-on. It provides a structured approach to understanding market needs and equips you with the tools to build a sustainable income stream using AI.
No prior experience is required. This playbook is designed for complete beginners and focuses on practical application.
We recommend setting aside 5-10 hours each week to fully engage with the content and complete the assignments.
That's okay! This playbook emphasizes learning and adaptation, helping you to iterate on your ideas based on real customer feedback.
Absolutely! The structure allows you to learn and build at your own pace, making it feasible to integrate alongside your job.
Yes! You'll be part of a community of fellow learners, providing support and feedback as you progress through the playbook.